We mostly know the US Army from Hollywood films. These are almost always brave warriors who know neither fear nor reproach. Personally, however, I was always surprised by some “discrepancy” in the weight of some military ranks in the American army and, for example, in the Russian army. Their sergeant is a very big man, and the captain is something transcendental. In our country, a sergeant is an almost powerless soldier, and a captain, in general, is a rather minor officer rank.

To clarify the American army hierarchy, I bring to your attention a table of military ranks in the US Army and their translation into Russian. I would like to draw your attention to the existing system of military branches in the American army - Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines:

Army Ground forces	Air Force BBC	Navy BMC	Marines Marine Corps
General of the Army army general	General of the Air Force Air Force General	Fleet Admiral fleet admiral	-
General general	General general	Admiral admiral	General general
Lieutenant General lieutenant general	Lieutenant General lieutenant general	Vice Admiral vice admiral	Lieutenant General lieutenant general
Major General major general	Major General major general	Rear Admiral rear admiral	Major General major general
Brigadier General brigadier general	Brigadier General brigadier general	Commodore commodore	Brigadier General brigadier general
Colonel Colonel	Colonel Colonel	Captain captain	Colonel Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel lieutenant colonel	Lieutenant Colonel lieutenant colonel	Commander commander	Lieutenant Colonel lieutenant colonel
Major major	Major major	Lieutenant Commander lieutenant commander	Major major
Captain captain	Captain captain	Lieutenant naval lieutenant	Captain captain
First Lieutenant first lieutenant	First Lieutenant first lieutenant	Lieutenant, Junior Grade junior lieutenant of the fleet	First Lieutenant first lieutenant
Second Lieutenant second lieutenant	Second Lieutenant second lieutenant	Ensign ensign	Second Lieutenant second lieutenant
Chief Warrant Officer-4 Chief Warrant Officer 4th Class	Chief Warrant Officer-4	Chief Warrant Officer-4 Chief Warrant Officer 4th Class	Chief Warrant Officer-4 Chief Warrant Officer 4th Class
Chief Warrant Officer-3	Chief Warrant Officer-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3rd Class	Chief Warrant Officer-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3rd Class	Chief Warrant Officer-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3rd Class
Chief Warrant Officer-2	Chief Warrant Officer-2 Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class	Chief Warrant Officer-2 Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class	Chief Warrant Officer-2 Chief Warrant Officer 2nd Class
Warrant Officer-1 Warrant Officer 1st Class	Warrant Officer-1 Warrant Officer 1st Class	Warrant Officer-1 Warrant Officer 1st Class	Warrant Officer-1 Warrant Officer 1st Class
Sergeant Major of the Army Army Sergeant Major	Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force	Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy	Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Sergeant Major MP
Staff Sergeant Major/Command Sergeant Major Staff Sergeant Major/Command Sergeant Major	Chief Master Sergeant Chief Master Sergeant	Master Chief Petty Officer master chief petty officer	Sergeant Major/Master Gunnery Sergeant Sergeant Major/Master Gunnery Sergeant
	Senior Master Sergeant senior master sergeant	Senior Chief Petty Officer first chief petty officer	First Sergeant/Master Sergeant First Sergeant/Master Sergeant
Platoon Sergeant/Sergeant, First Class platoon sergeant/sergeant 1st class	Master Sergeant master sergeant	Chief Petty Officer chief petty officer	Gunnery Sergeant gunnery sergeant
Staff Sergeant staff sergeant	Technical Sergeant technical sergeant	Petty Officer, First Class Petty Officer 1st Class	Staff Sergeant staff sergeant
Sergeant sergeant	Staff Sergeant staff sergeant	Petty Officer, Second Class petty officer 2nd class	Sergeant sergeant
Corporal corporal	Sergeant sergeant	Petty Officer, Third Class 3rd class sergeant major	Corporal corporal
Private, First Class Private 1st Class	Airman, First Class Air Force Private 1st Class	Seaman sailor	Lance Corporal lance corporal
Private (E-2) private	Airman aviation private	Seaman Apprentice junior sailor	Private, First Class Private 1st Class
Private (E-1) private recruit	Airman, Basic private aviation recruit	Seaman Recruit sailor recruit	Private private recruit

