Artificer sergeant major

Artificer sergeant major (ASM)^[1] is a senior warrant officer appointment in the technical branches of the British, New Zealand and Australian Armies.

British Army

Artificer sergeant major is an appointment held by a warrant officer class 1 in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), the corps of the British Army whose function is the repair and recovery of all mechanical and electrical equipment. The ASM is normally the senior tradesman in large REME units and is the technical advisor to the unit; the senior tradesman in smaller units such as light aid detachments is normally a warrant officer class 2 (artificer quartermaster sergeant).^[2] An ASM must have passed the artificer training course and served as an artificer electronics/weapons/vehicles or similar discipline as a staff sergeant and warrant officer class 2 (holding the appointment of artificer quartermaster sergeant) prior to promotion to WO1.^[3]

Australian Army

The title is also used in the Australian Army in the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RAEME), and applies to the senior soldier (tradesman) in the brigade administration support battalion, or combat service support battalion, or workshop troop, or technical support unit. The appointment may be held by a warrant officer class 1 or 2.

Notes

1. Note that in the British Army, the plural is "artificer sergeant majors" and not "artificer sergeants major". "No. 48587". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 April 1981. p. 5671. "No. 25044". The London Gazette. 2 December 1881. p. 6467. The earliest usage of "sergeant majors" in The Times is in 1822. The last of the (very occasional) usages of "sergeants major", except when referring to American NCOs, is in 1938.
2. LAD Light Aid Detachment REME Archived June 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
3. The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Basic Facts and Information Archived December 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine