#MILITARY ENLISTED RANKS HOW TO#

The Sergeant Major of the Army, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, and the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard are the spokespersons of the enlisted force at the highest levels of their services. Upon graduating AIT, you will join your Colorado Army National Guard unit. All told, E-8s and E-9s have 15 to 30 years on the job, and are the Commanding Officer's senior advisers for enlisted matters.Ī third E-9 element is the senior enlisted person of each service. Marine Corps master gunnery sergeants and sergeants major receive the same pay but have different responsibilities. The same is true for the positions at the E-9 level. Whether one is, for example, a senior master sergeant or a first sergeant in the Air Force depends on the person's job. Enlisted service members are responsible for. The Navy and Coast Guard NCO equivalent, petty officer, is achieved at the rank of petty officer third class.Īt the E-8 level, the Army, Marines and Air Force have two positions at the same pay grade. In a nutshell, enlisted soldiers are the backbone of the military, comprising about 83 of the armed forces. providing leadership and training to the Marines in their military. Military Rank Structure United States Army Enlisted Ranks United States Army Officer Ranks United States Marine Corps Enlisted Ranks United States Marine. This responsibility is given formal recognition by use of the terms noncommissioned officer and petty officer.Īn Army sergeant, an Air Force staff sergeant, and a Marine corporal are considered NCO ranks. A complete break down of all Enlisted, Warrant Officer and Officer ranks and their. Leadership responsibility significantly increases in the mid-level enlisted ranks. They have specific specialties within a military unit, perform specific job functions and have the knowledge that ensures the success of their unit's current mission. Currently, the Space Force is largely made up of Air Force personnel utilizing the Air Force rank structure.The enlisted service members are the backbone of the military profession. This list includes the military ranks in order for the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard.

#MILITARY ENLISTED RANKS HOW TO#

So whether you don’t know any of the military ranks, or you’re just confused about how to put them in order, here’s a breakdown of the rank structure in each branch, starting at the most junior enlisted pay grade, and ascending up to the senior most commissioned officer. Most Sailors will start as an E-1 (for Enlisted) or O-1 (for Officer), rise in rank within two years and continue to receive regular rank promotions as they. also: any of several former enlisted ranks corresponding to the grades of sergeant through sergeant major. 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. Army corresponding to the grade of corporal. And as those of us that have spent time in uniform can attest, having a good understanding of military ranks in the order of authority for our own branch doesn’t necessarily mean you know how the rank structure looks in the sister branches.Ĭonfusion 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. Army describes enlisted ranks with a title and a numerical designation of E-1 to E-9. Everybody recognizes the ones that commonly show up in movies like sergeant, captain, or admiral, but where they fall on the pecking order of different branches isn’t all that clear. Before you get to basic training, most people don’t have a very thorough understanding of military ranks, let alone the ability to put them in order.

Military enlisted ranks