Part 1 Rank insignia

Part 2 Wearing rank insignia

Part 3 Indirect signs of ranks

From the author. The only sources for this article were the US Army Manual AR 670-1 (Appearance and Wearing of Uniforms and Insignia) 1992 edition as amended as of June 1999 and the official US Army website "Tagd On Line. The Adjutant General Directorate" , where all changes occurring in the uniform and insignia (and not only that) are promptly published. Changes in insignia that occurred after 1999, unless specified in AR 670-1, are taken by the author from this site.
In addition, the author consulted with US Marine Corps Lance Corporal Ilya Lagunov, US Army Major William Snack, and US Army General Dennis Reimer.

Before you start reading about the insignia of US Army officers, you need to remember that:
First. All of the material described below applies only to army officers, and does not apply to officers of the Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, although, in general, the appearance of the rank insignia themselves in all branches of the US Armed Forces (US Armed Forces) is the same, including some types of naval officer uniforms. And the differences are more in the order and placement of these signs. So, with a certain degree of caution, you can navigate the insignia of officers (excluding warrant officers!), not only army ones.

Second. The US Army consists of the Active and Reserve Components of the Army, the Army National Guard (ARNG), and the Army Reserve (USAR). There is also a difference, albeit not very significant, in the insignia (mainly different emblems of the military branches and the order of wearing the uniform itself).

Third. The US Army has a category of warrant officers. who can be equated to Russian warrant officers. Those. These are not officers, but they are no longer sergeants. But because Since their uniform completely coincides with the uniform of officers and the wearing of rank insignia is subject to the same rules as that of officers, the author considered it possible to describe in this article not only the insignia of officers, but also warrant officers.

Fourth. The US Army officer corps is divided into three main categories:
1. Company grade officers. These are officers in the ranks from second lieutenant to captain inclusive. This corresponds to the Russian category of junior officers.
2. Field grade officers. These are officers in ranks from major to kennel inclusive. This corresponds to the Russian category of senior officers.
3. General officers. These are, in fact, all American generals. This category corresponds to the Russian category of senior officers (i.e. generals).

To simplify the presentation of the material, the author in the article will adhere to the following terminology:
*officers - this means warrant officers and officers of the first and second categories;
*warrant officers - means only warrant officers;
*junior officers - this means officers of the company category (1);
*senior officers - meaning field category officers (2);
*generals - means only generals (3).

Fifth. Even though there is a difference in the uniforms of male and female officers, their rank insignia is the same. The only difference can be where and how they are placed.

Sixth. In the Russian Army, the only place to wear rank insignia since 1943 is shoulder straps. In the US Army, insignia of officer ranks, depending on the specific type of uniform, can be worn on shoulder straps (there are three types of shoulder straps), on muffs worn on shoulder straps, on sleeves, on one side of the collar, and on some headdresses.

Seventh. In the US Army, rank insignia is not divided into dress, casual and field. They are divided into “non-subdued” and “subdued”.
The first are metal products of silver or golden color, attached to clothing using metal tendrils or images embroidered on fabric with gold or silver thread.
The latter are metal products of matte green, matte black or matte brown, attached to clothing using metal tendrils or images embroidered on the fabric with green, black or brown thread.
For each type of uniform, the wearing of unmuffled or muted insignia is required.
The size of unmuted and muted rank insignia is the same.

Eighth. Quote from Chapter 1-7 AR 670-1:

Simply put, any unauthorized wearing of uniforms or insignia by the U.S. military is a criminal offense. Both U.S. citizens and aliens found illegally wearing these signs upon entering U.S. territory or otherwise coming under U.S. jurisdiction are subject to arrest and trial.

