Second brigadier general (Iran)

Sartip dovom
سرتیپ دوم (Persian)
Insignia
Country Iran
Service branch
Rank groupGeneral officer
Formation1987
Next higher rankSartip (brigadier general)
Next lower rankSarhang (colonel)

Second brigadier general (Persian: سرتیپ دوم, romanizedSartip dovom, lit.'Second brigade leader') is a senior military rank in the armed forces of Iran. The rank was introduced in 1987 as part of a new modified ranking system. Currently, there is no equivalent for the rank of second brigadier general in other countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer rank in the armed forces of Iran and lies between the ranks of colonel and brigadier general. However, the equivalent rank in the Iranian navy is the rank of Second flotilla admiral.[1][2][3]

In Persian, the word second brigadier general translates to sar-tip dovom. Sar translates to head or commander, tip translates to brigade, and dovom translates to second. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iranian Law Enforcement Forces (NAJA) also use this rank; the difference is in salutation. Second brigadier generals of the regular military (Artesh) are referred to as amir sar-tip dovom. While second brigadier generals of the IRGC and NAJA are referred to as sar-tip dovom e pasdar. The addition of pasdar distinguishes the three branches of the Iranian armed forces as pasdar translates to guardian, a term often given to IRGC and NAJA personnel.[2][3][4]

For IRGC personnel, promotion to the rank of second brigadier general, takes three years, while for the regular military (Artesh) it takes four. For this reason, a near majority of Artesh personnel retire with the rank of colonel, while in the IRGC, a large number settle at second brigadier general.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Stars & Generals – Part Two: One-Star General Officer Ranks". Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute. 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  2. ^ a b c Golkar, Saeid (2019). "The Supreme Leader and the guard Civil-Military Relations and Regime Survival in Iran" (PDF). Policy Notes. 58: 26 – via The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
  3. ^ a b c “An Interview with the IRGC’s Deputy of Human Resources” (in Persian), Basirat, July 4, 2010, http://bit . ly/2FHnCpK
  4. ^ Saeid Golkar, The Evolution of Iran’s Police Forces and Social Control in the Islamic Republic, Middle East Brief 120 (Waltham, MA: Crown Center, 2018), 3, https://www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/meb/MEB120.pdf