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1 1 (November 23, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejmy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Servic Informing K Neisative d tbt sinw 1914 Defense Primer: Military Officer 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 November 23, 2022 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, 2022) Services Pay Grade Air Force/Space Total Army Navy Marine Corps Force 0-10 16 10 3 12 41 0-9 46 34 17 55 152 O-8 108 68 29 81 286 O-7 118 104 36 126 384 O-6 3,767 3,265 655 3,423 11,110 O-5 8,902 6,760 1,950 9,917 27,529 O-4 16,131 10,837 4,011 14,685 45,664 O-3 27,212 18,895 5,826 21,847 73,780 O-2 12,209 7,324 3,861 8,005 31,399 O-1 10,111 7,241 2,886 6,790 27,028 W-5 571 85 110 0 766 W-4 1,848 479 301 0 2,628 W-3 3,339 747 652 0 4,738 W-2 5,940 680 950 0 7,570 W-1 3,343 20 204 0 3,567 Total 93,661 56,549 21,491 64,941 236,642 Source: Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center.

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