Frank Soon wrote:This is ture in many countries armed forces.
I've noticed in the US Navy, Lt. Commanders do not have leaves on their hats, only Commanders and above do. but in the US Army, Majors do have leaves.
Does anyone know how this unique tradition was formed in the US navy?
Thanks
Army officers are traditionally divided into general officers, field officers and company officers. Navy officers were originally divided into flag officers, captains and lieutenants. In the US and British navies, commanders originated as a junior form of captain and lieutenant commanders as a senior form of lieutenant, which is why one has the "scrambled egg" and the other does not.
The USN, while it used the rank, always considered commodores to be flag officers. The Royal Navy had Commodores First Class, which were considered flag officers, and Commodores Second Class, who commanded their own ships and were considered a senior type of captain. When the two classes were abandoned after WW2, the commodores kept the uniform distinctions of the 2nd Class, so RN commodores wear the same cap visors as captians and commanders.
regards,
Justin