Editing Regimental sergeant major (section)

==United Kingdom==
In the [[British Army]] and [[Royal Marines]], the RSM, who always holds the rank of [[warrant officer class 1]] (WO1), is addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am" by his or her subordinates. In the [[Household Cavalry]], the appointment is '''regimental corporal major''' ('''RCM'''). The rank of regimental sergeant major existed in the British Army until 1915, when RSMs (who already held warrant officer status) were regraded as warrant officers class I and RSM became an appointment of that rank.

In the Royal Marines, regimental sergeant major was an actual rank<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=42131 |supp=y|notarchive=|page=5960|date=30 August 1960}}</ref> (and equivalent to warrant officer class I in the Army) until the Royal Marines themselves re-adopted the ranks of warrant officer classes I and II (which had been abolished in the Royal Marines in 1920) in 1973<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=46054|notarchive=|page=9905|date=17 August 1973}}</ref> (although the term continued to be used interchangeably for warrant officers class I until at least 1981<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=48555|notarchive=|page=3791|date=17 March 1981}}</ref>). The most senior warrant officer in the Royal Marines holds the appointment of [[Corps Regimental Sergeant Major]].{{Efn|In the British Armed Forces the plural is "regimental sergeant majors" and not "regimental sergeants major"<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=48587 |date=16 April 1981 |page=5671 |supp=y}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=25044 |date=2 December 1881 |page=6467 }}</ref> – the earliest usage of "sergeant majors" in ''[[The Times]]'' was in 1822, and the last of the (very occasional) usages of "sergeants major", except when referring to American NCOs, was in 1938.}}

{{UK enlisted ranks}}