Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral.
Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is usually equivalent to the rank of major general in armies. In the U.S. Navy and some other navies, there are two rear admiral ranks.
The term originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. Each naval squadron was assigned an admiral as its head, who commanded from the centre vessel and directed the squadron's activities. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships that bore the brunt of a battle. In the rear of the squadron, a third admiral commanded the remaining ships and, as this section was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of it was typically the most junior. This has continued into the modern age, with rear admiral the most junior admiralty of many navies.
Since the mid-1990s, the insignia of a Royal Australian Navy rear admiral is the Crown of St. Edward above a crossed sword and baton, above two silver stars, above the word "Australia". Like the Royal Navy version, the sword is a traditional naval cutlass. The stars have eight points, unlike the four pointed Order of the Bath stars used by the army (which are often referred to as "pips"). Prior to 1995, the RAN shoulder board was identical to the Royal Navy shoulder board. The Royal Navy shoulder board changed again in 2001 and the Australian and UK shoulder boards are now identical except for the word "Australia".
Rear Admiral Robyn Walker became the first female admiral in the Royal Australian Navy when she was appointed Surgeon-General of the Australian Defence Force on 16 December 2011.
The rank insignia for a rear-admiral is two silver maple leaves beneath a silver crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by St Edward's Crown, worn on gold shoulder boards on the white short-sleeved shirt or the tropical white tunic. The service dress features a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff and, since June 2010, The Maple Leaf/La Feuille d'érable – no. 13 vol.18 above it a narrower strip of gold braid embellished with the executive curl. On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Royal Australian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Bangladesh Navy)
File:Belize_Coast_Guard_OF-7.svg|Rear admiral
(Belize Coast Guard)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Royal Canadian Navy)
File:Ethiopia-Navy-OF-7.svg|ሬር አድሚራል
Rēri ādimīrali
(Ethiopian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Republic of Fiji Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Gambian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Ghana Navy)
File:Guyana Rear Admiral Insignia.svg|Rear admiral
(Guyana Coast Guard)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Indian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-(star)-O9.svg|Rear admiral
(Irish Naval Service)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Jamaican Coast Guard)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Namibian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Royal New Zealand Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Nigerian Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Pakistan Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Papua New Guinea Maritime Element)
File:PN RADM BlkDr-Slv.svg|Rear admiral
(Philippine Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Sierra Leone Navy)
File:09-RSN-OF07.svg|Rear admiral
(Republic of Singapore Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(South African Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Sri Lanka Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Tanzania Naval Command)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard)
File:Generic-Navy-10.svg|Rear admiral
(Royal Navy)
File:Generic-Navy-(star v2)-O9.svg|Rear admiral
(United States Navy)
File:US-CoastGuard-O8.svg|Rear admiral
(United States Coast Guard)
|
|