# Troop sergeant major

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Appointment in the British Army

A **troop sergeant major** (**TSM**)[1] is the senior [non-commissioned officer](/source/Non-commissioned_officer) in a [Royal Artillery](/source/Royal_Artillery) [troop](/source/Troop) of the [British Army](/source/British_Army), usually holding the rank of [warrant officer](/source/Warrant_officer_(United_Kingdom)) class 2. This differs from a [cavalry troop](/source/Cavalry_troop) or [infantry](/source/Infantry) [platoon](/source/Platoon), in which the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer (NCO) is usually a [sergeant](/source/Sergeant).

## Troop sergeant majors in the cavalry

The rank was formerly used in British cavalry units. It was introduced in 1813 to replace the [quartermaster](/source/Quartermaster) as the senior NCO of a troop, and was roughly equivalent to a [colour sergeant](/source/Colour_sergeant) in the infantry. As the [squadron](/source/Squadron_(army)) replaced the troop as the main tactical and administrative division of the [regiment](/source/Regiment), so the [squadron sergeant major](/source/Squadron_Sergeant_Major) superseded the troop sergeant major.

It was revived in 1938 as an appointment of the short-lived rank of warrant officer class III (WOIII). The new troop sergeant major, and his infantry counterpart, the [platoon sergeant major](/source/Platoon_Sergeant_Major), were part of an experiment in giving experienced NCOs command of units (troops and platoons) formerly reserved for [commissioned officers](/source/Commissioned_officer). The experiment was not considered a success, and no promotions were made to the rank after 1940; most existing WOIIIs were commissioned as lieutenants.

The old appointment is presumably why [staff sergeants](/source/Staff_sergeant) are referred to and addressed as "Sergeant Major" in British cavalry [regiments](/source/Regiment).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] A staff sergeant can command a cavalry troop, in the same way as the old WOIII troop sergeant majors.

## Footnotes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Note that in the British Army, the plural is "troop sergeant majors" and not "troop sergeants major". ["No. 48587"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/48587/supplement/5671). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)* (Supplement). 16 April 1981. p. 5671. ["No. 25044"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/25044/page/6467). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)*. 2 December 1881. p. 6467. The earliest usage of "sergeant majors" in *[The Times](/source/The_Times)* is in 1822. The last of the (very occasional) usages of "sergeants major", except when referring to American NCOs, is in 1938.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Troop sergeant major](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troop_sergeant_major) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troop_sergeant_major?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.