United States

Army Rank
 United States Army officer rank

• Second Lieutenant
In the United States, second lieutenant is the
normal entry-level rank for most commissioned
officers in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps
and is equivalent to the rank of ensign in the
Navy and Coast Guard
• First Lieutenaunt
In the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air
Force, a first lieutenant is a junior commissioned
officer. It is just above the rank of second
lieutenant and just below the rank of captain. A
second lieutenant is usually promoted to first
lieutenant after 18 months in the Army or 24
months in the Marine Corps and Air Force
• Captain
In the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps,
and U.S. Air Force, captain is a company grade
officer rank, with the pay grade of O-3. It ranks
above first lieutenant and below major
• Major
A major in the U.S. Army typically serves as a
battalion executive officer (XO) or as the
battalion operations officer (S3). A major can
also serve as a primary staff officer for a
regiment, brigade or task force in the areas
concerning personnel, logistics and operations
• Lieutenant colonel
In the United States Army and the United States
Marine Corps (USMC), a lieutenant colonel
typically commands a battalion/squadron-sized
unit (300 to 1,200 Soldiers/Marines), with a
major as second-in-command and a command
sergeant major/sergeant major (USMC) as
principal NCO or senior enlisted adviser (SEA)
• Colonel
Modern American colonels usually command
Army infantry, artillery, armor, aviation or other
types of brigades, USMC regiments, Marine
Expeditionary Units or Marine Aircraft Groups,
and USAF groups or wings. An Army colonel
typically commands brigade-sized units (4,000 to
6,000 soldiers)
• Brigadier General
In the United States Armed Forces, brigadier
general (BG, Brig Gen, or BGen) is a one-star
general officer with the pay grade.
Today, an Army or Marine Corps "BG" or "BGen,"
respectively, typically serves as deputy commander
to the commanding general of a division or
division-sized units and assists in overseeing the
planning and coordination of a mission
• Major General
Major Generals typically serve as division
commanders training center commanders, joint
task force commanders, deputy commanding
generals to 3-star and 4-star commands, senior
directors on Army and joint staffs, eneral is a
two-star general-officer rank
• Lieutenant general
The practice of using lieutenant general and general
grades as a temporary rank continues.
An Army or Marine Corps lieutenant general typically
commands a corps-sized unit (20,000 to 45,000
soldiers for an Army Corps and a similar number of
Marines for a Marine Expeditionary Force).
Currently, five women serve as lieutenant generals
in the US Army
• General
Since the grades of General of the Army and
General of the Air Force are reserved for
wartime use only, and since the Marine Corps
has no five-star equivalent, the grade of general
is currently considered to be the highest
appointment an officer can achieve in these
three services
• General of the Army
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. military
• General of the Armies
The rank is informally equated to that of a six star
general and is the highest possible operational rank of
the United States Army.
The rank has only been held twice in history - once by
an active duty officer (John J. Pershing) with a further
posthumous promotion to George Washington in 1976.
The rank of General of the Armies is senior to General
of the Army, General of the Air Force and Fleet Admiral
Marcelina Politowska
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