Colonel ( United States ) In the United States Army , Air Force , and Marine Corps , colonel ( ) is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general . It is equivalent to the rank of captain in the other uniformed services – the Navy , Coast Guard , Public Health Service Commissioned Corps , and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps . The pay grade for the rank of colonel is O - 6 . Insignia . The insignia for a colonel is a silver eagle which is a stylized representation of the eagle dominating the Great Seal of the United States ( which is the coat of arms of the United States ) . As on the Great Seal , the eagle has a U . S . shield superimposed on its chest and is holding an olive branch and bundle of arrow s in its talon s . However , in simplification of the Great Seal image , the insignia lacks the scroll in the eagle ' s mouth and the starry rosette above its head . On the Great Seal , the olive branch is always clutched in the eagle ' s right - side talons , while the bundle of arrows is always clutched in the left - side talons . The head of the eagle faces towards the olive branch , rather than the arrows , advocating peace rather than war . As a result , the head of the eagle always faces towards the viewer ' s left . Among all branches of the uniformed services , the rank insignia of the silver eagle is ordinarily worn in matching mirrored pairs , such as on the left and right collar or left and right shoulder of various military uniforms . Army , Navy , Air Force , and Marine Corps regulations specify that when worn in such fashion , the head of the eagle will always face towards the front . Hence , on the left collar or left shoulder , the eagle appears to be looking to its left and the olive branch is clutched in the left hand talon . On the right collar or right shoulder , the eagle appears to be looking to its right and the olive branch is clutched in the right hand talon . However , when worn as a single insignia with no matching pair , such as on the patrol cap , garrison cap , or the front of the ACU uniform , there is a split between the services on which mirror image of the eagle should be worn . In the United States Army and Air Force , the eagle is always worn with " the head of the eagle to the wearer ' s right , " with the olive branch clutched in the eagle ' s right hand talons ( see Army Regulation 670 - 1 , paragraph 28 - 6 ( a ) ( 1 ) ) . In the United States Navy and Marine Corps , the eagle is worn with " the head facing forward " on the garrison cap ( see Marine Corps Order P1020 . 34G , Uniform Regulation , paragraph 4005d ( 1 ) ) . Since the insignia is worn on the right hand side of the Navy and Marine garrison cap , the eagle is facing to the eagle ' s left with the olive branch clutched in the eagle ' s left hand talons , which is a mirror opposite to the wear of the single eagle for Army and Air Force officers . Origins . The United States rank of colonel is a direct successor to the same rank in the British Army . The first colonels in America were appointed from Colonial militia s maintained as reserves to the British Army in the American colonies . Upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War , colonial legislatures would grant commissions to men to raise a regiment and serve as its colonels . Thus , the first American colonels were usually respected men with ties in local communities and active in politics . Such was the origin of the term " soldier and statesman . " The first insignia for the rank of colonel consisted of gold epaulette s worn on the blue uniform of the Continental Army . The first recorded use of the eagle insignia was in 1805 as this insignia was made official in uniform regulations by 1810 . 19th century . The rank of colonel was relatively rare in the early 19th century , due in part that the Army was very small in size and the rank of Colonel was usually obtained only after long years of service . During the War of 1812 , many temporary Colonels were appointed but these commissions were either considered brevet ranks or the commissions were canceled at the war ’ s conclusion . The American Civil War saw a large influx of Colonels as the rank was commonly held in both the Confederate Army and Union Army by those who commanded a regiment . Since most regiments were state formations and were quickly raised , the Colonels in command were known by the title " Colonel of Volunteers , " in contrast to Regular Army Colonels who held ranks from the " old school " of the professional army before the Civil War . During the Civil War , the Confederate Army maintained a unique insignia for Colonel being that of three stars worn on the collar of a uniform . Robert E . Lee wore this insignia in respect to his former rank in the United States Army . Lee refused to wear the insignia of a Confederate general , stating that he would only accept permanent promotion when the South had achieved independence . After the Civil War , the rank of colonel again became rare as the forces of the United States Army became extremely small in number . However , many brevet Colonels appeared again during the Spanish American War , prominent among them Theodore Roosevelt and David Grant Colson . 