Un teniente ( Reino Unido : / lɛfˈtɛnənt / left - TEN - ənt , Estados Unidos : / luː- / loo- ; [ 1] abreviado Lt. , Lt , LT , Lieut y similares ) es un rango de oficial comisionado subalterno en las fuerzas armadas de muchas naciones, así como en los servicios de bomberos , servicios médicos de emergencia , servicios de seguridad y fuerzas policiales .
El rango en los ejércitos y las fuerzas aéreas suele subdividirse en subcategorías de antigüedad. En las armadas de habla inglesa , los tenientes suelen ser equivalentes al rango de capitán en el ejército ; en otras armadas, los tenientes suelen ser iguales a sus homólogos del ejército.
El teniente también puede aparecer como parte de un título utilizado en varias otras organizaciones con una estructura de mando codificada. A menudo designa a alguien que es " segundo al mando " y, como tal, puede preceder al nombre del rango inmediatamente superior. Por ejemplo, es probable que un "teniente maestro" sea el segundo al mando del "maestro" en una organización que utilice ambos rangos.
Los usos políticos incluyen el de teniente gobernador en varios gobiernos, como los representantes virreinales de la Corona en las provincias canadienses . En el Reino Unido , un lord teniente es el representante del soberano en un condado o área de tenencia , mientras que un vice teniente es uno de los diputados del lord teniente.
La palabra teniente deriva del francés ; lieu significa "lugar" como en una posición ( cf. en lugar de); y teniente significa "sosteniendo" como en "sosteniendo una posición"; por lo tanto, un "teniente" es un sustituto de un superior, durante su ausencia (compárese con el latín locum tenens ).
En el siglo XIX, los escritores británicos que consideraban que esta palabra era una imposición en el idioma inglés o difícil de usar para los soldados y marineros comunes, abogaron por reemplazarla por el término calco "steadholder". Sin embargo, sus esfuerzos fracasaron y la palabra francesa todavía se usa, junto con sus muchas variaciones (por ejemplo, teniente coronel , teniente general , teniente comandante , teniente de vuelo , segundo teniente y muchos ejemplos en idiomas no ingleses), tanto en el Viejo como en el Nuevo Mundo . [ cita requerida ]
Pronunciación de teniente as / l ɛ f ˈ t ɛ n ə n t / left-TEN-əntgeneralmente se asocia con los ejércitos dede la Commonwealth británica, mientras que/ l uː ˈ t ɛ n ə n t / loo-TEN-əntse asocia generalmente con el ejército de los Estados Unidos.[2]La historia temprana de la pronunciación no está clara;del inglés mediosugieren que ambas pronunciaciones pueden haber existido incluso entonces.[3] La mayoría de las fuentes de los siglos XVI y XVII muestran pronunciaciones con/v/o/f/, peroBullokartiene/liu/.[4]
La rara variante del francés antiguo leuf ( en lugar del francés moderno lieu ) apoya la sugerencia de que una [u] final de la palabra en francés antiguo se percibía en ciertos entornos como una [f] . [3] Además, en latín , la lengua franca de la época, [ ¿cuándo? ] se usa la letra ⟨v⟩ tanto para [u] como para [v] . En la tradición de la Marina Real (RN) (y otras armadas de habla inglesa fuera de los Estados Unidos) se utiliza una pronunciación reducida / l ə ˈ t ɛ n ə n t / . Las ediciones recientes delOED(aunque la pronunciación RN se incluyó en ediciones delOEDhasta la década de 1970).
El grado superior de teniente se conoce como primer teniente en los Estados Unidos y como teniente en el Reino Unido y el resto del mundo angloparlante . En los países que no hablan inglés, el título de rango generalmente se traduce como "teniente", pero también puede traducirse como "primer teniente" o "teniente superior". El rango de las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel segen (סגן) se traduce literalmente como "adjunto", que es equivalente a un teniente. En el ejército finlandés hay un grado de teniente superior que se ubica por encima del teniente y el segundo teniente pero por debajo del capitán; no tiene un equivalente en inglés. En Alemania se llama Oberleutnant (teniente superior).
Convencionalmente, los ejércitos y otros servicios o ramas que usan títulos de rango de estilo militar tienen dos grados de teniente, pero algunos también usan un tercer rango, más inferior. Históricamente, el "teniente" era el adjunto de un "capitán", y a medida que la estructura de rango de los ejércitos comenzó a formalizarse, esto pasó a significar que un capitán comandaba una compañía y tenía varios tenientes, cada uno al mando de un pelotón . Cuando se empleaban oficiales más jóvenes como adjuntos del teniente, tenían muchos nombres, incluidos segundo teniente, subteniente, alférez y corneta . Algunas partes del Ejército británico , incluida la Artillería Real , los Ingenieros Reales y los regimientos de fusileros , utilizaron el primer teniente y el segundo teniente hasta finales del siglo XIX, y algunos regimientos del Ejército británico aún conservan el corneta como una alternativa oficial al segundo teniente.
