Army Council (1904) practice, however, a huge amount of influence was retained by the exceedingly conservative C-in-C Field Marshal Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge, who held the post between 1856–1895. His resistance to reform caused military efficiency to lag well behind Britain's rivals, a problem which became painfully obvious during the Second Boer War. The situation was only remedied in 1904 when the post of Commander-in-Chief was abolished and replaced with that of the Chief of the General Staff. An Army Council was created along similar lines to the Board of Admiralty, chaired by the Secretary of State for War, and an
Ranks in the French Army the rank of "commandant" in the French army. Etymologically the "adjudant" is the "adjoint" ("joint (assistant)") of an officer, and the sergeant "serves" (Latin: serviens = English: servant). "Aspirants" are cadet officers still in training. "Sous-lieutenants" are junior officers and are often aided by "adjudants" or "adjudants-chefs", who are experienced NCOs/warrant officers. Full "lieutenants" are experienced junior officers, served by sergeants when commanding their unit. A four chevron "sergent-chef-major" rank existed until 1947. It was a ceremonial rank usually given to the most senior or experienced NCO in a unit, similar to a colour sergeant in the British Army. It