Bombardier (/ˌbɒmbəˈdɪər/) is a military rank that has existed since the 16th century in artillery regiments of various armies, such as in the British Army and the Royal Prussian Army. It is today equivalent to the rank of corporal in other branches. The rank of lance-bombardier is the artillery counterpart of lance-corporal.
Bombardier Duncan Bromwich of Leyton, England (1893 -1917) in his Royal Field Artillery Bombardier uniform.
Russian Bombardier (left) and Feuerwerker (right) (1812).
Bombardier (Bdr) and lance-bombardier (LBdr or L/Bdr) are used by the British Army in the Royal Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery. The same applies to the Royal Australian Artillery, the Royal New Zealand Artillery, the South African Army Artillery and the Armed Forces of Malta. The Royal Canadian Artillery uses the ranks of master bombardier and bombardier, corresponding to master corporal and corporal.
Originally, the Royal Artillery had corporals, but not lance-corporals. Unlike a lance-corporal, a bombardier held full non-commissioned rank and not an acting appointment. The rank was equivalent to second corporal in the Royal Engineers and Army Ordnance Corps.
In 1920 corporals were abolished in the Royal Artillery; bombardiers became the equivalent and acquired the normal two chevrons.
The rank of lance bombardier originated as acting bombardier, an appointment similar to lance-corporal and was also indicated by a single chevron. The appointment was renamed lance-bombardier in February 1918 and became a full rank, as did lance-corporal, in 1961.
^ Oxford dictionary. "Bombardier". Retrieved 19 August 2012.
"Bombardier" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
"Bombardier" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. For example, in the United States armed forces, they are assigned the duty of training new recruits entering the military.
Drill instructors within the U.S. armed forces have different titles in each branch of service. In the United States Air Force, they are known as "Military Training Instructors", or MTIs. The United States Navy uses Marine Corps drill instructors at their Officer Candidate School, but only Chief Petty Officers and Petty Officers (1st or 2nd Class) called "Recruit Division Commanders", or RDCs at their recruit training. Within the United States Army, drill instructors are given the title of "Drill Sergeant". The United States Coast Guard gives the title of "Company Commander" to their drill instructors. The United States Marine Corps is the only branch of the U.S. armed forces where drill instructors are titled as "drill instructors", although the Marines were the first to call them Drill Sergeants but in 1971 changed to instructors. Drill instructors are referred to as "sir" or "ma'am" by recruits within the USAF, USMC, and USCG (for the first few weeks of basic training, until recruits are instructed to refer to their company commanders by their proper rank). Within the USN, recruits must refer to their RDCs by their proper ranks. Recruits in the United States Army must refer to their drill sergeants as such: "drill sergeant".The instruction and indoctrination given by the drill instructors of the various U.S. military branches includes instruction in customs and practices of military life, physical fitness, instruction in the proper execution of military drill, instilling discipline and willingness to immediately obey all lawful orders given by superiors, and oftentimes, basic armed and unarmed combat training.
The Imperial German Army (German: Deutsches Heer) was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire (excluding the Marine-Fliegerabteilung maritime aviation formations of the Imperial German Navy). The term Deutsches Heer is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the Bundeswehr. The German Army was formed after the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership in 1871 and dissolved in 1919, after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.
This is the List of words having different meanings in British and American English: A–L.
For the second portion of the list, see List of words having different meanings in British and American English: M–Z.
Asterisked (*) meanings, though found chiefly in the specified region, also have some currency in the other dialect; other definitions may be recognised by the other as Briticisms or Americanisms respectively. Additional usage notes are provided when useful.