Which shoulder carries an aide-de-camp's gold cord tells you whom they serve
An aide-de-camp, French for helper in the military camp, is the personal assistant to a general, governor or monarch. Their badge is a braided cord called an aiguillette. In Canada, worn on the right shoulder it signals service to royalty or a vice-regal figure; on the left, to anyone else.
The job is part secretary, part companion. An aide-de-camp supports someone of high rank, usually a senior officer, official, head of state or royal, and often appears at ceremonies beside them; the first aide-de-camp is the chief of these helpers. The role is distinct from an adjutant, who runs the administration of a military unit. In several countries the position is also an honour, bringing the letters ADC or A de C after the holder's name.
Rules for the aiguillette differ widely. Argentina uses gold, tan, silver and red cords according to the rank of the person served, plus an olive-green version for combat dress. In Canada most aides wear gold, while those from St. John Ambulance wear silver, and every aide also carries the badge or cypher of their principal. Argentina keeps the Spanish word edecán, a sound-alike borrowing of the French, for just six officers: three attached to the president and three to the defence minister. Cristina Kirchner broke precedent by choosing women for her aides.
Monarchies have elaborate versions. Belgium's king has a general heading his military household who briefs him on security and the armed forces, aides-de-camp who greet visitors or stand in for him, and equerries who rotate through his daily routine. In Australia, officers of major general rank and equivalent in certain commands get a captain as aide, and in the navy the aide is known as a flag lieutenant, since senior admirals are flag officers.
Numbers are fixed by protocol. India's president has five aides: the army supplies three, while the navy and air force send one apiece, and service chiefs usually have three; sons have sometimes served as aides to their own fathers. New Zealand's governor-general keeps two full-time aides of captain rank or equivalent. In Bangladesh, a presidential aide normally serves two years, extendable by one, and General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Haque rose from that post to become army chief.
Source: Aide-de-camp