Existe una gran variación en las insignias que se utilizan en todo el mundo. En la mayoría de los países de habla inglesa y árabe, así como en varias naciones europeas y sudamericanas, los tenientes (y sus equivalentes) suelen llevar dos estrellas y los subtenientes (y sus equivalentes), una. Un ejemplo de excepción es Estados Unidos, cuyas fuerzas armadas distinguen sus grados de teniente con una barra de plata para los primeros tenientes y una barra de oro para los segundos tenientes.
The United States Marine Corps and British Royal Marines[86] both use army ranks, while many former Eastern-Bloc marine forces retain the naval rank structure. Before 1999 the Royal Marines enjoyed the same rank structure as the army, but at a grade higher; thus a Royal Marine captain ranked with and was paid the same as a British Army major. This historical remnant caused increasing confusion in multi-national operations and was abolished.
While some air forces use the army rank system, the British Royal Air Force and many other Commonwealth air forces use another rank system in which flight lieutenant ranks with an army captain and naval lieutenant, a flying officer ranks with an army lieutenant and a pilot officer with an army second lieutenant.
In the US Air Force, the Third Lieutenant Program refers specifically to a training program at active duty air force bases for cadets of the Air Force Academy and Air Force ROTC the summer before their fourth and final year before graduation and commissioning. A single silver or subdued pip is used to designate this rank.
The Royal Air Force also has an acting pilot officer designation, the most junior commissioned rank in the British armed forces. It is functionally equivalent to third lieutenant.
During the early days of the naval rank, a lieutenant might be very junior indeed, or might be on the cusp of promotion to captain; by modern standards, he might rank with any army rank between second lieutenant and lieutenant colonel. As the rank structure of navies stabilized, and the ranks of commander, lieutenant commander and sub-lieutenant were introduced, the naval lieutenant came to rank with an army captain (NATO OF-2 or US O-3).
The insignia of a lieutenant in many navies, including the Royal Navy,[90] consists of two medium gold braid stripes (top stripe with loop) on a navy blue or black background. Where in Myanmar Navy, they're Sub Lieutenant with the insignia of 2 gold stars. This pattern was copied by the United States Navy and various Air Forces for their equivalent ranks grades, except that the loop is removed (see flight lieutenant).
Lieutenants were commonly put in command of smaller vessels not warranting a commander or captain: such a lieutenant was called a "lieutenant commanding" or "lieutenant commandant" in the United States Navy, and a "lieutenant in command" or "lieutenant and commander" in the Royal Navy. The USN settled on "lieutenant commander" in 1862, and made it a distinct rank; the Royal Navy followed suit in March 1914. The insignia of an additional half-thickness stripe between the two full stripes of a lieutenant was introduced in 1877 for a Royal Navy lieutenant of 8 years seniority, and used for lieutenant commanders upon introduction of their rank.[91]
The first lieutenant in the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth navies, is a post or appointment, rather than a rank. Historically the lieutenants in a ship were ranked in accordance with seniority, with the most senior being termed the "first lieutenant" and acting as the second-in-command. Although lieutenants are no longer numbered by seniority, the post of "first lieutenant" remains. In minor war vessels, destroyers and frigates the first lieutenant (either a lieutenant or lieutenant-commander) is second in command, executive officer (XO) and head of the executive branch; in larger ships where a commander of the warfare specialization is appointed as the executive officer, a first lieutenant (normally a lieutenant-commander) is appointed as his deputy. The post of first lieutenant in a shore establishment carries a similar responsibility to the first lieutenant of a capital ship.
In the U.S. Navy or U.S. Coast Guard the billet of first lieutenant describes the officer in charge of the deck department or division, depending upon the size of the ship. In smaller ships with only a single deck division, the billet is typically filled by an ensign while in larger ships with a deck department, consisting of multiple subordinate divisions, the billet may be filled by a lieutenant commander. On submarines and smaller Coast Guard cutters the billet of first lieutenant may be filled by a petty officer.
Second lieutenant is usually the most junior grade of commissioned officer. In most cases, newly commissioned officers do not remain at the rank for long before being promoted, and both university graduates and officers commissioned from the ranks may skip the rank altogether.[citation needed]
In March 1813, the US Army created the rank of third lieutenant. The rank was used as the entry level officer rank for the Ordnance Department and the Corps of Artillery until March 1821.[92] Throughout the 19th century and until as late as World War II[93] the United States Army sometimes referred to brevet second lieutenants as "third lieutenants". These were typically newly commissioned officers for which no authorized second lieutenant position existed. Additionally, the Confederate States Army also used "third lieutenant", typically as the lowest ranking commissioned officer in an infantry company.
