Colonel

Colonel insignia
File:US colonel.png
United States armed forces
File:Tal shiar colonel.png
Romulan, Tal Shiar
File:Bajoran colonel 2370.png File:Bajoran colonel 2375.png
Bajoran Militia (2370 & 2375)
File:CS colonel.png
Confederate Army
File:Nazi colonel.png File:Nazi colonel epaulet.png
World War II-era Germany & Ekos (collar patch and shoulderboard)

Colonel (pronounced KUR-nal) is a military rank, the equivalent of which is used by the service organizations of many civilizations. As a traditional grade, colonel is the most senior line officer rank of a fighting organization, below the flag rank of general and senior to the rank of major. In comparison to naval ranking systems, this rank is equivalent to the naval captain rank, the Romulan Star Empire's commander grade, the Ferengi Alliance's daimon, or the Cardassian Union's title of gul. A colonel commands a brigade, an army unit consisting of a variable number (but not less than two) regiments.

Some rank systems have an additional grade, lieutenant colonel, which falls between colonel and major.

In Starfleet, a colonel named West was in charge of a military briefing to the Federation President. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Colonel West however, wore a the uniform of a Starfleet flag grade officer. The thin gold piping on the chest flap of his uniform suggests that he was senior to an ordinary Starfleet Captain. It is possible that here the rank was intended to be an abbreviation for colonel general, a rank used in some armed forces and falling between a lieutenant general and general.

This grade exists in some form in many cultures' rank arrangements, such as the Klingon Defense Force, and the United States armed forces of Earth. The US insignia for a colonel is a silver rank pin or embroidery shaped like a stylized eagle, holding olive branches in one claw and arrows in the other. The Union Army of the US Civil War had colonel's insignia displayed on two epaulet shoulder straps with colored backgrounds, while later US forces would wear the insignia on the collar or epaulet without a background field. The 19th century version had the eagle's beak facing the side he held his arrows (the so-called "war eagle"), while the 20th century revision (shown) had the beak facing the side holding the olive branches.

Col. Thaddius Riker was not seen wearing his uniform insignia, but as an infantry colonel, his eagles would have been on a field of medium blue.

In the Confederate Army during the US Civil War, a colonel would wear three five-pointed stars on either side of his collar. (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")

In the German armed forces of World War II, colonels wore a single oak leaf insignia on their collar patch, and two metal pips on their shoulder boards. Translated into German as Oberst, colonels of the SS were referred to by the title Standartenführer. (TOS:"Patterns of Force;" VOY:"The Killing Game, Part I")

In the Bajoran Militia, a colonel wears a silver Bajoran insignia pin on the collar. (DS9 Season 6-Season 7)

In the Romulan Tal Shiar organization, a colonel wears a collar insignia of a gold triangle with two crescents lined up against it. (DS9:"The Die is Cast")

Noted Colonel Officers

• Colonel Jim Bowie (Earth, Texas Militia)
• Colonel Shaun Geoffrey Christopher (Earth -- affiliation unclear)
• Colonel Davy Crockett (Earth, Tennessee Militia & Texas Militia)
• Colonel Day Kannu (Bajoran Militia)
• Colonel Grat (Tandaran Military)
• Colonel Green (Earth -- affiliation unclear)
• Colonel Anastasia Komananov (Earth, KGB)
• Colonel Kira Nerys (Bajoran Militia)
• Colonel Lenaris Holem (Bajoran Militia)
• Colonel Lovok (Tal Shiar)
• Colonel Q (Q Continuum, illusionary Confederate Army)
• Colonel Stephen Richey (Earth, NASA)
• Colonel Thaddius Riker (Earth, Union Army)
• Colonel West (Starfleet)
• Colonel Worf (Klingon Empire, Judge Advocate General Corps)

This chart shows only general equivalencies based on the ranks used by many governments on Earth, as well as the rest of the galaxy.