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Lieutenant Commander (Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies superior to a Lieutenant and subordinate to a Commander. The corresponding rank in most armies, marine corps and air forces is Major, and in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces is Squadron Leader.

A Lieutenant Commander is a senior department officer on a large ship or shore installation. They may also be commanding officer or executive officer (second-in-command) of a smaller ship or installation.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Royal Navy 3 United States Navy and Coast Guard 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Origins

Unlike similarly-named military ranks (e.g. Lieutenant Colonel, Lieutenant General), the "lieutenant" in the title does not indicate a deputy or junior grade of Commander, but a senior grade of Lieutenant. Lieutenants were commonly put in command of smaller vessels not warranting a Commander or Captain: such a Lieutenant was called a "Lieutenant Commanding" or "Lieutenant Commandant" in the United States Navy, and a "Lieutenant in Command" or "Lieutenant and Commander" in the Royal Navy. The USN settled on "Lieutenant Commander" in 1862, and made it a distinct rank; the RN followed suit in March 1914.

[edit] Royal Navy

The insignia worn by a Royal Navy Lieutenant-Commander (Lt Cdr) is two medium gold braid stripes with one thin gold stripe running in between, placed upon a navy blue/black background. The top stripe has the ubiquitous loop used in all RN officer rank insignia. The RAF follows this pattern with its equivalent rank of Squadron Leader.

Having fewer officer ranks than the army, the RN previously split some of its ranks by seniority (time in rank) to provide equivalence: hence a Lieutenant with fewer than eight years' seniority wore two stripes, and ranked with an army Captain; a Lieutenant of eight years or more wore two stripes with a thinner one in between, and ranked with a Major. This distinction was abolished when the rank of Lieutenant-Commander was introduced, the new rank taking the insignia and army equivalence of a senior Lieutenant.

Similar insignia is worn by Lieutenant-Commanders in other Commonwealth navies, such as the Royal Australian Navy (which uses the abbreviation "LCDR"), the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (formerly the Royal Canadian Navy; which uses the abbreviation "LCdr").

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:	O/C	Mid	SLt		Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Adm of the Fleet
Royal Marines:	OCdt		2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt		2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	FM
Royal Air Force:	OC / SO		APO / PO	Fg Off	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	ACdre	AVM	AM	ACM	MRAF

[edit] United States Navy and Coast Guard

The rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) is used in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard. The pay grade of this rank is O-4.

Until achieving the rank of Commander, it is customary to address junior naval officers as "Mister." For example, LCDR Rogers might be addressed as "Mister Rogers," or as "Commander Rogers."

While the gold oak leaf collar insignia worn by United States Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps Majors are also worn by USN Lieutenant Commanders, they also wear on various uniforms the two medium and one narrow sleeve and shoulder braid stripe insignia like their counterparts in the Royal Navy, though with a specialty insignia instead of a loop. In this illustration, the inverted star of a line officer is used.

Image:Flag of the United States.svg 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/OC	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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[edit] See also

• Military unit
• Comparative Military Ranks
• U.S. Navy Officer Rank Insignia

[edit] References

da:Orlogskaptajn

de:Lieutenant Commander fr:Capitaine de corvette it:Capitano di Corvetta