Ranks of the Bangladesh Army (Officer Ranking System)

Last Updated on December 30, 2020 by Aminul Haque Shahin

Bangladesh Army is the largest of the three armed services of Bangladesh Armed Forces. Bangladesh Armed Forces is consisting of the three uniformed military services of Bangladesh: the Bangladesh Army, the Bangladesh Navy, and the Bangladesh Air Force. Among them, Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch. The main mission of the Bangladesh Army is to deliver the Bangladeshi government’s security and defense strategies, and most notably, defending the nation’s territorial integrity against external attack. Moreover, during the domestic national emergency Bangladesh Army also assist the government and its civilian agencies.

Bangladesh Army Rank

The Bangladesh Army rank has three sections (According to Army Mil BD and Millitary Wikia) . They are:

• Commissioned Officer
• Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO)
• Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO)

The rank structure of the Bangladesh Army is modeled according to the armies of the Commonwealth Nations. In Bangladesh Army the highest rank is General and the lowest rank is Sainik.

Commissioned Officer

In the Army, a commissioned officer is a type of officer who has received a rank before officially assuming the position. The task of commissioned officers is to train and lead the enlisted soldiers. Ranks associated with the commissioned officer are:

• General
• Lieutenant General
• Major General
• Brigadier General
• Colonel
• Lieutenant Colonel
• Major
• Captain
• Lieutenant
• Second Lieutenant

General

General is a four Star commissioned flag officer rank in the Bangladesh Army. It is the highest achieved rank in the Bangladesh Army. The General rank was established in 2007 when General Moeen U Ahmed was promoted to this rank. The Chief of Army Staff (CAS) of Bangladesh only gets awarded with this rank. The badges of General have a Crossed sword and two batons below the Shapla Emblem. The General also has red gorget patches with four golden stars to represent the four-star rank. Only the Prime Minister of The People’s Republic of Bangladesh has the power to appoint a General.

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant general is a three-star military rank officer. Lieutenant general normally ranks immediately below general and above major general. It is the 2^nd highest active rank of the Bangladesh Army. This rank was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of lieutenant general. Till 2007, Lieutenant general was the highest rank in the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Ziaur Rahman was the first person to hold this Rank. The insignia for the rank of lieutenant general is the Shapla, above a pip and crossed sword and baton.

Major General

Major general is the two-star military rank officer. It normally ranks immediately below Lieutenant General and above Brigadier General. It is the 3^rd highest active rank of the Bangladesh Army. Currently, there are fifty Major generals in the Bangladesh Army. The insignia for the rank of Major general is a pip and crossed sword and baton.

Brigadier General

A Brigadier General serves as the advisor and Deputy Commander to a Major General. In fact, it is the lowest ranking general officer in the Bangladesh Army. A Brigadier General is a one-star military rank officer. The insignia for the rank of Brigadier General is a Shapla and three batons.

Colonel

Colonel, the highest field-grade officer in the Bangladesh army and it is just below the general officer grades. Usually, a Colonel is the commanding officer of a regiment or brigade. The insignia for the rank of Colonel is a Shapla and two batons.

Lieutenant Colonel

This is a rank of commissioned officer in the Bangladesh Army. A lieutenant colonel is typically in charge of a battalion or regiment in the army. Lieutenant Colonel normally ranks immediately below Colonel and above major. The insignia for the rank of Lieutenant Colonel is a Shapla and one baton.

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer in the Bangladesh Army. Major is one rank senior of an army captain, and one rank subordinate or below the rank of lieutenant colonel. Major is the most junior field officer ranks in Bangladesh Army. The insignia for the rank of Major is a Shapla.

Captain

The army rank of Captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to the command of a company of soldiers. Nowadays a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery. The insignia for the rank of Captain is three batons.         

Lieutenant

Lieutenant is a commissioned officer rank in Bangladesh army and it is one rank senior of Second Lieutenant and one rank below of Captain. In fact, it is the 2^nd most-junior commissioned officer ranks in Bangladesh Army. The insignia for the rank of Lieutenant is two batons.  

Second Lieutenant

The second lieutenant is the most junior commissioned officer ranks in Bangladesh Army. It’s one rank below Lieutenant. The insignia for the rank of Lieutenant is one baton.

Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO)

Junior Commissioned Officer is a term used for army personals that ranked higher than Battalion Regiment Sergeant Major and lower than the Second lieutenant. Ranks associated with Junior Commissioned Officer are:

• Honorary Captain
• Honorary Lieutenant
• Master Warrant Officer
• Senior Warrant Officer
• Warrant Officer

Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO)     

A Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not earned a rank or commission yet. Non-Commissioned Officers play a very important role in the Army. Sometimes they are responsible to take the lead in various aspects of the mission based on their strengths and weaknesses. Ranks associated with Non-Commissioned Officer are:

• Battalion Regiment Sergeant Major
• Battalion Regiment Quarter Master Sergeant
• Company Battery Sergeant Major
• Company Battery Quarter Master Sergeant
• Sergeant
• Corporal
• Lance Corporal
• Sainik

Image Credit: US Indo Pacific Command (Flickr)