Commissions, ARMY, are warrants from the head of the state for holding various military offices, whether combatant or non-combatant. The latter class comprises the various departments of the army, such as chaplains, commissariat, transport, veterinary, ordnance store, &c., in which, so far as the British army is concerned, commissions, carrying honorary or relative military rank, are obtained by direct examination, by nomination coupled with special professional qualifications, or by transfer from other branches of the service. Candidates for the Medical Staff (q.v.) pass through a course of instruction at the Army Medical School attached to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, before being commissioned as surgeons. As regards the combatant officers, a first commission as sub-lieutenant can be obtained by any British subject of proper age, character, and physical qualifications, either by entering one of the Military Schools (q.v.) as a Cadet (q.v.), or by passing both a literary and a military examination (similar to that mentioned below for a lieutenant's promotion), after having served two trainings as an officer in the militia. All correspondence regarding first commissions or cadetships is conducted by the military secretary at the War Office. Commissions in the Royal Marines are obtained by direct competitive examination. Two or three sub-lieutenants' commissions are given each year to cadets from the Royal Military College of Canada. It is also possible to obtain such a commission by enlisting; but only two or three specially selected sergeants are promoted each year to the rank of sub-lieutenant in the cavalry and infantry (135 officers now serving have risen from the ranks), though all quartermasters, riding-masters, or officers of the Coast Brigade Royal Artillery, and Coast Battalion Royal Engineers, are commissioned, as lieutenants, from the ranks.
Subsequent commissions up to that of lieutenant-colonel are given, as vacancies occur, to the senior officer of the next lower rank, provided that he has been favourably reported on, and, in the case of a lieutenant or captain, has passed an examination for promotion in regimental duties, drill, fortification, tactics, military law, and topography. To assist officers in passing this test, a deputy-assistant adjutant-general for instruction is appointed to the staff of each military district, and classes are held under him for the study of the four last-mentioned subjects. The rank of colonel is only conferred by Brevet (q.v.) for distinguished service, or on appointment to certain positions carrying that rank, such as aide-de-camp to the King, assistant adjutant-general, or commander of a regimental district. Promotion to major-general, lieutenant-general, and general, is by selection, as vacancies occur. The establishment in these ranks has been much reduced, and only those who are eminently qualified, professionally and physically, are eligible for commissions in them.
Previous to 1st November 1871 all combatant commissions were purchased, except in the Royal Artillery, Engineers, and Marines, and a few given as prizes to those cadets who passed out of the Royal Military College at the head of the list. It was then also possible to qualify for a commission by purchase, by passing a direct non-competitive examination. The lowest price of a first commission in the line was £450, the highest (in the Life Guards) was £1260. Large sums had also to be paid for each step in rank, so that the interest of the money thus invested sometimes exceeded the pay of the rank.
The entire abolition of the purchase system (by royal warrant in 1871) has at the same time increased the actual value of commissions as a means of livelihood, and the number of those who are in a position to compete for them. The competition has in consequence become very severe at the examinations, which are held usually twice a year, for admission to the two military colleges and for militia candidates for army commissions. To meet this, a large number of special educational establishments have been formed, devoted entirely to the work of preparing candidates for these tests, and most of the large schools have special army classes. The expenses thus entailed are often not much less than the cost of a first commission under the purchase system, but no further payment is incurred by promotion.
The subjects of examination for cadetships are selected, so far as the number of marks allotted to each is concerned, so as to encourage boys who have received the usual classical education, to come up direct from school without having to undergo a course of cramming at a military tutor's, where the influences are not always desirable. See CADET.