adjutant - Warrant Officer rank

A stork native to tropical SE Asia. There are two species: the greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius), and the lesser, haircrested, or Javan adjutant stork (Leptoptilos javanicus); grey and white; head nearly naked; eats carrion, frogs or fish; related to the marabou.

As the colonel's personal staff officer, he was once in charge of all the organisation, administration and discipline for a battalion or regiment, although now the bulk of administrative work is carried out by the Regimental Administrative Officer (RAO). Until the 1970s the adjutant was also the regimental operations officer, although this job is now filled by a separate officer. Unlike the RAO (who is an officer of the Adjutant General's Corps), the adjutant is a member of the corps or regiment of which their unit is a part. The adjutant's job is not solely a 'backroom' one, since he usually accompanies the colonel - Captain David Wood, the adjutant of 2 Para, was killed in action at the Battle of Goose Green, for example.

In the US Army, the Adjutant will generally also be a member of the branch or regiment of the parent unit (i.e. in an infantry battalion, the adjutant will usually be an infantry officer). The adjutant, particularly in a battalion, also works closely with the unit's command sergeant major for awards ceremonies, traditional ceremonial functions, casual events (hails and farewells), evaluation reports, and management of correspondence and other secretarial functions. At the brigade-level, an adjutant will be either a captain or a major and will likely be a member of the Adjutant General's Corps). Above the brigade level, the officer in charge of the personnel section of the element is no longer called an adjutant. At any level, the adjutant no longer serves as the commander's personal assistant, but more as a functioning member of the staff managed by the executive officer.

There is a bugle call announcing the adjutant that is still used in military ceremonies today.

An Adjutant General is one of two things:

the principal staff officer of an army, through whom the commanding general receives communications and issues military orders. On all formal parades, the standard procedure is for the Company Havildar Major to first report to the Subedar Adjutant, and the Subedar Adjutant in turn to report to the Adjutant.

Warrant Officer rank

In some armies, Adjudant (Adjutant) is a grade similar to Warrant Officer.

In the French Army:

A French Adjutant, Adjudant, is equal to a British/Commonwealth Warrant Officer 2. A French Chief Adjutant, Adjudant-Chef, is equal to a Brtish/Commonwealth Warrant Officer 1. The rank below Adjutant is Chief Sergeant (Sergeant-Chef) and the rank above is Major (which in France is not equivalent to a British Major, but is equal to a senior British/Commonwealth Warrant Officer 1. For instance, the infantry colour is gold, so an adjutant in the infantry wears a silver band with a thin red line on it, and a chief adjutant wears a gold band with a thin red line on it. (In order to distinguish an adjutant from a chief adjutant it is therefore necessary to know the arm's colour: This will be the colour of the cap badge e.g. gold cap badge for the infantry, silver cap badge for armoured cavalry.)

In the Belgian Army and Luxembourg Army, the ranks are Adjudant, Adjudant-Chef and Adjudant-Major (or Adjudant-Majoor in Dutch).

In the Canadian Army and Canadian Air Force, Adjudant is the French form of the English "Warrant Officer", and as such can refer to both the cadre of Warrant Officers, and the specific ranks of Adjudant (Warrant Officer), Adjudant-maître (Master Warrant Officer), and Adjudant-chef (Chief Warrant Officer).