Top of Page • Level 2: Lower & Intermediate Command & Management • Level 3: Senior Command & Management • Trainee Rank Insignias

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Level 1 - Rank-and-File
Ordinary Ranks, Junior, and Senior Specialists

1A. General Issues and Basic Charges Used for Rank Insignias 

We begin with the personnel who are usually at the forefront of carrying out the basic duties and functions of the service. "Other Ranks" is perhaps a possible alternative term but used mainly in the military forces. This group is comprised of enlistees, non-commissioned officers (NCOs or more recently referred to as "Specialists"), and senior specialists with authority and responsibilities almost equivalent to the lower command and management officers (Warrant Officers, Station Inspectors, Checkpoint Inspectors, Chief Warders, Chief Customs Officers). The rank-and-file group use the following charges, both simple and complex, for their rank insignias:

• Chevrons couped are used by all services. In heraldry, a chevron is drawn as a vertically inverted 'V' with the apex at the top (/\), while a chevron reversed appears as a normal letter 'V' with the apex at the base. In heraldry, 'couped' is the description added to indicate that a charge's ends had been cut off, without which a charge (in this case the chevron) would have to be presented continuously from end to end of the field on which the charge appears. In Singapore, chevrons have acute angles while chevrons reversed have obtuse angles (Customs & ICA excepted). These chevrons are more accurately called "bar chevrons" as they are considered to emerge from the dexter (right) and sinister (left) perimeter rather than from the base or chief (top) perimeter as required on a shield under the principles of heraldry.

• Bars arched are used on certain rank insignias of the SAF, SCDF, and Customs. Inverted ones will be additionally termed reversed (U). The term couped will be added if the bar arched is cut off neatly and vertically at its ends rather than merging with chevrons in whole.

• Rank version of the State/National Arms for all services

  • In all instances, when used as a rank charge, the Arms of Singapore is rendered differently from its original depiction. In the rank version, the shield and supporters (the lion and tiger) remain. However, the original compartment (water spurts) is replaced with palm fronds and the motto-scroll bearing "Majulah Singapura" is done away with. From a distance, the palm fronds are not very distinguishable from the original water spurts. The arms are unfortunately often incorrectly called the crest. Singapore does not have any crest (See Page 1, Part ii of Chapter 2 of the Military & Paramilitary Flags of Singapore site for a more in-depth description of the armorial bearings of the Republic of Singapore). The use of the palm fronds with the shield and supporters was possibly to have been derived from the badge of the Singapore Armed Forces as used in the first instance by the Singapore Infantry Regiment (See the Military and Paramilitary Flags of Singapore site: Page 1 - Section 2.1 on the Singapore Armed Forces, Page 1 - Section 2.2B on the Singapore Army, and Page 2 - Section 4.1D on the 1st Singapore Infantry Regimental Colours of 1961). This rank version of the national arms have since been adopted by other services as well.

  • The rank insignias of the Senior & Chief Customs Officers do not feature the rank version of the national coat of arms as is described above at this level. Instead, they use part of their service emblem, which incorporates the national arms (without the motto-scroll) surmounting the fronds, caduceus, and keys.

• Laurels are used by the Police, Prisons, and ICA.

The SAF rank insignias for ranks below Warrant Officers are displayed on the uniforms' upper sleeves. The SAF Warrant Officers' rank insignias is worn on the epaulettes as they are said to have responsibilities and authority equal to the military junior officers (on the digital pattern combat uniforms, it is worn at the centre of the chest singularly). The SCDF (since 2004), Police (since 1997), Prisons (since 1997), ICA, and Customs wear their rank insignias on the epaulettes throughout the ranks. The police ranks displayed to follow applies mainly to regular and conscript staff.  

