Editing Navy (section)

=== Ranks ===
{{main|Naval officer ranks}}A navy will typically have two sets of ranks, one for [[Enlisted rank|enlisted]] personnel and one for [[officer (armed forces)|officers]].

Typical ranks for commissioned officers include the following, in ascending order ([[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] ranks are listed first on each line; USA ranks are listed second in those instances where they differ from Commonwealth ranks):
* [[Midshipman]] / [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] / [[Corvette Lieutenant]]
* [[Sub Lieutenant]] / [[Lieutenant Junior Grade]] / [[Frigate Lieutenant]]
* [[Lieutenant]] (Commonwealth & US)/ [[Ship-of-the-Line Lieutenant]] / [[Captain Lieutenant]]
* [[Lieutenant Commander]] (Commonwealth & US)/ [[Corvette Captain]]
* [[Commander]] (Commonwealth & US)/ [[Frigate Captain]]
* [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] (Commonwealth & US)/ [[Ship-of-the-Line Captain]]
* [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] / [[Flotilla Admiral]] (in US only: [[Rear Admiral (lower half)]])
* [[Rear Admiral]] (in US only: [[Rear Admiral (upper half)]])
* [[Vice Admiral]] (Commonwealth & US)
* [[Admiral]] (Commonwealth & US)
* [[Admiral of the Fleet]] (Commonwealth) / [[Fleet Admiral]] (US) / [[Grand Admiral]]

"Flag officers" include any rank that includes the word "admiral" (or commodore in services other than the US Navy), and are generally in command of a [[Battleship battle group|battle group]], strike group or similar flotilla of ships, rather than a single ship or aspect of a ship. However, commodores can also be temporary or honorary positions. For example, during World War II, a Navy captain was assigned duty as a convoy commodore, which meant that he was still a captain, but in charge of all the merchant vessels in the convoy.

The most senior rank employed by a navy will tend to vary depending on the size of a navy and whether it is wartime or peacetime, for example, few people have ever held the rank of Fleet Admiral in the U.S. Navy, the chief of the [[Royal Australian Navy]] holds the rank of Vice Admiral, and the chief of the [[Irish Naval Service]] holds the rank of Commodore.