Lieutenant-commander (Canada)

In the

lieutenant colonels.^[2]

Following Royal Navy practice, promotion to the rank of lieutenant-commander was previously automatic following accumulation of eight years' seniority as a lieutenant (N). That practice changed in the mid-1990s, after which lieutenant-commander appointments were limited and subject to competition.

Typical appointments for a lieutenant-commander include:

reserve division
.
Executive officer or head of department of a frigate, destroyer, supply ship, reserve division or training establishment.
formation or task group headquarters staff
.

The rank insignia for a lieutenant-commander is two 1⁄2-inch (1.3 cm) stripes with a 1⁄4-inch (0.6 cm) stripe between, worn on the cuffs of the service dress jacket, and on

service caps. Lieutenant-commanders of the Naval Operations Branch wear the officer's pattern of the branch cap badge: an anchor on a black oval, surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves at the sides and base of the oval, the whole surmounted by St Edward's Crown. Specialist officers in such branches as Logistics, Intelligence and Medical

wear their branch cap badges.

Prior to unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, rank structure and insignia followed the

British pattern

. As part of the Canadian Naval Centennial the executive curl pattern (shown only in the dress uniform tunic picture below) of naval officer's rank was returned to all uniforms in 2010.

Navy uniform variations