United States Army Commissioned Officers

The **United States Army (USA)** has eleven commissioned officer ranks. They are the core leadership of the Army.

## All Ranks

### Second Lieutenant

A Second Lieutenant is an officer in the United States Army. Officers holding this rank serve either as the commanders of a platoon-sized element (15-50 soldiers) or as staff officers. All second lieutenants hold both types of positions during their time holding this rank. The former job of commanding a platoon, known formally as being a platoon leader, is the more prestigious position of the two and the one required for officers to move on to the next rank. Second lieutenants will serve in such capacity for anywhere from 12-24 months, usually advancing to the next rank of First Lieutenant during this time. Work as a staff officer is done before receiving command of a platoon in order to prepare the officer for the magnitude of such a task. Their pay grade is O-1.

While serving in the leadership position of platoon leader, Second Lieutenants have five senior non-commissioned officers (NCO's), one platoon sergeant (E-6 or E-7) and four squad leaders (E-5 or E-6) serving underneath them. Underneath these NCO's, there is a variable amount of junior NCO's (E-4 or E-5) serving in other leadership positions. The rest of the platoon--that is to say the bulk of the platoon--is made of soldiers (E-1 to E-4). The job of the platoon leader is to plan training for the unit, supervise its execution, and lead the unit in all its actions, through the use of orders and disciplined initiative, executed by the NCO's in the platoon on behalf of the platoon leader, a Second Lieutenant.

### First Lieutenant

A First Lieutenant is an officer in the United States Army. As with second lieutenants, officers holding this rank serve either as the leaders of a platoon-sized element (15-50 soldiers) or as staff officers. All first lieutenants hold either one of these types of positions during their time in this rank.

The position of commanding a platoon, known formally as being a platoon leader, is the only job required of a lieutenant to be promoted to the next rank. It is the more prestigious job, and the one for which the Army commissions lieutenants, both second and first, in the first place. Depending on the job or jobs they held as second lieutenants, first lieutenants will spend varying amounts of time as both a platoon leader and a staff officer. Contrary to the rank of second lieutenant, work as a staff officer while a first lieutenant is usually done after receiving command of a platoon in order to allow officers time to prepare to compete for the rank, that of captain. Promotion to this rank is automatic after gaining enough experience. Their pay grade is O-2.

### Captain

Captains are commissioned officers in the United States Army. They receive their commission upon appointment by the Secretary of the Army.

Their primary reason for existence is to serve as the commanders of company-sized elements (about 150 soldiers), although they can also serve as staff officers or spend some of their time in grade attending professional-development schools or courses intended to prepare them for greater responsibilities in the future (such work is always done post completion of the primary Captain job of company command).

Captains are the final authority in company-sized elements for every matter that the company deals with or that even a single member of the company is involved in. Officially, the US Army charges Captains with being responsible for everything a company does or fails to do.

They are legal enforcers of standards and discipline, aided in such charge by the First Sergeant. Additionally, they are the ultimate trainers of the members of the company, charged with ensuring that the company is always prepared to accomplish its missions. Finally, Captains are the ultimate financial authority at the company level, using such authority to ensure the company is properly resourced to accomplish its missions.

Captains can also serve as staff officers at higher unit levels, such as battalions or brigades, aiding in the resourcing, planning, and functioning of the unit at that higher level.

Finally, as noted, Captains can spend some of their time in grade in professional-development schools or courses, attending school to earn a masters degree or army-internal courses, all internees to prepare Captains for service as officers at higher levels of rank and responsibility. Promotion to this rank happens after you pass the Army Lieutenants Higher Aptitude Test. Those who fail are mentored for a year, before retaking the test again. Those who fail again may request a final shot test if they fail this they are permanently dismissed from service, while those who don't will get transferred to either the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant or to the Navy as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. Their pay grade is O-3.

### Major

Majors are commissioned officers in the United States Army. They receive their commission upon appointment by the Secretary of the Army.

Their primary reason for existence is to serve as staff officers for battalion or brigade-sized elements (about 800 or 5000 soldiers respectively), although they can also spend some of their time in grade attending graduate school or professional-development schools or courses, all of which is sponsored by the Army in exchange for greater service in order to yield officers prepared for greater responsibilities in the future.

