Military ranks of Tajikistan

The Military ranks of Tajikistan are the military insignia used by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan. Being a former member of Soviet Union, Tajikistan shares a rank structure similar to that of Russia. Tajikistan is a landlocked country, and does therefore not possess a navy.

Commissioned officer ranks

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Tajik Ground Forces[1] v t e
			Генерали артиш Generali artish		Генерал-полковник General-polkovnik		Генерал-лейтенант General-leytenant		Генерал-майор General-mayor		Полковник Polkovnik		Подполковник Podpolkovnik		Майор Mayor		Капитан Kapitan		Лейтенанти калон Leytenanti kalon		Лейтенант Leytenant		Лейтенанти хурд Leytenanti xurd
Tajik Air Force[1] v t e
					Генерал-полковник General-polkovnik		Генерал-лейтенант General-leytenant		Генерал-майор General-mayor		Полковник Polkovnik		Подполковник Podpolkovnik		Майор Mayor		Капитан Kapitan		Лейтенанти калон Leytenanti kalon		Лейтенант Leytenant		Лейтенанти хурд Leytenanti xurd
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers

Other ranks

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
Tajik Ground Forces[1] v t e
	Прапоршики калон Praporshiki kalon			Прапоршик Praporshik			Старшина Starshyna		Сержанти калон Serzhanti kalon		Сержант Serzhant						Сержанти хурд Serzhanti xurd						Ефрейтор Efreytor				Қаторӣ Qatorī
Tajik Air Force[1] v t e
	Прапоршики калон Praporshiki kalon			Прапоршик Praporshik			Старшина Starshyna		Сержанти калон Serzhanti kalon		Сержант Serzhant						Сержанти хурд Serzhanti xurd						Ефрейтор Efreytor				Қаторӣ Qatorī
Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted

Name change

Guided by the principles of historicism, continuity, unification and standardization of military terminology between Persian-speaking states, the Committee on Language and Terminology, in 2018, invited the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan to adopt the names of formations from the Iranian Armed Forces and restore the historical names of units as follows:^[2]

Based on the fact that in the Persian-Tajik language military ranks traditionally come from the names of units and formations, the following military rank system for the Tajik Armed Forces was proposed:^[2]

Proposed Tajik names of military units and ranks^[3]

Units		meaning and etymology	Ranks		meaning and etymology
English names	Tajik names	British Army	Proposed Tajik
			Private	Sarbāz	lit. 'risking one's head'[4] (from sar "head" + bāz "to lose, to let go")
			Lance corporal	Razmyōz	lit. 'inspiring to fight' < razm-yōz (from razm "combat" < *razma- "formation" < *raźman- "order of battle" + yōz < *i̯auź- : i̯uź- "stimulate; stir up; seeker"[5])
Squad	Rada	radag is a Middle Persian term (from ratak- "line, rank, row" < Proto-Iranic *rata-ka- "row"[6]) denoting military units originally consisting of 10 men in the Parthian and Sasanian armies	Corporal	Razmāvar	lit. 'leading into battle' (from razm + -āvar : -var "to lead" < *bara- "leader" < √*bar- "to lead"[6])
			Sergeant	Razmdār	lit. 'holder of the battle formation' (from razm + dār < dār < *dār(a)- < Proto-Iranic *dārai̯a- "to hold"[6])
			Staff Sergeant	Razmārā	lit. 'who arrays troops; experienced in warfare;[4] adorning the battle-field, an accomplished warrior[5]' (from razm + ārāy- "to equip (army), to arrange; put in order" < *ā-rāda- < √*rād-[6])
			Sergeant First Class	Razmāzmā	lit. 'skilled or accomplished in warfare;[4] skilled in war, war-like[5]' (from razm + āzmāy "to measure, to test" < Middle Persian: uzmāy- < *uz-māya- < √*māy- [6])
			Warrant officer class 2	Razmpardāz	lit. 'who prepares the soldiers for battle' (from razm + pardāz "to prepare, to arrange" < *para-tāča- < √*tak- "to run; to attack"[6])
			Warrant officer class 1	Razmsāz	lit. 'intent on combat; putting in battle array'[5] (from razm + sāz < sāč- : sāxtan "to make, to prepare, to arrange" < *sāča- < √*sak- "to be ready, to be able"[6])
Platoon	Tahm	taḥm is a Middle Persian term (from taḥmīh "force" < *taxma- < √*tak-[6]) denoting military units originally consisting of 50 — 100 men in the Parthian and Sasanian armies	Third lieutenant	Tahmāvar	lit. 'chief of a tahm; platoon commander' (from tahm + -āvar : -var[6])
			Second lieutenant	Tahmdār	taḥmdār is a Parthian term (from taḥm + dār lit. 'commander of a taḥm' in the Parthian army), which probable is a calque from the Ταγματάρχης which means "commander of a tagma"[7]
			First lieutenant	Tahmārā	lit. 'who arrays or marshals troops; platoon commander' (from tahm + ārāy-[6])
Company	Vašt	wašt is a Middle Persian term (from wast meaning one hundred) denoting military units originally consisting of 100 men in the Parthian and Sasanian armies	Captain	Sarvān	lit. 'chief;[5] captain[8]' (from sar "head, chief" + -vān < -bān < pāna- "keeper, guard" < *√pā- "to protect"[6])
Battalion	Gordān	lit. 'battalion'[8] (plural of gord "hero" < gurd < Proto-Iranic vr̥ta- < √*vr̥t- : *vart- "to protect; to resist"[6])	Major	Sargord	lit. 'major'[8] (from sar "head, chief" + gord "commander of a group of troops"[6])
			Lieutenant colonel	Sarhangyār	lit. 'deputy of the colonel' (from sarhang "colonel" + -yār "assistant, deputy")
Regiment	Hang	lit. 'regiment'[8] (from hang "strength, power" < *√θang- "to draw; to pull"[6])	Colonel	Sarhang	lit. 'colonel'[8] (from sarhang < sar + hang "commander of the regiment"[6])
Brigade	Gond	gund is a Parthian term (from *vr̥nda- "army, troop"[6])) denoting a major tactical military formation in the Parthian and Sasanian armies	Brigadier general	Gond-sālār	lit. 'general of brigade' gund-sālār is a Parthian term (from gund "army, troop" + sālār "general" < sarδār < *sara-dāra- "leader"[6]) denoting a commander of major tactical military formation in the Parthian and Sasanian armies
Division	Laškar	lit. 'division'[8] (from laškar < *raxša-kara- "guardian" < Proto-Iranic *raxš- + *kar- "guard"[6])	Major general	Laškar-sālār	lit. 'divisional general' (from laškar "division" + sālār "general")
Corps	Sipāh	lit. 'corps'[8] (from spāh < spāda- < Proto-Iranic *spāda- «army»[6])	Lieutenant general	Sipah-sālār	lit. 'army corps general' (from spāh-sālār "commander-in chief of an army"[8])
Army	Arteš	lit. 'army'[8] (from artēštārīh "warriorhood" < artēštār "warrior" < raθaē-štar- "a charioteer"[6])	General	Arteš-sālār	lit. 'army general' (from artēštārān-sālār "chief of the warriors"[9])

The proposed system of Tajik military ranks sent to the National Security Council of Tajikistan.^[2]