page_title: Non-commissioned officer
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Non-commissioned officer / National usage / United States
caption_attribution_description: w:U.S. Army w:First Sergeant Vernell Hall (left) with the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera), inspects soldiers' uniforms during a Class B inspection at w:Fort George G. Meade
context_page_description: A non-commissioned officer is a military officer who has not earned a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually obtain their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, Officer Candidate School, or Officer Training School after receiving a post-secondary degree.
  The NCO corps usually includes many grades of enlisted, corporal and sergeant; in some countries, warrant officers also carry out the duties of NCOs. The naval equivalent includes some or all grades of petty officer. There are different classes of non-commissioned officers, including junior non-commissioned officers and senior non-commissioned officers.
context_section_description: In the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, all ranks of sergeant are termed NCOs, as are corporals in the Army and Marine Corps. A Marine Corps lance corporal (E-3) is not  an NCO, but rather junior enlisted. The rank of corporal (E-4) in the Army and Marine Corps is a junior NCO, and is to be shown the same respect as any other NCO. In the Air Force, E-5 (staff sergeant) and E-6 (technical sergeant) are classified under the NCO tier, while E-7 (master sergeant), E-8 (senior master sergeant), and E-9 (chief master sergeant) are considered senior non-commissioned officers (SNCOs).  In the Navy and Coast Guard, all ranks of petty officer are so designated. Junior NCOs (E-4 through E-6 grade), or simply "NCOs" (E-4 and E-5 only) in Marine Corps usage, and function as first-tier supervisors and technical leaders.
  NCOs serving in the top three enlisted grades (E-7, E-8, and E-9) are termed senior non-commissioned officers (chief petty officers in the Navy and Coast Guard). Senior NCOs are expected to exercise leadership at a more general level. They lead larger groups of service members, mentor junior officers, and advise senior officers on matters pertaining to their areas of responsibility.
  Within the Marine Corps, senior NCOs are referred to as staff noncommissioned officers (SNCOs) and also include the rank of staff sergeant (E-6). SNCOs are those career Marines serving in grades E-6 through E-9 and serve as unit leaders and supervisors, primary assistants and technical advisors to officers, and senior enlisted advisors to commanding officers, commanding generals, and other higher-level commanders. The ranks include staff sergeant, gunnery sergeant (E-7), master sergeant / first sergeant (E-8), and master gunnery sergeant / sergeant major (E-9).
  The title of superintendent is used by the Air Force as the title of the non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of a section, flight, squadron, group, staff agency, directorate, or similar organization. These positions are assigned to senior non-commissioned officers (SNCOs), as opposed to the titles "NCOIC" and "chief" (which are held by junior NCOs). The titles of commander and director are used for commissioned officers assigned as commanding officer of a unit or the head of a staff agency, directorate, or similar organization, respectively.
  A select few senior NCOs in paygrade E-9 serve as "senior enlisted advisors" to senior commanders in each service (e.g., major command, fleet, force, etc.) and in DoD (unified commands, e.g., United States Strategic Command, United States European Command, United States Pacific Command, etc., and DoD agencies, e.g. the Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. One senior E-9, selected by the service chief of staff, is the ranking NCO/PO in that service, holds the highest enlisted rank for that service, and is responsible for advising their service secretary and chief of staff.
  One E-9 holds a similar position as the SEA to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Senior enlisted advisors, service enlisted advisors and the SEA to the Chairman advise senior officer and civilian leaders on all issues affecting operational missions and the readiness, utilization, morale, technical and professional development, and quality of life of the enlisted force.
  Warrant officers in the United States Armed Forces are considered specialty officers and fall in between enlisted and commissioned officers. US warrant officers also have their own tier and paygrade. However, when US warrant officers achieve the rank of chief warrant officer (CWO2) or higher, they are commissioned and are considered commissioned US officers just like any other commissioned officer, but are still held in a different paygrade tier.
caption: A First Sergeant with the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) gets his soldiers ready for a uniform inspection
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Vernell Hall, left, with the 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera), inspects soldiers' uniforms during a Class B inspection at Fort George G. Meade, Md., May 31, 2012. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Prentice Martin-Bowen)", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2012:05:31 00:00:00", "Image Artist": "Sgt. Prentice Martin-Bowen", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "Public Domain", "Image ExifOffset": "492", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "8026", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "8138", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "18083", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1600", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "250", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:05:31 08:30:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:05:31 00:00:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "85/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "193/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "55", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "58", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2784", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1856", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "7996", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "2784000/1459", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "928000/479", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}