Military Academies of the World

[Blakwhit]

I was curious to see what military and naval academy rank structures and uniforms were like in other countries. There is a lot already on the forum on US structures but I will post what I have if someone would like. So please post any picture's of uniform or insinia you've got of your countries academy.

Blake

[Miklós Lovász]

In Romania, the military education system is structured on 4 levels: military high schools, NCO schools, academies (Land Forces, Air Force, Naval Forces) and the National Defence University. The students at the military high schools wear a special, dark blue (winter) or white (summer) uniform, the NCO trainees and the officer cadets wear NCO or officers uniforms with the appropriate rank insignia (before graduating they can be promoted as high as corporal (NCO schools) and sergeant (academies), while the students of the NDU are already officers, so they wear officers uniforms. No special ranks or rank insignia exists.

[Blakwhit]

What is the purpose of the military high schools? Do you have any pictures of the uniforms?

Blake

[Zdzislaw Rudzki]

Here in Poland there are no different insignia of rank for students of military schools / academies. However there are some distiguishing marks for them. In officer schools student have their shoulder straps edged with white cord. The year of study is denoted by the white lace on cuffs (wide for the first year + narrow for each following year). The students of the so called "Reserve Officer Candidates" (the people after civil university level schools who are obliged to do military training ) have shoulder straps edged with red/white cord. The students of the WO schools have shoulder straps edged with white lace (like for Polish sargeants or WO ranks). They are never promoted to sergeant during schol so there is no confussion. Their year of study is denoted by a number of chevrons of the white lace above the cuffs.
The information was correct during my military training in 80' - there could be some changes later ;)

[Miklós Lovász]

What is the purpose of the military high schools? Do you have any pictures of the uniforms?

Blake

well, they are specialized high schools, like the telecommunications, sanitary, economic, etc high schools - basically they give you a low-level diploma. so you can work in jobs that don't require universitary studies (like nurses, basic accountants ans such). Yhe military high school graduates had to go to an NCO school to get promoted, but it was more like a course thatn a school (some 6 monhts instead of 3 years). Also, they were advantaged if wanted to go to the Academies.

As to pics with them, I'll try to look up some. And it must be mentioned, that the Ministry of Interior has its own military high school, too, but the students there wear a slightly modified version of the Gendarmerie uniform.

MoD Military High School students, summer uniform:
http://kido.no-ip.org/phpbb/album_pic.php?pic_id=131

MoI NCO students:
http://www.mai.gov.ro/Foto/scoala6.gif
http://www.mai.gov.ro/Foto/scoala2.gif

MoI High School students:
http://www.mai.gov.ro/Foto/scoala8.gif

Police Academy students (future police officers and Gendarmerie officers):
http://www.academiadepolitie.ro/Facdr/Album%20foto/Slide/8m2003_5.jpg

[Blakwhit]

Thanks, thats very intresting because we don't have very many similar instututions here in the US that I know of that like the Military High school, that are run by the government. We do have several diffrent College level divisions There are the Federaly run Military Academies, and the Reserve Officer Training Corps programs the are optional at other universities and then there are what we call Senior Military Schools these are State run military schools that don't require military service but students are in a full time military environment. These senior military schools have there own unifom s and insignia. One example is Texas A&M University, it is the Military College of the State of Texas.

Blake

[Blakwhit]

Here are some examples of Uniforms at Texas A&M:

http://www.aggiecorps.org/home/cadetlife/uniforms/

Norwich University is another Seinor Military school Has uniforms very similar to those of West Point:

http://www.norwich.edu/cadets/cadetuniform.html

The Citadel:

www.Citadel.edu

These are not all of the schools only some

Blake

[National Defence College]

Check out... http://www.mpkk.fi/en/ this is a link to the National Defence College in Finland. There is a photo of a cadet in full dress at http://www.mpkk.fi/fi/opiskelijoille/ the uniform was desugned by Akseli Gallen Kallela. Don't hesitate to ask me for additional info.

[Luke]

Officer cadets at the military college are sergeants, but where different rank insignia. First year: Two chevrons. Second year: Three ditto.

