Shoulder straps are part of a serviceman's clothing, and the arrangement of stars on the shoulder straps is considered to be a sign of rank distinction between colleagues. However, it is very important to know at what distance the stars should be on this part of the uniform, since punctuality, discipline and strict adherence to instructions play a huge role in the army. A soldier's appearance must always be impeccable.
The placement of stars on shoulder straps according to certain regulations also contributes to clear orientation, that is, another person or colleague will always be able to understand what rank a given serviceman has and what his position is at the present time. In fact, in this regard, shoulder straps provide almost exhaustive information. An important aspect is not only the number of stars, but also their location relative to each other.
How to properly attach stars
Shoulder insignia among military personnel are an integral attribute of a serviceman's appearance in the army, as well as in law enforcement agencies. These signs will not only help to distinguish a particular employee by rank, but also determine which specific department he belongs to.
Rank is distinguished, as a rule, by the size of the stars, their number on the shoulder strap, and also by their location on this part of the serviceman’s clothing. For citizens who decide to give their lives to service, it is necessary to know how to properly attach stars to shoulder straps.
All rules regarding this issue are provided for by special Regulations, which were drawn up and approved by the Ministry of Defense of our country, as well as in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. All norms must be observed by both future military personnel and those already occupying certain positions.
If the distance between the stars on the shoulder straps differs from the distance prescribed in the relevant acts, then this will be interpreted as a violation of the rules for wearing military clothing.
At what distance
In the officer corps, both senior, junior and middle, the distance at which stars are placed on shoulder straps is almost the same. The only difference is the size and location on the shoulder straps.
In accordance with the rank, a serviceman must take into account such features, which are as follows:
- A serviceman with the rank of warrant officer or midshipman wears two stars, which are located along the red line of the shoulder straps. Each star is 1.3 cm, and the distance between them must be at least 2.5 cm.
- A serviceman who has received the rank of senior warrant officer or senior midshipman has one more star, that is, on his shoulder straps the number already reaches three. In this case, they should be located as follows: all three stars are attached on the same line, along the red central one. The distance and size are similar to the previous point.
- A serviceman with the rank of junior lieutenant wears one star, which is identical in size to the ensign's stars, but the distance is much greater - 4.5 cm. The star should be located on the red line of the shoulder strap.
- A soldier promoted to the rank of lieutenant has two stars, which are no different in size from the stars of a junior lieutenant. The distance between the stars on the shoulder straps is the same as for ensigns - 2.5 cm. They are located on both sides of the red center line of the shoulder straps.
- A serviceman with the rank of senior lieutenant already receives three stars, which are the same size as on the shoulder straps of a serviceman one step lower. The distance of the stars on the shoulder straps is similar, that is, 1.3 cm. Two stars are located on both sides of the red center line, and the third is slightly higher and is located directly on the red line itself.
- A serviceman at the rank of capital and lieutenant commander already has four stars, which also have the same size and similar distance as the senior lieutenant. The location is as follows: two stars on either side of the red line, just above two stars at the same distance.
- A serviceman with the rank of major or captain 3rd rank has one star, which is larger in diameter than those who have the rank of captain or lieutenant. The size of the star in this case is 2 cm. The distance of the stars on the shoulder straps is 4.5 cm. The star is located between two red parallel lines on the shoulder straps.
- A serviceman with the rank of lieutenant colonel or captain 2nd rank already has two stars of the same size and at the same distance as the major. Both stars are located on the red lines of the shoulder straps.
- A serviceman who has received the rank of colonel or captain 1st rank has three stars on his shoulder straps, which are also 2 cm in size, and the distance between the stars on the shoulder straps of the RF Armed Forces in this case is 4.5 cm. Two stars are located on the red lines of the shoulder straps, and one slightly above and in the middle between these lines. Moreover, strictly at the same distance from the edges of the shoulder element.
- The location of the stars on the shoulder straps of military personnel who have received the rank of major general or rear admiral is indicated on the center line of the shoulder straps. In this case, the distance increases to 5 cm, and the diameter of the star is already 2.2 cm. Military personnel who have received this rank have one star.
- A serviceman with the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral has two stars located at the same distance as the major general, and their size is also identical. The stars are located on the center line.
- Military personnel with the rank of colonel general already have three stars, which are in one row on the shoulder strap, at the same distance, equal to 5 cm, and having the same diameter, that is, 2.2 cm. All stars are also located on the center line of the shoulder straps.
