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'Vice Admiral' is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. A Vice Admiral is typically senior to a Rear admiral and junior to an Admiral.

Contents

Australia

Canada

France

Italy

United Kingdom

United States Armed Forces & Uniformed Services

See also

Australia

In the Royal Australian Navy the rank of Vice Admiral is usually only held by the Chief of the Navy and the Vice Chief of the Defence Force when the job is held by a Navy Officer
Vice Admiral is the Navy equivalent of a Lieutenant General in the Army and Air Marshal in the Air Force.

Canada

In the Canadian Navy, the rank of 'Vice-Admiral' (VAdm) (''Vice-amiral'' or ''Vam'' in French) is equal to a Lieutenant General of the Canadian Army or Canadian Air Force. A Vice-Admiral is a Flag Officer, the naval equivalent of a General Officer. A Vice-Admiral is senior to a Rear-Admiral or Major General, and junior to an Admiral or General.
The rank insignia for a Vice-Admiral is three gold maple leaves, beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St. Edward's Crown, worn on the shoulder straps of the Service Dress tunic, and on slip-ons on other uniforms. The Service Dress tunic also features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.
Vice-Admirals are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am". Vice-Admirals are normally entitled to staff cars; the car will normally bear a flag, dark blue with three gold maple leaves arranged one over two.
A Vice-Admiral generally holds only the most senior command or administrative appointments, barring only Chief of Defence Staff, which is held by a full Admiral or General. Appointments held by Vice-Admirals may include Vice-Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS); Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (DCDS); Commander of an operational command (such as Canada Command); Chief of the Maritime Staff (CMS); Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Defence in various capacities; or commander of or representative to a multinational force, alliance, or treaty organization. Positions currently (as of August 30, 2006) held by Vice-Admirals are:

★ Chief of the Maritime Staff (CMS): Vice-Admiral Drew W. Robertson, OMM, MSC, CD[1]

★ Chief Military Personnel: Vice-Admiral Gregory E. Jarvis, CMM, CD[2]

★ Canadian Military Representative to the Military Committee at NATO Headquarters: Vice-Admiral Glenn V. Davidson, CMM, CD[3]

France

In France, ''vice-amiral'' is the most senior of the ranks in the French Navy; higher ranks, ''vice-amiral d'escadre'' and ''amiral'', are permanents function, style and position (in french ''rang et appellation'') given to a ''vice-amiral''-ranking officer. The ''vice-amiral'' rank used to be an OF-8 rank in NATO charts, but nowadays, it is more an OF-7 rank.
The rank of ''vice-amiral d'escadre'' (literally, "Squadron Vice-Admiral", with more precision, "Fleet Vice-Admiral") equals a NATO OF-8 rank.

Italy

In Italy, the equivalent to Vice Admiral is the ''Ammiraglio di Squadra''.

United Kingdom

In the Royal Navy the rank of Vice-Admiral should be distinguished from the office of ''Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom'', which is an Admiralty position usually held by a retired full Admiral, and that of ''Vice-Admiral of the Coast'', a now obsolete office dealing with naval administration in each of the maritime counties.

United States Armed Forces & Uniformed Services

In the United States Navy, Vice Admirals generally command the numbered fleets around the world that make up the naval components of each of the regional unified commands. Of the five numbered US fleets, four have command ships which act as the Vice Admiral's flagship. American Vice Admirals fly a blue flag with three white stars as a command flag.
In the United States Coast Guard, the Vice Commandant, the Chief of Staff, and the Atlantic and Pacific Area commanders hold the rank of Vice Admiral.
The Surgeon General of the United States is the head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and is the ''only'' officer in the PHSCC to hold the rank of Vice Admiral.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps may also commission a Vice Admiral rank. However, it is no longer utilized and the current highest ranking officer in the NOAA Corps is a two-star Rear Admiral.

See also

★ Comparative Military Ranks

★ U.S. Navy Officer Rank Insignia