Moving up the ranks, step by step
Photo by Craig Adderley from Pexels
As military personnel move up the ranks, they earn experience and respect for a lifetime.
The five main branches of the military are the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy.
Each of these branches is made up of different ranks. The first four ranks of the Air Force are Enlisted Airmen: Airman Basic (AB), Airman (Amn), Airman First Class (A1C), and Senior Airman (SrA). The next seven ranks are Noncommissioned Officer: Staff Sergeant (SSgt), Technical Sergeant ( TSgt), Master Sergeant (MSgt), Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt), Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt), Command Chief Sergeant (CCM), and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (CMSAF). The next three ranks are Commissioned Officers: Second Lieutenant (2d Lt), First Lieutenant (1st L), and Captain (Capt). These are followed by Field Officers: Major (Maj), Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Co), and Colonel (Col). The top ranks are General Officers: Brigadier General (Brig), Major General (Maj G), Lieutenant General (Lt Ge), General (Gen), and General of the Air Force (GAF) .
The ranks of the Army start with Enlisted Soldiers: Private (PVT), Private Second Class (PV2), Private First Class (PFC) and Specialist (SPC). These are followed by Noncommissioned Officers: Corporal (CPL), Sergeant (SGT), Staff Sergeant (SSG), Sergeant First Class (SFC), Master Sergeant (MSG), First Sergeant (1SG), Sergeant Major (SGM), Command Sergeant Major (CSM) and Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA). After those are the Warrant Officers: Warrant Officer 1 (WO1), Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2), Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3), Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4), and Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5). The following are the Army’s Commissioned Officers: Second Lieutenant (2LT), First Lieutenant (1LT), and Captain (CPT). These are followed by these Field Officers: Major (MAJ), Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) and Colonel (COL). After that are the General Officers: Brigadier General (BG), Major General (MG), Lieutenant General (LTG) General (GEN), and General of the Army (GA).
The ranks of the Coast Guard star with Seaman rank: Seaman Recruit (SR), Seaman Apprentice (SA), and Seaman (SN). The next ranks are Petty Officers: Petty Officer Third Class (PO3), Petty Officer Second Class (PO2), Petty Officer First Class (PO1), Chief Petty Officer (CPO), Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO), Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO), Command Master Chief Petty Officer (CMC), and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOC). Those are followed by the Chief Warrant Officers: Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CWO-2), Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO-3), and Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CWO-4). After that, there are the Junior Officers: Ensign (ENS), Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG), Lieutenant (LT), and Lieutenant Commander (LCDR). Commander (CDR) and Captain (CAPT) are both Senior Officers. The top ranks in the Coast Guard are Flag Officer: Rear Admiral Lower Half (DRML), Rear Admiral (RADM), Vice Admiral (VADM), and finally Admiral (ADM).
The ranks of the Marine Corps start with the Junior Enlisted Officers: Private (Pvt), Private First Class (PFC), and Lance Corporal (LCpl). Corporal (Cpl) and Sergeant (Sgt) are both Noncommissioned Officers. Those ranks are followed by Staff Noncommissioned Officers: Staff Sergeant (SSgt), Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt), Master Sergeant (MSgt) and Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySg). First Sergeant (1stSg) is a Senior Enlisted advisor one step below MGySg. That is followed by Sergeant Major (SgtMa) and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (sgtMa). Warrant Officers include Warrant Officer 1 (WO1), Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2), Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3), Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4), and Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5). The following are Commissioned Officers: Second Lieutenant (2ndLt), First Lieutenant (1stLt), and Captain (Capt). Field Officer ranks are Major (Maj), Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol), and Colonel (Col). The top ranks for the Marine Corps are the General Officers: Brigadier General (Bgen), Major General (MajGen), Lieutenant General (LtGen), and General (Gen).
The Navy starts their ranking with Junior Enlisted Officers: Seaman Recruit (SR), Seaman Apprentice (SA) and Seamen (SN). Noncommissioned Officers include Petty Officer Third Class (PO3), Petty Officer Second Class (PO3) and Petty Officer First Class (PO1). The Senior Noncommissioned Officers are Chief Petty Officer (CPO), Senior Chief Petty Officer (SCPO) and Master Chief Petty Officer (MCPO). The next ranks are the Senior Enlisted Advisors: Command Master Chief Petty Officer (CMDCM) and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON). These are followed by Warrant Officers: Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2), Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3), Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4), and Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5). The Junior Officers include Ensign (ENS), Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG), Lieutenant (LT), and Lieutenant Commander (LCDR). The next rank features Commander (CDR) and Captain (CAPT) as Senior Officers. The top officers are Flag Officers: Rear Admiral Lower Half (RDML), Rear Admiral (RADM), Vice Admiral (VADM), Admiral (ADM) and Fleet Admiral (FADM)
The lowest ranks for each of the branches do not have an insignia, but all of the others do. The lowest ranks each make around $20,000 a year and highest ranks make around $190,000 a year.
