The history of the rank sleeves and the ranks used in the Spanish Army

For many years, the armies of many countries have used different ways of displaying their ranks on their uniforms.

The colors of the berets of the different units of the Spanish Army
The Spanish ancestor of the 'boonie hat', the wide-brimmed hat worn by soldiers

One of the most common ways to display rank has been to utilize a very common element of military uniforms: the shoulder board, a strip of fabric placed on the shoulder of a shirt or jacket, sewn at the end closest to the arm and fastened with a button at the opposite end. This element is still widely used in many armies, including the Spanish Armed Forces, to display rank.

As in other countries, in Spain, the so-called insignia sleeves or rank sleeves were very common. These strips allowed insignia to be displayed on shirts and field uniforms without having to embroider the emblems directly onto the shoulder board. The Code of Ceremonial and Protocol of the Spanish Armed Forces, updated on February 27, 2026, refers to these items as "insignia sleeves," adopting a term that began as purely colloquial within our Armed Forces.

These elements have disappeared from the Spanish Army's field uniforms, as they no longer have shoulder boards and rank insignia are now incorporated into the so-called badge-bearers, worn on the left side of the chest. This Sunday, the YouTube channel Tropa Guripa (which I recommend you subscribe to if you enjoy military history) published an interesting video reviewing the history of the rank insignia and insignia in the Spanish Army (the video is in Spanish; you can activate automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):

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Main photo: Federación de asociaciones de Veteranos Boinas Verdes de España. A special operations captain, wearing green rank sleeves, the color that identifies this specialty in the Spanish Army.