20th century . World War I and World War II saw the largest numbers of Colonels ever appointed in the United States armed forces . This was mostly due to the temporary ranks of the National Army and the Army of the United States , where those who would normally hold the rank of Captain in the peacetime Regular Army were thrust into the rank of Colonel during these two wars . It was also during World War I that a tradition developed in that Colonels would wear the eagle insignia with the head pointing outwards from the neck as if to “ face the enemy ” . This was in contrast to the Army uniform regulations of the time , which stated that the eagle would be worn on the left collar , with the beak of the eagle facing inwards towards the wearer ’ s neck . Photographic evidence and service records from the Military Personnel Records Center indicate that this tradition lasted into World War II , after which time more strict uniform regulations prevented Colonels from reversing the insignia in this fashion . The United States Navy , however , also picked up on this tradition and Midshipmen today are taught that during times of war Navy Captains will reverse their collar insignia ( which is the same eagle insignia as that of Colonel ) in order to have the eagle facing the enemies of the United States . By the end of the Korean War , appointments to the rank of Colonel were standardized to be granted after roughly 16 – 18 years of service in the military , however temporary Colonel appointments continued well into the Vietnam War . The last temporary appointments to the rank of Colonel occurred in the late 1970s ; since then all Colonels have received permanent appointments upon promotion . Currently , an officer reaches the rank of colonel after about 22 years of military service . Modern rank . Modern American colonels usually command infantry brigade s , USAF groups or wing s , and USMC regiment s . An Army colonel typically commands brigade - sized units ( 3 , 000 to 5 , 000 Soldiers ) , with a Command Sergeant Major as a senior non - commissioned officer advisor . An Air Force colonel typically commands a wing consisting of 1 , 000 to 3 , 000 airmen with a Command Chief Master Sergeant as principal NCO adviser . Some Colonels are commanders of groups , which are the major components of wings . Colonels are also found as the chief of staff at divisional level - ( Army ) or Numbered Air Force - level staff agencies . In the modern armed forces , the colonel ' s eagle is worn facing inwards with head and beak pointing towards the wearer ' s neck . Of all U . S . military commissioned officer rank , only the colonel ' s eagle has a distinct right and left insignia . All other commissioned officer rank insignia can be worn on either the right or left side . Colonels are sometimes referred to ( but not addressed ) as full - bird colonels or " O - 6 , " which is their pay grade , in order to differentiate between colonels and lieutenant colonels , since lieutenant colonels are also referred to and addressed as simply " colonel . " In the Army , a colonel who has been selected for promotion to brigadier general is authorized to use Colonel ( P ) ( as in Promotable ) when signing official documents . In all other branches the officer still uses Colonel until the date of his actual promotion . An old Army saying , contrasting the leaf insignia of majors and lieutenant colonels with those of a general goes , " Once the leaves fall there ' s nothing between an eagle and the stars . " Most Army colonels are trained at the Army War College in Carlisle , Pennsylvania . The 2009 graduating class was 336 including 198 army officers and the rest divided among other military branches as well as foreign military leaders . In most state police / highway patrol agencies the chief of police is a colonel Honorary colonels . Some people known as " colonels " are actually recipients of honorary colonel ranks from a state governor and are not military officers . Famous honorary colonels include Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC fame , a Kentucky colonel ; Colonel Tom Parker , Elvis Presley ' s manager , who received the honor from a Louisiana governor ; Edward M . House , known as " Colonel House , " a Texas honorary colonel and adviser to President Woodrow Wilson ; and Kentucky Colonels Bill and Nancy Newsom , a father - daughter pair well known for their traditionally cured country ham s .