Rank Hypocrisy - The Military & 'Equivalent Rank'

 

There are a few easy ways to cause an outburst of “OUTRAGE” from service personnel and veterans on social media. Any announcement celebrating the appointment of someone who isn’t a white male into a senior role can upset people worried about ‘standards’. Suggest that the Army should have beards is another (apparently its about ‘standards’ and the risk of imminent NBC attack for a good gas mask seal – thank god all our troops carry their gas masks on them at all times to avoid this risk). The last one is to suggest that perhaps Civil Servants in different grades are the equivalent level of a member of the armed forces in their own rank structure. At this point its usually full-on pitchfork wielding mobs out in force to hunt down the heretics who’d suggest such a thing.

UK MOD © Crown copyright 2023

The most recent people to benefit from the power of the mob was British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), who committed the serious ‘crime’ of producing a chart that showed not only the comparative ranks of all the British Armed Forces, but also showed the Civil Service comparative grades too. There have been posters like this for many years, but the older version had become dated and reflected outdated stereotypes that didn’t capture how modern Defence works – so BFBS wisely took the call to make it look more professional (there is a great blog on the reasons behind this HERE). The reason for this outrage seemed to be genuine upset that the Civil Service has a hierarchy which can be equated to the military rank structure. You’d think in an age when joint working was all the rage, understanding the grading system of your civilian counterparts would be helpful. Alas, it was not, and it triggered some fairly unpleasant responses on social media from individuals very easily triggered about this sort of thing (dare we call them ‘snowflakes’?). Given this, its worth doing a blog to try to remind people why the system exists as it does and the best way to bring the military and civil service staff together.

Since the Civil Service first formed itself into a professional body back in the 19^th Century, it adopted a structure of grades related to seniority. These grades were intentionally designed to resemble a military style rank structure, with individuals progressing through the system and promoting in a timescale not dissimilar to the military. For example, it was normal for an Executive Officer to promote to Higher Executive Officer after 7 years in role, in the same way that a Captain would promote to Major in a similar timeframe. The result was an elegant system that has evolved over the years to emerge into three main broad groups.

The first group is the Industrial / Admin Assistant / Admin Officer grades. These are the roles carried out by the most junior (in hierarchical terms) staff, and are critical parts of the Civil Service. A modern Industrial worker is usually a highly skilled individual working on technical equipment, carrying out work in dockyards or ammunition compounds and providing close support to keep military equipment working. The Admin teams are the office administrators and support teams who process admin, ensure orders are posted, make sure minutes are distributed and conduct the myriad of works that without which the system would surely fall apart. As of October 2023, roughly 14,000 of the 36,000 core MOD workforce (e.g. not in trading agencies or bodies like DE&S) was in this group.

The next broad group is the main management grades Executive Officer, Higher and Senior, then Grade 7 & Grade 6. These grades are the bulk of the core MOD workforce (some 22,000 strong). These grades will manage teams, own policy areas and be responsible for owning significant parts of the Defence organisation in senior roles.

The final area is the Senior Civil Service (SCS) which is individuals at the old ‘Grade 5’ level and above, but now known as SCS1-4, with the grades, in Civil Service terms, aligning to the starred officers approach in the military. These individuals are publicly nameable and accountable (unlike more junior grades who have historically been anonymous, although this may change following a recent court ruling). SCS are employed in owning responsibility for significant parts of their department, for example acting as the ‘Command Sec’ or finance director in a service, or heading the J9 function in major HQs. These are senior roles, but the payscale does not reflect this – an SCS1 on appointment will usually receive around £75k, some 10% less than a newly appointed Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, and £45k less than a Commodore on promotion.

Brought together these groupings represent both the MOD Civil Service and the wider Civil Service, with grades translating across the entire public sector. This is a long established and effective hierarchy and it works extremely well – it has been around for decades longer than the RAF, and today enables over 450,000 Civil Servants to work together in an effective way, knowing the relative scale and position different people hold in the ‘pecking order’. It needs to be made clear though that these are grades and not ranks.