1B. National & Cross-National Comparative Models of Rank Insignia for the Rank-and-File Personnel

The following chart depicts the current two basic rank insignia models used by the Singapore services and also charts a summary of rank insignia evolution from past models. The basic model based on chevrons was used in Europe and was exported to Singapore through Singapore's colonial episode. Upon independence, the Singapore military followed the British rank model with exceptions and appropriate substitution of charges where necessary until 1992 when the number of ranks were increased. Singapore police generally continued with the past model after independence. The Singapore enforcement services today still use a smaller number of ranks like the historical models. The most significant deviance from the historical models occurred when the senior sub-officer rank insignias was changed, beginning with the military warrant officers' adoption of a new insignia pattern in 1992, a pattern which was adopted by the civil defence force sometime between 1992 and 1996, then adopted by the police force and prisons service by 1996 / 1997, with the customs & excise department following suit in 2001, and then adopted by the immigration & checkpoints service upon establishment in 2003. It should also be noted however that other unique rank insignia systems by the different services existed in the past as detailed in the section on historical ranks (Page 2).

In actual practice and adoption as will be observed in the table following this chart, there is the bypassing of certain rank insignias by some enforcement services which causes a rank insignia similarity but official rank equivalency displacement. As this is a comparison of insignias, rank titles have been excluded. At this level, the Singapore Civil Defence Force features both the Singapore military and enforcement services models for its ranks.

1C. Table Detailing Specific Rank Titles, Insignias, and Structures of the Singapore Services

The ranks are arranged below according to the basic model as presented above. Horizontal observation does not necessarily equate to correspondence or equivalency of a particular rank. This is attempted in Part D to follow instead.

Notes on Rank Titles: The basic rank titles, excluding modifiers/adjectives and/or ordinals/numerals that increases or decreases its relative position in the structure, for this level are Private, Constable, Corporal, Lance Corporal, Warder, Customs Officer, Sergeant, Warrant Officer, Station Inspector, and Checkpoint Inspector.

Dress Codes: No.1 - Ceremonial Dress, No.2 - Mess Kit, No.3 - Working Dress, No.4 - Field Dress / No.4C - Coveralls/Flightsuits, and No.5 - Formal Dress (with or without Jacket) / No.5T - Formal Dress (long-sleeved shirt and tie without jacket) / No.5J - Formal Dress (long-sleeved shirt and tie with jacket). Hover on rank insignia image to view information.

 Central Narcotics Bureau 
 Narcotics Officers  : Corporal ∙ Sergeant ∙ Staff Sergeant ∙ Senior Staff Sergeant ∙ Station Inspector ∙ Senior Station Inspector 1 ∙ Senior Station Inspector 2

There exists a rank in the police force known as Constable that is rarely used in the regular scheme and used as the first rank by the other schemes of service (except for the full-time conscripted personnel who are known as Special Constables instead). When required, the officers of the regular scheme of this rank will wear a silver bar couped on an epaulette slip-on, an exceptional rank charge in this chevron-dominated group of ranks. The rank of Constable in the other schemes are not represented by any insignia, similar to the case of the Special Constable. This rank insignia was also used by the basic Warder rank of the Prisons service. 

MILITARY			PARAMILITARY /  EMERGENCY & ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
Army	Navy	Air Force	Civil Defence	Police	Prisons	ICA	Customs
Warrant Officers, Specialists, & Enlistees (WOSE)			Junior Officers	Police Officers	Prison Officers	Specialists	Customs Officers
No Rank Insignia Private	No Rank Insignia Private	No Rank Insignia Private	No Rank Insignia Private	No Rank Insignia Special Constable & Constable
Private First  Class	Private First  Class	Private First  Class	Lance Corporal			Lance Corporal	Customs Officer
Lance Corporal	Lance Corporal	Lance Corporal
Corporal	Corporal	Corporal	Corporal	Corporal	Corporal	Corporal	Higher Customs Officer II
Corporal First Class	Corporal First Class	Corporal First Class
3rd Sergeant	3rd Sergeant	3rd Sergeant	Sergeant	Sergeant	Sergeant	Sergeant	Higher Customs Officer I
2nd Sergeant	2nd Sergeant	2nd Sergeant
1st Sergeant	1st Sergeant	1st Sergeant
Staff Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Senior Customs Officer
Master Sergeant	Master Sergeant	Master Sergeant		Senior Staff Sergeant
2nd Warrant Officer	2nd Warrant Officer	2nd Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer 2		Chief Warder 1	Checkpoint Inspector 1
1st Warrant Officer	1st Warrant Officer	1st Warrant Officer	Warrant Officer 1	Station Inspector	Chief Warder 2	Checkpoint Inspector 2	Chief Customs Officer
Master Warrant Officer	Master Warrant Officer	Master Warrant Officer	Senior Warrant Officer 2	Senior Station Inspector	Senior Chief Warder 1	Senior Checkpoint Inspector 1	Chief Customs Officer (Special Grade II)
Senior Warrant Officer	Senior Warrant Officer	Senior Warrant Officer	Senior Warrant Officer 1	Senior Station Inspector 2	Senior Chief Warder 2	Senior Checkpoint Inspector 2	Chief Customs Officer (Special Grade I)