- A soldier who has received the highest rank in the hierarchy currently established by the government of our country, that is, army general, police general or navy admiral, has one star, which reaches 4 cm in diameter.
The placement of stars on officers' shoulder straps is strictly prescribed by regulations, from which one cannot deviate. Moreover, the distance between the stars for each rank in this case is the same and is 2.5 cm.
How can I attach
Before attaching the stars to the shoulder straps, you need to arm yourself with a ruler, with which it is important to take measurements and mark the places where the stars will be located. It is necessary to measure from the bottom of the shoulder straps up to the center of the first star attachment.
Then you need to mark this place. It is best to use a pen or pencil. After this, use an awl to make a hole in the chase, which will be located at the location of the intended point. After such a procedure, you can insert the star into this hole and bend the lower part so that the star is held as tightly as possible. Fixing the star as tightly as possible is essential to avoid accidental loss.
What is the best way to attach stars to false shoulder straps?
Due to the fact that during combat operations, when the serviceman was required to constantly be on the move and endure physical stress, the problem of attaching stars to shoulder straps faced the military especially seriously.
Several years ago, the government of our country decided that it was pointless to fasten the stars under these conditions, since it was impossible to completely eliminate situations in which they would never come off. For this reason, they decided to use embroidery in the process of making shoulder straps. That is, it was no longer necessary to attach stars to shoulder straps, since the embroidered elements more than compensated for the previous methods of attachment.
When attaching stars and lapel emblems to an officer's uniform, it is necessary to remember the size of the stars themselves. The distance between them is measured from the edge of one to the edge of the other, and not from their center. Therefore, preliminary measurements and marks must be made very carefully, taking into account such nuances. It is best to purchase several spare stars of the required size for a serviceman’s field uniform, since if one or more are lost, they can be easily replaced. Field stars need to be attached more firmly.
How are lapel emblems placed on shoulder straps?
The lapel insignia is another insignia in the army. As a rule, it is placed on the collar of outerwear, but similar distinctive features of a serviceman can also be found on his shoulder straps. Such distinctive signs are also intended to be worn to determine which type of military force a given military member belongs to. As a rule, they are made of gold-plated metal.
The lapel emblems are arranged as follows:
- on detachable shoulder straps they are located directly on the center line of the shoulder straps, generally at a distance of 5 cm from the top button to the top edge of the emblem itself (such symbolism was used on shoulder straps attached to outer clothing, but senior management did not use the emblem in this way);
- lapel emblems could also be placed on the collar of a military jacket, as well as jackets made of wool; the distance between the corner of the collar and the immediate middle part of the emblem, that is, the metal loop for fastening, is 2.5 cm.
Sewing on a lapel emblem is usually a more labor-intensive and difficult process, since it must be sewn through the buttonhole, while the star is attached using a simpler mechanism (legs that need to be pushed apart as much as possible to increase the strength of the attachment).
Moreover, such signs are divided into light and dark. As a rule, dark lapel emblems are used exclusively for field uniforms. This insignia is also important for orientation in the rank of a serviceman and what type of troops he belongs to.
Which turned out to be more convenient and practical. Compared to the previous one, it began to look more dignified and respectable. And this is important, because good relationships between people and representatives of law enforcement agencies will depend, among other things, on the positive perception of their appearance, and not just their professional qualities.
The changes also affected police insignia, including shoulder straps. The shoulder straps now have curved stripes, but their meaning has been preserved since Soviet times.
A brief history of insignia on police uniforms
Some historians agree that until the time when armed forces operating on a regular basis were able to appear in our country, military ranks had little difference. Thus, among senior and junior ranks, differences could only be detected in the cut of the uniform and type of weapon.
Some modernization was carried out during the reign of Peter I. The officers of that time began to wear gorgets, which were scarf-type breastplates with elements of state heraldry. By the beginning of the 19th century, innovations were introduced into the Russian army in the form of uniforms, outwardly similar to the current ones (“tailcoats”).
There was an appearance of headdresses that began to emphasize the difference in military ranks. Little by little, epaulettes began to become common among military fashionistas. The officer's epaulettes were made in the same color as the uniform itself, while the general's epaulettes were distinguished by golden shades.
In the early 20s of the 19th century, the military uniform of Russian soldiers began to be distinguished by the appearance of stars. The presence of one asterisk could mean that the serviceman is a warrant officer, two - a major, three - a lieutenant colonel, four - a staff captain. But the colonel wore epaulettes that had no stars at all. Since 1840, non-commissioned officers began to have something similar to insignia. These were transverse stripes, somewhat similar to sergeant stripes from the times of the Soviet Union.
