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MAJOR RANK IN THE MILITARY

Major is a commisioned military officer ranking directly above a captain and directly below a lieutenant colonel. This is the first/lowest field grade officer rank who is a senior officer in the military. An officer usually attains a Major rank through promotion from the Captain rank. A Major officer has an experience of about 10-15 years.

Its noteworthy to state that a single regiment can consist of more than 3 Major officers, each leading a military battalion.

Duties of a Major Officer

Duties of a Major are diverse. They operate mainly in batallions and brigades as Staff Officers. Sometimes, Majors are commanders or deputy commanders in their respective companies.

In a batallion, Major officers serve as specialized executives officers (XO) thus becoming the second-in-command. Here, duties of a Major inclde daily managerial responsibilities consequently freeing up the commanding officer to focus on strategic, tactical, planning and execution of mission objectives. Basically, a XO Major officer is a manager of the command's staff schedule and personal affairs.

A Major can also shoulder the role of an operations officer. This role involves planning of operations, training soldiers, intelligence gathering, intelligence processing and application of military science to achieve combat objectives.

In a brigade, a Major rank holds the position called Primary Staff Officer, especially in matters of logistics, operations and personnel.

Duties of a Major include overseeing transportation and distribution of food and other supplies, organising purchases of equipment, sourcing and negotiating contracts with private sector contractors, etc.

Combat duties of a Major are heading a Special Operations Company like the Special Forces. Additionally, a Major can be in charge of other specialized companies including Military Intelligence Companies, Civil Affairs Companies among others.

A Major also holds the position of a Staff Officer in a high level command post. They can occupy the positions of regimental bankers and postmen.

Majors at times carry out training duties and instructing duties to lower ranking soldiers in their companies. Historically, the British and the US army had the Drum Major rank whose responsibility was to train the regimental drummers.

In some countries, Majors are the head of health and aviation companies.



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