From the author. Gentlemen, Russian artists who played the roles of American officers in Soviet and Russian films, you risk ending up in an American prison. The American Themis does not like to joke, she has no sense of humor. Think about it, before going to America to present you with an Oscar, discuss this with the people inviting you.

The US Army uniform is not divided, as in Russia, into ceremonial, ceremonial-weekend, casual, field and work. It is divided into three main groups:
1.Utility and Selected Organizational Uniforms. This group includes various kinds of special uniforms (flight, for crews of combat vehicles, hospital, kitchen, sports, for pregnant women) and what we call field, and Americans call combat uniform (BDU).
2. Service Uniforms. These are the types of uniforms that we call casual.
3. Dress Uniform. Perhaps this group of forms can be called ceremonial and ceremonial. The largest group of forms. There is a white uniform (something like a day off for the hot summer), and a blue uniform (something like a ceremonial uniform, a ceremonial day off), and a uniform for dinners, receiving guests, evening and other high society receptions and receptions.

The rank insignia of officers is described in AR 670-1 chapter 27-6 (fig.27-40 --fig.27-52), generals chapter 27-5 (fig.27-30--27-37)

For reference: 1 inch=2.54 cm.

So.

Warrant officer rank insignia ( Warrant Officer s).

Warrant Office 1 (WO1) The unmuted sign is a silver metal plate 1 1/8" long by 3/8" wide with a black enamel square in the center. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Fastening to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. A subdued badge is a metal plate of the same size in dull olive color with a matte black square in the center (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with threads in dull olive and black colors). Fig. 27-50.

Note. The last time this title was awarded was in 1968. So this rank now exists only nominally.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) The unmuted sign is a silver colored metal plate 1 1/8" long by 3/8" wide with two black enamel squares in the center. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Fastening to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. The subdued badge is a metal plate of the same size in dull olive color with two matte black squares in the center (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with threads in dull olive and black). Fig. 27-49.

Chief Warrant Officer 3(CW3) The unmuted sign is a 1 1/8" long x 3/8" wide silver metal plate with three black enamel squares in the center. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Fastening to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. The subdued badge is a metal plate of the same size in dull olive color with three matte black squares in the center (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with threads in dull olive and black). Fig. 27-48.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) The unmuted sign is a silver metal plate 1 1/8" long by 3/8" wide with four black enamel squares in the center. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Attached to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. The subdued badge is a metal plate of the same size in dull olive color with four matte black squares in the center (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with threads in dull olive and black). Fig. 27-47.

Chief Warrant Officer 5(CW5) And

Master Warrant Officer 4 (MW4)

The unsubdued sign is a 1 1/8" long x 3/8" wide silver metal plate with four silver squares edged with black enamel lines. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Attached to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. The subdued sign is a metal plate of the same size in a dull olive color with four squares of dull olive color bordered by black lines. (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform using dull olive and black threads). Fig. 27-46.

Note. Actually, these two ranks have the same Pay grade - W5, the rank insignia is the same, but the title "Master Warrant Office Fo" is assigned to the most experienced and long-serving employees in the rank of "Chief Warrant Office Fo", but to whom their lower position does not allow you to receive the title of "Chief Warrant Office FIFA".

Insignia of ranks of junior officers (Company Grade Officers).

Second Lieutenant.Non-Muffled Sign - A metal plate with beveled edges, gold-colored, 1 inch long and 3/8 inch wide. May be made of gold or other gold-colored metal. Attached to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. A subdued sign is a metal plate of the same size, brown in color (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with brown threads). Fig. 27-45.

Note. The plate is thicker than the Warrant Officer's plate, 1/8 inch shorter and the edges are beveled.

First Lieutenant The Unmuted Sign is a beveled silver metal plate 1" long by 3/8" wide. May be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Attached to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. A subdued sign is a metal plate of the same size in black (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with black threads). Fig. 27-44.

Captain.Non-Muffled Sign - Two silver colored metal plates, 1" long and 3/8" wide each, with beveled edges, placed parallel with 3/4" space between them and connected by two bridges. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Attached to clothing with four metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. The subdued sign is also metal and of the same size, but matte black (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with black thread). Fig. 27-43.

