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'Colonel' (pronounced ''kernel'') is a rank of the United States armed forces. Colonel ranks above a Lieutenant Colonel and below a Brigadier General and holds the pay grade of O-6. The insignia for a Colonel is a silver eagle with a U.S. shield superimposed on its chest and holding an olive branch and bundle of arrows in its talons. The eagle lead to the informal term "full-bird colonel". The rank is used by the Army, Marines, and the Air Force. The equivalent in the Navy or Coast Guard is Captain.

Contents

Origins

19th century Colonels

20th century Colonels

Modern rank

Honorary colonels

Famous American Colonels

Origins

The United States rank of Colonel is a direct successor to the same rank in the British Army. The first Colonels in America were appointed from Colonial militias maintained as reserves to the British Army in the American colonies. Upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, the rank of Colonel could be appointed by a Colonial legislature, where a person would be given a commission to raise a regiment and serve as its Colonel. Thus, the first American Colonels were usually respected men with ties in local communities and active in politics. Such was the origin of the term "soldier and statesman".
The first insignia for the rank of Colonel consisted of gold shoulder boards worn on the blue uniform of the Continental Army. The first recorded use of the eagle insignia was in 1805 as this insignia was made official in uniform regulations by 1810.

19th century Colonels

The rank of Colonel was relatively rare in the early 19th century, due in part that the United States Army was very small in size and the rank of Colonel was usually obtained only after long years of service. During the War of 1812, many temporary Colonels were appointed but these commissions were either considered brevet ranks or the commissions were canceled at the war’s conclusion.


The American Civil War saw a large influx of Colonels as the rank was commonly held in both the Confederate Army and Union Army by those who commanded a regiment. Since most regiments were state formations and were quickly raised, the Colonels in command were known by the title “Colonel of Volunteers”, in contrast to Regular Army Colonels who held ranks from the “old school” of the professional army before the Civil War.
During the Civil War, the Confederate Army maintained a unique insignia for Colonel being that of three stars worn on the collar of a uniform. Robert E. Lee wore this insignia in respect to his former rank in the United States Army. Lee refused to wear the insignia of a Confederate General, stating that he would only accept permanent promotion when the South had achieved independence.
After the Civil War, the rank of Colonel again became rare as the forces of the United States Army became extremely small in number. Many Brevet Colonels appeared during the Spanish American War, chief among them Theodore Roosevelt.

20th century Colonels

The First and Second World Wars saw the largest numbers of Colonels ever appointed in the United States armed forces. This was mostly due to the temporary ranks of the National Army and the Army of the United States, where those who would normally hold the rank of Captain in the peacetime Regular Army were thrust into the rank of Colonel during these two wars.
It was also during the First World War that a tradition developed in that Colonels would wear the eagle insignia with the head pointing outwards from the neck as if to “face the enemy”. This was in contrast to the Army uniform regulations of the time, which stated that the eagle would be worn on the left collar, with the beak of the eagle facing inwards towards the wearer’s neck. Photographic evidence and service records from the Military Personnel Records Center indicate that this tradition lasted into the Second World War, after which time more strict uniform regulations prevented Colonels from reversing the insignia in this fashion. The United States Navy, however, also picked up on this tradition and Midshipmen today are taught that during times of war Navy Captains will reverse their collar insignia (which is the same eagle insignia as that of Colonel) in order to have the eagle facing the enemies of the United States.
By the end of the Korean War, appointments to the rank of Colonel were standardized to be granted after roughly 16-18 years of service in the military, however temporary Colonel appointments continued well into the Vietnam War. The last temporary appointments to the rank of Colonel occurred in the late 1970s; since then all Colonels have received permanent appointments upon promotion. Currently, an officer reaches the rank of colonel after about 24 years of military service.

Modern rank

Modern American colonels usually command infantry brigades, USAF groups or wings, and USMC regiments. An Army colonel typically commands brigade-sized units (3,000 to 5,000 Soldiers), with a Command Sergeant Major as principal Non-Commissioned Officer assistant. An Air Force colonel typically commands a wing consisting of several thousand people with a Command Chief Master Sergeant as principal NCO advisor. Colonels are also found as the chief of staff at divisional level-(Army) or Numbered Air Force-level staff agencies.
In the modern United States armed forces, the Colonel's eagle is worn facing inwards with head and beak pointing towards the wearer's neck. Of all US Military commissioned officer rank, only the Colonel's eagle has a distinct right and left insignia. All other commissioned officer rank insignia can be worn on either the right or left side.
Colonels are sometimes referred to (but not addressed) as "full-bird" or "O-6" (which is their pay grade) in order to differentiate between Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels, since Lieutenant Colonels are also referred to and addressed as simply "Colonel". A colonel(P), is a full colonel that has been selected for promotion to brigadier general, but the effective date of promotion has not yet arrived.

Honorary colonels

Some people known as "colonels" are actually recipients of honorary colonel ranks from a state governor and are not military officers. Famous honorary colonels include Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC fame, a Kentucky colonel; Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's manager, who received the honor from a Louisiana governor; and Edward M. House, known as "Colonel House," a Texas honorary colonel and adviser to President Woodrow Wilson.

Famous American Colonels

★ Wesley L. Fox - United States Marine Corps recipient of the Medal of Honor

★ John Glenn - Marine Corps aviator, Astronaut, and U.S. Senator

★ Ambrosio José Gonzales - Cuban born, served with CSA

★ Theodore Roosevelt - 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment

★ Robert Gould Shaw - Commander of the first African American Army Regiment

★ Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin - Second man to step on the moon

★ David Hackworth - Served in Korea and Vietnam, an author and military media consultant. Formerly the highest decorated living soldier.

★ Jeff Cooper - WWII and Korean War veteran and "The Father of Modern Shooting"