Commodore (rank)

In 1899, the substantive rank of commodore was discontinued in the United States Navy, but revived during World War II in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. It was discontinued as a rank in these services during the postwar period, but as an appointment, the title "commodore" was then used to identify senior U.S. Navy captains who commanded squadrons of more than one vessel or functional air wings or air groups that were not part of a carrier air wing or carrier air group. Concurrently, until the early 1980s, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard captains selected for promotion to the rank of rear admiral (lower half), would wear the same insignia as rear admiral (upper half), i.e., two silver stars for collar insignia or sleeve braid of one wide and one narrow gold stripe, even though they were actually only equivalent to one-star officers and paid at the one-star rate.

To correct this inequity, the rank of commodore as a single star flag officer was reinstated by both services in the early 1980s. This immediately caused confusion with those senior U.S. Navy captains commanding destroyer squadrons, submarine squadrons, functional air wings and air groups, and so on, who held the temporary "title" of commodore while in their major command billet. As a result of this confusion, the services soon renamed the new one-star rank as commodore admiral (CADM) within the first six months following the rank's reintroduction. However, this was considered an awkward title and the one-star flag rank was renamed a few months later to its current title of rear admiral (lower half), later abbreviated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard as RDML.

The "title" of commodore continues to be used in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard for those senior captains in command of organizations consisting of groups of ships or submarines organized into squadrons; air wings or air groups of multiple aviation squadrons other than carrier air wings (the latter whose commanders still use the title "CAG"); explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), mine warfare and special warfare (SEAL) groups; Mobile Inshore Underwater Warfare (MIUW) groups; and construction (SeaBee) regiments. Although not flag officers, modern day commodores in the U.S. Navy rate a blue and white command pennant, also known as a broad pennant, that is normally flown at their headquarters facilities ashore or from ships that they are embarked aboard when they are the senior officer present afloat (SOPA).

In the Argentine Navy, the position of commodore was created in the late 1990s, and is usually, but not always, issued to senior captains holding rear-admirals' positions. It is not a rank but a distinction and, as such, can be issued by the chief of staff without congressional approval. Its equivalents are colonel-major in the Army and commodore-major in the Air Force. It is usually—but incorrectly—referred to as "navy commodore", to avoid confusion with the "air force commodore", which is equivalent to the navy's captain and army's colonel. The sleeve lace is identical to that of the Royal Navy, and wears one star on the epaulette.

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  Comodoro de marina
  (Argentine Navy)[3]
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  Commodore
  (Royal Australian Navy)[4]
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  Commodore
  (Royal Bahamas Defence Force)[5]
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  Commodore
  (Bangladesh Navy)[6]
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  Commodore
  (Barbados Coast Guard)
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  Commodore
  French: Commodore
  (Royal Canadian Navy)[7]
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  Comodoro
  (Chilean Navy)[8]
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  Komodor
  (Croatian Navy)[9]
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  Kommodoor
  (Estonian Navy)[10]
• 
  ኮሞዶር
  Komodori
  (Ethiopian Navy)
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  Commodore
  (Republic of Fiji Navy)
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  Kommodori
  Swedish: Kommodor
  (Finnish Navy)[11]
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  Commodore
  (Gambian Navy)
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  Commodore
  (Ghana Navy)
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  Commodore
  (Guyana Coast Guard)
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  Commodore
  Hindi: कमोडोर, romanized: Kamodor
  (Indian Navy)[12]
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  Commodore
  (Irish: Ceannasóir)
  (Irish Naval Service)[13]
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  Commodore
  (Jamaican Coast Guard)[14]
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  Komodor
  (Montenegrin Navy)[15]
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  Commodore
  (Royal New Zealand Navy)[16]
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  Commodore
  (Nigerian Navy)[17]
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  Commodore
  Urdu: کموڈور, romanized: Commodore
  (Pakistan Navy)[18]
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  Commodore
  (Papua New Guinea Maritime Element)
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  Commodore
  (Philippine Navy)
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  Comodoro
  (Portuguese Navy)[19]
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  Комодор
  Komodor
  (Serbian River Flotilla)[20]
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  Commodore
  (Sierra Leone Navy)
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  Commodore
  (Sri Lanka Navy)[21]
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  Commodore
  (Tanzania Naval Command)
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  Commodore
  (Tongan Maritime Force)[22]
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  Commodore
  (Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard)[23]
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  Коммодор
  Kommodor
  (Ukrainian Navy)[24]
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  Commodore
  (Royal Navy)[25]

Civilian yacht clubs, yachting associations and fellowships[26] with formal hierarchical structures, began to use the title "commodore" in countries around the world[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] for their presidents in the early twentieth century[35] along with "vice commodore" in the same manner as "vice president,"and "rear-commodore" and "port captain' or "international bridge member" in the same manner as board members.[36]

Commodores, vice-commodores and rear-commodores are also known as civilian flag officers because they have an epaulettes, regalia and maritime flags with designated symbols and number of stars for their ranks. Many of the clubs that are more than a century old, such as the Los Angeles Yacht Club have formal ceremonies, where commodores from more than 100 surrounding yacht clubs, flag officers of the US Navy and Coast Guard attend a ceremony at the beginning of the year. The ceremony includes a bagpipe entrance, a presentation of the country flag by commissioned officers of the country's navy and a cannon shot upon the raising of each individual officer's flags on a flag staff, (also known as flagpoles) for each flag officer (commodore, vice commodore, rear commodore) as their term of office officially begins. Sometimes a trumpet fanfare is also include for special occasions like ribbon cutting in 2019 for the 50th Transpacific Yacht Race. Salutes are given to commodores for special ceremonies, including opening days of the racing season.