Insignia of ranks of senior officers (Field Grade Officers).

Major The Unsubdued Sign is a metal raised image of an oak leaf, gold-colored metal, 1 1/8 inches high and 1 inch wide. Can be made of gold or other golden-colored metal. Fastening to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. A subdued sign is a metal plate of the same size, brown in color (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with brown threads). Fig. 27-42.

Note. According to the author, this is still a maple leaf, but in the text of AR 670-1 it is written oak leaf, that is, an oak leaf. Maybe in America oak leaves look like this? But to a Russian, it’s more like a maple or horse chestnut leaf.

Lieutenant Colonel The unsubdued sign is a metal raised oak leaf, silver colored metal, 1 1/8" tall and 1" wide. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Fastening to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. A subdued sign is a metal plate of the same size in black (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with black threads). Fig. 27-41.

Note. Not everyone understands this title, although its essence is clear from the name - assistant colonel, i.e. according to our lieutenant colonel. However, the significance of this rank in the US Army is much higher than in the Russian Army. The fact is that in the US army there are very few regiments and there are quite a few officers with the rank of colonel. Battalions are commanded by lieutenant colonels, and the next largest unit, a brigade, is commanded by a brigadier general. So, in terms of importance, a lieutenant colonel in the US Army is sort of like our colonel.
And one more thing. We are accustomed to thinking that gold is higher than silver (an Olympic gold medal is higher than a silver one, a gold ring is more expensive than a silver one). However, among Americans, in terms of distinction of ranks, silver is worth higher than gold (second lieutenant - gold, first lieutenant - silver, major - gold, lieutenant colonel - silver; and general's stars are all silver).

Colonel.The unmuted mark is a metallic silver eagle with wings spread or lowered measuring 3/4" tall and 1 1/2" between wing tips. The head is turned to the right (left) side or looking straight. Can be made of silver or other silver-colored metal. Attached to clothing with two metal tendrils soldered to the back of the sign. The subdued insignia is the same, only the color is black. (can be embroidered on a fabric flap in a color matching the uniform with black threads). The only rank insignia that has a direction. Colonel's Eagles should be placed so that the eagle always faces forward. Fig. 27-40.

Insignia of the ranks of General Officers.

General ranks are distinguished by the number of stars placed in the corresponding areas of the uniform. Five-pointed stars of silver color (muted black) are embossed and can be metal (fastened with two metal tendrils) or embroidered with silver (black for muted) thread, one ray looks straight up. You can wear stars in one of two sizes:
*first - the star fits into a circle with a diameter of 1 inch;
*second - the star fits into a circle with a diameter of 7/8 inches.

The general chooses the size of the stars based on the convenience and expediency of placing the stars. Number of stars:
*Brigadier General- 1 star;
*Major General- 2 stars;
*Lieutenant General- 3 stars;
*General- 4 stars.
The distance between the stars is determined depending on the location of the stars, but in all cases the stars are located in a straight line. In some cases, the stars can be connected to each other by jumpers.

The rank of "General" is the highest in the American army. True, there is another, higher rank, “General of the Army,” but this rank is awarded only during war to the Commander-in-Chief of the American Armed Forces and only as a temporary one. He wears five stars placed in a circle, with the rays touching each other. Each star is 3/8" in diameter. Above is the gilded US coat of arms. However, in some cases the coat of arms is not worn (on a cap, a helmet, a hat, on a combat uniform, on a secular uniform).

