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Friday, 18 November 2005 |
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 and Coast Guard 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. |
ARMY | NAVY | MARINES | AIR FORCE | COAST GUARD | | | | | | | 
| The grade of Warrant Officer W-1 is no longer in use | 
| NO WARRANT | The grade of Warrant Officer W-1 is no longer in use | | | | | |  Warrant Officer 1
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| NO WARRANT | 
| | | | | | Chief Warrant Officer 2 | | | | | | 
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| NO WARRANT | 
| | | | | | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | | | | | | 
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| NO WARRANT | 
| | | | | | Chief Warrant Officer 4 | | | | | | | 
| NO WARRANT | 
| NO WARRANT | | | | | | | Chief Warrant Officer 5 | | | | | | | | | | | 
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| Second
Lieutenant | Ensign | Second
Lieutenant | Second
Lieutenant | Ensign | O-1 | | | | | | 
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| First
Lieutenant | Lieutenant
Jr. Grade | First
Lieutenant | First
Lieutenant | Lieutenant
Jr. Grade | O-2 | | | | | | 
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| Captain | Lieutenant | Captain | Captain | Lieutenant | O-3 | | | | | | 
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| Major | Lieutenant
Commander | Major | Major | Lieutenant
Commander | O-4 | | | | | | 
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| Lieutenant
Colonel | Commander | Lieutenant
Colonel | Lieutenant
Colonel | Commander | O-5 | | | | | | 
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| Colonel | Captain | Colonel | Colonel | Captain | O-6 | | | | | | 
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| Brigadier
General | Commodore | Brigadier
General | Brigadier
General | Commodore | O-7 | | | | | | 
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| Major
General | Rear
Admiral | Major
General | Major
General | Rear
Admiral | O-8 | | | | | | 
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| Lieutenant
General | Vice
Admiral | Lieutenant
General | Lieutenant
General | Vice
Admiral | O-9 | | | | | | 
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| | | | | | General | Admiral | General | General | Admiral | 
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| Army Chief
of Staff | Chief of
Naval Operations | Commandant
of the
Marine Corps | Air Force
Chief of Staff | Commandant
of the
Coast Guard | O-10 | | | | | | 
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| | General
of the
Army | Fleet
Admiral | | General
of the
Air Force | | | SPECIAL ( Only in time of war.) |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 November 2005 )
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