Oberstarzt

Oberstarzt (short: OberstArzt or OTA) is a military rank in German speaking armed forces. It denotes a medical staff officer surgeon or medical staff officer dentist and is comparable to Colonel (de: Oberst) or Captain (naval) (de: Kapitän zur See) NATO-Rangcode OF5 in anglophone armed forces.

Bundeswehr
In the Joint Medical Service of the German Bundeswehr Oberstarzt, Oberstapotheker, and Oberstveterinär are comparable in NATO to the OF-5 rank Oberst; Flottenarzt, and Flottenapotheker are equivalent to Kapitän zur See, OF-5 as well.

Address
The manner of formal addressing of military surgeons/dentists with the rank Oberstarzt is "Herr/Frau Oberstarzt"; with the rank Oberstapotheker, "Herr/Frau Oberstapotheker". Military surgeons/dentists with the rank Flottenarzt are addressed "Herr/Frau Flottenarzt"; with the rank Flottenapotheker, "Herr/Frau Flottenapotheker".

The "Inspector of veterinary medicine of the Bundeswehr" (de: Inspizient Veterinärmedizin der Bundeswehr) holds the rank Oberstveterinär.

Rank insignias
On the shoulder straps (Heer, Luftwaffe) there are three silver stars in silver oak leaves and the career insignia (de: Laufbahnabzeichen) as symbol of the medical standing, or course of studies. The piping on shoulder straps shows the Waffenfarbe (en: corps- or troop-function colour), corresponding to the appropriate military service, branch, or special force. The corps colour of the Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service is dark blue.

In the Marines, the career insignia is in the middle of both sleeves, 3 cm above the cuff strips, and on the shoulder straps between strips and button.

Wehrmacht
In the German Wehrmacht from 1933 until 1945 there were the OF5-ranks Oberstarzt, Oberstapotheker, and Oberstveterinär, comparable to the Oberst OF5-rank as well.

During wartime, regular assignments of Oberstarzt was Division surgeon – IVb (de: Divisionsarzt – IVb).

The corps colour of the military Health Service Support (HSS) in German armed forces was traditional dark blue, and of the veterinarian service carmine red. This tradition was continued by the medical service corps in Heer and Luftwaffe of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. However, the corps colour of the Waffen-SS and Kriegsmarine HSS was “cornflower blue”.


 * Rank insignias:

Austria-Hungary
In the Imperial & Royal Common Army of Austria-Hungary (de: Gemeinsame Armee or k.u.k. Armee) there was the rank ''Oberstabsarzt 1. Klasse (en: Senior staff surgeon 1st class) until 1918, equivalent to Oberstarzt'' in Germany. That particular rank was comparable to the Oberst OF5-rank (en: colonel) as well. There was also a rank ''Oberstabsarzt 2. Klasse (or másodosztályú fõtörzsorvos'' in Hungarian).

Officers with that rank

 * Andreas Mollat (1802-1891) k. k. Oberststabsarzt