The appearance of an analogue of the first shoulder straps
Something similar to shoulder straps with stars of more or less modern designs began to appear in the Russian state from the middle of the 19th century. Some historians associate their emergence with the introduction of new models of military uniforms, and specifically with the overcoat that is now familiar to us all. Shoulder straps with sewn braid and stars were fixed in the shoulder area on the uniform. The size of all officer shoulder straps, including the highest ranks, was completely the same.
Following the revolution of 1917, stars with shoulder straps, which were perceived by the Bolsheviks as a symbol of tsarism and autocracy, were simply abolished. However, over time, the Soviet military leadership decided to return the historical insignia. Initially, this was expressed in the appearance of sleeve patches, and starting from 1943, shoulder straps.
Shoulder straps and ranks of Russian police officers
The distribution of military ranks and the use of insignia, including shoulder straps, is used not only by the Russian army, but also to determine special ranks by law enforcement and other structures. Due to a certain level of similarity between military and police activities, the placement of stars and other elements on police shoulder straps is similar to that typical for the Russian army.
Stars on the shoulder straps of ordinary police officers in order
On the shoulder straps of ordinary police officers there is a distinctive sign - a button, next to which there is an emblem with the inscription “police”. Police cadets have a distinctive sign with the letter “K” on their shoulder straps.
Shoulder straps and ranks of junior police officers
Shoulder straps worn by junior sergeants, sergeants and senior sergeants have rectangular stripes that are located across the shoulder straps. Two stripes indicate the rank of junior sergeant, three stripes indicate the rank of sergeant, one wide transverse stripe on the shoulder strap is worn by senior sergeants, and the same wide stripe, but located vertically, is worn by foremen.
Shoulder straps and ranks of warrant officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
The shoulder straps of each ensign are decorated with small stars located vertically. Shoulder straps with two stars are worn by warrant officers, and with three stars - by senior warrant officers.
Shoulder straps and ranks of middle management
On shoulder straps of medium composition there is a vertical red stripe, which is called a clearance, as well as small stars. Junior lieutenants wear one star located on a red stripe, police lieutenants wear two stars on their shoulder straps and a transverse stripe between them, senior lieutenants wear three stars (two are parallel, and the third is on a stripe), senior lieutenants wear four stars (two parallel). and two on the strip) - captains.
Shoulder straps and ranks of senior command personnel
The shoulder straps differ from the shoulder straps of previous employees by two gaps - stripes of red color located vertically along the entire length of the shoulder strap. There are also large size sprockets from one to three. One star in the middle inside the stripes is worn on the shoulder straps of majors. Shoulder straps with two stars located on the stripes themselves, parallel to each other, are worn by lieutenant colonels. Shoulder straps with three stars, two of which are placed parallel on the stripes, one in the middle of the stripes a little in front, are worn by colonels.
Shoulder straps and ranks of senior command staff
General's shoulder straps have large stars located vertically and have no gaps. Major generals wear one star in the middle of their shoulder straps. Lieutenant generals wear two stars, and colonel generals wear three stars. Shoulder straps with one large and three-headed Russian coat of arms are worn only by police generals of the Russian Federation, which is a great rarity in this service hierarchy.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them
Article updated 01/08/2019.
Do you want to know what types of police uniforms there are? In fact, this is important to imagine who you are dealing with on the road or in the city, but rank can only be determined by shoulder straps. Police representatives will not always state their rank and first and last name, although this is mandatory.
Why understand militia (police) ranks?
Imagine you are driving along the road in a car and an inspector stops you. How to contact him if he hasn’t introduced himself? You can simply say “comrade policeman,” but it’s much better, of course, by rank. The same applies to situations on the street if you are walking. In general, knowing your ranks and shoulder straps is a must. Moreover, they changed a little in appearance after the police were renamed the police.
Picture with shoulder straps
To make it easier to understand, look at the picture below:
Here I divided the shoulder straps into two rows for clarity, so let’s follow.
In the first row (top), from left to right, we have the following titles:
- Police Private;
- Lance Sergeant;
- Sergeant;
- Staff Sergeant;
- Police Sergeant;
- Police ensign;
- Senior Warrant Officer;
All of this was junior command, with the exception of the “private”, of course. The second row is much more interesting, since the ranks of the middle and senior squads are represented here. Also from left to right, bottom row:
- Junior police lieutenant;
- Lieutenant;
- Senior Lieutenant;
- Police Captain;
- Police Major;
- Lieutenant colonel;
- Police Colonel.
