British Armed Forces Commander-in-chief is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, to whom members of the forces swear allegiance. The UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the British Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines among with all other forces do not require this act. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, headed by the Secretary of State for Defence. The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear powers, is
Officer (armed forces) Officer (armed forces) An officer is a member of an armed forces or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In its broadest sense, the term "officer" refers to non-commissioned officers and warrant officers. However, when used without further detail, the term almost always refers to "commissioned officers", the more senior portion of a force who derive their authority from a commission from the head of state. The proportion of officers varies greatly. Commissioned officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel. In 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British