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Defense Primer: Military Officer


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 0-4. See Figure 1.
N&umbers  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.


                           Updated November 30, 2020

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Company-grade   or junior-grade officers (pay grades 0-1
to 0-3) 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 0-4 to 0-6)
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. There are statutory
limits on the number of officers in these grades (10 U.S.C.
§523).
General or flag officers (pay grades 0-7 to 0-10) 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. There are
statutory limits on the number of officers in these grades
(10 U.S.C. §525-526a).
hsnia
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 I. Active Duty Military Officers by Pay Grade (as of September 30, 2020)

                                                    Services
     Pay Grade                                                                                  Total
                            Army             Navy          Marine Corps       Air Force

        0-10                  17               9                3                16              45
        0-9                  47               38                17              51               153
        0-893631928
        0-43                                   063                               3               417
        0-6                 4,002            3,293             659             3,292            11,246
        0-5                 9,029            6,771            1,949            9,820            27,569
        O-4                 16,057           10,691           4,009            14,309           45,066
        O-3                 27,144           [8,783           5,917            20,758           72,602
        O-2                 12,264           6,865            3,867            8,415            31,411
        O-1                 9,850            7,150            2,789            7,356            27,145
        W-5                  551              87               III               0               749
        W-4                 1,949             405              303               0              2,657
        W-3                 3,640             758              577               0              4,975
        W-2                 5,527             631              920               0              7,078
        W-                  2,674              8               260 D a w ta n
        Total               92,982           55,659           21,450........,245               234,336
Source: Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center.


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