Nicaragua military ranks

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The Military ranks of Nicaragua are the military insignia used by the Nicaraguan Armed Forces.

Current ranks[edit]

Commissioned officer ranks[edit]

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
 Nicaraguan Army[1]
Army general Major General Brigade General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Lieutenant
General de ejército Mayor general General de brigada Coronel Teniente coronel Mayor Capitán Teniente primero Teniente


 Nicaraguan Navy[1]
Contralmirante Capitán de navío Capitán de fragata Capitán de corbeta Teniente de navío Teniente de fragata Teniente de corbeta Alférez


 Nicaraguan Air Force[1]
Army general Major General Brigade General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Lieutenant
General de ejército Mayor general General de brigada Coronel Teniente coronel Mayor Capitán Teniente primero Teniente


Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet

Other ranks[edit]

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
 Nicaraguan Army[1]
No insignia
Suboficial primero Suboficial segundo Suboficial Sargento primero Sargento segundo Sargento tercero Soldado de primera Soldado


 Nicaraguan Navy[1]
No insignia
Sargento primero Sargento segundo Sargento tercero Marino de primera Marino


 Nicaraguan Air Force[1]
No insignia
Suboficial primero Suboficial segundo Suboficial Sargento primero Sargento segundo Sargento tercero Soldado de primera Soldado


Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted

Historic ranks[edit]

The Nicaraguan National Guard rank chart was directly inspired by the US Army,[2] with chevrons pointed upwards for NCOs, horizontal linked brass bars for company officers and vertically placed gilded or silvered stars for field officers. The sequence however was slightly different, with Sergeants' ranks being limited to two only; Captains were identified by three bars instead of two as per in the US Armed Services, whilst Majors had a five-point gilded star in lieu of a leaf. National Guard rank insignia from Subteniente to Coronel resembled a US antecedent—but that of the Confederate States Army. There were also some differences in colour and nomenclature according to the branches of service: Ground Forces' NCOs had yellow on dark-green chevrons, the Air Force personnel wore white on royal blue ground forces' rank insignia whilst the Navy's Seamen and Petty Officers' ranks were identical to the other branches of the Guardia, but Line Officers had US Navy-style rank insignia on removable navy blue shoulder boards instead.

Guardia ranks (Ground Forces and National Police)[edit]

Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
Ground Forces and National Police[3] Major General Brigade General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Lieutenant
General de División
(Director-Jefe de la Guardia Nacional)
General de brigada Coronel Teniente coronel Mayor Capitán Teniente Subteniente
Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
Ground Forces and National Police No insignia
Sargento primero Sargento segundo Cabo Soldado de primera Soldado

Air Force ranks[edit]

Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
Air Force of the National Guard Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Lieutenant
Coronel piloto aviador Teniente coronel piloto aviador Mayor piloto aviador Capitán piloto aviador Teniente piloto aviador Subteniente piloto aviador
Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
Air Force of the National Guard No insignia
Sargento primero Sargento segundo Cabo Soldado de primera Soldado

Navy ranks[edit]

  • SoldadoSeaman (no insignia)
  • Soldado de primeraAble seaman (one pointed chevron)
  • CaboSeaman 1st class (two pointed chevrons)
  • Sargento SegundoPetty officer, 2nd class (three pointed chevrons)
  • Sargento PrimeroChief petty officer (three pointed chevrons above one arc)
  • AlférezEnsign (one five-pointed star above one narrow bar)
  • Teniente de CorbetaLieutenant junior grade (one five-pointed star above one bar)
  • Teniente de FragataSenior lieutenant (one five-pointed star above one narrow and one wider bars)
  • Teniente de NavíoLieutenant (one five-pointed star above two bars)
  • Capitán de CorbetaLieutenant commander (one five-pointed star above one narrow between two wider bars)
  • Capitán de FragataCommander (one five-pointed star above three bars)
  • Capitán de NavíoCaptain (one five-pointed star above four bars)
  • Contra AlmiranteCommodore (one five-pointed star above one very wide bar)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Insignias de Grados Militares". ejercito.mil.ni (in Spanish). Nicaraguan Armed Forces. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  2. ^ Caballero Jurado & Thomas, Central American Wars 1959–89 (1990), p. 44.
  3. ^ Bunkley, Joel William (1943). Military And Naval Recognition Book: A Handbook On The Organization, Uniforms And Insignia Of Rank Of The World's Armed Forces; Etiquette And Customs Of The American Services (4th ed.). New York: D. Van Nostrand Company. pp. 406–407. Retrieved 29 June 2022.

External links[edit]

  • Tartter, Jean R. (1994). "National Security". In Merrill, Tim (ed.). Nicaragua: a country study. Area Handbook (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 210. LCCN 94021664. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  • "Nicaragua". uniforminsignia.org. The International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia. Retrieved 21 October 2021.