1D. Corresponding Conscript Ranks (SAF, SCDF, & SPF)

The following table shows the corresponding conscript (National Service / NS) ranks of the rank-and-file personnel of the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force, and Singapore Civil Defence Force using the conscript allowances for these services as the basis of comparison. These services are comprised of regular and conscripted personnel. Several rank insignia similarity displacements is observed when allowance is used as a basis of comparison. Additional information on conscript ranks will be noted in Level 2's entry on corresponding conscript ranks. It should also be the case that correspondence is applicable to career staff ranks.

Top of Page • Level 1: Rank-and-File • Level 3: Senior Command & Management • Trainee Rank Insignias

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Level 2 - Lower & Intermediate Command & Management
Staff / Line Officers and Commanders

2A. General Issues and Basic Charges Used for Rank Insignias

The next group of ranks is for those at the lower and intermediate command and management level of the services. Generally speaking, holders of these ranks lead the rank-and-file personnel, and/or oversee the services' various line and staff departments/formations. The SAF divides this group into Junior Officers and Senior Officers while the paramilitary/emergency and enforcement services refer to them in whole as Senior Officers. The military officers are known better as Commissioned Officers. The higher command and management level ranks; i.e., the General, Admiral, Commissioner, Director, and Director-General level ranks are the next group of ranks presented separately.

All officers from the various services wear the rank insignias on the epaulettes. Lady military officers (and lady military warrant officers) wear anodized versions of the ranks on their collars in certain instances (No.3 & No.5 uniforms). Civil Defence lady officers wear the insignia on the chest portion of the No.2 uniform. Prior to 1982, the Army rank insignias featured pips and the national arms in a pattern parallel to the Police/Prison services as listed below with the addition of the 'Singapura' inscription. Thus, the 2nd Lieutenant then had a single pip and the rank insignia of Colonel then comprised a national arms above two pips. While the pre-1982 Army used pips and national arms, the Navy and Air Force used full bars of differing thickness and numbers before military rank standardisation for the SAF took place. The SCDF used pips upon their establishment in 1982 which was replaced with bars couped upon the merger of the SCDF and Singapore Fire Service in 1988-1992. In 2005, the SCDF discontinued the use of bars couped for the Lieutenants and Captains, and reverted to the use of pips.

Presently, the rank version of the national arms is used by all services as well as the following specific charges:

2B. National & Cross-National Comparative Models of Rank Insignia for Lower & Intermediate Command & Management Officers

The chart below illustrates the rank insignia increment as used by the lower & intermediate command and management ranks. Although different charges are used, the rank insignia models can be said to be parallel to one another. The model used by the enforcement services of Singapore is similar to the model used by the Commonwealth Armies (in particular the UK - Army and Royal Marines, Australia, and New Zealand), while the current Singapore armed forces model is to an extent rather unique to Singapore. Bars are however commonly used worldwide. It is used in the US military but under a different format involving also the use of colour as a distinguishing element, limited to the first three ranks only, and capped at a maximum of two bars. In the case of France, bars are used up to the sixth rank of the lower and intermediate command and management group of ranks. Another commonly used rank insignia model is one based on the use of differing sized bars, as used currently by many Commonwealth Navies and Air Forces.

In actual practice and adoption as will be observed in Part C, there is the bypassing of certain rank insignias from the theoretically complete model, especially in the enforcement services, which partially causes a rank insignia similarity but rank correspondence displacement. 'Stars' here refer to the more popularly-referred-to charge known as pips and not the simple 5-pointed stars/mullets. As this is a comparison of insignias, rank titles have been excluded. Historically, the pre-1982 Army used insignias parallel to the current enforcement service model while Singapore's air force and navy used the basic bars model of the Commonwealth navies and air forces. 

