Colonel commandant

Colonel commandant is a military title used in the armed forces of some English-speaking countries. The title, not a substantive military rank, could denote a senior colonel with authority over fellow colonels. Today, the holder often has an honorary role outside the executive military structure, such as advocacy for the troops.

Until 1882, William Acland Douglas, who served in the 50th Regiment, was colonel-commandant of the military forces in Victoria.

Australian formations, such as the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police and the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR), have a colonel commandant, a retired soldier whose role is to act as advocate for the troops' interests. This requires visits to wherever the corps or regiment is deployed.

In the Bangladesh Army, the post of colonel commandant is an honorary post held by the most senior serving member of a corps or regiment. He is usually a general officer in the rank of lieutenant general or major general. The post is found in all corps and regiments of the army.

The Canadian Armed Forces widely uses colonels commandant as honorary appointments to act as advocates for members and to advise on relevant policy matters. In reserve regiments there has usually been an honorary colonel and an honorary lieutenant-colonel, while in the Regular Force, the title used is colonel commandant or colonel of the regiment. Many units also have a colonel-in-chief who is often a member of the Royal Family, frequently with a name connection to the regiment. Example: The Queen's York Rangers (First American Regiment) having the Queen and later the Duke of York, as Colonel-in-Chief. In the artillery, the monarch holds this role with the appellation "Captain-General". All of these "honoraries" are in head-of-family roles, approachable in varying degrees by anyone in the "regimental family".

The colonel commandant of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, is an appointment given by the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada to a distinguished retired armoured forces officer. The appointment is for three years, during which the incumbent is on the Canadian Forces' reserve list as the senior officer of the corps. He is responsible for advising the army commander on matters pertaining to the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. A colonel commandant travels widely to canvass the views of all ranks in the corps and frequently attends military policy conferences, ceremonies and unit celebrations. He is an ex officio member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association's executive committee.

In 2001, the Canadian Forces Medical Branch canvassed past and present members for nominations to the role of colonel commandant. The role is ceremonial but the colonel commandant acts as a link between the Canadian Forces Medical Branch and the wider civilian medical community. The position is not restricted to former senior medical officers; consideration is given to medical practitioners who are "particularly prominent and well respected within the world of civilian medicine."

In India colonel commandant is an honorary 'non-substantive' post, and is usually held by general officers mostly major generals or lieutenant generals. They are elected through secret ballot. Usually the officer would have been once part of the regiment, and in this role he represents the regiment and its men at the higher level of military hierarchy. This is especially in matters related to troop welfare. In photographs where the officer is portrayed as the 'colonel commandant', the rank insignia of a colonel affixed on a maroon/vine red background is used.