The last three belong to the senior command staff, the rest to the middle. Now you will be aware if an employee suddenly stops you and demands something from you. You can determine his rank by his shoulder straps.
Senior management. Generals' shoulder straps
Many people asked in the comments to supplement the article and add general's shoulder straps. Fair point. Although, of course, the general will not stop you on the street, but for general development you need to know what his shoulder straps look like: 
As you can see, they differ from regular shoulder straps due to their unusual shape. Let's list what titles are presented here (from left to right):
- Major General of Police;
- Lieutenant General of Police;
- Colonel General of Police;
- General of Police of the Russian Federation;
Now you know everything about the ranks of modern police. Share the link to this article with your friends, it will be useful to them.
A serviceman's shoulder straps are his unique calling card, that is, one glance at the shoulder insignia is enough to understand what rank the soldier has. The stars on the shoulder straps provide enough information about which officer corps the serviceman belongs to.
However, the shoulder straps and stars did not immediately acquire their modern look. In pre-revolutionary times, they were interspersed with additional stripes called stripes. Only later did the stars on shoulder straps begin to demonstrate the serviceman as a person belonging to a certain rank in the military hierarchy.
How did the stars appear on the shoulder straps and what is their meaning?
Even during the times of Tsarist Russia, military personnel differed significantly in appearance from ordinary citizens, since their clothing had its own special insignia. However, during that period of time, shoulder straps as such, much less stars, did not exist. They were not the distinctive insignia of a soldier, as they are now.
As a rule, the appearance of a military man had few elements by which his rank and position in the hierarchy of the army could be judged. More attention was paid not to individual details, but to all military clothing as a whole. Therefore, the status of a serviceman was evidenced by the external cut of clothing, as well as the type of military weapon that the military man always had at hand. Basically, this rule applied to senior and junior officers. Generals, for example, had their own insignia, which distinguished them from military personnel of lower rank.
Reformation in this area occurred during the reign of Peter the Great, who, in his travels abroad, was inspired to change the appearance of the army during Tsarist Russia. The basic attribute initially became breastplates, which looked like a scarf. On it were the heraldic symbols of the army in tsarist times. When the hour of the nineteenth century struck, a new transformation took place in the appearance of the soldier’s clothing, which began to resemble a uniform in appearance, and it was more tail-coated in appearance.
In addition, original headdresses began to appear on the heads of officers, which also became part of the serviceman’s appearance, as a sign of distinction.
After such transformations, it was the turn of the epaulettes, which were the prototype of modern shoulder insignia. There is a significant difference between shoulder straps and epaulettes - the latter never had stars. Therefore, officers were distinguished in this case solely by the color scheme of their epaulettes.
If these are officers of the junior and senior ranks, then the shoulder insignia of tsarist times coincided in shade with the color of the uniform they wore. Generals, as a more privileged class in the military hierarchy, wore gold-colored epaulettes. Another difference between royal epaulettes and modern shoulder straps was that they were a decoration for a military man; they were very catchy and elegant.
Often wealthy military personnel had them made to order from pure gold. Modern shoulder straps are more modest, since after the Revolution took place, preference was given to practicality rather than beauty.
In the twenties of the last century, the military uniform replaced epaulettes with shoulder straps of the modern type, which the Russian army still uses. Since then, a hierarchy has also appeared in the Russian army, which has survived to this day.
For example, one star on the shoulder straps meant that the serviceman had the rank of warrant officer, but if the soldier had two stars, then he was a major, if there were three, then the serviceman moved to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and if there were four, then he was a staff captain.
Five stars mean that the serviceman has the highest military rank. If this concerns ground forces, then this is a field marshal, and if this concerns naval forces, then it is an admiral of the fleet. However, five stars are not sewn on his shoulder straps; they are replaced by one large one and the coat of arms of the Russian Federation (in the modern interpretation).
However, in those days, epaulettes had not yet completely disappeared from military uniforms, since they were worn by colonels. And just like in the distant tsarist times, they did not have such insignia as stars. They came into common use on military uniforms only after another reformation took place in Soviet times, which led to the fact that soldiers began to wear overcoats.
In addition to stars, the Soviet army began to use brass buttons. In addition, emblems were used that demonstrated the insignia of a particular branch of the military. Since then, the military uniform has acquired the form that is used to this day.
