Senior colonel Senior colonel Senior colonel is an army officer rank placed between a regular colonel and a major general. The rank typically exists in militaries that do not maintain a rank of brigadier general or brigadier. In Nazi Germany, a rank equivalent to senior colonel, "Oberführer", was used by both the SA and SS. In the branches of the "Allgemeine SS" (General SS) and "Waffen-SS" (Armed SS) the rank of "Oberführer" was widely used. The rank did not exist in the army ("Heer"), although the "Kriegsmarine" (navy) maintained the equivalent rank of "Kommodore". After World War II, armies in Asia, especially
Colonel Colonel Colonel ( "kernel", abbreviated Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank below the brigadier and general officer ranks. However, in some small military forces, such as those of Monaco or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. Historically, in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army. Modern usage varies greatly, and in some cases the term is used as an honorific title that may have no direct relationship to military service. The rank of