 The challenge is that the Armed Forces also have a rank structure and a strict hierarchy which defines so much of military life. It is a truism that within 10 seconds of a military meeting starting, everyone in the room knows their place in the pecking order through use of ranks and titles as introduction. Everyone knows how everyone fits into the scheme and who is in charge versus who realises they exist to make the tea. This rank structure is similar in concept to the Civil Service, in the sense of there are an almost identical level of officer ranks and CS grades, whose seniority and levels of responsibility align.  To get past the fact that the military and CS work together in an integrated way, not just with MOD CS, but also increasingly with wider Whitehall partners, an ‘equivalent rank’ system was developed many decades ago.

The author has never been able to quite work out when it was first introduced, but in principle it’s a work of simple genius. The MOD has taken the equivalent position in the hierarchy for each service (civilian and military) and worked out what each person is in their respective system. So, a Naval Lieutenant, Army (and RM) Captain, RAF Flight Lieutenant and a Higher Executive Officer (HEO) all occupy the same relative position of authority and responsibility within their respective systems. That’s all there is to it – its not saying that the HEO is a Major, its saying that the HEO is, in the Civil Service system, the same level as a Major is in the British Army.

The problem is that this gets lost in translation and two things tend to happen. Firstly lots of military people hear the phrase ‘equivalent rank’ and see red, angry at the idea that the Grade 7 is apparently a Colonel equivalent, a move which focuses heavily on Colonel and ignores ‘equivalent’. The result is bad feeling to CS who’ve done nothing wrong except give an answer that winds the military up when asked ‘whats your equivalent rank’ and answering ‘Wing Commander’. Secondly, you get some muppet CS assuming that equivalent means rank and conflating the two.

The vast, vast majority of MOD CS do not care about this stuff beyond knowing that it’s a very easy way to get a bite out of someone if desired, and more pragmatically being a useful way to remind people that the pecking order cuts across the MOD CS too. Where it goes wrong is when either CS don’t understand the difference between rank and grade, or where they want to be something they are not. The former is a time for education, to explain to junior or inexperienced staff that its poor form to use the equivalent title, the latter is for someone to have a quiet word and tell people in an appropriate way to ‘stop being a dick’. The reason that CS find themselves caught up in this position is arguably because the military really struggle to relate to engaging with organisations without knowing what level someone is. The author has often worked with military staff in isolated postings, where they are the token officer – almost without exception every conversation involving new people involves the officer wanting to work out this persons place in the pecking order. Its exhausting for CS working in units that see high turnover of staff to have to fight a constant battle to be taken seriously and credibly – equivalent grades are a useful way of reminding people when you engage with them that you hold a position of authority and responsibility too.

Equivalency matters because it helps people in the system work out who line manages whom, and ensures that the right level of approvals, authorisations, and financial sign off powers are clear. Understanding if the Civil Servant you’re speaking to is responsible for printing the paperwork, signing the cheque or is your new 1RO is helpful before you go into full ‘Brecon chop’ mode with them, lest you discover that the terribly young-looking person in front of you is going to be amending your OJAR to a ‘B Yes Dev’ in short order, ending your dreams of upper third glory… Making sure everyone knows where everyone sits in the hierarchy is essential for an organisation that exists to create wiring diagrams.

The MOD also uses ‘equivalent rank/grade’ for the purposes of trying to work out who can stay in the mess on camp. This is a recipe for chaos when Officers insist on CS staying against their wishes in an Army mess with long and proud history. Its bringing together two alien cultures, neither of whom is usually overly happy at the prospects of forced time together – think of it as the snowbound Christmas family reunion from hell. Very few CS want to spend their free time on a business trip staying in an officers mess instead of a hotel, for good reasons.

The BFBS Graphic

Given all this, what can be done about it to improve the problem of understanding ‘equivalent rank’ and making it easier to handle. Firstly, if you are a military officer please understand that the vast majority of CS really don’t care what rank or grade they are. But they’re very tired of fighting a constant battle to be taken credibly in an organisation that lives and breathes hierarchy. Please take the time to understand where they sit in the hierarchy based on the role they fill and treat them accordingly – don’t assume that just because they’re not a military rank, they don’t matter.