Major serves most often as the operations officer (known in the Army as the S-3) or the executive officer (known as the XO) in battalions or brigades.

They are given these positions due to their experience serving as platoon leaders and staff officers while lieutenants and commanders and staff officer's whole captains. More specifically, these experiences give Majors a deep understanding of the needs of platoon and companies and how battalions and brigades can help to serves these needs and help such units accomplish their missions. Promotion to this rank happens after your immediate superior recommends you for it to his immediate superior Brigadier General who has final say about whether to grand promotion to you or not. If your passed over for promotion you will always be told which areas you must improve in, once you do you gain automatic promotion to this rank. Promotion can also happen upon finishing and graduating very specific fields of study. Their pay grade is O-4.

### Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenants Colonels are commissioned officers in the United States Army, serving in the grade of O-5. They receive their commission upon appointment by the Secretary of the Army.

Their primary function of Lieutenant Colonels is to serve as commanders of battalion-sized elements (around 800 soldiers). Although, they can also serve as staff officers at the brigade level or above, aiding in the planning, resourcing, and functioning of units.

Lieutenant Colonels serving as commanders of battalions are the final authority on everything that occurs in the battalion, recognized as responsible for everything the battalion does or fails to do.

A Command Sergeant Major (E-9), who is tasked with advising the commander and aiding him however possible, aids Lieutenant Colonels in their endeavors to command battalions and ensure they can achieve any mission set they are tasked with.

Lieutenant Colonels, as with Majors, are considered field-grade officers, meaning they do not actually conduct operations with soldiers like company-grade officers do (i.e. lieutenants and captains); rather, they overwatch the operations of all the units comprising their battalions and act to ensure they work together to achieve mission ends. Promotion to this rank happens by a board of army generals who both select and screen candidates for promotion, then after discussing the progress and qualities of their candidates they decide who gets promoted and who gets passed over for now. Their pay grade is O-5.

### Colonel

Colonels are commissioned officers in the United States Army, serving in the grade of O-6. They receive their commission upon appointment by the Secretary of the Army.

Their primary function of Colonels is to serve as commanders of brigade-sized elements (around 5000 soldiers).

Soldiers holding the rank of Colonel can also serve as staff officers or as commanders of smaller units in specialized branches, such as law or medicine.

Regardless of the size of the command they hold, Colonels are the final authority on everything that occurs in units they hold charge of. They are responsible for everything their units do or fail to do.

Colonels are the highest-ranking officers in the slate of field-grade officers.

Holding of the rank of Colonel is a highly prestigious position, it is a highly respected job and difficult to attain, achieved only by the most qualified of officers. Promotion to this rank only happens by direct recommendation from a Brigadier or Lieutenant General to a full General. He or she reviews prospective candidates every year,ranks them in order of worthiness after which his or her top pics are promoted based on available position, for the rank is capped at 602. Their pay grade is O-6.

### Brigadier General

A Brigadier General is a commissioned officer in the United States Army. They receive their commission upon appointment by President of the United States by recommendation of the Secretary of the Army.

Brigadier Generals serve in the grade of O-7.

General officers do not serve a specific branch of the Army, they are recognized leadership, technical, and tactical experts and serve the population of the army as a whole, thus giving rise to the term general officer.

The title of general officer also marks a departure from the field grade officer ranks, further enforcing the idea that general officers are not branch specific officers but leaders capable of heading multi-faceted organizations.

The primary reason for Brigadier Generals' existence is to serve as deputy commanders of brigade or division-sized elements (about 5000 or 14000 soldiers respectively). They are given these positions in order to serve directly underneath Major Generals and thus benefit from their experience as Brigadiers learn how to discharge the duties and responsibilities of a general officer.

Even harder to attain than the already highly-elective colonel ranks, general officer positions are revered for the extensive experience, expertise, and leadership capacity that the holding of such positions denote. For promotion to this rank, eligible officers are screened by a promotion board consisting of general officers. This promotion board then generates a list of officers it recommends for promotion to general rank. This list is then sent to the service secretary and the joint chiefs for review before it can be sent to the President, through the defense secretary, for consideration. The President nominates officers to be promoted from this list with the advice of the Secretary of Defense, the service secretary, and if applicable, the service's chief of staff or commandant. The President may nominate any eligible officer who is not on the recommended list if it serves in the interest of the nation, but this is uncommon. The Senate must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the colonel can be promoted to Brigadier General. Their pay grade is O-7.