From the author. The author cannot remember a single case where a woman received this title, and there are few men. So for women, these signs are provided more nominally than in reality. And other general ranks, except brigadier general, are not readily available to women. The fact is that Americans do not throw away general ranks and do not assign them for nothing. For some reason, I didn’t see any conductors of military orchestras, house managers, or factory directors with the rank of general. A general, as a rule, occupies a responsible command position in the US Army, and persons occupying auxiliary positions usually make do with officer ranks, or even without them at all (just civil servants). And nothing, they listen to them. By God, we shouldn’t turn an officer or general rank into something similar to a noble title and distribute them left and right to people who have nothing to do with the army (skater Irina Rodnina, hockey goalkeeper Vladislav Tretyak, deputy Vladimir Zhirinovsky, swindler Yakubovsky, Secretary General Brezhnev etc. etc. etc.). And in modern times, in order to appease journalists who are kicking the army on their dirty pages, our military leaders, scared to death, assign high ranks to a hundred or two borzo-writers at once.

The US Army is considered one of the most powerful and organized armies on the planet. It is well known how difficult military operations the soldiers of this country had to participate in. And in many cases with a successful outcome. This is surprising, since it is easy to get confused in the list of ranks that make up the basis of US military units.

And if the ranks of officers are not particularly different from those accepted in the armies of Russia or China, then the ranks of sergeants are striking in their number. This is because the US Army pays the closest attention to sergeants as potential future officers. In this article, we will look at the ranks in the US Army.

A person who wants to figure out how to distinguish an ordinary US Army soldier from an officer should know where exactly to look for signs of such distinction on a soldier’s equipment. The uniform of US military units is divided into two types:

1. Field sample. Most often in camouflage colors.
2. Military style. Predominantly green in color, from which it gets its common name, it consists of trousers, a beret and a jacket.

Why do I need to know this?

Many will be interested to know that the generally accepted American divisions into ranks by military rank are used not only in military affairs. For example, in the popular military-tactical game airsoft, some teams actively use ranks adopted in the US Army. Therefore, those who are interested in this game will find this information useful, which will help quickly destroy the command.

A few reasons to know about the differences in US Army military ranks:

1. When you meet a team in airsoft that follows the established NATO ranks, you will know who to eliminate first.
2. By addressing a soldier of these troops correctly by rank, you will amaze him with your broad outlook and high intellectual abilities.
3. When reading literature, historical or fiction, you will clearly know what place the character occupies in the military hierarchy.

Distinguishing marks

The identification of distinguishing marks among military personnel from this army largely depends on the type of army equipment they are wearing. We list where they can be found most often among ordinary soldiers and sergeants:

• if the uniform is field type, then look for insignia marks on the chest;
• also, the field type of equipment requires the presence of such signs in the very center of the cap;
• on the berets you can find information about the unit where the soldier serves;
• The upper sleeve area of ​​the "green" uniform is indicated by stripes.

Now let's talk about how to find rank marks among officers:

• the shoulders are the first place an officer needs to look if he is wearing ordinary military equipment;
• marks about what level of the hierarchy the officer is at are always located in the very center of the headdress, beret or cap;
• black stripes on the outside of each leg and dark embossing on the sleeves of the “green” uniform will help you identify that this is an officer.

Decoding American abbreviations

For those who want an in-depth look at the variety of ranks in the US Army, this rank chart is perfect, with additional abbreviations for those who don't speak English.

US Army, US Air Force and Marine Corps officers

Gen – general.
LtGen - Lieutenant General.
MajGen - Major General.
BrigGen - brigadier general.
Col – Colonel.
LtCol - lieutenant colonel.
Maj - major.
Capt - captain.
1Lt - first lieutenant (var. senior lieutenant).
2Lt - second lieutenant (var. junior lieutenant).

US Navy officers

Adm - admiral.
VAdm - vice admiral.
RAdm - rear admiral.
Capt - captain.
Cdr - commander.
Lcdr - Lieutenant Cmdr.
Lt – lieutenant.
LtJg - junior lieutenant.
Ens – ensign.

Non-commissioned officers and enlisted men of the US Army

CSM - Chief Sergeant Major.
SGM - Sergeant Major.
1SG - First Sergeant.
MSG - Master Sergeant.
SFC - Sergeant First Class.
SSG - Staff Sergeant.
SGT - Sgt.
CPL - Cpl.
SPT - specialist (in the USA this is a military rank).
PFC - Private First Class.
PVT - private.

