Lieutenant commander

In the Royal Navy, United States Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, Canadian Forces Maritime Command (formerly the Royal Canadian Navy), United States Coast Guard, and many other navies and coast guards, a lieutenant commander (lieutenant-commander or Lt Cdr in the RN and abbreviated LCDR in the RAN) is a commissioned officer superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank in the British Army, Royal Marines, United States Army, United States Air Force and United States Marine Corps is major, and in the Royal Air Force is squadron leader.

Royal Navy rank insignia

The insignia worn by a Royal Navy lieutenant-commander is two medium gold braid stripes with one thin gold stripe running in between, placed upon a navy blue/black background. The top stripe has the ubiquitous loop used in all RN officer rank insignia. The RAF follows this pattern with its equivalent rank of squadron leader.

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Having fewer officer ranks than the army, the RN previously split some of its ranks by seniority (time in rank) to provide equivalence: hence a lieutenant with fewer than eight years' seniority wore two stripes, and ranked with an army captain; a lieutenant of eight years or more wore two stripes with a thinner one in between, and ranked with a major. This distinction was abolished when the rank of lieutenant-commander was introduced, the new rank taking the insignia and army equivalence of a senior lieutenant.

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