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Yugoslavia Ranks, Insignia, and Uniforms
Ranks in the YPA were updated by the Army Law of 1 October
1982. According to that law, the YPA had five categories of
ranks, including general officers, senior officers, junior
officers, NCOs, and soldiers. The soldier and NCO ranks were
private first class, corporal, junior sergeant, sergeant,
sergeant first class, senior sergeant, senior sergeant first
class, warrant officer, and warrant officer first class. Privates
first class, corporals, and junior sergeants wore one, two, and
three red chevrons, respectively, on a background of olive-green,
blue-gray, or black--corresponding, respectively, to the ground
forces, air force, or navy. In the army and air force, sergeants,
sergeants first class, senior sergeants, and senior sergeants
first class wore single thin yellow-gold chevrons with one, two,
three, and four yellow-gold stars, respectively. Warrant officers
and warrant officers first class wore two yellow-gold chevrons
with one and two gold stars respectively.
The corresponding navy ranks were seaman apprentice, seaman,
and petty officer third class, indicated by one, two, and three
red chevrons, respectively. Petty officers second class wore one
red chevron and one red star. Petty officers first class, chief
petty officers, and master chief petty officers wore two, three,
and four yellow-gold chevrons and one yellow-gold star,
respectively. Warrant officers wore one broad and one narrow
yellow-gold chevron and one yellow-gold star. Warrant officers
first class wore a second narrow yellow-gold chevron.
Insignia for commissioned officers were worn on shoulder
boards in colors corresponding to their service branch: olivegreen for the ground forces, blue-gray for the air force, and
black for the navy. Shoulder boards were piped with single and
double yellow-gold braid, respectively, for junior and senior
officers of the army and air force. Shoulder boards of navy
officers were not piped. General officers of all three services
wore shoulder boards piped with twisted gold cord.
In the ground forces and air force, junior officer ranks were
junior lieutenant, lieutenant, captain, and captain first class.
Their shoulder boards had one, two, three, and four small yellowgold stars, respectively. Senior officer ranks were major,
lieutenant colonel, and colonel. Their shoulder boards bore one,
two, or three large yellow-gold stars respectively. General
officer ranks were major general, lieutenant colonel general,
colonel general, and army general. Army general officers wore a
crossed sword and cannon and air force general officers wore an
eagle set on a wreath and one, two, three, and four gold stars,
respectively. Tito was the only person to hold the rank of
marshal, and the position was abolished shortly after his death.
The corresponding navy officer ranks were junior lieutenant,
corvette lieutenant, frigate lieutenant, battleship lieutenant,
corvette captain, frigate captain, and battleship captain. The
rank of frigate captain, which had no equivalent in most Western
navies, fell between the ranks equivalent to commander and
captain. Junior and senior naval officers wore shoulder boards
with yellow-gold stripes and one yellow-gold star. In rank
sequence, their stripe configurations were one broad, one broad
and one narrow, two broad, two broad and one narrow, three broad,
three broad and one narrow, and four broad stripes.
Senior naval officer ranks were rear admiral, vice admiral,
admiral, and fleet admiral. Senior officers wore one broad band
and one, two, three, and four broad gold stripes, respectively,
each with one gold star on the shoulder boards. The shoulder
boards of the naval dress uniform were like those of the army and
air force (except that they showed an anchor instead of the
crossed swords of the army or the cannon and eagle of the air
force), with one, two, three, and four gold stars
(see fig. 18).
Soldiers and NCOs were issued uniforms. Soldiers had field
and service uniforms, while NCOs were authorized a dress uniform
as well. Because they held conscript or enlisted ranks, military
school cadets wore soldier's uniforms. Soldiers' winter and
summer uniforms were made of light or heavy wool and cotton in
olive-green, blue-gray, and black for army, air force, and navy,
respectively. Navy conscripts and enlisted men also had summer
white uniforms. All soldiers wore neckties of the same colors
except in summer, when the uniform shirt was worn with an open
collar.
There were several variations on the basic soldier's uniform.
Women's uniforms were of the same style as those for men, except
that a skirt was substituted for trousers. Airborne troops wore
an olive-green beret instead of the standard garrison or service
cap. The naval infantry wore distinctive blue and white sleeve
patches and black berets with anchor and wreath emblems. Mountain
troops wore distinctive stiff field caps with semi-rigid visors
and earflaps. They wore loose winter shirts under which
additional layers could be worn. The shirt itself had a lining
and a collar that could be turned up to cover the neck and chin.
The trousers worn by mountain troops extended just below the
knee, with a strap and buckle closure. Leather leggings, heavy
wool socks, and foul-weather capes also were worn by the mountain
troops.
Officers had to procure their own field, service, dress, and
full dress uniforms. They wore insignia on the lapels of the
field uniform shirts. The service uniform differed only in some
details from the basic dress uniform. The shirt buttons of the
dress uniform were yellow-gold instead of the service color. The
trousers, jackets, and overcoats were piped along the seams with
distinctive service colors, red for army, blue for air force, and
black for navy. The dress cap visor showed the same piping as the
officer's shoulder boards. The general officer's dress cap had a
chin strap of twisted gold cord. Other officers wore plain
plastic or leather chin straps. Full dress uniforms were blue and
were worn with a yellow-gold sash belt lined with the appropriate
service color. Cap emblems all included a red star with yellowgold rays, given distinctive configurations according to branch.
Air force officers had the red star perched on the wings of an
eagle with a sword clenched in its talons. Airborne officers had
the red star resting on a silver parachute against a blue
background. Cap emblems for general officers showed the same gold
wreath as the shoulder boards.
Data as of December 1990
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