U.S. Military Ranks In Order - Infoplease

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Search Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff Table of contents

The Branches of Service

There are five branches of the U.S. military, represented to the government by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Each branch of service has their own respective U.S. Military Ranks to represent authority level. These military branches are:

Enlisted Personnel
Pay Grade	Army and Marine Corps		Navy and Coast Guard1		Air Force		Total number2
E-1	Private		Seaman Recruit		Airman Basic		49,046
E-2		Army: Private (PV2) Marines: Private First Class (PFC)		Seaman Apprentice (SA)		Airman (Amn)	70,517
E-3		Army: Private First Class (PFC) Marines: Lance Corporal (LCpl)		Seaman (SN)		Airman First Class (A1C)	183,394
E-4		Army: Specialist (SPC)3 Corporal (CPL) Marines: Corporal (Cpl)		Petty Officer, Third Class (PO3)		Senior Airman (SrA)	252,961
E-5		Sergeant Army: (SGT) Marines: (Sgt)		Petty Officer, Second Class (PO2)		Staff Sergeant (SSgt)	218,457
E-6		Staff Sergeant Army: (SSG) Marines: (SSgt)		Petty Officer, First Class (PO1)		Technical Sergeant (TSgt)	157,201
E-7		Army: Sergeant First Class (SFC) Marines: Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt)		Chief Petty Officer (CPO)4		Master Sergeant (MSgt) First Sergeant (––)	87,672
E-8		Master Sergeant Army: (MSG) Marines: (MSgt) First Sergeant Army: (1SG) Marines: (––)		Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO)		Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt) First Sergeant (––)	26,562
E-9		Army: Sergeant Major (SGM) Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Marines: Sergeant Major (SgtMaj) Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt)		Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO)5 Fleet/Command Master Chief Petty Officer (––)		Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt) First Sergeant (––) Command Chief Master Sergeant (––)	10,607
Special Grades6
E-9		Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (SgtMajMC)		Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG)		Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (CMSAF)	5
TOTAL ENLISTED							1,055,972
Warrant Officers
W-1		Warrant Officer 1 Army: (WO1) Marines: (WO)	DISCONTINUED 1975		NO WARRANT		2,526
W-2		Chief Warrant Officer 2 Army: (CW2) Marines: (CWO2)		Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CWO2)	NO WARRANT		6,842
W-3		Chief Warrant Officer 3 Army: (CW3) Marines: (CWO3)		Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3)	NO WARRANT		5,445
W-4		Chief Warrant Officer 4 Army: (CW4) Marines: (CWO4)		Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CWO4)	NO WARRANT		2,732
W-5		Chief Warrant Officer 5 Army: (CW5) Marines: (CWO5)		Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CWO5)7	NO WARRANT		762
Total Warrant Officers							18,307
Commissioned Officers
Cadets/Midshipmen8							12,176
O-1		Second Lieutenant Army: (2LT) Marines: (2ndLt)		Ensign (ENS)		Second Lieutenant (2d Lt)	25,118
O-2		First Lieutenant Army: (1LT) Marines: 1stLt		Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG)		First Lieutenant 1st Lt	27,986
O-3		Captain Army: (CPT) Marines: Capt		Lieutenant (LT)		Captain (Capt)	75,984
O-4		Major Army: (MAJ) Marines: Maj		Lieutenant Commander (LCDR)		Major (Maj)	42,934
O-5		Lieutenant Colonel Army: (LTC) Marines: (LtCol)		Commander (CDR)		Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col)	27,278
O-6		Colonel Army: (COL) Marines: (Col)		Captain (CAPT)		Colonel (Col)	11,364
O-7		Brigadier General Army: (BG) Marines: (BGen)		Rear Admiral Lower Half (RDML)		Brigadier General (Brig Gen)	407
O-8		Major General Army: (MG) Marines: (MajGen)		Rear Admiral (RADM)		Major General (Maj Gen)	312
O-9		Lieutenant General Army: (LTG) Marines: (LtGen)		Vice Admiral (VADM)		Lieutenant General (Lt Gen)	141
O-10		Chief of Staff of the Army Commandant of the Marine Corps General Army: (GEN) Marines: (Gen)		Chief of Naval Operations Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral (ADM)		Chief of Staff of the Air Force General (Gen)	38
Special Grades9
5 Stars		General of the Army		Fleet Admiral		General of the Air Force	––
TOTAL COMMISSIONED OFFICERS							223,738
TOTAL OFFICERS							242,045
TOTAL PERSONNEL							1,298,017

The Five Branches

The Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. The Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, but may be moved to the Navy during wartime. The Joint Chiefs of Staff drawn from the service branches report directly to the Secretaries of their respective services.

The National Guard is also represented by the JCS, but the Guard comprises reserve troops. Their ranks reflect those of their respective services. Across all branches of service, there are 813,017 reserve members as of June 30, 2017. There are reserve personnel from every pay grade. We have not included them in the count below.

Organization

In terms of authority, enlisted ranks are at the bottom, warrant officers in the middle, and commissioned officers are at the top. Enlisted personnel may become non-commissioned officers, giving them command authority. Warrant officers are enlisted personnel who are promoted by "warrant" due to technical expertise. Commissioned officers are leaders appointed by government documentation (by "commission").

We've organized our table by pay grade, which pretty handily corresponds to level of authority. But, it is important to note that pay grade is an administrative distinction; in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force one's position is their rank, and in the Navy and Coast Guard it is their rate. Corresponding rates and ranks have different names across branches and more than one may fall under the same pay grade.

Chart Footnotes:

1. The Navy and Coast Guard share rank insignia, but the background color is different. The Coast Guard wears blue uniforms.

2. These numbers do not include Coast Guard personnel, for whom the Department of Defense has not published breakdown by rank. There are 41,121 service members of the Coast Guard as of June 2017.

3. Within the Army, a Specialist is ranked lower than a Corporal. But, they are of equal rank to E-4 service members in other branches.

4. Gold stripes on Navy insignia indicate 12+ years of good conduct.

5. Command MCPOs have silver stars. MCPOs have silver stars and silver specialty rating marks.

6. These senior advisers are the highest ranking enlisted members of each service, who are responsible for presenting the concerns and opinions of the enlisted service members to the officers.

7. The Coast Guard had this rate authorized, but as of yet they have not used/issued the rate of Chief Warrant Officer 5.

8. Cadets and midshipmen are commissioned officers in training, and so we have included them with the commissioned officers for our count. However, one should not be mistaken, a cadet or midshipman does not have the same authority.

9. The rank of 5 Stars is solely reserved for wartime, and as such there are currently no 5 Star Generals or Admirals.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Defense, Jun 30, 2017.

U.S. Military Spending, 1946–2009

Military Personnel

Active Duty Military Personnel, 1940–2011

U.S. Military Spending, 1946–2009 Military Personnel Active Duty Military Personnel, 1940–2011

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