Overall observation would suggest that Singapore's armed forces rank insignia model depicts an incremental pattern but the combinatorial use of different charges is avoided. Singapore's enforcement services model on the other hand depicts an incremental pattern but the combinatorial use of different charges is apparent. At this level and presently, the Singapore Civil Defence Force features both the Singapore armed forces and enforcement services models but still leaning closer to the Singapore military model based on the observation of an incremental pattern but the combinatorial use of different charges is not apparent. In addition, the civil defence rank titles at this level follow the military tradition.

The British Army's current set of rank insignias for command and management ranks dates from the second half of the 1800s with changes in the first quarter of the 1900s. The use of crowns, stars, batons and swords in saltire, and batons in saltire however were already in place in the early 1800s in differing forms. The Royal Navy's bars came about around the mid-1800s as well and was adopted by the Royal Air Force later. The Royal Navy also had a rank insignia model based on complex charges now mainly retained by ranks of and above Commodores. These are illustrated in the section on symbol and rank hierarchies section after on Page 2. 

2C. Table Detailing Specific Rank Titles, Insignias, and Structures of the Singapore Services

The ranks are displayed below based on the table above in which there are seven rank insignia permutations for the lower and intermediate command and management group of ranks. Horizontal observation does not equate to the correspondence or equivalence of a particular rank. This is attempted in Part D to follow instead.

Notes on Rank Titles: The basic rank titles, excluding modifiers/adjectives and/or ordinals/numerals that increases or decreases its relative position in the structure, for this level are Lieutenant, Inspector, Rehabilitation Officer, Captain, Major, Superintendent, and Colonel. Singapore Customs deviates in the choice of rank titles as compared to the rather standardised titles as used by the other enforcement services.

Dress Codes: No.1 - Ceremonial Dress, No.2 - Mess Kit, No.3 - Working Dress, No.4 - Field Dress / No.4C - Coveralls/Flightsuits, and No.5 - Formal Dress (with or without Jacket) / No.5T - Formal Dress (long-sleeved shirt and tie without jacket) / No.5J - Formal Dress (long-sleeved shirt and tie with jacket). Hover over rank insignia image to view information.

 Central Narcotics Bureau 
 Senior Narcotics Officers  : Inspector ∙ Assistant Superintendent ∙ Deputy Superintendent ∙ Superintendent

MILITARY			PARAMILITARY /  EMERGENCY & ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
Army	Navy	Air Force	Civil Defence	Police	Prisons	ICA	Customs
Junior Officers (Captain & below) Senior Officers (Major & above)			Senior Officers	Senior Police Officers	Senior Prison Officers	Senior Officers	Customs Specialists
2nd Lieutenant	2nd Lieutenant	2nd Lieutenant
Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Inspector	Rehabilitation  Officer 1	Inspector
Captain	Captain	Captain	Captain	Chief Inspector (Gurkha Contingent) Senior Inspector (Auxiliary Police Forces)	Rehabilitation  Officer 2		Superin- tendent
Major	Major	Major	Major	Assistant Superin- tendent	Assistant Superin- tendent	Assistant Superin- tendent	Higher  Superin- tendent
Lieutenant -Colonel	Lieutenant -Colonel	Lieutenant -Colonel	Lieutenant -Colonel	Deputy  Superin- tendent	Deputy  Superin- tendent	Deputy  Superin- tendent	Senior  Superin- tendent
Colonel	Colonel	Colonel	Colonel	Superin- tendent	Superin- tendent	Superin- tendent	Deputy Chief  Superin- tendent

2D. Corresponding Conscript Ranks (SAF, SCDF, & SPF)

The following table shows the corresponding conscript (National Service / NS) ranks of the lower and intermediate command and management officers of the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force, and Singapore Civil Defence Force. These services are comprised of regular officers and conscripted officers. Corresponding ranks as presented here is attained by using the conscript allowances for these services as the basis of comparison. Several rank insignia similarity displacements is observed when allowance is used as a basis of comparison. The police is in a sense over-ranked insignia-wise as compared to the other services if allowance-based correspondence and insignia were to be considered together. In part, this is due to the bypassing of the three-pip rank (Chief Inspector) that is not used in the conscript (and career staff) rank structure. Also, the conscript Probationary Inspector and confirmed Inspector ranks are represented by the same insignia (two star-pips).

