So whether you don t know any of the military ranks or you re just. Confusion about the order of military ranks can be made even worse from branch to branch by the common use of some easily recognizable rank names like sergeant or captain for entirely different pay grades a captain in the marine corps s pay grade is o 3 whereas a captain in the navy is an o 6 as one shining example. Corresponding rates and ranks have different names across branches and more than one may fall under the same pay grade.
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. But it is important to note that pay grade is an administrative distinction. General of the army general lieutenant major general brigadier general colonel lieutenant colonel major captain first lieutenant and second lieutenant.
The rank in order from highest to lowest is as follows. There are numerous army officer and general ranks that range from permanent to wartime only positions. The united states army maintains a long standing tradition dating as far back as 1775 when the first companies of riflemen were formed by the continental congress.
The united states army remains one of the most powerful forces in the world based on recent combat experiences equipment and training. At the start of the american revolutionary war in 1775 the continental army s lack of standardized uniforms and insignia proved confusing for soldiers in the field. The structure of united states military ranks had its roots in british military traditions adopting the same or similar ranks and titles.
Army and their respective pay grades insignias abbreviations and classifications. The table below lists all the standard ranks in the u s. Often called a five star general the rank of general of the army has historically been reserved for wartime use and is not currently active in the u s.
The united states army has twenty nine grades of enlisted soldiers and officers with most soldiers enlisting at the entry level rank of private pvt paygrade e 1. This table of the united states army ranks from lowest to highest shows the army s rank structure from lowest to highest including rank insignia abbreviation and rank classification. United states army ranks in order.