### Major General

A Major General is a commissioned officer in the United States Army. They receive their commission upon appointment by President of the United States by recommendation of the Secretary of the Army.

Brigadier Generals serve in the grade of O-8.

Major Generals exist primarily to serve as commanders of divisions (around 14000 soldiers). Serving in this grade and capacity is both an extremely high honor and responsibility.

Major Generals commanding divisions also serve as the commanders of the posts at which their divisions are based, further adding to the responsibility officers in such positions are charged with.

By the time they have achieved the rank of Major General, officers holding such rank and title are considered to be more experienced general officers, after their time serving as Brigadier Generals. For promotion to this rank, currently serving brigadiers are put forward to a promotion board consisting of general officers by current major generals. This promotion board then either agrees or disagrees with his promotion if they agree the candidates name
is sent to the service secretary and the joint chiefs for review before it can be sent to the President, through the defense secretary, for consideration. The President then has to give their approval before sending it on to the Senate. It then must then confirm the nominee by a majority vote before the Brigadier General can be promoted to Major General. Their pay grade is O-8.

### Lieutenant General

A Lieutenant General (LTG) is a commissioned officer in the United States Army. They receive their commission upon appointment by President of the United States by recommendation of the Secretary of the Army.

Brigadier Generals serve in the grade of O-9.

Lieutenants Generals exist primarily to serve as commanders of higher commands, such as the combatant commands, or as staff officers at higher levels in the Army, such as in TRADOC or forces command.

Lieutenant Generals can also serve in specialty positions, such as the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Officers promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General receive this honor as a result of being appointed to a job that requires the LTG rank by regulation (MTO&E).

The rank of Lieutenant General is held only as long as an officer holds a job that requires the rank.

Officers either then return to the general officer rank they held before receiving the LTG rank (often MG, but in some rare cases BG) or they are promoted to the rank of full General, O-10. Most often though, LTG's finish their career in the positions that earned them the rank. It is for this reason that the rank of LTG, and any position accordant to it, is often recognized as a terminal job. Promotion to this rank happens by direct approval to the President of the United States who then gives his seal of approval before bringing the promotion to the Senate. Senate then must then confirm the nominee by a unanimous vote before the Major General can be promoted to Lieutenant General. Their pay grade is O-9.

### General

A General is a commissioned officer in the United States Army. They receive their commission upon appointment by President of the United States by recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Army.

Generals, distinct in their own right as the rank of General and separate from the other grades of general despite each being addressed as general, serve in the grade of O-10.

Generals are often referred to as a Four-Star General, based on the number of stars worn on their uniform to signify their rank, in order to make clarify from the start the type of general officer being referred to.

The grade and rank of General is the highest-ranking position an Army officer can achieve while serving since the rank of General of the Army is reserved for total war situations (i.e. World War II).

Generals hold commands at the highest levels of the Army, such as in TRADOC or Forces Command; in addition, they can serve as the Chief of Staff of the Army or as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

No officer in the Army, and no soldier save Command Sergeants Major, have more experience, technical or tactical competence, or leadership capability than Four-Star Generals. Promotion to this rank happens by direct approval of the President of the United States and a unanimous vote of confidence by the Senate. Their pay grade is O-10.

### General of the Army

Only nine soldiers in US Army history have ever held the rank of General of the Army.

The rank, grade, and position of General of the Army is only conferred upon the most qualified of soldiers that demonstrated by excellence across a career in leadership, tactics, and techniques and only in a time of need, like during a massive active war, when the Commander-in-Chief feels such position is of value or is necessary to protecting the interests of the United States.

Generals of the Army are the highest-ranking soldier in the Army, equaled by only the General of the Armies.

They hold command of all the units in the Army, deciding how to deploy them to best achieve the ultimate mission of the United States Army, destroy the enemies of the United States to protect its interests and preserve the way of life enshrined in its Constitution. They can only be appointed during war time by presidential order. Their pay grade is O-10.

## Insignia Gallery

Army Generals InsigniaArmy Officers Insignia
## Notes

* The special position of General of the Armies is seen as following the rank of General of the Army, even though this position also includes control over the Air Force and Navy.