Level 3 ranks are mainly held by career staff. Regular officers holding level 3 ranks who leave the uniformed service will retain the last-held level 3 rank as a conscript reservist rank, such as Brigadier-General (NS) or Rear-Admiral (NS). This is a more common occurrence with officers from the armed forces. Regular staff holding level 1 and level 2 ranks will generally follow the same policy in that upon leaving the regular service scheme, their last held rank will be retained as the conscript reservist rank (egs. SGT[NS], MSG[NS], CPT[NS]) and they will progress through the structure as necessary. The abbreviation "NS" in parentheses indicates the reservist status of the mentioned rank. It should also be the case that correspondence is generally applicable to career staff ranks except for perhaps the ranks of Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, Superintendent and Deputy Assistant Commissioner which correspond differently when the civil service Superscale grades are used. The Superscale grades-based rank correspondence is presented in part 3D to follow together with the senior command and management ranks. 

Top of Page • Level 1: Rank-and-File • Level 2: Lower & Intermediate Command & Management • Trainee Rank Insignias

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Level 3 - Senior Command & Management
Senior Staff / Line Commanders and Service Commanders

3A. General Issues and Basic Charges Used for Rank Insignias

The highest-ranking command and management officers of the services are comprised of the Generals, Admirals (also referred to as Flag Rank Officers), Commissioners, Directors, or Directors-General as is reflected in their rank titles. Within this group is where one can find the supreme professional head of the respective services, assisted by a number of assistants and deputies as may be necessary. These officers are responsible for the overall planning, command, and direction of their services, and junior ranks may be placed in charge of large service divisions/commands. 

At this level, the pattern of rank insignias used by the armed forces and enforcement services take significantly different paths. While the Generals and Admirals of the armed forces simply uses five-pointed stars (or mullets/molets) and flat laurels presently, those of the Commissioners, Directors, and Directors-General of the paramilitary/emergency and enforcement services resemble the insignia model as used by the Generals of the Commonwealth armies. The use of military-styled rank insignias by the police was likely to have taken place upon the establishment in the 1830s of the London Metropolitan Police which was headed in part by military officers. The army insignia model was thus applied, with some changes, to the law enforcement services in the British Empire as well. As mentioned in the historical ranks section (Page 2), there was for instance the addition of another star as a rank charge. In some countries, independence led to the change of charges but overall model retained. In Singapore, the crown, and the pip (based on the Star of the Order of the Bath) was replaced with:

• Rank version of the national arms (as detailed in Level 2)

• Stars (or Pips as detailed in Level 2)

The concept of having an additional distinct and special badge to distinguish the senior command and management ranks, similar to the rank practice by the military generals and naval admirals, was retained and takes the following form in Singapore today: 

• Badge of the Commissioners / Directors / Directors-General (Wreaths -of varying depictions and kinds- flanking service-related charges in the centre). These badges are also simply referred to as  the senior command badge on this page:

Chief appointments and rank titles are different for the military services but synonymous for the emergency and enforcement services. For example, the Chief of Navy is an appointment that may be held by an officer by the rank of Rear-Admiral, while the Commissioner of Police is both an appointment and a rank title.

3B. Cross-National Comparative Models of Rank Insignia for Senior Command & Management Officers

The charts below attempts to illustrate the theoretical models of rank insignia comparatively across several selected countries. As this is a comparison of insignias, rank titles have been excluded except for one particular case in note 1 to follow.

