Reference chart · Ranks and grades
Military ranks in order, by service
Army ranks in order, and the Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard too, from the lowest rank to the highest, with the grade code from E-1 to O-10 beside each. See one service at a time or all of them side by side, learn what TDY means, then try a few practice questions. Free, no sign-up needed.
- Six services
- Enlisted, warrant and officer
- Text chart, no insignia
- No sign-up needed
CollegeCompass360 is an independent education resource. We are not a school, a testing company or a government agency.
1 · The chart
Military ranks in order
Ranks are listed from the lowest to the highest. The code beside each rank is its grade: E for enlisted, W for warrant officer, O for commissioned officer. The same grade is the same level in every service.
Army ranks in order
Enlisted (E-1 to E-9)
| Grade | Rank |
|---|---|
| E-1 | Private |
| E-2 | Private |
| E-3 | Private First Class |
| E-4 | Specialist or Corporal |
| E-5 | Sergeant |
| E-6 | Staff Sergeant |
| E-7 | Sergeant First Class |
| E-8 | Master Sergeant or First Sergeant |
| E-9 | Sergeant Major or Command Sergeant Major |
Warrant officers (W-1 to W-5)
| Grade | Rank |
|---|---|
| W-1 | Warrant Officer 1 |
| W-2 | Chief Warrant Officer 2 |
| W-3 | Chief Warrant Officer 3 |
| W-4 | Chief Warrant Officer 4 |
| W-5 | Chief Warrant Officer 5 |
Commissioned officers (O-1 to O-10)
| Grade | Rank |
|---|---|
| O-1 | Second Lieutenant |
| O-2 | First Lieutenant |
| O-3 | Captain |
| O-4 | Major |
| O-5 | Lieutenant Colonel |
| O-6 | Colonel |
| O-7 | Brigadier General |
| O-8 | Major General |
| O-9 | Lieutenant General |
| O-10 | General |
Where a grade shows two Army ranks, both sit at that grade. At E-4, corporals and specialists are the same grade.
2 · Words on the chart
TDY, grades and other terms
- TDY
- Short for temporary duty. It means duty at a place other than the person’s permanent duty station, with orders that bring them back to that station when the duty ends. Examples are training at another base or a short assignment elsewhere.
- Grade (E, W, O)
- A letter and a number that sit under a rank name: E for enlisted, W for warrant officer, O for commissioned officer, such as E-4 or O-1. The same grade means the same level in every service, even though the rank names differ.
- Junior enlisted
- The entry grades of the enlisted ranks. Titles vary by service: E-1 is a private in the Army and Marine Corps, an airman basic in the Air Force, and a seaman recruit in the Navy and Coast Guard.
- Non-commissioned officer (NCO)
- An enlisted leader. Military OneSource places NCOs at grades E-5 through E-9. In the Army, corporals and specialists are both E-4, and corporals hold leadership authority.
- Warrant officer
- A technical expert and leader in a specialized field, at grades W-1 through W-5.
- Commissioned officer
- The leadership ranks from O-1 through O-10, responsible for leading units and setting priorities.
3 · Practice questions
12 practice questions
Rank names and grades across the services. Every answer is explained. Your result is free: no sign-up needed.
Question 1 of 12
Which two Army ranks share the grade E-4?
Pick one answer
Bonus · unlocks with your email
The printable chart and 8 more questions
- Printable chart: every grade from E-1 to O-10 with the rank each service uses for it, on a page with no header, footer or sign-up box.
- 8 more practice questions, each answer explained.
Enter your email in the box above and the bonus opens right here, and stays open on this browser.
Sources
Where the ranks and grades come from
The rank names and grade codes follow these service and Department of Defense pages, in our own words. The practice questions are our own. Rank lists change now and then, so check your service’s page for the current list.
- Army: Ranks
- Marine Corps: Ranks
- Navy: Enlisted rank insignia
- Air Force: Insignia
- Space Force: About us
- Coast Guard: Our organization
- Department of Defense: Insignia (grade chart)
- Military OneSource: Military insignia 101
- Military OneSource: Common military acronyms (TDY)
Reading a 24-hour time on a schedule or a form? The 24-hour clock chart has its own page.
Questions
Common questions
Army enlisted ranks run Private (E-1 and E-2), Private First Class, Specialist or Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class, Master Sergeant or First Sergeant, then Sergeant Major or Command Sergeant Major. Warrant officers run Warrant Officer 1 and Chief Warrant Officer 2 to 5. Officers run Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, then Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General and General. The chart above shows the grade beside each one.
Marine Corps enlisted ranks run Private, Private First Class, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant, then two ranks at E-8 (Master Sergeant and First Sergeant) and two at E-9 (Master Gunnery Sergeant and Sergeant Major). The officer ranks use the same names as the Army.
Navy enlisted ranks run Seaman Recruit, Seaman Apprentice, Seaman, Petty Officer Third, Second and First Class, Chief Petty Officer, Senior Chief Petty Officer and Master Chief Petty Officer (E-1 to E-9). Navy officers run Ensign, Lieutenant (junior grade), Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, then Rear Admiral (lower half), Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral and Admiral.
Air Force enlisted ranks run Airman Basic, Airman, Airman First Class, Senior Airman, Staff Sergeant, Technical Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Senior Master Sergeant and Chief Master Sergeant (E-1 to E-9). The officer ranks use the same names as the Army.
A grade is a letter and a number under a rank name. E is for enlisted, W is for warrant officer and O is for commissioned officer, so E-4 is an enlisted grade and O-1 is the first officer grade. The same grade is the same level in every service, even when the rank names differ.
TDY is short for temporary duty: duty at a place other than the permanent duty station, with orders that bring the person back to that station afterward.
No. It is a text chart of rank names and grades. For pictures of insignia, use the rank pages of each service, linked under Sources.
Yes, it is free. The chart, the glossary and the 12 practice questions with your result need no sign-up. An email unlocks the bonus: a printable grade-by-grade chart and 8 more questions, which open on this page right away and stay open on this browser.