Editing Commandant (section)

==South Africa==
[[File:COMMANDANT SA ARMY PRE-1994 NUTRIA.jpg|thumb|right|50px|South African army commandant insignia<br>1950-1994]]
In South Africa, ''Commandant'' was the title of the commanding officer of a [[Boer Commando|commando]] (militia) unit in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

During the First World War, {{em|Commandant}} was used as a title by officers commanding Defence Rifle Association units, also known as {{lang|af|Burgher}} commandos. The commandos were militia units raised in emergencies and constituted the third line of defence after the Permanent Force and the part-time Active Citizen Force regiments. The commandant rank was equivalent to major<ref name=Radburn1990>{{cite journal|last1=Radburn|first1=A.|title=South African Army Ranks and Insignia|journal=Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies|date=1990|volume=20|issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|title=Naamlys, Lindley Kommando|author=Military Archives|location= Pretoria}}</ref> or lieutenant-colonel, depending on the size of the commando.

From 1950 to 1994 [[commandant (rank)]] was the rank equivalent of [[lieutenant colonel]].<ref>Government Notice 2092 (25 Aug 1950)</ref> and commander of a [[battalion]]. The rank was used by both the Army and the Air Force. The naval equivalent was commander ({{langx|af|kommandeur}}).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Rank Chart|journal=Paratus|year=1974}}</ref> The rank was not used by the [[South African Police]], who continued with lieutenant colonel [luitenant-kolonel].

The rank insignia for a Commandant ({{langx|af|Kommandant}}) was initially a crown over a five-pointed star.<ref name=Jooste1996>{{cite journal|last1=Jooste|first1=L.|title=Die politieke koerswending van 1948 besorg 'n nuwe identiteit aan die Unieverdedigingsmagte|trans-title=The political turn of 1948 gave a new identity to the Union Defense Forces|journal=Militaria|date=1996|volume=26|issue=2|language=af}}</ref>{{Rp|113–128}}<ref name=Radburn1990 /> In 1957 the crown was replaced by a pentagonal castle device<ref name=Radburn1990 /> based on the floor plan of the [[Castle of Good Hope]] in [[Cape Town]], South Africa's oldest military building. In 1994, the rank of Commandant / Kommandant reverted to lieutenant colonel.<ref name=SalutMay94>{{cite journal|journal=Salut|title=Commandant|date=May 1994|volume=1|issue=1}}</ref>{{Rp|4}}

From 1968 to 1970, a related rank, {{em|Chief Commandant}}, existed in the commando forces.{{efn|the part-time, territorial reserve, roughly equivalent to a National Guard or Home Guard}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Retief|first1=J.J.|title=Die rang van hoofkommandant in die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag|journal=Military History Journal|date=December 1997|volume=10|issue=6|language=af}}</ref>

Recently, use of the term has followed the standard practice, i.e. the commanding officer of a training institute.