Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill on the new military ranks of the sergeant and foremen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Now there will be no warrant officers no and midshipmen, but the ranks of master sergeant and master foreman will appear. The new law will create new motivation for citizens of Ukraine to undergo contract military service and will expand opportunities for career development.

New ranks

"This bill introduces NATO ranks for sergeants, officers, soldiers, and also normalizes their development in accordance with NATO standards and the challenges that our state now faces," said Mariyana Bezugla, MP from the Servant of the People, deputy head of the national security committee.

It launches new army ranks rank-and-file; senior soldier; lance sergeant; sergeant; staff sergeant; foreman; ensign; senior warrant officer. The bill changes this series to recruit; soldier; senior soldier; lance sergeant; sergeant; staff sergeant; first sergeant; staff sergeant master sergeant; senior master sergeant chief master sergeant.

It is proposed to change the ship ranks: there will be no more midshipmen, but there will be head foreman, master foreman, senior foreman, and chief foreman.

In addition, military chiefs are:

military personnel of sergeant and senior officers - for ordinary military personnel of the same military unit;

military officers of the junior officer staff - for the military personnel of the junior sergeant and senior officers of the same military unit and ordinary military personnel;

majors, captains of the 3rd rank, lieutenant colonels, captains of the 2nd rank - for the military men of ordinary, junior and senior sergeant and elders;

colonels, captains of the 1st rank, major generals, rear admirals, lieutenant generals, vice admirals - for military men of ordinary, sergeant and senior officers and junior officers;

colonel-generals, admirals - for military personnel of ordinary, sergeant and senior officers, junior and senior officers;

generals of Ukrainian army - for soldiers, sergeants and officers, junior and senior officers, major generals, rear admirals, lieutenant generals, vice admirals, colonel generals, admirals.

What does it change?

The new law increases the role of sergeant and foremen in the training and education of subordinate personnel and in fulfilling their intended tasks. In addition, the law provides for changing the name "regiment" to "brigade" and, accordingly, the regiment commander will be the brigade commander. In peacetime and wartime, the chief sergeant of the brigade is responsible for providing the commander of the brigade with information and suggestions regarding military service.

According to the law, when addressing the Minister of Defense of Ukraine and his deputies, who are civilians, a soldier calls their position by adding the word "pan (pani)" (mister, missis) before the name of the post.

The new law has created additional motivational factors for the citizens of Ukraine to undergo contract military service. The thing is that previously the role of the sergeant in the military ranks ended at the senior ensign level. And with the adoption of the new law, the military will have more opportunities for career development.

"Master sergeant" will be replaced with the title "senior ensign", it would belong to those who are in the positions of the main foremen of military units - in a separate battalion, regiment, and brigade. Senior master sergeants will be in operational command, air command, command of the marine corps, as well as in other bodies of military command. That is, the title is higher than the level of the brigade so that there is motivation to get a higher position.

In addition, according to current legislation, each subsequent rank for sergeant-senior officers might be obtained in a year.

“NATO countries have clearly defined periods between military ranks, minimum and maximum periods of stay in military rank. For example, a soldier must spend at least 3 years old in the military rank before becoming a senior soldier. There are also maximum periods (not more than ten years). If in ten years a soldier has not become a senior soldier, he is considered hopeless, does not advance in service, receives a warning, and if nothing changes, then he will be fired after a year. If we begin to introduce military ranks, we will establish the minimum and maximum terms of office with the appropriate military rank. This is important to start the mechanism of personnel management," Oleksandr Kosynsky, foreman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said.

Outcomes

The adoption of the new law will improve the procedure for fulfilling military duty by Ukrainian citizens, implement the introduction of new military ranks of sergeants and officers of the Armed Forces, ensuring their compliance with NATO standards, increase the role of sergeants and officers of the Armed Forces in the training and education of subordinate personnel and in the preparation and implementation of tasks as intended, it will create additional motivational factors for the citizens of Ukraine to perform military service under the contract and will facilitate the transition of the Armed Forces on a professional basis, modeled on a Western European army.