Ranks of the Turkish Navy

The ranks of the Turkish Navy are in fact quite similar to those in any other NATO country. Similar insignia is worn. Here is a list of all ranks in the Turkish Navy, ordered from lowest to highest:

Officers’ ranks

 * Deniz Asteğmeni (Midshipman) is a commissioned reserve officer chosen from university graduates. They serve 12 months while carrying out their compulsory military service. Upon serving for 8 months, all Deniz Asteğmeni s are promoted to Deniz Teğmeni s. In wartime where reserve officers are not discharged, they will promote up to Albay s during their service. The rank is indicated by a narrow stripe of gold lace with a curl on the shoulder boards and sleeves.


 * Deniz Teğmeni (Ensign) is the first rank after graduation from the Turkish Naval Academy. Deniz Teğmeni s wear a stripe of gold lace (about twice the width of that of a Deniz Asteğmeni ) with the curl, both on their shoulders and sleeves.


 * Deniz Üsteğmeni (Lieutenant Junior Grade) wears a stripe with a curl with a narrow stripe below.


 * Deniz Yüzbaşısı (Lieutenant): wears two stripes the top one with the curl.


 * Deniz Binbaşısı (Lieutenant Commander) is the senior officers rank (üstsubay). Deniz Binbaşısı s wear three stripes, the top one with the curl. Deniz Binbaşısı s also have a row of embroidered leaves on the brim of their cap as do the next two ranks.


 * Deniz Yarbayı (Commander) wears three normal and one narrow stripe. The top one with the curl is normal width, followed by the narrow stripe, then two more of normal width.


 * Deniz Albayı (Captain) is the last rank before admiral. Deniz Albay s wear four stripes.

Note : Commodores in the Turkish navy are not given special ranks or insignia. In the Turkish navy a commodore is not a rank but a position (usually group commander). Commodores almost always have the rank of Captain (Albay), but can fly their special pennants and we ar special ribbons.


 * Tuğamiral' (Rear Admiral/Lower Half) is the lowest admiral's rank. Tuğamiral'' s wear a broad, 1.75 in stripe of lace and an ordinary stripe above that with a curl on their sleeves. Their shoulderboards are covered in gold lace, and have a silver garland with swords crossed in the middle (General's mark) and a silver five pointed star above that. All admirals also wear two rows of leaves on their caps.


 * Tümamiral (Rear Admiral/Upper Half) wears the same shoulderboards as Tuğamiral s, but with two silver stars. On their sleeves they wear the broad stripe and two normal stripes.


 * Koramiral (Vice Admiral): There are usually six Koramiral s in the whole navy. Koramiral s wear three silver stars on the usual shoulder boards. On their sleeves, they wear a normal stripe with the curl, a narrow stripe, another stripe, and below that the broad stripe.


 * Oramiral (Admiral): There are two oramirals, one of them is the Commander of the Naval Forces (Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanı ), while the other is Commander of the Turkish Fleet (Donanma Komutanı). Oramiral s wear shoulder boards with four silver stars, and three normal stripes (the top one with the curl) above the broad stripe.


 * Genelkurmay Başkanı (Chief of the Turkish General Staff) assumes command of the Turkish Armed Forces, and although he is commonly appointed from the Turkish Army, he is entitled to wear all uniforms in the Turkish Armed Forces, including the Navy's. When he wears the Navy's uniform, he wears the oramiral's shoulder boards with specially embroidered lace as the base, and he wears the oramiral's sleeve stripes with the broad stripe also embroidered and decorated with leaves.


 * Büyük Amiral (Admiral of the Fleet): This is a wartime-only rank and has never been awarded to any member of the Turkish Navy. Its army equivalent, Mareşal (Field Marshal), has had only two bearers in the republic's history: Marshal Fevzi Çakmak and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk himself. A Büyük Amiral would wear shoulder boards with special gold handwork on red velvet, decorated with golden leaves, and with a general's garland on top of that. On his/her sleeves he/she would wear four stripes above the broad stripe.

Rank pennants and flags (ensigns)
Pennants are only flown for officers who assume command of an independent unit. Staff officers who work in headquarters do not fly pennants.


 * Flandra (Masthead Pennant) : The Flandra is flown when the ship's commanding officer boards the ship. It is quite like a very long red stripe with a crescent moon and star close to the mast.
 * Group Commander : For group commanders, a red triangular pennant with one bomb (twenty pointed white star) is flown.
 * Regiment Commanders : For regiment commanders, a square red flag with an anchor in the middle is flown.
 * Commodores : A swallow-tailed red pennant with two bombs (one on the upper left corner, the other one below that) is flown.
 * Rear Admirals(LH) : A R.Adm. LH flies a square red flag with a bomb right at the center.
 * Rear Admirals(UH) : A square red flag with two bombs (aligned parallel to the mast and halfway through the flag) is flown for a R.Adm. UH
 * Vice Admirals: For Vice Admirals, a red square flag with three bombs (two of them aligned parallel to the mast and are close to it, the other one is on the further side, forming an equilateral triangle with the others) is flown.
 * Admirals: For the admiral who assumes command of the Turkish Fleet (Donanma), a red square flag with four bombs is flown.
 * Commander of the Naval Forces : For the Commander of the Naval Forces, a red square flag with four bombs and an anchor in the middle is flown.

