MILNET Brief: U.S. Military Officer Rank Insignia

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	United States Military Officers Rank Insignia

	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 (or flag 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 (i.e. the Secretary of the Army or for the Marines, Secretary of the Navy) 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.
		Navy

	Naval officers wear distinctively different rank devices depending upon the uniform they're wearing: Khakis - collar insignia pins Whites (sometimes called Winter Whites) - stripes on shoulder boards Blues - gold stripes sewn on the lower coat sleeves.
W1	Warrant Officer 1 WO1	Warrant Officer 1 W-1 * The grade of Warrant Officer W-1 is no longer in use.	Warrant Officer 1 WO	NO WARRANT
W2	Chief Warrant Officer 2 CW2	Chief Warrant Officer 2 CWO2	Chief Warrant Officer 2 CWO2	NO WARRANT
W3	Chief Warrant Officer 3 CW3	Chief Warrant Officer 3 CWO3	Chief Warrant Officer CWO3	NO WARRANT
W4	Chief Warrant Officer 4 CW4	Chief Warrant Officer 4 CWO4	Chief Warrant Officer 4 CWO4	NO WARRANT
W5	Chief Warrant Officer CW5	NO CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER CWO5	Chief Warrant Officer 5 CWO5	NO WARRANT
		Navy

O1	Second Lieutenant 2LT	Ensign ENS	Second Lieutenant 2nd Lt.	Second Lieutenant 2nd Lt.
O2	First Lieutenant 1LT	Lieutenant Junior Grade LTJG	First Lieutenant 1st Lt.	First Lieutenant 1st Lt.
O3	Captain CPT	Lieutenant LT	Captain Capt.	Captain Capt. <>
O4	Major MAJ	Lieutenant Commander LCDR	Major MAJ	Major Maj.
O5	Lieutenant Colonel LTC	Commander CDR	Lieutenant Colonel Lt. Col.	Lieutenant Colonel Lt. Col.
O6	Colonel COL (Note: For all O-6, Eagles facing left on right collar, facing right on left collar)	Captain CAPT	Colonel Col.	Colonel Col.
O7	Brigadier General BG	Rear Admiral Lower Half RADM (LH)	Brigadier General Brig. Gen.	Brigadier General Brig. Gen.
O8	Major General MG	Rear Admiral Upper Half RADM (UH)	Major General Maj. Gen.	Major General Maj. Gen.
O9	Lieutenant General LTG	Vice Admiral VADM	Lieutenant General Lt. Gen.	Lieutenant General Lt. Gen.
O10	General GEN Including Army Chief of Staff	Admiral ADM Including Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Coast Guard	General Gen. Including Commandant of the Marines	General Gen. Includng Air Force Chief of Staff
	General of the Army (Reserved for wartime only)	Fleet Admiral (Reserved for wartime only)	No Five Star Rank in the Marine Corps	General of the Air Force (Reserved for wartime only)