Lieutenant Colonel

(Redirected from Överste-Löjtnant)
Inner Sphere Military Ranks
Field Officer
General Officer
For specific ranks see Military Ranks

A Lieutenant Colonel is usually the executive officer of a regiment of ground troops or the Executive Officer of a DropShip, JumpShip, or WarShip.


The first Star League did not use this rank; Majors were promoted directly to Colonels (or Commodore if a member of the Star League Navy).

Lyran Commonwealth and Lyran Alliance[edit]

In the LCAF and LAAF a Leutnant-Colonel is the first of the "senior officer" ranks, and is typically the second in command of a regiment of ground forces. The Leutnant-Colonel is responsible for information gathering, intelligence, supply, and equipping the entire regiment.[1]

Though this rank's duties may seem to overlap with those of the Hauptmann-Kommandant, in reality the Leutant-Colonel has a much better understanding of the strategic situation and can take command of regimental sized forces.

LAAF Military Rank Insignia
Rank Insignia

Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery[edit]

In the DCMS a Lieutenant Colonel is called a Chu-sa. Like other Inner Sphere militaries, they command battalions of troops. In the Draconis Combine Admiralty, the equivalent rank is Sho-sa. As their symbol of rank they wear an apple green katakana numeral 2.[2]

DCMS Officer Ranks by branch of service
Rank MechWarrior AeroSpace Fighter Infantry Armor Artillery Naval Crew Technical
(Lieutenant Colonel)
Chusa-mech.png Chusa-asf.png Chusa-infantry.png Chusa-armor.png Chusa-artillery.png Chusa-naval.png Chusa-tech.png

Armed Forces of the Federated Suns[edit]

This is the AFFS equivalent to the Lieutenant Colonel rank used by other militaries. The Leftenant Colonel is usually the executive officer and second in command of a regiment of ground forces. The Leftenant Colonel handles most of the daily administrative chores of the regiment so the commanding Colonel has more time to formulate regimental strategy. The equivalent rank in the AFFS Navy is Light Commodore[3]. These officers command DropShips or Assault ships.[4]

Leftenant Colonels and Light Commodores wear an epaulette with one broad band and one narrow band as their rank insignia.

AFFS Leftenant Colonel (Light Commodore) rank insignia by branch of service
Rank MechWarrior AeroSpace Fighter Infantry Armor Naval Crew Technical
Administrative Medical Legal Logistics/
Leftenant Colonel
(Light Commodore)
LeftenantColonelMW.png LeftenantColonelASF.png LeftenantColonelInf.png LeftenantColonelarmor.png LeftenantColonelnaval.png LeftenantColoneltech.png LeftenantColoneladmin.png LeftenantColonelmedical.png LeftenantColonellegal.png LeftenantColonellogistics.png

Capellan Confederation Armed Forces[edit]

After Sun-Tzu Liao became Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation, he created a new rank system for the CCAF as part of his Xin Sheng movement. Officers who hold the rank of Lieutenant Colonel are called Zhong-shao; Naval officers add Kong- as a prefix to show their rank of Kong-zhong-shao.

As part of their unique position in the Capellan Confederation, the Warrior Houses use the rank of Ying-zhang for the commanding officer of the Warrior House infantry battalion. Usually this officer also acts as the Executive Officer of the 'Mech battalion.

Regardless of service branch (CCAF or Warrior House;'Mech or infantry), officers use a brass bar with three silver pips as their rank insignia.

CCAF Military Ranks
CCAF Rank Warrior House rank Insignia
(Lieutenant Colonel)
(Lieutenant Colonel [Infantry])

Free Worlds League Military[edit]

In the FWLM the Lieutenant Colonel rank was created to allow Majors to command regimental sized formations. This promotion was only supposed to be taken when a Major was destined to be promoted to Colonel or a until a new Colonel took command of the regiment. In reality this rank can be held by either regimental commanders or senior battalion commanders.[5] After the Military Reorganization Act, these officers commanded regiments of infantry or armor, though they would sometimes be a senior battalion commander in a 'Mech regiment.[6]

In the FWLM Navy, an officer could only reach the rank of Captain after they had two years of command experience. Frequently officers lacking this experience would act as a Lieutenant-Commander or Commander to get the experience they needed.

A Flag Captain is a FWLM Navy Captain who has more experience and can lead multi-ship operations. Typically these officers are being groomed to become a Commodore. They do not bear a special rank insignia.

In both branches, officers with this rank wear three broad gold bars on a purple background as their rank symbol.

FWLM Lieutenant Colonel Rank Insignia
Rank Insignia
Lieutenant Colonel LieutenantColonelFWL.png

The Clans[edit]

The Clans do not use this rank. Instead a Star Colonel is likely to be assisted by a senior Star Captain.

Comstar/Word of Blake[edit]

Due to their unique force structure, the Lieutenant Colonel rank doesn't exist in the ComGuards or Word of Blake Militia. Instead, the commanding officer of a Level III (battalion sized formation) is either an Adept or Demi-Precentor.

ComStar doesn't officially use the rank of Demi-Precentor, but informally they use a ComStar logo with a blue-yellow-red halo to show their rank. Word of Blake Demi-Precentors use a gold medallion with their branch insignia in silver to show their "midway" position between Adepts and Precentors. Insignia shows theta symbol, indicating JumpShip/WarShip crew. Other service branches replace theta with appropriate Greek letter.

ComGuard/Word of Blake Militia Insignia
Rank ComGuard Insignia Word of Blake Militia Insignia
Demi-Precentor Comstar-DemiPrecentor.png WoB-DemiPrecentor.png

Free Rasalhague Republic[edit]

In the KungsArmé officers with this rank are called Överste-Löjtnant, Swedish for Lieutenant-Colonel.[7] These officers wear an inverted version of the Kapten's insignia: A green patch with a vertical silver bar crossed at the top by a small silver bar.

KungsArmé Military Rank Insignia
Rank Insignia
Overste-Lojtnant FreeRasalhague-LtCol.png

Periphery Powers[edit]

Magistracy of Canopus[edit]

A Magistracy Armed Forces Force Major is the equivalent of a Lieutenant Colonel.[8] Their rank insignia is a gold diamond topped by a silver star.

Magistracy Armed Forces Insignia
Rank Insignia
Force Major MagistracyOfCanopus-ForceMajor.png

Taurian Defense Force[edit]

This rank isn't used by the TDF.

Marian Hegemony[edit]

This rank isn't used by the Hegemony Armed Forces.

Outworlds Alliance[edit]

This rank isn't used by the Alliance Military Corps.


  1. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 118
  2. House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), p. 129
  3. House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 127
  4. Field Manual: Federated Suns, p. 28
  5. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 86
  6. Field Manual: Free Worlds League, p. 21
  7. Field Manual: ComStar, p. 66
  8. Field Manual: Periphery, p. 24