Oh Captain, My Captain! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Belgium

Captain is usually the third lowest officer rank with two different lieutenant grades below it, thus most captains' insignia will feature three of the basic "officer" item, most commonly stars. Five point stars are the most common but variations range from triangular pips (used by Philippines) to at least fifteen points (as seen in India).

Answer: Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Bosnian officers' insignia as a whole use a pattern seen in many European nations: Company-grade officers have a very simple or no embellishment to go with their stars, field-grade officers have an additional, more elaborate item (in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a pair of crossed swords) and generals an even more elaborate one (adding a wreath and shield to the swords).

Answer: Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary traditionally used gorget patches instead of shoulder boards, a custom still seen in the dress uniforms of both armies today. The flower is an Edelweiss and represents mountain infantry. Higher ranks in the country put the stars on a field of silver or gold braid partially (field grade) or completely (generals) covering the gorget area.

Answer: Finland

Finnish army insignia are traditionally worn on the collar and have quite elaborate designs, even for non-commissioned ranks. If you move up the ranks from captains, you'd first see a double border around the stars and then, for generals, golden Finnish lions in a golden border on a red base. On the field uniform, standard shoulder boards are used and there are no borders - the only difference between a captain and a colonel is that the colonel's flower pips are larger.

Answer: Russia

Unlike most armed forces, the Soviet army used three lieutenant grades instead of the usual two and that setup was enforced throughout the entire Warsaw pact, even though the actual designs varied. Field grade officers have larger stars and two vertical red stripes on their insignia while generals wear a braided pattern with even larger stars.

Some generals' titles in Russia and former East Bloc states are also off by one step: The direct translation of Major General identifies a one-star rank and Lieutenant General is the two-star rank.

Answer: Germany

The German Reichswehr and later Wehrmacht used an officer pattern that had one fewer star throughout the entire grade chart than most comparable patterns - second lieutenants, majors and brigadiers had no stars on their respective shoulder boards. Field grade officers replaced the straight silver cords with a braided pattern and generals had silver stars on gold braided cords.

The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) kept using the same basic designs after 1945, but with the Soviet star counts (so this insignia would be a GDR second lieutenant), while West Germany switched to a very plain, basic pattern using simple stars, combined with an oak leaf cluster for the higher ranks.

Answer: Switzerland

Swiss NCO insignia actually look more impressive than their commissioned counterparts, featuring a wreathed Helvetic cross in addition to bars and chevrons. Most officers just have these basic stripes. Field grade officers have wider but otherwise identical stripes.

The Swiss do not use the term "General" outside war - their highest ranks translate to Brigadier, Divisionary and Corps Commander.

Answer: United States of America

To my knowledge, the Unites States insignia system is the only one where a golden symbol is junior to the same symbol in silver. It is also one of very few that uses unique items for most of its officer ranks instead of adding multiples of the same one.

While the army, the air force and the marines all use the same pattern in their commissioned ranks, the actual metal insignia are not freely exchangeable between branches - as an example, this marine captain's insignia has different geometric proportions than her army equivalent's.

Answer: Brazil

I hope the Portuguese language name of the rank helped you identify the country. Most Brazilian air force officer insignia are composed of the three-bar design shown here and a similar version with just two bars. Field grade officers use two items to achieve a progression of the bar count - 2+2 for major, 3+2 for lieutenant colonel and 3+3 for colonel.

There is no second lieutenant in the Brazilian air force, so no one-bar insignia is required.

Answer: Mexico

Besides featuring the unusual design, Mexico is one of the few countries that make an actual, visible distinction between two grades of captain (although a pay grade separation exists in many countries). The insignia shown is that of a senior captain (capitán primero) while that of a junior captain (capitán secundo) has a shorter central bar. Higher ranks do not expand on the bar pattern - they just feature stars and, for generals, the Mexican eagle.