Rear Admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks". In many navies it is referred to as a two-star rank.

It originated from the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the Royal Navy. Each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head, who would command from the centre vessel and direct the activities of the squadron. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships which would bear the brunt of a naval battle. In the rear of the naval squadron, a third admiral would command the remaining ships and, as this section of the squadron was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of the rear would typically be the most junior of the squadron admirals. This has survived into the modern age, with the rank of rear admiral the most-junior of the admiralty ranks of many navies.

In some European navies (e.g., that of France), and in the Canadian Forces' French rank translations, the rank of rear admiral is known as contre-amiral. In the Royal Netherlands Navy, this rank is known as schout-bij-nacht (lit.: supervisor during night), denoting the role junior to the squadron admiral, and fleet admiral.

Australia[link]

RAN Rear Admiral shoulder board

The Royal Australian Navy maintains a rank of rear admiral; refer to Australian Defence Force ranks and insignia. The abbreviation is RADM.

Since the mid 1990s, the insignia of a Royal Australian Navy Rear Admiral is the crown of St Edward above a crossed sword and baton, above two silver stars, above the word "AUSTRALIA". Unlike other Commonwealth countries, the sword is a traditional naval cutlass. 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"). Prior to 1995, the RAN shoulder board was identical to the UK shoulder board. The UK shoulder board changed in 2001.

The first female to hold the rank of rear admiral within the Royal Australian Navy was Rear Admiral Robyn Walker, AM, RAN as the Surgeon‑General for the Australian Defence Force who was appointed on 16 December 2011.^[1]

Canada[link]

In the Royal Canadian Navy, the rank of rear-admiral (RAdm) (contre-amiral or CAm in French) is the Navy rank equivalent to major-general of the Army and Air Force. A rear-admiral is a flag officer, the naval equivalent of a general officer. A rear-admiral is senior to a commodore and brigadier-general, and junior to a vice-admiral and lieutenant-general.

The rank insignia for a rear-admiral is two gold maple leaves beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St Edward's Crown, worn on shoulder boards and slip-ons on uniforms other than the service dress tunic. The service dress features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff and, since June 2010,^[2] above it a narrower strip of gold braid embellished with the executive curl. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.

• Navy uniform variations
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  Canadian rear admiral sleeve insignia (since June 2010).
• Navy slip-on RAdm.png

  Uniform shirts
• Navy shoulder board RAdm.png

  Shoulder boards for short-sleeve shirt, tropical white tunic and white mess jacket.
• Navy olive RAdm.png

  CADPAT uniform

India[link]

Indian Navy also maintains a rear admiral rank senior to commodore and captain ranks and junior to vice admiral (and admiral) ranks.

• Navy uniform variations
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  Indian admiral sleeve insignia.
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  RAdm Shoulder Board
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  Shoulder curl for RAdm.

The rank insignia for a rear-admiral is two stars beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by Emblem of India, worn on shoulder boards.

Pakistan[link]

A rear admiral in the Pakistani Navy is a senior and two-star rank naval officer, appointed in higher naval commands. Because of the command and staff experience, the rear admiral rank is generally highly superior to commodore and captain. However, the rank is junior to the three-star rank vice-admiral and four-star rank admiral, who is generally a Chief of Naval Staff of the Navy.

United Kingdom[link]

The Royal Navy maintains a rank of rear admiral. Note that the rank of rear admiral is quite different from the honorary office Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom.

United States[link]

In the United States since 1984, there have been two ranks with the title of rear admiral: Rear admiral (lower half) (RDML), a one-star rank; and rear admiral (upper half) (RADM), a two-star rank. Prior to that, a combination of ranks were used – see the main article and Commodore (United States) for the history and evolution of these ranks.

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  The stars and shoulder boards of a US Navy rear admiral (upper half)

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  The stars and shoulder boards of a US Coast Guard rear admiral (upper half)

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  The star and shoulder boards of a US Public Health Service rear admiral (upper half)

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  The stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rear admiral (upper half)

Vietnam[link]

In Vietnam, the equivalent to rear admiral is the chuẩn đô đốc or đề đốc, literally "master of the rowboat".

See also[link]

• Ranks and insignia of NATO Navies Officers

References and notes[link]

Neil Morisetti
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1976 -
Rank	Rear admiral
Commands held	Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath

Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti CB is a senior British Royal Navy officer who is currently the United Kingdom's Climate and Energy Security Envoy.

Naval career[link]

Morisetti was educated at the City of London School, and subsequently joined the Royal Navy in 1976. After initial training at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth he held shore postings and attended the University of East Anglia and graduated with a Bachelor of Science. In 1986 he was appointed commanding officer of the patrol boat HMS Cygnet of the Northern Ireland Squadron.^[1]

He was later Principal Warfare Officer of the frigate Cumberland, and in 1991 joined the Naval Secretary's Department as an officers' appointer in 1991. In 1993-1994 he was commanding officer of the destroyer Cardiff.^[1]

After attending the Joint Service Defence College Morisetti joined the Directorate of Navy Plans and Programmes in 1995.^[1] He was then Chief Staff Officer for Plans and Programmes to Flag Officer Surface Flotilla, before returning to command Cardiff as Captain Fifth Destroyer Squadron in 1999.

Captain Morisetti returned to the Ministry of Defence as Deputy Director of Resources and Plans, and was then appointed Director TOPMAST, the project developing a new Royal Navy manpower system, as a commodore.^[1]

After attending the Higher Command and Staff Course, in 2004 Morisetti took command of the aircraft carrier Invincible.^[1] Invincible acted as the flagship during the Trafalgar 200 naval review off Portsmouth in June 2005, before being paid off the following month. In November 2005 he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed Commander United Kingdom Maritime Forces (COMUKMARFOR), also serving as NATO High Readiness Force Maritime Commander.^[1] In July 2007 he was appointed Commandant of the Joint Services Command and Staff College.^[1] He became the United Kingdom's Climate and Energy Security Envoy in November 2009.^[2]

He is a Freeman of the City of London. Morisetti was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.^[3]

He is also president of the forces rugby.

Footnotes[link]