Enlisted 1
How many Chevrons ?
What do you call them?
Has 0 chevrons
What is A...
Private (Army)
Private (Marines)
Seaman Recruit(SR) (Navy)
Airman Basic (Airforce)
Specialist 1(Spc1) (Spaceforce)
Seaman Recruit(SR) (CoastGuard)
E5
Sergeant(Sgt)
Petty Officer Second Class **(PO2)
Staff Sergeant(SSgt)
Sergeant(Sgt)
Petty Officer Second Class **(PO2)
Officers
What are 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 paygrades of O-1 to O-3, field grade officers in paygrades O-4 to O-6 and general officers in paygrades O-7 and higher. The equivalent officer groupings in the Navy are called junior grade, mid-grade and flag.
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.
04
MajorMaj
Lieutenant CommanderLCDR
MajorMaj
MajorMaj
Lieutenant CommanderLCDR
Average age of Enlisted Members in US Miliatary
The average age of enlisted members in the US military is 27.3 years.
Or if you're talking officer, start at say age 23, and then add:
Anything at or above O-7 is competitive, so there's no average age/time available, although with Generals it's usually late 40s and 50s (50).
E2
E-2
Private(PV2)
Private First Class(PFC)
Seaman Apprentice(SA)
Airman(Amn)
Specialist 2(Spc2)
Seaman Apprentice(SA)
E6
What is A...
E-6
Staff Sergeant(SSG)
Staff Sergeant(SSgt)
Petty Officer First Class **(PO1)
Technical Sergeant(TSgt)
Technical Sergeant(TSgt)
Petty Officer First Class **(PO1)
Warrant Officers
What are officers that 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.
05
Lieutenant ColonelLTC
Lieutenant ColonelLtCol
CommanderCDR
Lieutenant ColonelLt Col
Lieutenant ColonelLt Col
CommanderCDR
GO Mandatory Retirement
The mandatory retirement age for all general officers is 62 (this can be deferred to age 64 in some cases, or indefinitely in the case of G.I. Joe). Under the law (10 USC, Sec 635), an officer who has been promoted to O-7 but is not on the recommended list to O-8, must retire five years after promotion to O-7, or 30 years of active-duty service, whichever is later.
An O-8 must retire five years after being promoted to O-8, or 35 years of service, whichever is greater (10 USC, Sec 636).
The Secretary of the Service Concerned (i.e., Secretary of the Army, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Air Force) or the President of the United States, can defer the above mandatory retirements, up until the time that the officer reaches the age of 62 (10 USC, Sec 637).
E3
Lance Corporal(LCpl)
Seaman(SN)
Airman First Class(A1C)
Specialist 3(Spc3)
Seaman(SN)
E7
What is A...
E-7
Sergeant First Class(SFC)
Gunnery Sergeant(GySgt)
Chief Petty Officer **(CPO)
Master Sergeant(MSgt)
First Sergeant
Master Sergeant(MSgt)
Chief Petty Officer **(CPO)
01
Second Lieutenant2ndLt
EnsignENS
Second Lieutenant2d Lt
Second Lieutenant2d Lt
EnsignENS
06
O-6
ColonelCOL
ColonelCol
CaptainCAPT
ColonelCol
ColonelCol
CaptainCAPT
National Guard Averages
Typically, Guard members tend to stay longer in their positions, changing the average age ranges.
The average age of the enlisted member of the Army Guard was 29.5 with 44.9% of the total enlisted force being age 25 or below.
The Army National Guard Officer average age was 37.5 with 39.6% of the officer force being age 41 or older.
The average age of army national guards is 40+ years years old, representing 56% of the army national guard population
The average of age of Air National Guard Officers is 40.7, and the average age of Air National Guard Enlisted members is 34.3
E4
Specialist(SPC)
Corporal(Cpl)
Petty Officer Third Class **(PO3)
Senior Airman(SrA)
Specialist 4(Spc4)
Petty Officer Third Class **(PO3)
E8 & E9
What are the differences between branches?
Some differences by Branch:
At the E-8 level, the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force have two positions at the same paygrade. Whether one is, for example, a senior master sergeant or a first sergeant in the Air Force depends on the person's job.
The same is true for the positions at the E-9 level. Marine Corps master gunnery sergeants and sergeants major receive the same pay but have different responsibilities. All told, E-8s and E-9s have 15 to 30 years on the job, and are commanders' senior advisers for enlisted matters.
A third E-9 element is the senior enlisted person of each service. The sergeant major of the Army, the sergeant major of the Marine Corps, the master chief petty officer of the Navy and the chief master sergeant of the Air Force are the spokespersons of the enlisted force at the highest levels of their services.
02
First Lieutenant1stLt
Lieutenant Junior GradeLTJG
First Lieutenant1st Lt
First Lieutenant1st Lt
Lieutenant Junior GradeLTJG
General Officers
Starts with a STAR
Brigadier GeneralBGen
Rear Admiral Lower HalfRDML
Brigadier GeneralBrig Gen
Brigadier GeneralBrig Gen
Rear Admiral Lower HalfRDML
The difference between these 3 terms often confuse those new to the military culture.
NCO
What is a noncommissioned officer
Ranks E5 and above
Leadership responsibility significantly increases in the midlevel enlisted ranks. This responsibility is given formal recognition by use of the terms noncommissioned officer and petty officer. An Army sergeant, an Air Force staff sergeant and a Marine corporal are considered NCO ranks. The Navy NCO equivalent, petty officer, is achieved at the rank of petty officer third class.
E8 & E9
Recognize by Chevrons and icons inside the Chevorns
What is a...
Army:
E8 Master Sergeant / First Sergeant
E9 Sergeant Major/ Command Sergeant Major/ Sergeant Major of the Army
Marines
E8 Master Sergeant, First Sergeant
E9 Master Gunnery Sergeant, Sergeant Major, Sergeant Major of the MC
Navy
E8 Senior Chief Petty Officer
E9 Master Chief Petty Officer, Fleet/Command MC Petty Officer, MC Petty Officer of the Navy
Air Force
E8 Senior Master Sergeant, First Sergeant
E9 Chief Master Sergeant, First Sergeant, Command Chief Master Sergeant, Chief MS of the Airforce
Space Force
E8 Senior Master Sergeant
E9 Chief Master Sergeant, Chief MS of the Space Force
Coast Guard
E8 Senior Chief Petty Officer
E9 Master Chief Petty Officer, Fleet/Command Master Chief Petty Officer, MC Petty Officer of the Coast Guard
o3
CaptainCapt
LieutenantLT
CaptainCapt
CaptainCapt
LieutenantLT
VIPs
08
09
0 10
You should instantly be able to recognize anything above ONE STAR as a VIP
Name some VIPs in your branch
The different Insignia
Who wears what and why
Here’s a breakdown of the insignia: