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Military & Defence vocabulary · Ranks & Personnel

Staff officer

Meaning in military & defence, with examples

nounCommon term

In military & defence, staff officer means: An officer who works in a headquarters, helping the commander to plan, organise and coordinate, rather than commanding a unit directly.

In Turkish: karargah subayı, kurmay subay

How it is used

Headquarters are divided into numbered staff branches: 1 personnel, 2 intelligence, 3 operations, 4 logistics and so on, with a letter in front (G for army, J for joint). A staff officer may be called 'the G4' or 'the J3'.

Example sentences

  1. As a staff officer in the logistics branch, she plans fuel and food deliveries.

  2. The staff officers worked late to finish the exercise plan.

Common collocations

  • senior staff officer
  • logistics staff officer
  • staff college
  • staff branch
  • headquarters (HQ)The place, and the staff working in it, from which a commander directs a unit, a formation or a whole organisation.
  • officerA member of the armed forces who holds a commission, has authority over others and is trained to lead units and plan operations.
  • General StaffThe senior headquarters of the armed forces, made up of high-ranking officers who plan and coordinate military activity and advise the government.
  • commanderThe officer in charge of a unit, ship, base or operation, who has the authority and responsibility to make decisions and give orders.

More terms: Ranks & Personnel

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