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Everything about Leutnant totally explained

Second Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.
   In British English the rank is pronounced second /lɛf'tɛnənt/ (lef-tenent), while in American English it's pronounced second /lu'tɛnənt/ (loo-tenent).

United Kingdom and Commonwealth

The rank Second Lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of Ensign (Cornet in the cavalry), although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and Fusilier regiments. At first the rank bore no distinct insignia. In 1902 a single bath star (now commonly referred to as a pip) was introduced; the ranks of Lieutenant and Captain had their number of stars increased by one to (respectively) two and three. The rank is also used by the Royal Marines.
   In the Royal Air Force the comparable rank is Pilot Officer. The Royal Navy has no exactly equivalent rank, and a Second Lieutenant is senior to a Royal Navy Midshipman but junior to a Sub-Lieutenant. The Royal New Zealand Navy - breaking with Royal Navy tradition - uses the Ensign grade for this rank equivalent. The Royal Australian Navy also breaks tradition in the sense that it has the equivalent rank of Ensign, but it's titled "Acting Sub Lieutenant."
   The Canadian Forces adopted the rank with insignia of a single gold ring around the service dress uniform cuff for both army and air personnel upon unification in 1968. For a time, naval personnel used this rank but reverted to the Royal Canadian Navy rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant, though the CF Green uniform was retained until the mid-1980s.

United States

In the United States, second lieutenant is typically the entry-level rank for most commissioned officers.
   In the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, a second lieutenant typically leads a platoon-size element (16 to 44 soldiers or marines). In the Army, the rank bore no insignia until December 1917, when a gold bar was introduced to contrast with the silver bar of a first lieutenant.
   In the United States Air Force, a second lieutenant may supervise flights of varying sizes, depending upon the career field, as a flight commander or assistant flight commander or may work in a variety of administrative positions at the squadron, group, or wing level.
   As a result of the gold color of the bars, second lieutenants are often colloquially referred to as Butterbars, Nuggets, Commissioned Privates, or 2nd Luey.
   The corresponding United States Coast Guard and United States Navy rank is ensign.

Non-English speaking countries

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