There are several rank insignia models used across the world. At the senior command and management level, the rank insignia model adopted by the Singapore military presently resembles that of the US military rank insignia model in the use of incremental number of standard stars. The pre-1982 Singapore Army while following the British Army model for its lower and intermediate command and management ranks used another system for its Generals. The pre-1982 Singapore Army Generals used a model similar to the Royal Navy Admirals (complex insignias for shoulder boards). The Royal Navy uses a crown above a senior command badge (a baton and sword in saltire) above incremental number of stars while the pre-1982 Singapore Army used a national arms above incremental number of stars above a generals' badge. In one variation, the unified Canadian Forces retained the Royal Navy Admirals-style pattern for all services but replaced the original stars with maple leaves. The complex use of different charges is also apparent in the British and Commonwealth Armies but differs significantly from the Royal Navy format. NATO has a comprehensive rank equivalency system that enables the correspondence of the various senior command and management ranks of the member states (STANAG 2116). The US armed forces, Canadian Forces, British Army, and Royal Navy cases while differing greatly in rank insignia models can nonetheless be compared with one another. The British Army model and Royal Navy model is also used by services in Australia and New Zealand for instance. In all, there are many possible templates or formats, from simple to comprehensively designed ones as can be observed horizontally from the presented table below. However, where symbol hierarchy accuracy is concerned, the Royal Navies' and pre-1982 Singapore Army insignia format is in my opinion superior to the other formats given certain conditions. This issue is addressed in-depth in the section on rank and symbols hierarchy analysis on page 2. NATO OF10 ranks which are rarely used today have not been included. 

As an additional note, the British Army and Royal Navy senior command badge while similar have the following subtle differences - the army has the sword blade's sharpened edge facing downwards and a hilt without a knuckleguard while the navy has the sword blade's sharpened edge facing upwards and features a hilt with a knuckleguard. The tip of the sword's blade points towards the front of the bearer on both shoulders in army practice but points towards the back of the bearer on both shoulders in navy practice. "Star" in the British Army case below is a reference to the diamond-shaped starburst badge (Star of the Order of the Bath) otherwise known as the pip. In the other cases, it refers to the generic star-shape ranging from the standard five-pointed star (as used by the present and past Singapore forces listed below, the armed forces of the USA, and the Royal New Zealand Navy) to the eight-pointed star as used by the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy.

The Singapore enforcement services model of rank insignias for senior command and management ranks is similar to those of the Commonwealth armies (in particular the UK - Army and Royal Marines, Australia, and New Zealand). The Commonwealth armies model is regarded as the original and complete model and is used here as the constant for comparison. When the Singapore enforcement services model is set against the Commonwealth armies model, one rank insignia deviance/variation can be observed. "Stars" below refer to the more popularly referred-to charge known as pips. To highlight other deviances from and similarities with the Commonwealth armies model, the London Metropolitan Police, the New Zealand Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police/Gendarmerie royale du Canada, and the New South Wales Fire Brigades cases have been selected and incorporated to allow for a wider comparison. Fire Brigades or Fire Services would usually have their own unique rank insignias, titles, and structures, (as was apparent in the former Singapore Fire Brigade), but adaptation to the Commonwealth armies rank insignia model while retaining the fire service heritage is quite possible as the case of the New South Wales Fire Brigades included in the chart exemplifies. The police services listed below also use the crown and pips charges like the Commonwealth armies for their lower and intermediate command and management rank though not necessarily in entirety. 

In actual practice and adoption of the Singapore enforcement services model, there is the bypassing of certain rank insignias in some of the Singapore emergency and enforcement services, which will be observed in Part C. The Singapore Police Force is the only service in Singapore to have a complete set of rank insignias as detailed under the Singapore enforcement services model. At this level, the Singapore Civil Defence Force follows the Singapore enforcement services model for its ranks. Singapore Customs' set of ranks has the closest resemblance to the British Army rank insignia model presently, i.e., four permutations only. (*Comrs = Commissioners)

3C. Table Detailing Specific Rank Titles, Insignias, and Structures of the Singapore Services

The military ranks in the following table are placed horizontally against those of the paramilitary/emergency and enforcement services based on the hypothetical situation in which the military rank insignias were based on the Commonwealth armies rank insignia model. In this hypothetical situation, the Brigadier-General would have a sole generals' badge as its insignia, the Major-General would have a star/pip and a generals' badge as its insignia, the Lieutenant-General would have the national arms and the generals' badge, and so forth. The Navy and Air Force would not normally use the Army rank insignias in such a situation, but positional equivalency for these ranks between services can be maintained within the armed forces.

