Rear Admiral

From Freepedia

Rear Admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank that originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. Each Naval Squadron would be assigned an Admiral as its head, who would command from the centre vessel and direct the activities of the squadron. The Admiral would in turn be assisted by a Vice, or Vice Admiral, who commanded the lead ships which would bear the brunt of a naval assault.

In the rear of the Naval Squadron, a third Admiral would command the remaining ships and, as this section of the squadron was considered the least dangerous, the Admiral in command of the rear would typically be the most junior of the squadron Admirals. This has survived into the modern age, with the rank of Rear Admiral the first and junior-most of the Admiralty ranks.

In the United States Navy, the rank of Rear Admiral is divided into two grades, being that of the Upper and Lower Half. This practice began in the late 19th century, when Rear Admirals would be assigned a senority on the Admiralty promotion list. Those on the upper half of the list would receive a higher rate of pay, even though all Rear Admirals were considered the same rank.

When the United States Navy abolished the rank of Commodore, Rear Admirals on the lower half of the promotion list assumed duties of one star admirals, although until the 1980s all Rear Admirals still wore two stars as their badge of rank. Since then, Rear Admirals Lower Half wear one star while Rear Admirals Upper Half wear two; verbal address remains "Rear Admiral" for both ranks. On correspondence, where the Rear Admiral's rank is spelled out, an (LH) and (UH) follows the Rear Admiral's rank title to distinguish between one and two stars. The military abbreviations for the ranks are RDML (one star) and RADM (two stars).

In some European navies, the rank of Rear Admiral is known as Counter Admiral.

Other uses of the term

"rear admiral" is also medical slang for a proctologist.

Image:Us flag large.png U.S. commissioned officer ranks
	Student Officer	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11 (wartime only)	Special Grade
United States Navy:	MIDN/OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM	Admiral of the Navy
United States Marine Corps:	Midn	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)
United States Army:	Cdt	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	General of the Army	General of the Armies
United States Air Force:	Cadet	2nd Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	General of the Air Force	(no equivalent)
United States Coast Guard:	CDT	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	(no equivalent)	(no equivalent)

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Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British officer ranks
	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 - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt	OD	2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	Field Marshal
Royal Air Force:	OCdt	OD	PO - FO	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	ACdre	AVM	AM	ACM	MRAF