Soldat (rank)

Soldat is the lowest rank of enlisted men in the armies of some countries. In the land-based armed forces of Germany, Austria, Ukraine, and Switzerland it is usually grouped as OR-1 ([zɔlˈdaːt] short: S, plural Soldaten) within the NATO ranking system, excluding the Swiss armed services which does not follow NATO standards.

Germany

The German term Soldat (equivalent to Soldier in English) has its roots as far back as the 16th-century, where it was a common designation for a paid or remunerated ordinary-rank member of a military infantry, especially one who was not an officer. In the German language Sold implies "pay", and as such the term Soldat designated a person in pay (being paid) for providing armed service.

Bundeswehr

In the Federal armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr) it can be the collective term to any person in uniform, e.g. Officers (de: Offiziere), Non-Commissioned Officers (de: Unteroffiziere), and enlisted men (de: Mannschaften).

In the Bundeswehr it is used to describe conscripts (de: Wehrpflichtiger), short/long term serving volunteers (de: Zeitsoldat, or Soldat auf Zeit), and career or regular servicemen (de: Berufssoldat).

It is grade A3 in the pay rules of the Federal Ministry of Defence.

The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group is as follows:

OR-4a: Oberstabsgefreiter
OR-4b: Stabsgefreiter
OR-3a: Hauptgefreiter
OR-3b: Obergefreiter
OR-2: Gefreiter
OR-1: Soldat (Army, Air Force, Navy)

Designation

The designation of the particular OR1-rank depends on the individual branch and career of the soldier as regulated in the Zentrale Dienstvorschrift 14/5. The sole OR1-rank designation in the Marine is Matrose, and Sanitätssoldat in the Bundeswehr medical service. Other OR1-designations are described in the table below.

Wehrmacht until 1945

Ukraine

Soldat is the lowest rank of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Marine Corps, and Air Force. It was introduced in 1991, replacing the former rank of private.