Privates and sergeants

1 Private Recruit etc. No stripes are provided.

2 Private

3 Private 1st Class

4.1 Specialist

5 Sergeant

6 Staff Sergeant

7 Sergeant 1st Class

8.1 Master Sergeant

8.2 First Sergeant

9.1 Sergeant Major

9.2 Command Sergeant Major

9.3 Sergeant Major (Army)

Warrant - officers

1 Warrant Officer Class 1

2 Chief Warrant Officer Class 2

3 Chief Warrant Officer Class 3

4 Chief Warrant Officer Class 4

5 Chief Warrant Officer Class 5

Officers

1. Second Lieutenant

1. First Lieutenant

1. Captain

1. Major

1. Lieutenant colonel

1. Colonel

1. Brigadier General

1. Major General

1. Lieutenant General

1. General

1. Army General

1. General of the armies

An important feature of the US Army is that among military personnel it is not encouraged for a junior subordinate to address a senior official, by rank, as is customary in most other armies. A lower-ranking serviceman calls his immediate superiors succinctly - sir (sir) if he is a man, and mam (ma'am) if he is a woman. Army leaders usually address subordinates either simply by name or according to their rank.

If we talk in more detail about the peculiarities of treatment in the ranks of the US Army, it is based on the principle that a superior serviceman calls his subordinate by the rank group to which he belongs. So, for example, a general calls a senior officer “colonel,” and a lieutenant addresses a sergeant “sergeant,” that is, subgroups of the hierarchy are not taken into account in ordinary communication.

The address of a civilian to a military man follows a similar pattern, the only thing is that if a person wants to emphasize a respectful or close relationship, then he adds - my (May), that is, mine. For example, my sergeant (may sergeant).

The military ranks of the US armed forces are quite different from the Russian, and indeed the armies of other countries. For example, usually a sergeant in the army is a soldier endowed with slightly more power than a private, and a captain belongs to the middle rank of officer ranks.

But the same ranks in the US Army look completely different: the sergeant is a rather large and authoritative figure, and the captain, on the contrary, is something distant, almost transcendental.

General structure of the US Army

The US Army was officially founded in June 1775 by congressional action. Its tasks included, first of all, the defense of the young state, which had just received its independence.

Much has changed since then, and today the US Army is more focused on solving international problems by conducting military conflicts on the territory of other countries. This was largely reflected in the change in the composition of the modern US armed forces, which includes many independent types of armed forces:

• ground forces;
• Marine Corps (MCC);
• air force;
• naval forces;
• Coast Guard.

Except for the Coast Guard, all military branches report directly to the US Secretary of Defense. The Ministry of Defense itself is subordinate to the National Security Agency in times of peace, but when martial law is declared in the country, it is again subordinated to the Minister of Defense.

The American Army has adopted a contact system for recruiting military personnel; recruitment occurs on a voluntary basis. Citizens who have American citizenship or live in the country on a permanent basis, or have a residence permit and have at least a secondary education are accepted for military service.

The minimum age for enlistment in the US Army is 18 years old. However, if you have parental consent, you can enter the service at the age of 17.

A feature of the US Army is the unusual officer status of military personnel for some ranks. For two hundred years, only officers could be professional soldiers in the American army.

However, the participation of the US Army in the Vietnam War revealed many shortcomings in this system. Taking into account the reasons for their defeat, the country's leadership reformed all armed forces in the early seventies of the last century. As a result, all non-commissioned officers and warrant officers received the status of professional military personnel.

The rank and file of the US Army is as follows:

• corporal;
• specialist;
• Private 1st Class;
• private;
• private recruit

US Army sergeant and warrant officer ranks

The ranks of officers in the US Army are not very different from those accepted in the Russian Army; sergeant ranks are a completely different matter. First of all, they amaze with their quantity. The reason for this is that after the reform, the US Army began to pay close attention to sergeants as potential officers.

