Colonel

According to Raymond Oliver, c. 1500, the Spanish began explicitly reorganizing part of their army into 20 colunelas or columns of approximately 1,000–1,250 soldiers.

[1] Evidence of this can be seen when Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, nicknamed "the Great Captain", divided his armies in coronelías, each led by a coronel, in 1508.

[citation needed] By the late 19th century, colonel had evolved to a professional military rank that was still held typically by an officer in command of a regiment or equivalent unit.

[citation needed] As European military influence expanded throughout the world, the rank of colonel became adopted by nearly every nation (albeit under a variety of names).

[citation needed] In many modern armies, the regiment has more importance as a ceremonial unit or a focus of members' loyalty than as an actual battle formation.

However, in Commonwealth armies, the position of the colonel as the figurehead of a regiment is maintained in the honorary role of "colonel-in-chief", usually held by a member of the royal family,[3] the nobility, or a retired senior military officer.

The colonel-in-chief wears a colonel's uniform and encourages the members of the regiment, but takes no active part in the actual command structure or in any operational duties.

The ceremonial position is often conferred on retired general officers, brigadiers or colonels who have a close link to a particular regiment.

[citation needed] Some military forces have a colonel as their highest-ranking officer, with no 'general' ranks, and no superior authority (except, perhaps, the head of state as a titular commander-in-chief) other than the respective national government.