Pilot Officer
From Freepedia
Pilot Officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries, ranking only above Acting Pilot Officer (or APO) and Officer Cadet. It ranks immediately below Flying Officer. It normally denotes a Officer who has elected to join as a non-graduate direct entrant Officer, as those with Degrees, usually only serve a week at the rank after graduation from the RAF College Cranwell.
It has a NATO ranking code of OF-1 and is equivalent to a Second Lieutenant in the British Army or the Royal Marines. The Royal Navy has no exactly equivalent rank, and a Pilot Officer is senior to a Royal Navy Midshipman but junior to a Sub-Lieutenant.
The rank insignia consists of a thin blue band on slightly wider black band. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform.
See also
| Student Officer | OF(D) | OF-1 | OF-2 | OF-3 | OF-4 | OF-5 | OF-6 | OF-7 | OF-8 | OF-9 | OF-10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Navy: | OCdt | Mid | SLt | Lt | Lt Cdr | Cdr | Capt | Cdre | RAdm | VAdm | Adm | Admiral of the Fleet |
| Royal Marines: | OCdt | 2Lt - | Capt | Maj | Lt Col | Col | Brig | Maj Gen | Lt Gen | Gen | ||
| Army: | OCdt | OD | 2Lt - | Capt | Maj | Lt Col | Col | Brig | Maj Gen | Lt Gen | Gen | Field Marshal |
| Royal Air Force: | OCdt | OD | PO - | Flt Lt | Sqn Ldr | Wg Cdr | Gp Capt | ACdre | AVM | AM | ACM | MRAF |
Other Air Forces
The rank of Pilot Officer holds the same position in a number of the Air Forces in the Commonwealth of Nations, including the Indian Air Force (IAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).
Air Forces with British heritage, such as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), also use a similar rank structure to these Air Forces.
