Army of the Republic of Vietnam Ranks Table

          We often receive emails from individuals asking about Republic of Vietnam military ranks, i.e. what is a certain Vietnamese rank in English or vice-versa, or what would particular ranks look like. In response, we decided to put together this chart, which provides a basic overview for army ranks. To be clear, this only applies to the army, and not to the navy, air force, or marines. As the chart shows, there was a major revision of ranks in 1964. This change with regard to VNAF ranks was mentioned in a post by RVNHS in the past, which can be accessed here.
            The major changes include the adding of a gold colored underbar for major to colonel ranks. This was done to reduce confusion as the color of a single blossom might not be discernable, which would make it impossible to tell if the individual was a major or a second lieutenant. The insignia for warrant officers was also revised, as was the addition of a new rank for a general of the army (five stars). Like all insignia used by the Republic of Vietnam, period photographs also show ranks in variations of material and manufacture methods, however the chart below does give an overview of the basic flow and appearance.