Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military ( or other uniformed service ) training establishment or academy . This usage is common in anglophone nations . In some countries it may be a military or police rank . It is also often used to refer to the commander of a military prison or prison camp ( including Nazi concentration camps and prisoner of war camps ) . France . In the French Army and French Air Force , the term " commandant " is used as a rank equivalent to major ( NATO rank code OF - 3 ) . However , in the French Navy " commandant " is the style , but not the rank , of the senior officers , specifically " capitaine de corvette " , " capitaine de frégate " and " capitaine de vaisseau " . India . In the British Indian Army , the commanding officer of an infantry battalion or cavalry regiment was known as the commandant . The Indian Army also used the appointment of colonel - commandant between 1922 and 1928 in the same way as the British Army . South Africa . In South Africa , " commandant " was the title of the commanding officer of a commando ( militia ) unit in the 19th and early 20th centuries . During the First World War , Commandant was used as a title by officers commanding Defence Rifle Association units , also known as Burgher Commandoes . The Commandoes were militia units raised in emergencies and constituted the third line of defence after the Permanent Force and the part - time Active Citizen Force regiments . The Commandant rank was equivalent to Major or Lieutenant - Colonel depending on the size of the Commando . From 1950 to 1994 Commandant ( rank ) was the rank equivalent of lieutenant colonel . and commander of a battalion . The rank was used by both the Army and the Air Force . The Naval equivalent was Commander [ kommandeur in Afrikaans ] . The rank was not used by the Police who continued with Lieutenant Colonel [ luitenant - kolonel ] . The rank insignia for a Commandant ( Kommandant in Afrikaans ) was initially a crown over a five - pointed star . In 1957 the crown was replaced by a pentagonal castle device based on the floor plan of the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town , South Africa ' s oldest military building . In 1994 , the rank of Commandant / kommandant was changed back to Lieutenant Colonel . From 1968 to 1970 , a related rank , Chief Commandant existed in the Commando Forces [ the part - time , territorial reserve , roughly equivalent to a National Guard or Home Guard ] . Sri Lanka . In Sri Lanka , the Commandant of the Volunteer Force is the head of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force . Commandant is also the title used for the commanding officer ( one - star rank ) of military academies - Sri Lanka Military Academy , Naval and Maritime Academy and Air Force Academy - and the commanding officer ( two - star rank ) of the Defence Services Command and Staff College . It is also the title of the de facto vice - chancellor of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University , usually an officer of two - star rank . Colonel - commandant is an honorary post in corps of the army and the Sri Lanka National Guard , similar to that of Colonel of the Regiment found in infantry regiments . The post of centre commandant is the commanding officer of a corps or regiment . United Kingdom . In the British Armed Forces , a commandant is usually the commanding officer of a training establishment , such as the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst or the Royal Air Force College Cranwell . Colonel - commandant was an appointment which existed in the British Army between 1922 and 1928 , and in the Royal Marines from 1755 to some time after World War II . It replaced brigadier - general in the Army , and was itself replaced by brigadier in both the Army and the Marines . The colonel - commandant is also the ceremonial head of some Army corps and this position is usually held by a senior general . Commandant was also the appointment , equivalent to commodore , held by the Director of the Women ' s Royal Naval Service between 1951 and 1993 . United States . In the United States , ' commandant ' is an appointment , not a rank , and the following three appointments currently exist : Formerly , admirals were appointed as commandants of naval districts . The commandant is the second most senior officer ( after the Superintendent ) of United States Service academies , such as West Point , Annapolis , and the United States Air Force Academy , equivalent to the Dean of Students at a civilian college . Commandant is also the title of the commanding officer of many units of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command , including the non - commissioned officer academies , whose commandants are typically command sergeants major . Commandant is also the title of the ranking officer in charge of each War College of the United States military , and is responsible for the administration , academic progress and success of the civilians and military officers assigned to the college . He is a model for all personnel , a military academy graduate of impeccable character and bearing who has demonstrated accomplishment in both academic excellence and active military service in the field . They include the Naval War College , the Air War College , the Army War College , the Marine Corps War College and the National War College . Commandant is also the duty title of the senior enlisted leader of a US Air Force Profesional Military Education ( PME ) academy , such as the Airman Leadership School , Non - Commissioned Officer Academy , and Senior Non - Commissioned Officer Academy . The title may also be used for the commander of a unit headquarters , who is usually responsible for administrative matters such as billeting and is called the headquarters commandant ; this may also be a duty assigned to a staff officer in large headquarters . Republic of Ireland . In the Irish Army commandant is the equivalent of major in other armies . New Zealand . In the New Zealand Defence Force , the term commandant is used for the senior officer ( or commander ) of garrisonned units that do not deploy and are not operational . This typically includes learning institutes such as the New Zealand Defence College and ( formerly ) the Command and Staff College . The title could also be used for other non - deploying units such as the Services Corrective Establishment in Burnham , or depot - level engineering units . The equivalent term for opertaional units is ' commander ' , such as commander of the Joint Force Headquarters New Zealand . Under the 2010 creation of the Training and Education Directorate , an additional position of commandant was established for the Training Institute to complement the commandant of the Defence College .