Rates (insignia of category)
There are several major categories in the Navy for different professions. Insignia of category are worn right above the circle in the topmost stripe, both on the sleeve and the shoulder board. It is a small round patch with gold-coloured needlework. Line officers and admirals do not wear these patches. (Admirals with special circumstances (doctors and engineers) may wear them on their sleeves, but not shoulders)


 * Naval Infantry (Marines) : In the Turkish armed forces, marines are subordinates to the navy and wear the Navy's uniforms. Their patch consists of an anchor and two rifles crossing it.
 * Combat Engineer (Civil Engineer) : A combat engineer wears a patch with the portrayal of what seems to be a fortress, beyond the sea.
 * Supply : Supply officers wear a branch with three gold-coloured leaves.
 * Hydrography/Oceanography : These officers wear a patch which portrays a lighthouse, with two beams of light heading away from each other.
 * Medical Corps (Medical Doctors) : Doctors bear the Staff of Asclepius, a staff with a single snake entangled around it.
 * Pharmacists : Pharmacists wear the image of a cup, with a snake around it and a branch surrounding both.
 * Dentists : Dentists wear a staff with a branch around it.
 * Engineers : An engineer wears the image of a protractor and a pair of compasses beneath that.
 * Legal (Prosecutors/Judges) : Officers of this category wear a patch that includes a book laying open and a pair of scales behind that.
 * Instructors : Instructors wear a patch with a book laying open with a torch behind.
 * Band Musician : A band musician wears a patch with a musical harp.
 * Nurse : Officers from the Nurses’ Corps wear a single golden crescent with the corners pointed upwards.
 * Intelligence : The Intelligence patch consists of a golden circle with a cross in between; embroidered with arrows at each point the cross cuts the circle. Portrayed as if this Wheel was turning around its own axis.
 * Staff Officers : Staff officers, are the officers who assume command or important positions in other headquarters, with a specialty in military personnel and supplies management. They wear a single golden five-point star as their patch of category.

Petty officers (noncommissioned)
Petty officers (Astsubay) wear patches sewn with gold-coloured thread on their upper arms indicating their rank. Their patches include a crescent and star in the middle and hashmarks at the sides. The number of hashmarks depends on the ranks and varies from 2 to 7. Also very senior petty officers may wear two thin stripes on their sleeves as a mark of exceptional seniority.

The ranks of petty officers are as follows in ascending order.


 * Astsubay Çavuş (Petty Officer 3rd Class)
 * Astsubay Kıdemli Çavuş (Petty Officer 2nd Class)
 * Üstçavuş (Petty Officer 1st Class)
 * Kıdemli Üstçavuş (Chief Petty Officer)
 * Başçavuş (Senior Chief Petty Officer)
 * Kıdemli Başçavuş (Master Chief Petty Officer)
 * Kıdemli Kademeli Başçavuş (Senior Master Chief Petty Officer)

Petty officers also wear a patch of category above their star in rank patches.

Contracted Seamen
Contracted Seamen (Uzman Cavus), are people that have been employed on four year contracts because of need. They act as subordinates to all officers and petty officers. They wear a red crescent and star, with red hashmarks at each side indicating seniority. Here are their ranks in ascending order:


 * Uzman Onbaşı (Contracted Corporal)
 * Kademeli Uzman Onbaşı (Cont. Corp. 1st Class)
 * Uzman Çavuş (Contracted Sergeant)
 * Kademeli Uzman Çavuş (Cont. Serg. 1st Class)

Contracted seamen can also wear insignia of category (also red in color)

Seamen
Seamen are citizens carrying out the compulsory military service. In Turkey this service is recognized as a mission of citizenship and is carried out with great pride and honor. Their ranks are as follows (ascending order) :


 * Er (Private) (wears no rank insignia)
 * Onbaşı (Corporal) (Wears a single inverted chevron, red in color)
 * Çavuş (Sergeant) (Wears two inverted chevrons, red in color,also has higher rank than uzman onbasi)

Some seamen with specialties (chauffeurs, cooks, etc.) also wear rates.

Coast Guard
The Turkish Coast Guard are an independent branch of the Navy which acts under the command of the Interior Ministry. The Force's highest-ranking officer is a R.Adm. UH (Tümamiral). The coast guards wear the same rank and rate insignia as ordinary navy officers but with an orange thin arc-shaped stripe, with the words "Sahil Güvenlik" (Coast Guards) embroidered in black, worn on their upper right arm, close to the shoulder. Also, special pennants are flown for the senior officers of the Coast Guard.


 * Commander of the Coast Guard : For the Commander of the Coast Guard, a square orange coloured flag with a black stripe connecting the lower mast side and upper right corner of the flag, also bearing two bombs (one on the upper mast side, the other on the opposite corner) is flown.
 * Coast Guard Commander (Rank of Captain) : For these officers, a swallow tailed pennant with a horizontal black stripe across the flag, dividing it in two, also bearing a bomb on each side of the stripe, is flown.
 * Coast Guard School Commander : The Coast Guard School Commander has a square orange flag, with a white anchor in the center and a vertical black stripe just near the mast.
 * Coast Guard Group Commander : The Group Commander has a triangular orange pennant, with a black anchor in the middle.

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