Secondly, spend time understanding the level of skills and experience the people you work with hold. While it can be easy to dismiss them as ‘just a bloody HEO’ understand that many CS have worked hard to get their jobs, have a long and very credible career history and hold many different professional certifications and qualifications to do their job. Treat them like you’d treat a Professionally Qualified Officer and accept that they know their stuff, even if they are a ‘hat’. A long serving admin officer may seem junior and irrelevant to newly promoted Sqn Ldr Biggles, but they usually know where the bodies are buried, why previous ‘good ideas’ failed and often have some insight into personalities and ways of getting things done. Use them to your advantage and get them on side – you’ll reap the benefits.

Thirdly, understand that people often have far more experience than you, even if they are younger than you. If on arrival in Main Building on your first staff job as an SO2 you dismiss the views of a Grade 7 in the MOD as ‘what does she know, she’s barely 30’, then that’s not only very stupid, but misses the fact that said official has likely got the best part of a decade of relevant Whitehall experience, understanding and critically, networks, which you could use to make yourself succeed. Understand that the CS promotes people on ability, not time served, and that there are some exceptional people in the MOD who are both young and senior. They didn’t get there by accident, so listen to them rather than moaning about them.

Finally, you own the culture you build. If you are leading or part of a mixed team, do your best to recognise that the MOD CS is an equal part of the team and that their system has a hierarchy too. Don’t dismiss it, build the team where people are respected on their ability to deliver and that their professional role and level is respected for the right reasons. If someone is steering into danger of making a fool of themselves, either through naivety or inexperience, take them under your wing, take them for a quiet brew and explain to them why they may be causing offence by going around calling themselves ‘Colonel’ – a well judged intervention may have a powerful effect. Sure its funnier to take the piss, but is that really how a proper lead should act?

For the MOD Civil Servants reading this, its worth remembering a couple of things too. Firstly, NEVER act as if you are a rank, always remember you hold the equivalent level of authority in your system. You may be an SEO, but that does not make you a Commander, no matter how good it sounds (particularly if you’re surnames Bond – “the Names Bond, SEO Bond’ just doesn’t cut it).  Always remember that your military peers worked bloody hard to earn their ranks and commission. It is both a career and a lifestyle and involves living a life that fosters tight bonds, tough decisions and builds a shared community that those who are not in do does not have the right to mimic.  Never underestimate how much offence is caused when lightly donning a rank title to which you have no stake or claim to.

Learn the Service you are with and be respectful of its ways and traditions. Understand that even though the CS has no direct equivalent to the NCO cadre, only a fool, or a very brave person would incur the wrath of a Warrant Officer by suggesting that She or He is ‘only equivalent to an Admin Officer’. Treat the Service world with respect and in turn do your job in a way that earns their respect too.  Remember that you have a career, not a lifestyle. Do not wear the grade out on the town or expect it to earn you bragging rights with your military peers. It’s a grade title, nothing more. Be judged on what you deliver, not what your job title says.

The biggest regret is that all too often when this issue comes up, people with links to the military get so angry at the idea that the CS has a grade structure at all. They miss the bigger picture that it’s a hierarchy and they seem to think the best thing to do is be rude and abuse the CS, often for making mistakes. Remember that in an organisation like the CS new joiners, who’ve not worked with the military before will have no idea of its ways or culture. They are literally learning on the job and trying to find their way in a complex world of TLA’s and testosterone. Sometimes they think they’re doing the right thing, only to discover its completely wrong.  What would be nice would be if the military personnel who get so angry about this or see it as a place for mockery would grow up a bit and try to build an inclusive team. Try to respect their civilian peers as professionals here to help them do the job on the front line, learn from their knowledge and understand what can be done to help make things easier. Build a shared civilian / military culture and not see the phrase ‘rank equivalent’ as a red rag to a bull, but a simple way of understanding how the team fits together.  If after all this you’re still worked up at the idea of equivalent rank, perhaps you need to ask yourself if the idea that a civilian workforce which works with Defence has a hierarchy gets you so worked up, maybe you need to take a long look at your life priorities as they seem really poorly ranked?