Sergeant military ranks in the US Army have a fairly large composition:

• Sergeant Major, US Army;
• command sergeant major;
• Sergeant Major;
• 1st Sergeant;
• Master Sergeant;
• Sergeant 1st Class;
• staff sergeant;
• sergeant.

Warrant officers in the US Army can be of 5 ranks: from 1st junior to 5th class.

Officer military ranks of the American army: generals

General of the Armies is the highest military rank in the American armed forces. Higher in rank than army general, corresponds to the Russian rank of generalissimo.

Army General is the highest military rank in the United States. The analogues in other countries are marshal and field marshal. As a rule, the rank is awarded during the war for military merits.

General is the highest military rank of senior officers in the armed forces in peacetime. Corresponds to the rank of admiral in the US Navy.

Lieutenant General is a senior general officer rank (three stars), above major general and below the rank of general, equivalent to the rank of vice admiral in the US Navy and Coast Guard.

Major General is a general rank of senior officers (two stars), above the rank of brigadier general and below the rank of lieutenant general. The rank of major general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral and is the highest permanent rank in the United States. A senior officer with this rank can hold the position of division commander.

Brigadier General is the lowest general rank, occupying a position between colonel and major general, in rare cases similar to major general. The equivalent naval rank is commodore.

Officer military ranks of the American army: officers

Colonel (colloner in the American army) is a position, military rank of officer commanding staff of the country's armed forces. The insignia of an American colonel is a silver eagle facing to the right. In addition, the eagle holds arrows in its right paw and a branch in its left.

Lieutenant Colonel - in the US Army, this rank corresponds to the rank of “lieutenant colonel”, it stands between the ranks of major and colonel. The rank originated during the Revolutionary War and was adopted from the British armed forces. American lieutenant colonels more often become commanders of battalion combat units with the number of military personnel from 300 to 1,000 people. The insignia used is a silver-colored oak leaf.

Major is the first military rank of senior officers in the American Army. On the shoulder straps of an officer of this rank you can see two gold eight-pointed stars on a blue background.

Captain - in the US Army, this rank is higher in seniority than first lieutenant, but lower than major. The captain is appointed to command company-sized units, numbering from 75 to 200 military personnel, often becoming a battalion headquarters officer. The rank was borrowed during the Revolutionary War from the British Army rank system. The symbol chosen as the captain's insignia is two parallel silver rectangles connected by a pair of lines.

First lieutenant is the second most junior officer rank in the American military, equivalent to the Russian first lieutenant. The rank is used in the US Marine Corps, Army and Air Force. The military rank is between second lieutenant and captain, the differences between the two lieutenant ranks primarily in the experience of the junior officer.

A second lieutenant is the most junior officer rank in the American military. A second lieutenant is typically promoted to first lieutenant after 18 months of service as an officer in the Army, and after 24 months in the Air Force and Marine Corps.

Military rank tables

United States Army
(US Army)

From the author. The author adheres to the concept that it is impossible to translate foreign military ranks into Russian. Therefore, the names of ranks in the table are given in the original language, i.e. in English. The author did not consider it possible to translate the names of categories of American military personnel into Russian, since any translation would sound incorrect. Let everyone translate as he understands. The transcription is given nearby in parentheses, i.e. How does it sound in Russian? For those who want to know what rank in the Russian Army this or that rank of the American Army corresponds to, I refer you to the rank encoding. Titles with the same code can be roughly considered corresponding to each other. There is no exact correspondence of titles and there cannot be, because... for example, in the category of warrant officers (warrant officers) we have only two ranks, and in the American army - five, in the category of junior officers we have four ranks, and the Americans have three; We have four sergeants, and the Americans have six.

Unlike the Russian Army rank tables, this table includes a column called Pay grades. Roughly the translation sounds like this - “Pay Rank” or “Rank Code”. This is something like the “Service Categories” system that existed in the Red Army in 1924-1935. In some ways, the Pay grades system has something in common with the coding system proposed by the author to enable comparison of ranks. In any case, Pay grades creates certain conveniences for financial, clothing and food services. In orders and instructions, instead of “... junior officers are issued..., and if a junior officer holds a position..., then he is issued... as senior officers...”, you can write briefly “.... issue officers from O1 to O9 inclusive."

