There are so many ranks in the US Army, which can be confusing. In this post, we’ll look at the US Army ranks in their correct order:
- Private: Lowest enlisted rank without any significant responsibility.
- Private Second Class: Soldiers receive this rank after completion of basic training
- Private First Class: Soldiers get to this rank after one year of military service
- Specialist and Corporal: You’ll notice the E4 next to each; this refers to their pay grade. Specialists will be in charge of lower-ranked enlisted soldiers, generally having fewer responsibilities than a corporal.
- Sergeant: This is more of a leadership role. Here, a sergeant.
- Staff Sergeant: This role has similar duties to a regular sergeant, but they’ll generally be in charge of a more significant number of soldiers.
- Sergeant First Class: They generally have 15 to 18 years of military experience.
- Master Sergeant: The principal noncommissioned officer at the Battalion level.
- First Sergeant: The role is generally to discipline and counsel the soldiers in his unit.
- Sergeant Major: The chief administrative assistant for any army headquarters.
- Command Sergeant Major: Is the enlisted advisor to the commanding officer.
- Sergeant Major of the Army: There is only one sergeant major in the entire army. He serves as the senior enlisted advisor and consults the army’s chief of staff.
- Warrant Officer 1. Warrant Officers are the adaptive technical experts, combat leaders, trainers, and advisors.
- Chief Warrant Officer 2
- Chief Warrant Officer 3
- Chief Warrant Officer 4
- Chief Warrant Officer 5
- Second Lieutenant: This is the entry-level rank for most commissioned officers in the army.
- First Lieutenant: Promoted after 18 to 24 months of service.
- Captain: Captains will be in charge of a company.
- Major: They’re field grade officers and will serve as primary staff officers for the Brigade.
- Lieutenant Colonel: At this rank, they’ll be in charge of Battalion sized units.
- Colonel: They usually are put in charge of and command Brigades.
- Brigadier General: They serve as the deputy commander to the commanding General for army divisions.
- Major General: They’ll typically command a division unit.
- Lieutenant General: Their main job typically consists of commanding corps-size units.
- General: At this rank, they command all operations that fall under their geographical area. And finally, you have
- General of the Army. This rank is only used during times of war.
Summary of rank and corresponding grade:
| Rank | Abbreviation | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Pvt | E-1 |
| Private Second Class | PV2 | E-2 |
| Private First Class | PFC | E-3 |
| Specialist | SPC | E-4 |
| Corporal | CPL | E-4 |
| Sergeant | SGT | E-5 |
| Staff Sergeant | SSG | E-6 |
| Sergeant First Class | SFC | E-7 |
| Master Sergeant | MSG | E-8 |
| First Sergeant | 1SG | E-8 |
| Sergeant Major | SGM | E-9 |
| Command Sergeant Major | CSM | E-9 |
| Sergeant Major of the Army | SMA | Special |
| Warrant Officer 1 | WO1 | W-1 |
| Chief Warrant Officer 2 | CW2 | W-2 |
| Chief Warrant Officer 3 | CW3 | W-3 |
| Chief Warrant Officer 4 | CW4 | W-4 |
| Chief Warrant Officer 5 | CW5 | W-5 |
| Second Lieutenant | 2LT | O-1 |
| First Lieutenant | 1LT | O-2 |
| Captain | CPT | O-3 |
| Major | MAJ | O-4 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | LTC | O-5 |
| Colonel | COL | O-6 |
| Brigadier General | BG | O-7 |
| Major General | MG | O-8 |
| Lieutenant General | LTG | O-9 |
| General | GEN | O-10 |
| General of the Army | GOA | Special |
Note: E = Enlisted, O = Officer. The grades indicate the pay grade and responsibility level associated with each rank.