Romulan Star Empire Rank Comparison

The rank of Commander describes any Romulan officer who holds command over a century, task group, or lesser force of multiple ships. The rank, like Admiral, is more a description of position rather than rank; the Romulan system is much more strict with regard to seniority; no serving Romulan may hold authority over another with higher rank, no matter the circumstances. It is not uncommon for sub-Commanders to command Warbirds within a Century.

The rank of Centurion is difficult to classify. It describes any officer who holds command authority of a lesser degree than that of a Subcommander. Many smaller Fleet ships are commanded by Centurions and crewed entirely by Lieutenants and sub-Lieutenants, while on larger Starbirds and Warbirds the Centurions serve in positions such as department heads.

There are no noncommissioned officers in the Romulan Star Navy; all Romulans receive full military training proportional to their desired position, and are required to prove their competence for any promotion, even when recommended. This is because the fluidity in the Starfleet ranking system does not exist; rank is completely dependent on experience and a clear indicator of position. All Romulans of a specific rank are considered equal to each other in all respects.

The Tal Shiar's ranking system is more complicated. Since any Tal Shiar officer is considered to hold automatic authority over any Star Navy officer, there can be a serious disparity where a Uhlan may give orders to a Navy Admiral. However, as the Tal Shiar is considered an organization separate from the Romulan Star Navy, the only situation in which an ordinary Tal Shiar officer might interact professionally with one of the Navy is if assigned on a special mission by the Tal Shiar leadership. No Tal Shiar personnel serve regularly on Navy ships, and the Tal Shiar do not operate spacecraft of their own. Information on the inner workings of the organization is not available, however their ranking system seems to be roughly analogous to that of the Navy, with rank describing nature of assignment as well as level of authority, slighly modified do to the differing organizational structure of the Tal Shiar.

NOTE: Not all divisions of the Romulan Star Navy employ rank insignia; in much the same way the uniforms vary between the various Fleets, the use of such insignia varies throughout the Navy, and sometimes from ship to ship.