# Russian air base chief



## prost

I would like to know who is the highest ranked person working in an air base. I want to know what they would they be called(in both Russian and English)? Do you have any friends in the military that you could ask?

Does an air base have a captain? How do you say 'air base' in Russian?


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## hroldar

My younger son serves in the army now, but he was in the presidential forces, guarding the Kremlin in Moscow.


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## Maroseika

Russian Army consists of several corps, Air Force being one of them. The rank of each corps chief (except Navy) is General of the Army (генерал армии).
More details and NATO equivalents are here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_ranks_and_insignia_of_the_Russian_Federation


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## hroldar

The Chief Minister of Defence


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## morzh

prost said:


> I would like to know who is the highest ranked  person working in an air base.





hroldar said:


> The Chief Minister of Defence



Really?


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## Saluton

prost said:


> How do you say 'air base' in Russian?


Воздушная база, авиабаза.


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## Maroseika

prost said:


> Does an air base have a captain? How do you say 'air base' in Russian?


Air base is nothing else than a military company and its commander can have different ranks depending on the size of the base - major, subcolonel... But hardly captain since this is rather low rank. In the popular literature or in very general sense air base can be interpreted as авиационная база, авиабаза.


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## morzh

An airbase commander is typically a senior officer carrying a rank of colonel.

In Russian colonel is "полковник".


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## Maroseika

morzh said:


> An airbase commander is typically a senior officer carrying a rank of colonel.


Actually it depends on what exactly is meant because there is no such a *term *in Russian military system as авиабаза. There are for examples technical bases consisting of various warehouses, workshops, etc., and served by an aero-technical batallion (АТБ - авиационно-технический батальон or БАТО - батальон авиационно-технического обеспечения), usually headed by a subcolonel.
But if for example an aviation garrison is meant (including various units supporting an airdrome), it is used to be headed by a colonel.


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## morzh

Maroseika said:


> Actually it depends on what exactly is meant because there is no such a *term *in Russian military system as авиабаза. There are for examples technical bases consisting of various warehouses, workshops, etc., and served by an aero-technical batallion (АТБ - авиационно-технический батальон or БАТО - батальон авиационно-технического обеспечения), usually headed by a subcolonel.
> But if for example an aviation garrison is meant (including various units supporting an airdrome), it is used to be headed by a colonel.



Officially it is not a military name for the airbase, but it's been is use by the media (and, according to Wikipedia - as a "сниженная лексика" for Min. of. Defense press also) for a quite some time now.

>>В сообщениях для прессы Минобороны России слово _авиабаза_ используется в качестве сниженной (не специальной) лексики.

So, if we forget it is not an official military name for the airbase, and we all know what it means, then we can talk about what kind of rank is required for the officer to be an airbase commander, as this is the question here.

In quite a few it is a colonel. It may be a larger base, and probably there is a "вилка" then for "colonel/general major" (a Russian General Major / Counter-Admiral - Генрал-Майор/Контр-Адмирал are one-star officers unlike in the US army/Navy).


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## prost

Thanks folks.

Interesting. I think you are right when you say colonel. I know that a captain is more senior than a lieutenant and senior lieutenant. But what is the rank of a pilot? Are they at the bottom? Would a captain or lieutenant fly a plane?


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## morzh

Yes, I think they all fly planes.

As long as the guy has graduated from the military flying school, he has been trained in flying planes. He may not be a top gun, but he is then a pilot.

The officers' ranks go like this: (I intentionally omit jr. lieutenant rank - it does not exist for people who are mil schools; graduates)

lieutenant - sr. lieutenant - captain - major - lt. colonel - colonel.

Then they are followed by General officers' ranks but those are not the people who fly plains, though they can and some did.


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## prost

What is the rank of an average fighter pilot? Would they be a private or gefreiter or sergeant? What are the ranks for a fighter pilot?


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## morzh

Prost

Are you sure you know enough of American/English air force?

I think you should first to learn about your own. This will give you a better understanding of what others look like.

Otherwise you'd know that no people of soldier/sergeant ranks fly airplanes - only officers do.
Let alone gefreiters....


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## Maroseika

prost said:


> What is the rank of an average fighter pilot? Would they be a private or gefreiter or sergeant? What are the ranks for a fighter pilot?


Officer just graduated from the military flying college has a rank of a leutenant. Consequently, this is the lowest possible rank of the pilot.


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## prost

Thanks.

I now understand what morzh was trying to say. So the captain is normally the most senior pilot, two ranks above a lieutenant. Thanks Maroseika.


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## Maroseika

prost said:


> So the captain is normally the most senior pilot.


I'm not sure you understood it correct. 
Majors and colonels are flying as well, usually they command withthe units, so how can they not fly?


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## morzh

OK.

1. In order to fly military planes one must graduate from military flying school/academy.
2. Upon such graduation the first military rank of lieutenant will be earned by the graduate.
3. While serving in the Air force, such officer will be moving through the *ranks*, first of *senior lieutenant*, then of *captain*,  possibly achieving senior officer (*major* through *colonel*) ranks, or general officer (*Maj-Gen* through *Marshal of aviation*) ranks.
4. *Any* such officer of any rank, currently serving in the Air force, deemed to be in the appropriate state of physical health, may fly planes according to the training or combat schedule.


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