Colonel (United Kingdom)

Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond-shaped pips (properly called "Bath Stars") below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; the current Queen's reign has used St Edward's Crown. The rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force.

Etymology

The rank of colonel was popularized by the tercios that were employed in the Spanish Army during the 16th and 17th centuries. General Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba divided his troops in to coronelías (meaning "column of soldiers" from the Latin, columnella or "small column")). These units were led by a coronel. This command structure and its titles were soon adopted as colonello in early modern Italian and in Middle French as coronel.

Colonel

Colonel (abbreviated Col., Col or COL and pronounced /ˈkɜːrnəl/, similar to "kernel") is a senior military officer rank below the general officer ranks. However, in some small military forces, such as those of Iceland or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.

Historically, in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army. Modern usage varies greatly.

The rank of colonel is typically above the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank above colonel is typically called brigadier, brigade general or brigadier general.

Equivalent naval ranks may be called captain or ship-of-the-line captain. In the Commonwealth air force rank system, the equivalent rank is group captain.

History and origins

The word "colonel" derives from the same root as the word "column" (Italian: colonna) and means "of a column", and, by implication, "commander of a column". The word "colonel" is therefore linked to the word "column" in a similar way that "brigadier" is linked to "brigade", although in English this relationship is not immediately obvious. By the end of the late medieval period, a group of "companies" was referred to as a "column" of an army.

Colonel (disambiguation)

Colonel is a military rank.

Colonel or Colonels may also refer to one of the following:

See also

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, colonel (pronounced "ker-nul") is the most senior field grade military officer rank immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and immediately below the rank of brigadier general. It is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. The pay grade for colonel is O-6.

The insignia of the rank of colonel, as seen on the right, is worn on the officer's left side (a mirror-image version is worn on the right side, such that the eagle always faces forward to the wearer's front; the left-side version is also worn centered on fatigue caps, helmets, ACU & ECWCS breasts, inter alia).

Insignia

The insignia for a colonel is a silver eagle which is a stylized representation of the eagle dominating the Great Seal of the United States (which is the coat of arms of the United States). As on the Great Seal, the eagle has a U.S. shield superimposed on its chest and is holding an olive branch and bundle of arrows in its talons. However, in simplification of the Great Seal image, the insignia lacks the scroll in the eagle's mouth and the rosette above its head. On the Great Seal, the olive branch is always clutched in the eagle's right-side talons, while the bundle of arrows is always clutched in the left-side talons. The head of the eagle faces towards the olive branch, rather than the arrows, advocating peace rather than war. As a result, the head of the eagle always faces towards the viewer's left. During World War II the military insignia for the rank of Colonel changed somewhat with the eagle facing the arrows. This was done only during war years. These special "war eagles," although rare, can sometimes be found in military surplus or memorabilia sales.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign state in the European Union. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of "Great Britain" (a term also applied loosely to refer to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands.Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-southwest. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 93,800 square miles (243,000 km²), the UK is the 80th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also is the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 64.5 million inhabitants.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. Its capital city is London, an important global city and financial centre with an urban population of 10,310,000, the fourth-largest in Europe and second-largest in the European Union. The current monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II. The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The latter three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, respectively. The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.

U.K. (album)

U.K. is the self-titled debut album by the progressive rock supergroup U.K., released in 1978 through E.G. Records and Polydor Records. It features John Wetton, Eddie Jobson, Bill Bruford, and Allan Holdsworth. "In the Dead of Night" and "Mental Medication" were both edited for single release.

In 2015 Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the 30th best progressive rock album of all time.

Track listing

Side one

Side two

All lyrics by John Wetton, except "Mental Medication" by Bill Bruford. Note: The first three tracks belong to a suite entitled "In the Dead of Night."

U.K. (band)

U.K. are a British progressive rock supergroup originally active from 1977 until 1980. The band was composed of singer/bassist John Wetton (formerly of King Crimson, Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry's band and Uriah Heep), keyboardist/electric violinist Eddie Jobson (formerly of Curved Air, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa's band), guitarist Allan Holdsworth (formerly of Tempest, Soft Machine, The New Tony Williams Lifetime and Gong) and drummer Bill Bruford (formerly a full member of Yes and King Crimson, and also a tour drummer for Genesis), later replaced by drummer Terry Bozzio (formerly of Frank Zappa's band). UK reformed with John Wetton, Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio for a world tour in 2012.

History

Formation and first album

Singer/bassist John Wetton and drummer Bill Bruford had worked together in King Crimson from 1972-4, when guitarist Robert Fripp disbanded the group. In July 1976, Bruford assisted Wetton on demos for a proposed solo album by the latter (a couple of these demos were later released on Monkey Business). In September 1976, they worked on forming a band with keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who had previously worked with Bruford in Yes. The project was stopped by Wakeman's label. According to Bruford, "A&M Records were unwilling to let their 'star,' Wakeman, walk off with a used, slightly soiled King Crimson rhythm section, and the idea failed."