SCARS|RSN™ Guide: United States Military Ranks & Insignia6 min read

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Updated on December 27, 2018 by SCARS|RSN Romance Scams Now Editorial Team

SCARS|RSN™ Guide: United States Military Ranks & Insignia

THE UNITED STATES MILITARY RANK INSIGNIA

Military rank is more than just who salutes whom. Military rank is a badge of leadership. Responsibility for personnel, equipment, and mission grows with each increase in rank.

Do not confuse rank with pay grades, such as E-1, W-2 and O-5. Pay grades are administrative classifications used primarily to standardize compensation across the military services. The “E” in E-1 stands for “enlisted” while the “1” indicates the pay grade for that position. The other pay categories are “W” for warrant officers and “O” for commissioned officers. Some enlisted pay grades have two ranks.

The Army, for example, has the ranks of corporal and specialist at the pay grade of E-4. A corporal is expected to fill a leadership role and has a higher rank than a specialist even though both receive the same amount of pay. In the Marine Corps, master gunnery sergeants and sergeant majors are E-9s, but the sergeant major has the higher rank.

Table Of U.S. Military Ranks

Pay Grade	Army and Marine Corps	Navy and Coast Guard	Air Force
Commissioned Officers
0-1	Second Lieutenant	Ensign	Second Lieutenant
0-2	First Lieutenant	Lieutenant Junior Grade	First Lieutenant
0-3	Captain	Lieutenant	Captain
0-4	Major	Lieutenant Commander	Major
0-5	Lieutenant Colonel	Commander	Lieutenant Colonel
0-6	Colonel	Captain	Colonel
0-7	Brigadier General	Rear Admiral	Brigadier General
0-8	Major General	Rear Admiral	Major General
0-9	Lieutenant General	Vice Admiral	Lieutenant General
0-10	General	Admiral	General
Special Grades
(5 stars)	General of the Army	Fleet Admiral	General of the Air Force
Warrant Officers
W-1	Warrant Officer	—	—
W-2–W-5	Chief Warrant Officer	Chief Warrant Officer	—
Enlisted Personnel
E-1	Private	Seaman Recruit	Recruit
E-2	Army Private/ Marine Private First Class	Seaman Apprentice	Airman
E-3	Army Private First Class/ Marine Lance Corporal	Seaman	Airman First Class
E-4	Corporal	Petty Officer, Third Class	Senior Airman
E-5	Sergeant	Petty Officer, Second Class	Staff Sergeant
E-6	Staff Sergeant	Petty Officer, First Class	Technical Sergeant
E-7	Army Sergeant First Class Marine Gunnery Sergeant	Chief Petty Officer	Master Sergeant
E-8	Master Sergeant	Senior Chief Petty Officer	Senior Master Sergeant
E-9	Sergeant Major	Master Chief Petty Officer	Chief Master Sergeant
Special Grades
	Sergeant Major	Master Chief Petty Officer	Chief Master Sergeant

United States Military Enlisted Ranks & Insignia

Enlisted Ranks

Service members in pay grades E-1 through E-3 are usually either in some kind of training status or on their initial assignment. The training includes the basic training phase where recruits are immersed in military culture and values and are taught the core skills required by their service component.

Visit Web Specials on Basic Training: Army/Marines and AF/Navy

Basic training is followed by a specialized or advanced training phase that provides recruits with a specific area of expertise or concentration. In the Army and Marines, this area is called a military occupational specialty; in the Navy it is known as a rate; and in the Air Force it is simply called an Air Force specialty.

Army: * For rank and precedence within the Army, specialist ranks immediately below corporal. Among the services, however, rank and precedence are determined by pay grade.

Navy / Coast Guard: * A specialty mark in the center of a rating badge indicates the wearer’s particular rating. ** Gold stripes indicate 12 or more years of good conduct. *** 1. Master chief petty officer of the Navy and fleet and force master chief petty officers. 2. Command master chief petty officers wear silver stars. 3. Master chief petty officers wear silver stars and silver specialty rating marks

The U.S. Coast Guard is a part of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime and the Navy in times of war. Coast Guard rank insignia are the same as the Navy except for color and the seaman recruit rank, which has one stripe.

United States Military Rank Insignias – Enlisted Ranks – E1 – E4

United States Military Rank Insignias – Enlisted Ranks – E5 – E7

United States Military Rank Insignias – Enlisted Ranks – E8 – E9

United States Military Rank Insignias – Warrant Offier Ranks – W1 – W5

United States Officer Ranks & Insignia

Officer Ranks

Officer ranks in the United States military consist of commissioned officers and warrant officers. The commissioned ranks are the highest in the military. These officers hold presidential commissions and are confirmed at their ranks by the Senate. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps officers are called company grade officers in the pay grades of O-1 to O-3, field grade officers in pay grades O-4 to O-6 and general officers in pay grades O-7 and higher. The equivalent officer groupings in the Navy are called junior grade, mid-grade and flag.

Warrant officers hold warrants from their service secretary and are specialists and experts in certain military technologies or capabilities. The lowest ranking warrant officers serve under a warrant, but they receive commissions from the president upon promotion to chief warrant officer 2. These commissioned warrant officers are direct representatives of the president of the United States. They derive their authority from the same source as commissioned officers but remain specialists, in contrast to commissioned officers, who are generalists. There are no warrant officers in the Air Force.

Naval officers wear distinctively different rank devices depending upon the uniform they’re wearing. The three basic uniforms and rank devices used are: khakis, collar insignia pins; whites, stripes on shoulder boards; and blues, stripes sewn on the lower coat sleeves.

United States Military Rank Insignias – Officer Ranks – O1 – O10

To Learn More About The United States Military Click Here »

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