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1 1 (December 1, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govegqn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gression Research Service nformiing helegislaive debatb sine 1914 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 0-4. See Figure 1. Numbers an d 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 December 1, 2021 Company-grade or junior-grade officers (pay grades O-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. The number of officers in these grades is limited by law (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. 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, 2021) Services Pay Grade Air Force/Space Total Army Navy Marine Corps Force 0-10 16 9 3 13 41 0-9 48 39 20 50 157 O-8 105 63 30 96 294 O-7 129 110 36 134 409 O-6 3,903 3,278 659 3,357 11,197 O-5 9,139 6,756 1,959 9,946 27,800 O-4 16,179 10,722 4,004 14,497 45,402 O-3 27,227 18,927 5,952 21,401 73,507 O-2 12,286 7,196 3,988 8,666 32,136 O-I 9,737 6,954 2,818 6,713 26,222 W-5 543 85 108 0 736 W-4 1,972 467 309 0 2,748 W-3 3,475 733 594 0 4,802 W-2 5,849 670 944 0 7,463 W-1 2,835 10 277 0 3,122 Unknown 0 25 0 0 25

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