Lieutenant-colonel (Canada)


 * Please see "lieutenant colonel" for other countries which use this rank

In the Canadian Forces, the rank of lieutenant-colonel (LCol) (lieutenant-colonel or lcol) is an Army or Air Force rank equal to a commander of the Royal Canadian Navy. A lieutenant-colonel is the second-highest rank of senior officer. A lieutenant-colonel is senior to a major or lieutenant-commander, and junior to a colonel or naval captain.

The rank insignia for a lieutenant-colonel is three 1 cm stripes of gold braid, worn on the cuffs of the service-dress jacket, and on slip-ons on other uniforms.

Lieutenant-colonels are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am".

In the Canadian army, lieutenant-colonels are often employed as commanding officers of battalion-sized groups, such as infantry battalions, armoured regiments, artillery field regiments, engineer field regiments, signal regiments and service battalions.

In the Royal Canadian Air Force, lieutenant-colonels are often seen as the commanding officer of flying or ground squadrons.

Note: Before unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, rank structure and insignia followed the British pattern.

Lieutenant-colonel