See Swedish rank insignia:
http://www.mil.se/attachments/gradbeteckningar.pdf

[Luke]

Officer Cadets of the Finnish National Defence College have ranks as

1st Year Officer Cadet
2nd Year Cadet Corporal
3rd Year Cadet Sergeant, Cadet Staff Sergeant
4th Year Cadet Warrant Officer

See this site for a chart: http://www.mil.fi/varusmies/arvomerkki/images/maav_arvom_01.jpg

See also this site for a LARGE picture of a Cadet in full dress:
http://www.mil.fi/ajankohtaista/tiedotteet/arkisto/2002/images/20020502/kadetti_t.jpg

[img]http://www.mil.fi/ajankohtaista/tiedotteet/arkisto/2002/images/20020502/kadetti_t.jpg[/img]

[valtrex]

GREEK ARMY ACADEMY-STRATIOTIKEE SCHOLEE EVELPIDON (lit. Military School of Good-Hopes)

Founded: July 1st, 1828

ORGANIZATION:
[img]http://www.sse.gr/SSE/pics/sse_org_eng.gif[/img]

Cadets Rank chart:
[url=http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=armyacademyrankchart4nz.jpg][img]http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3972/armyacademyrankchart4nz.th.jpg[/img][/url]

[url=http://img461.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2ndlts2jc.jpg][img]http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/2346/2ndlts2jc.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Family photo of the new 2nd Lieutenants (class of 2005)

[img]http://www.sse.gr/SSE/drastiriotites/greek/dimiriaepidixeos/DRIA-EPIDEIXEOS-5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.armscontrol.info/mymessage.files/image004.jpg[/img]
The current Cadet uniform is similar to the one worn by the 1910 cadets:
[img]http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/7270/armyacademycpl8zf.png[/img]

[valtrex]

GREEK NAVAL ACADEMY-SCHOLEE NAPHTIKON DOKIMON (lit. School of Naval Candidate Officers)

Founded: 1845

Ranks Chart:
[url=http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=navalacademyrankchart2ov.jpg][img]http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/6875/navalacademyrankchart2ov.th.jpg[/img][/url]

The current Cadet uniform is almost similar to the one worn by the 1910 cadets:
[img]http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/5674/cadet4lc.png[/img]

[valtrex]

GREEK ARMY- NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS SCHOOL/SCHOLEE MONIMON YPAXIOMATIKON or SMY (lit. School of Career Non Commissioned Officers)

[img]http://www.smy.gr/images/polemiki_simaia_sxolis2.jpg[/img]
The War Flag of SMY

Founded: 9 April, 1884

Rank Chart:
[url=http://img443.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ncoschool7ak.jpg][img]http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5569/ncoschool7ak.th.jpg[/img][/url]

[img]http://www.smy.gr/images/ParadosiParalaviSimaias.jpg[/img]

[valtrex]

GREEK NAVY-NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS SCHOOL/SCHOLEE MONIMON YPAXIOMATIKON NAPHTIKOU or SMYN (lit. School of Career Non Commissioned Officers of Navy)

Founded: 17 March, 1879

Rank Chart:
[url=http://img494.imageshack.us/my.php?image=navynco1zd.jpg][img]http://img494.imageshack.us/img494/2201/navynco1zd.th.jpg[/img][/url]

[img]http://www.hellenicnavy.gr/smyn/images/anakoinvseis/25hMartiou03.jpg[/img]

[Whiskey-Zulu]

The British Forces have both Officer training and Other Ranks training colleges, but I'll concentrate more on the Officers' colleges as I'm more up-to-date with them than the Other Ranks'.

For the British Army: The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst http://www.sandhurst.mod.uk/; there are some good photos of both the Training Staff and Officer Cadets in a variety of Uniforms, including Number 1 Service Dress, which is the uniform that Officer Cadets pass-out in.

For the R.A.F.: R.A.F Cranwell (Officers Initial Training and various other advanced courses open to Officers e.g. Navigator courses), Joint Helicopter Command R.A.F. Shawbury (basic and advanced Helicopter Ops [Officers from all 4 branches] and Helicopter Loadmaster/winchman courses for ORs.), Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering (formerly R.A.F.) Cosford (Airframe, engine and other aircraft system related trade training for ORs [ also home of 1 Volunteer Gliding Squadron for the Air Cadet Organisation, and one University Air Squadron/ Air Experience Flight for UAS and ACO), R.A.F. Valley (Fast Jet Training [Officers]. Those are just a few that I recall off the top of my head. The R.A.F wear their Number 1a Service Dress (blue trousers [skirts with black hosiery for women], wedgewood blue shirt [short sleeved w/o tie, long sleeved with black tie [tie to be tied in a Windsor knot] and General Purpose Jacket or Blue heavy wool jersey] beret or peaked cap may be worn with this dress). for No 1b Dress (worn by those in trades like engineering, the wedgewood blue shirt is replaced by a dark blue shirt (no tie is worn with this shirt, and sleeves are to be rolled up; berets only are to be worn with this dress). If they're in flying training or LM/ WM trainig, the flight suits and side-caps for officers (may wear peaks alternatively) and SNCOs, flying suits and beret outside of Foreign Object Zones (FOD Zones).


I'm not sure about the Royal Navy, so maybe someone else can ship in there.