Notably, the United States Revenue Cutter Service used a simple officer rank structure with Captain, First, Second and Third Lieutenants, each of whom had distinct insignia. The title of Third Lieutenant, essentially equal to the rank of ensign, existed until 1915 when the Service became the nucleus of the new United States Coast Guard.[94] Because of the time required to fully establish this organization the rank continued for some time afterwards; the first Coast Guard aviator, Elmer F. Stone, was a third lieutenant until 1918.[95]
In the Royal Navy, the commissioned rank of mate was created in 1840, and was renamed sub-lieutenant in 1860. In the US Navy, the rank was called master until 1883, when it was renamed lieutenant, junior grade. In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant, but in Brazil it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain it is the second highest non-commissioned rank. In Portugal, sub-lieutenant is the rank of a junior naval officer graduated from a civil university or promoted from a NCO rank, while the equivalent rank of an officer graduated in the naval academy is designated midshipman.
The first French Lieutenant of Police, Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie, was appointed in Paris by Louis XIV on 15 March 1667 to command a reformed police force. He was later elevated to Lieutenant-General of Police. In the 17th century, the term "lieutenant" corresponded to "deputy" (i.e. a person appointed to carry out a task). La Reynie was the deputy for policing duties of the Provost of Paris, the ceremonial representative of the King in Paris. In 1995, the rank of lieutenant was introduced in the National Police as the first rank of the police officers scale.
The rank of Lieutenant was formerly used in areas outside of the Metropolitan Police. The adoption of standardized ranks across the United Kingdom has eliminated its use. A number of city and burgh police forces in Scotland used the rank of lieutenant (and detective lieutenant) between inspector and superintendent from 1812 to 1948. It was replaced by the rank of chief inspector.[96] The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (founded 1871) had the rank of lieutenant between staff sergeant and inspector until 1997. In Australia, Queensland's first police force (founded 1864) had second lieutenants and lieutenants between the ranks of sergeant and inspector-general.
The rank of police lieutenant is used in most medium or large police departments in the United States, where it is one rank above sergeant and two ranks above a regular police officer (three in departments with a corporal rank). It is roughly equivalent to an inspector in the British and Canadian police forces. The usual role of a lieutenant is to carry out administrative duties and assist precinct commanders (normally a captain, or sometimes the local police chiefs). In smaller police departments, they may command a precinct itself. Lieutenants either command a watch (8-hour "shift") of regular officers or a special unit for operations or investigations (like a Robbery-Homicide squad). The typical rank insignia for a lieutenant is a single silver bar (like that of an Army or Marine Corps First Lieutenant) or a single gold bar (like that of an Army or Marine Corps Second Lieutenant). Some police departments split the rank of lieutenant into two separate grades.
In the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the rank of lieutenant (LTA) is the second-lowest commissioned rank. The rank insignia of LTA is two pips.[97]
In Canada, the representative of the Canadian monarch in each province is called the Lieutenant Governor. The Lieutenant Governor exercises all the royal prerogative powers that the monarch holds.
In French history, "lieutenant du roi" was a title borne by the officer sent with military powers to represent the king in certain provinces. It is in the sense of a deputy that it has entered into the titles of more senior officers, lieutenant general and lieutenant colonel.
The British monarch's representatives in the counties of the United Kingdom are called Lords Lieutenant. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland performed the function of viceroy in Ireland.
The Lieutenant Governor is an official in state governments of 45 out of 50 United States. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for the governor when they are absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated. In the event a governor dies, resigns, or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor typically becomes governor.
In the United States, a governor serves as the chief executive officer and commander-in-chief in each of the fifty states and in the five permanently inhabited territories, functioning as both head of state and head of government therein.
Leaders, or officers of the Boys' Brigade, particularly in the United Kingdom, are ranked as lieutenants after having completed their formal training, before which they are ranked as warrant officers. Officers serving in staff or command posts are awarded the "brevet" rank of captain, these officers then revert to their lieutenancy after having completed their tour of duty.
The rank of cadet lieutenant (CLT) is given to officer cadet trainees who have passed their officer's course. The rank insignia of CLT is a pip and a bar below it. CLTs may be promoted to the rank of senior cadet lieutenant (S/CLT), which has a rank insignia of a pip and two bars below it.[98]
The Salvation Army also uses lieutenant to denote first time officers, or clergymen/women.
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Baltazar Adona, Third Lieutenant, U.S. Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against a hostile force in the Philippine Islands. Third Lieutenant Adona distinguished himself by intrepid actions from 10 to 16 December 1941 while serving with the Philippine Scouts