Rear admiral (Australia)

Rear admiral (abbreviated as RADM) is the third-highest active rank of the Royal Australian Navy and was created as a direct equivalent of the British rank of rear admiral. It is a two-star rank.

For other countries which use this rank, see Rear admiral.

Rear admiral
Rear Admiral insignia
Rear Admiral's command flag
Country Australia
Service branch Royal Australian Navy
AbbreviationRADM
RankTwo-star
NATO rank codeOF-7
Non-NATO rankO-8
Next higher rankVice admiral
Next lower rankCommodore
Equivalent ranks

Rear admiral is a higher rank than commodore, but lower than vice admiral. Rear admiral is the equivalent of air vice-marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force and major general in the Australian Army.

Since the mid-1990s, the insignia of a Royal Australian Navy vice admiral is the Crown of St. Edward above a crossed sabre[lower-alpha 1] and baton, above two silver stars, above the word "AUSTRALIA".[1] The stars have eight points[lower-alpha 2] as in the equivalent Royal Navy insignia. Prior to 1995, the RAN shoulder board was identical to the UK shoulder board. The UK shoulder board changed in 2001.

Rear Admiral Robyn Walker AM, RAN became the first female admiral in the Royal Australian Navy when she was appointed Surgeon-General of the Australian Defence Force on 16 December 2011.[2]

See also

References and notes

Notes
  1. Usually in Commonwealth countries a scimitar is used in the insignia, which is an open-handled weapon; the sabre has a closed handle.
  2. The stars have eight points, unlike the four pointed Order of the Bath stars used by the army, which are often referred to as "pips".

References
  1. "Uniform Ranks". Royal Australian Navy. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  2. "First female Admiral for the Royal Australian Navy". Defence News. Department of Defence, Australian Government. 6 December 2011.


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