The US Armed Forces consists of four main components - the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force and US Marine Corps. Each of these major branches of the armed forces has its own rank system. This table shows army ranks only.

The US Army rank system has a number of features. First of all, this is a developed category of non-commissioned officers. This category has six titles. Moreover, Command sergeant major (Command sergeant major), and Sergeant major of the Army (Sajant major of the army) are positions rather than ranks. These sergeants are the superiors of all sergeants and at the same time their representatives in the senior leadership of the armed forces, defenders of the interests of all subordinate sergeants. Loosely translated, his title is “Chief Sergeant.” There are: a) chief sergeant of command (there is one in each branch of the military and in each large military formation (army, corps, etc.); b) chief sergeant of the army (there is one under the Committee of Chiefs of Staff).

For officers and generals in the US Army there is a unique system of double ranks. Each of them has two titles - permanent and temporary. A permanent rank is a rank just like in our army. The temporary title must correspond to the position held.

For example, in both the USA and Russia the rank of captain corresponds to the position of company commander. When appointed in Russia to the position of company commander of a lieutenant, he will continue to wear the rank of lieutenant until, based on his length of service, it is time for him to receive the rank of senior lieutenant, then captain. In the USA, when a second lieutenant is appointed to the position of company commander, he will immediately be awarded the temporary rank of captain, and his permanent rank will be second lieutenant. Based on his length of service, he will receive the rank of first lieutenant, then captain. Until the temporary and permanent ranks coincide.

One book (the memoirs of General Hamilton) describes how, as a sergeant during the First World War, he was very quickly promoted to the position of chief of staff of an infantry battalion and received the temporary rank of major. His permanent rank reached only second lieutenant by the end of the war. When the army was reduced after the war and he was put in charge of a platoon, he had to change the insignia of a major to the insignia of a lieutenant.

The highest permanent rank in the US Army is Major General. All other general ranks are temporary, i.e. the general is in the appropriate position. The rank of General of the Army is awarded only during war

In the United States, it is not customary for juniors to address seniors. Juniors address all senior military personnel the same way - sir (sir), and women - mam (ma'am). The elders address the younger ones either by name or by rank. Moreover, all military personnel of the “soldier” category are addressed as soldier, all sergeants and warrant officers are addressed as sergeant, all junior officers are lieutenant, all senior officers are colonel, and all generals - general (general). Civilians also address all military personnel in approximately the same way, and if they want to emphasize respect and closeness, they address it as My general.

Code	Category	Pay grades	Title name [Abbreviated name] rank]
0	Enlisted	E1	Private
1a		E2	Private
1b		E3	Private first class
2a		E4	Сorporal (Corporal) or Specialist
2b	Non-commissioned officers	E5	Sergeant
3		E6	Staff sergeant
4		E7	Sergeant first class
5a		E8	Master sergeant or First sergeant
5b		E9	Sergeant major or Command sergeant major
5v		E9	Sergeant major of the Army (Sajant major of Tze Ami)
6a	Warrant officers	W1	Warrant officer 1 (WO1)
6b		W2	Chief warrant officer 2
6v		W3	Chief warrant officer 3
6g		W4	Chief warrant officer 4
6d		W5	Chief warrant officer 5 or Master warrant officer 4 (Master warrant office fo)
7	Сompany grade officers	O1	Second lieutenant
8		O2	First lieutenant
9		O3	Captain
10	Field grade officers	O4	Major
11		O5	Lieutenant colonel
12		O6	Сolonel (Konel) (COL]
13	General officers	O7	Brigadier General
14		O8	Major General
15		O9	Lieutenant General
16		O10	General
17		-	General of the Army

* Read more about rank encoding.

Civilian youth students at the nation's only Army Officer's College, West Point, hold the rank of Cadet. This title is outside the table and is more of a conditional term than a title.