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Spain Uniforms, Ranks, and Insignia
Service uniforms for officers of all military services
consisted of a blouse, shirt, tie, pants, black socks, and
black
shoes. Service uniforms for army and air force officers
were
similar in style, in that both were single-breasted and
had four
patch pockets, but different in color--olive green for the
army
and blue for the air force. The navy had a white and navy
blue
service uniform. Uniforms for enlisted personnel were more
simply
tailored, and they were made from heavier, longer wearing
fabric.
The army's enlisted personnel uniform jacket was similar
to that
worn by officers, but it lacked the lower patch pockets.
Air
force enlisted personnel wore waist-length jackets similar
to
those worn by officers. Navy enlisted personnel wore the
conventional blues and whites. The military's field
uniform
consisted of an olive green fatigue jacket, a shirt,
trousers, a
belt with vertical shoulder suspenders, a field cap and/or
a
helmet, and combat boots. Additional field uniforms for
special
forces included winter and summer camouflage uniforms.
Ranks in all three military services generally
corresponded
to those in the armed forces of the United States. Each of
the
three services had ten officer ranks, ranging from the
equivalent
of second lieutenant in the army and the air force and
ensign in
the navy to general of the army, general of the air force,
and
fleet admiral. The only difference between the two
countries'
officer rank structures was that Spain had only four,
rather than
five, general officer ranks. The highest actual rank held
by a
general officer was that of three stars. Only the king, as
supreme commander, held the four-star rank of captain
general.
Spain had eight enlisted grades for the army and the air
force
(as opposed to nine in the United States), ranging from
basic
private and airman basic to command sergeant major and
chief
master sergeant, respectively. Spain lacked an equivalent
for the
United States army grade of sergeant first class/master
sergeant
or its air force grade of master sergeant. The Spanish
navy had
only seven enlisted grades, ranging from seaman apprentice
to
master chief petty officer. It lacked an equivalent for
the
United States grades of seaman recruit and chief petty
officer.
Insignia of rank for Spanish military personnel were
displayed on sleeves or shoulder boards and, in some
cases, on
headgear. Officer rank insignia were the same for the army
and
air force (a varying number and type of symbols in gold).
Naval
officer ranks were usually distinguishable by gold stripes
worn
on sleeves or shoulder boards
(see
fig. 16). Enlisted
personnel
ranks were designated by stripes: red for army private and
private first class as well as for navy seaman and seaman
apprentice; green (on shoulder boards) for air force
airman first
class; and gold for all other enlisted ranks including
warrant
officers, but on different colored backgrounds depending
on the
service (red background for army, blue for navy, and green
for
air force). In addition, army and air force warrant
officers wore
a single five-pointed star on service background; the
naval
warrant officer was identified by a single short
horizontal
stripe
(see
fig. 17).
Data as of December 1988
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