https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated November 23, 2022
Defense Primer: Military Officers
Grade and Rank
The Armed Forces are hierarchical organizations with
clearly defined levels of authority. The different levels for
officers are defined in law and called grades, while rank
refers to the order of precedence among those in different
grades and within the same grade (e.g., someone who has
been a Major for three years outranks someone who has
been a Major for two years; see 10 U.S.C. §741). However,
it is common for the term rank to be used as a synonym for
grade. Pay grade is an administrative classification that
determines certain rates of pay, but it is sometimes used to
indicate grade as well. For example, a Lieutenant
Commander in the Navy may be referred to as an O-4. See
Figure 1.
Numbers and Roles
Officers make up about 18% of the Armed Forces, with
enlisted personnel making up the other 82%. Officers
outrank all enlisted personnel. Table 1 below lists the
number of active duty officers in each pay grade.
Warrant officers (pay grades W-1 to W-5) perform highly
technical or specialized work within their career field and
also, in the case of the Army, serve as helicopter pilots.
Warrant officers constitute about 8% of the officer corps.
Company-grade or junior-grade officers (pay grades O-1
to O-3) typically lead units with several dozen to several
hundred personnel, or serve as junior staff officers. They
make up about 56% of the officer corps.
Field-grade or mid-grade officers (pay grades O-4 to O-6)
typically lead units with several hundred to several
thousand personnel, or serve as senior staff officers. They
make up about 36% of the officer corps. The number of
officers in these grades is limited by law (10 U.S.C. §523).
General or flag officers (pay grades O-7 to O-10) may
lead units or organizations with several thousand to
hundreds of thousands of personnel or serve as staff for the
largest military organizations. General and flag officers
make up just under 0.4% of the officer corps. The number
of officers in these grades is limited by law (10 U.S.C.
§§525-526a).
Insignia
As shown in Figure 1, each officer grade in the Armed
Forces has distinctive insignia, typically worn on the sleeve,
shoulder, collar, and/or headgear (caps, berets, etc.).
Table 1. Active Duty Military Officers by Pay Grade (as of September 30, 2022)
