The military ranks of the Colombian armed forces consist of the list and ordering of the different military ranks, for the Officers, Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and soldiers, seamen and airmen ("other ranks") of the Military Forces of Colombia. The ranks are visually represented by insignias placed on the uniforms, usually at the shoulders, sleeves and shirt collars.
A literal translation from Spanish to English may be misleading as the rank names do not necessarily follow the customary order used in anglophone military ranks in all cases. Furthermore, Colombia is not a member of NATO, so there is not an official equivalence between the Colombian military ranks and those defined by NATO. The displayed parallel is approximate and for illustration purposes only.
Applicable law
The ranks in the Military Forces of Colombia are regulated through the following applicable legislation: the Decree-Law 1790 of 2000,[1] Law 1405 of 2010,[2] and Law 1792 of 2016[3]
In terms of protocol, the established order for the forces is Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, as established by the Military Rules of Protocol (Reglamento de Protocolo Militar FFMM)[4]
Army
The Colombian Army is the largest of the three service branches of the Military Forces of Colombia, tasked with defending sovereignty and law and order across the national territory. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Army personnel.[5][6]
Officers
Rank group
General / flag officers
Senior officers
Junior officers
Colombian National Army[7]
v
t
e
General de ejercito
Mayor general
Brigadier general
Coronel
Teniente coronel
Mayor
Capitán
Teniente
Subteniente
Abbr.
GR
MG
BG
CR
TC
MY
CT
TE
ST
'"3B" Uniform sample[7]
Service branch
Cavalry
Infantry
Engineers
Communications
Cavalry
Artillery
Camouflage Fatigues sample[7]
Service branch
Cavalry
Infantry
Engineers
Artillery
Communications
Logistics (Armory)
Enlisted
Rank group
Senior NCOs
Junior NCOs
Enlisted
Colombian National Army[7]
v
t
e
Sargento mayor de comando conjunto
Sargento mayor de ejército
Sargento mayor de comando
Sargento mayor
Sargento primero
Sargento vice primero
Sargento segundo
Cabo primero
Cabo segundo
Cabo tercero
'"3B" Uniform sample[7]
No Insignia
Soldier types
Soldado: Conscripted soldier serving for a period of 22 months mandatory service [n 1].
Soldado Profesional: Regular soldiers that stay in the army after completing their 22 months' mandatory conscription service, making it a permanent career. The number in their rank insignia indicating the number of years they have served.
Additional ranks
Dragoneantes are soldiers who have gained recognition through their achievements and have special training. They have a certain degree of authority over regular soldiers.
Rank group
Dragoneante
Alumno
Insignia[7]
Dragoneante mayor de escuela
Dragoneante mayor de batallón
Dragoneante mayor de compañía
Dragoneante
Alumno tercer nivel
Alumno segundo nivel
Alumno primer nivel
Navy
The Colombian Navy (Spanish: Armada de la República de Colombia) is the maritime service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia, responsible for security and defense in both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific seas of Colombia, the extensive network of rivers inside the country, and a few small land areas under its direct jurisdiction. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Navy personnel.[5][9]
In Colombia, the Marine Infantry is a Corps depending on the Colombian Navy and not a full service branch on its own. Being tasked with amphibious and riverine and littoral operations, the MI presents a combination of ranking names derived from the Army, combined with naval insignias. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Marine Infantry personnel.[5]
The Colombian Aerospace Force is the service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia tasked with the protection and defense of the Colombian sovereign airspace. The tables below display the rank structures and rank insignias for the Colombian Aerospace Force personnel.[5]
^In 2010, the Constitutional Court (Spanish: Corte Constitucional) on grounds of discrimination and protection of equal rights, issued an order[8] to the Military Forces to stop the classification of conscripts into "regular", "peasant" and "baccalaureate" (Spanish: "regular", "campesino" y "bachiller"), and to standardize the terms and conditions for all conscripts to 22 months.
References
^Secretaría Senado de la República de Colombia (ed.). "Decreto 1790 de 2000 - Normas de carrera del personal de oficiales y suboficiales de las Fuerzas Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^Secretaría Senado de la República de Colombia (ed.). "Ley 1405 de 2010 - Nuevos Grados Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^"Ley 1792 de 2016" (PDF). Gobierno de Colombia. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
^Policía Nacional de Colombia (ed.). "Reglamento de Ceremonial y Protocolo Policial" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^ abcdCongreso de la República de Colombia (28 July 2010). "Ley 1405 de 2010 Nuevos Grados Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^Ejército de Colombia (15 March 2011). "Grados y distintivos del Ejército" (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^ abcdef"Capítulo V: Insignias militares". RGE 4-20.1: Reglamento de Uniformes, Insignias y Distinciones (in Spanish) (7th ed.). Colombia: National Army of Colombia. pp. 301–331. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
^Corte Constitucional de la República de Colombia. "Sentencia T-218/10,Orden a las Fuerzas Militares de modificar la modalidad de incorporación al servicio militar, de soldado regular a soldado bachiller, desacuartelamiento inmediato y expedición de la libreta militar" [Sentence T-218/10, Order to the Military Forces to modify the modality of incorporation into military service, from regular soldier to high school soldier, immediate disenfranchisement and issuance of the military booklet] (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 May 2011.
^Armada Republica de Colombia (2006). "Insignias de la Armada" (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 April 2011.
^ abcdCongreso de la República de Colombia (28 July 2010). "Ley 1405 de 2010 Nuevos Grados Militares" [Law 1405 of 2010 New Military Ranks] (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
^ ab"Grados Militares Fuerza Aérea Colombiana". fac.mil.co (in Spanish). Colombian Air Force. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
External links
Colombian Army Ranks and distinctives - Official site
Colombian Navy - Official site (in Spanish)
Colombian Air Force - Official site (in Spanish)
"Colombia". uniforminsignia.net. International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia. Retrieved 17 February 2023.