Head of Armed Forces - Insignia
 

Being of the old school I am somewhat confused by elements in the photograph in todays Daily Telegraph Page 20,which depicts the current Head of UK Armed Forces,Gen Sir David Richards displaying a variety of insignia.
On chest tab, Badge of Rank - OK so far
On Right epaulette - four stars
On Left epaulette - four stars surmounting an unknown device

Modernists please explain.
1314

He was in Afghanistan with the US and so they understood he was a General he wore the US 4 stars on his uniform in addition to the British General rank. It also happened quite a lot in Iraq at all ranks because the US found it difficult to identify British officers' ranks.

I would have thought the general air of superior quality would have tipped them off to being a British Officer.....:D

As well as the US badge of rank diplomacy required that if he did it for the US Army then he had to do it for the Afghanistan Army too, so the other badge is their equivalent for that level of general officer.

No offence to American members of the Forum, but isn't it about time the US Armed Forces started learning about the rank insignia of other nations, particularly their NATO allies? How long have they been serving together?

As I said David, I would have thought when a British officer walks in the room, one could tell he's in charge. But there again, they aren't inclined to defer to experience and professionalism. You would as you say think by now it would be a detail required to know, especially working so close not only since NATO, but in the two present war's.

I'm assuming that particular photo was taken back here in the UK - so, he should really have removed (or got his missus to do it) the totally inappropriate stars from his uniform. Lets face it, had a 'junior rank' or even an 'other rank' been seen wearing 'foreign' insgnia' he would have been deep in it!:confused:

Well, it would be a good start if US ebay sellers learn that an item with a crown is not necessarily British because there are more monarchies around this planet. ;)

Can anyone post a link to the image. The current combat clothing worn in Afghanistan does not have shoulder straps (epaulettes). Most senior officers in a NATO environment or in theatre wear the US rank insignia on their collar and there own rank on the chest strap, some when working with the NAA also wear the corresponding NAA rank badge (somewhere I have the US rank insignia worn by a British Army Major on his collar).

His British rank is worn on the chest epaullette and the US and Afghan on opposing lapels. I don't think much of him as a general, he is too political and full of hubris. When he took over the ARRC mess in Rheindahlen he saw the biggest painting was of his predecessor Gen Jackson and he and his wife insisted on commissioning a painting with him taking centre stage in Afghanistan the size of the entire wall and using mess funds to do it. There was a lot of chuntering, official and unofficial, but he got away with it by the skin of his teeth, not least because he was earmarked as CinC LAND.

Ask and ye shall receive.....
Jo
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ac-M0_bqRH...d+Richards.jpg

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...nal-force.html

They havn't learnt what British soldiers look like yet, so understanding our rank system might be a push ;) lol jk guys....

Tom

David, Tom, et al:

It would help a lot if you Brits would go back to wearing red uniforms. We Americans never seemed to have a problem knowing who you were when you did. :D

One of my favorite stories was about an American captain stationed in Turkey who discovered after several months in country that all the 3 star Turkish generals he was saluting were privates! True story. We yanks have no excuse for not saluting this general, after we figure out where to look on his uniform to find insignia we recognize. As far as being expected to know all the various rank insignia, if I were a young troop on my first deployment, that would not be my first concern. British army rank insignia isn't that hard. The RAF, on the other hand, remains a mystery.:confused:

Don

I was sent on a tasking at Central Command HQ in Tampa at the beginning of the Afghanistan War. Most coalition officers wore US rank insignia in addition to their own.
US officer insignia is easily identified, and the clutch pin fasteners make them easy to put up/down with no damage to the uniform. In a coalition HQ environment, soldiers have more important tasks than trying to remember every countries' rank insignia.

Phil

As a British soldier with 38 years service I agree, there is also the reality that the US puts by far the largest effort in terms of military capability and funding into these coalition campaigns and it has always been a principle that some form of standardised rank/recognition be used within allied armies. From D-Day until recent times British General officers had small red plates on their vehicles (front and rear) with a number of stars indicating their grade and within the MoD referring to 'stars' is used to equate civilian to uniformed ranking as a quick mental guide. This was adopted as part of our association with US forces in WW2. It is the pragmatism of reality.