Commandant d'aviation was the Canadian French term for the air force rank of squadron leader (prior to the 2014 amendment of the National Defence Act).

[citation needed] The rank of squadron leader itself had not been held by active duty personnel in the Canadian Forces since 1968 when it was replaced by major.

Commandant is a rank in the Central Armed Police Forces of India (BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB).

In this context, it is shortened form of the previous rank capitaine-commandant: i.e. a "captain commanding (a battalion)".

Prior to the French Revolution, the major was the officer appointed by the King to keep track of the expenditures and readiness of a regiment.

In the Spanish Army and Spanish Air Force, the rank of comandante is senior to a captain and junior to a lieutenant colonel, making it equivalent to the rank of major or squadron leader in English-speaking countries.

The Peruvian Air Force uses the rank of comandante as an equivalent to lieutenant-colonel or wing commander.

The rank may also be found in numerous paramilitary and guerrilla organizations, such as the Sandinistas and the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.