Horizontal observation like the other tables throughout this page does not necessarily reflect equivalent status of a certain rank. Blank spaces would mean that the particular service does not have such a rank insignia real nor hypothetical. As Singapore's military rank table is capped at Lieutenant-General at present, the rank of General (bearing four stars, or hypothetically a national arms, a pip and a generals' badge) is not available presently. The next higher rank for the military services would be a full General for the Army & Air Force, and Admiral for the Navy. The armed forces is seemingly "under-corresponded", with regards to rank insignia as compared to the emergency and enforcement services, due to the non-adoption of the full four-star or equivalent insignia. An attempt to correspond the various ranks is set out in part D to follow.

Notes on Rank Titles: The basic rank titles, excluding modifiers/adjectives, prefixes, and/or ordinals/numerals that increases or decreases its relative position in the structure, for this level are General, Admiral, Commissioner, Director, and Director-General. Singapore Customs deviate in one instance in the use of the title Chief Superintendent but bearing a badge of the Directors-General.

Dress Codes: No.1 - Ceremonial Dress, No.2 - Mess Kit, No.3 - Working Dress, No.4 - Field Dress / No.4C - Coveralls/Flightsuits, and No.5 - Formal Dress (with or without Jacket) / No.5T - Formal Dress (long-sleeved shirt and tie without jacket) / No.5J - Formal Dress (long-sleeved shirt and tie with jacket). Hover over rank insignia image to view information.

 Central Narcotics Bureau 
 Directors  : Assistant Director ∙ Deputy Director ∙ Director of Central Narcotics Bureau

MILITARY			PARAMILITARY /  EMERGENCY & ENFORCEMENT SERVICES
Army	Navy	Air Force	Civil Defence	Police	Prisons	ICA	Customs
Generals	Admirals	Generals	Commis- sioners	Commis- sioners	Directors	Commis- sioners	Directors- General
Brigadier -General	Rear -Admiral (1-star)	Brigadier -General		Deputy Assistant Commis- sioner			Chief  Superin- tendent
Major -General	Rear -Admiral (2-star)	Major -General	Assistant Commis- sioner	Assistant Commis- sioner	Assistant Director	Assistant Commis- sioner	Assistant Director -General
			Senior Assistant Commis- sioner	Senior Assistant Commis- sioner	Deputy Director
Lieutenant -General	Vice-Admiral	Lieutenant -General	Deputy Commis- sioner	Deputy  Commis- sioner	Senior Deputy Director	Deputy Commis- sioner	Deputy Director -General
The highest military appointments are comprised of ; - the Chief of Defence Force, - the Chief of Army, - the Chief of Navy, and - the Chief of Air Force.
			Commis- sioner of Civil Defence	Commis- sioner of Police	Director of Prisons	Commis- sioner of ICA	Director -General of Customs

3D. Corresponding Ranks

The following table is an attempt to correspond the Superscale ranks of the various services. These higher ranks are normally held by career officers. Correspondence here is based to a large extent on the civil service's Superscale grades system. A rank may however straddle several grades and as a result also correspond partially with another service's immediate senior and/or junior rank. The table below should therefore be seen as a general and approximate guide rather than specific one. There is severe rank insignia deviation from the original British Army rank insignia model if rank insignia is incorporated into correspondence comparison. (With thanks to Edwin on the use of Superscale as a basis of comparison.)

Top of Page • Level 1: Rank-and-File • Level 2: Lower & Intermediate Command & Management • Level 3: Senior Command & Management • Trainee Rank Insignias

Rank Insignias of Personnel in Training
Enlisted, Specialist, and Officer Trainees

There exists special insignias for personnel undergoing training in the various services. This section will be presenting those which have come to my knowledge. The model generally differs between services for these ranks and are rather unique to each service, except the military services where it is also standardised like the normal in-service ranks above. However, there are some similarities especially at the officer-trainee level, in the use of full bars as insignias of officer trainees. The existence of trainee ranks for the ICA and Customs is yet to be confirmed.

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