Oberstabsfeldwebel

Not to be confused with the senior Austrian NCO-rank Oberstabswachtmeister.

Oberstabsfeldwebel (OStFw or OSF, lit. 'Senior staff field usher')^{[citation needed]} is the highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-9 in NATO, equivalent to a sergeant major in the United States Army and a Warrant Officer Class 1 in the British Army. Attainment of this rank requires at least sixteen years since promotion to feldwebel and at least six years since promotion to hauptfeldwebel^[1]

Oberstabsfeldwebel
Heer and Luftwaffe shoulder insignia
Country	Germany
Service branch	German Army  German Air Force
Abbreviation	OStFw
Rank	German NCO rank
NATO rank code	OR-9
Non-NATO rank	E-9
Formation	1955
Next higher rank	Leutnant
Next lower rank	Stabsfeldwebel
Equivalent ranks	Oberstabsbootsmann

In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as Herr Oberstabsfeldwebel also informally / short Oberstaber.

The rank was introduced in the German Heer equivalent to the Marine grade Oberstabsbootsmann in 1955, and belongs to the grad group Unteroffiziere mit Portepee.

History

The rank is a comparatively new rank, and had not been used by any German military prior to in 1955. The Kriegsmarine, did however have a Stabsoberfeldwebel [de], used from 1939 to 1945.

Rank sequence

The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group (Senior NCOs with portepee) is as follows:

• OR-9: Oberstabsfeldwebel / Oberstabsbootsmann
• OR-8: Stabsfeldwebel / Stabsbootsmann
• OR-7: Hauptfeldwebel / Hauptbootsmann
• OR-6a: Oberfeldwebel / Oberbootsmann
• OR-6b: Feldwebel / Bootsmann