Sequence of ranks and corresponding stars
Stars are not currently used among the rank and file of the army. The youngest rank of a soldier who is just entering military service is private; he wears shoulder straps that do not have clear insignia. If this is a soldier who belongs to the security services, then an additional word is assigned to the rank. For example, if this is a prosecutor, then an ordinary justice is assigned.
- If this is a junior sergeant, then his shoulder straps have two transverse stripes.
- If it's just a sergeant, then it has three stripes.
- A few years later, the sergeant receives the rank of senior, and then a single stripe appears on his shoulder insignia, which is twice as wide.
Stars on shoulder straps and ranks follow a clear pattern, since in each composition they differ from each other only in quantity and size. Two stars are worn by warrant officers, and senior warrant officers wear three on each shoulder strap.
After a military man has passed the senior warrant officer, he becomes an officer.
- The junior lieutenant has one star on his shoulder straps. On the shoulder insignia there is a small star, which signifies the initial step among junior officers. On their shoulder straps there is one gap, which is a red stripe on which all the stars are located.
- Often people who are not yet very well versed in such a hierarchy ask the question, two stars on shoulder straps - what is the rank? In the junior ranks, this is a lieutenant; his stars are located at equal distances from each other on both sides of the central stripe.
- Three stars on the shoulder straps are a senior lieutenant, where the third star is slightly higher than the first two. Therefore, in order to determine the name of the rank to which a serviceman currently belongs, it is necessary to decipher the meaning of the stars on his shoulder straps. This can be done very easily, since it is enough to know the number that a particular rank has, as well as the principle of their location on the shoulder insignia. Therefore, when asked, three stars on shoulder straps - what rank, the serviceman knows for sure that this is a senior military man.
- The captain has 4 stars on his uniform. At the same time, it combines the position of the stars of all previous ranks, and the fourth is located slightly higher than the three previous ones.
Senior officers have the following hierarchy of ranks:
- Every serviceman knows by heart how many stars the first level has. The hierarchy begins with the major, who has one star on his shoulder straps and two gaps, which are represented as two parallel red stripes. The star, which is slightly larger in size than the stars in the younger composition, is located exactly between the two gaps.
- The second level is the lieutenant colonel, whose stars are located on two parallel openings, and at the same distance between themselves and from the edge of the shoulder straps.
- Colonels have 3 stars on their shoulder straps, whose first two stars on their shoulder straps are located in the same way as that of a lieutenant colonel, and the third is located slightly higher.
After a serviceman has passed all the stages in the senior officer corps, he moves to the so-called elite, that is, to the senior officer corps. On shoulder straps of this composition there are no red parallel stripes, but there is a edging of a certain color. If these are ground forces, then the edging is red.
The following hierarchy takes place here:
- The first level of the military elite is a major general, who in the naval forces corresponds to the rank of rear admiral. The soldier who bears this rank has one star, larger in size than that used in senior personnel.
- Next comes the lieutenant general with two stars, which are arranged in a row, which is the difference from the peculiarities of the arrangement in the senior officer corps. The stars line up in a row, but at a strictly defined distance in relation to each other.
- If there are 3 stars on the shoulder straps, then this is the rank of lieutenant colonel general. A serviceman who is in this rank has one more star than the previous general, which is located just above the two already on his shoulder straps.
- An army general has four stars. This rank was considered the highest in the military hierarchy for a long time. However, several decades later the rank of marshal was introduced. The army general's stars are arranged in a row and occupy most of the shoulder strap.
Marshal, currently considered the highest rank among military personnel, has one large star, the diameter of which is 4 cm, and higher is the coat of arms of the Russian Federation. The edging of the star and coat of arms is golden.
Features of wearing stars
Recently, military personnel often had to wipe their stars so that they had a refined shine. However, today attributes such as false shoulder straps have been put into circulation, on which the stars are not sewn on, but embroidered. That is, the stars on the shoulder straps are not made of metal, but their two-dimensional copy is created using special threads.
Nowadays, metal stars are used only on shoulder straps intended to be worn in parades and other special events that concern military personnel. If we are talking about field conditions, then the false shoulder straps mentioned above are common in this area, since during the battle the stars can simply fly off the shoulder strap.
Such a technique is additionally of a strategic nature, so as not to give away the disposition of not only an individual soldier, but also his comrades. A strategic decision often saves an entire company or battalion, since in field conditions it is very important to take into account any scenario of events. If we talk about ceremonial insignia, then before going out, a military man rubs them until they shine, which is a sign of respect towards his comrades and senior military personnel.