Ranks by service
Army ranks in order
Every Army rank from private to general, with its insignia, its abbreviation, the unit it usually leads and the 2026 starting pay.
Find a rank: title, insignia, equivalents and pay
Army, E-4 · Enlisted
Specialist (SPC)
Junior enlisted
| Marine Corps | Corporal (Cpl) |
| Navy | Petty Officer Third Class (PO3) |
| Air Force | Senior Airman (SrA) |
| Space Force | Specialist 4 (Spc4) |
| Coast Guard | Petty Officer Third Class (PO3) |
| 2026 basic pay, over 4 years | $3,658.50 a month |
Same pay grade means the same basic pay in every service. Basic pay only: housing, food and special pays are not included.
Everything about E-4The Army has 28 rank titles on the Department of War chart: thirteen enlisted titles from private (PV1) to the Sergeant Major of the Army, five warrant officer grades from warrant officer 1 to chief warrant officer 5, and ten officer ranks from second lieutenant to general, plus the wartime rank of general of the Army. Two pay grades carry more than one title. At E-4, the specialist and the corporal are paid alike, but the corporal is a noncommissioned officer and ranks higher. At E-8 and E-9, the first sergeant and the command sergeant major hold leadership posts beside the master sergeant and the sergeant major. The Army publishes its own description of each rank on army.mil, including the unit each leader usually commands, from a team of four Soldiers led by a sergeant to a corps of up to 40,000 under a lieutenant general.
What is this rank called in another service?
Army Sergeant First Class (SFC) in the Navy
Chief Petty Officer
| Pay grade | E-7 |
| Group | Chief petty officer |
| Abbreviation | CPO |
Equivalence follows the pay grade, the rule the services use between them.
Ranks and pay tables read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
How Army ranks are organized
The Army sorts its people into three groups. Enlisted Soldiers, "the backbone of the Army" in its own words, hold the specialties of a unit. Warrant officers are technical experts, appointed by the secretary of the Army and commissioned from chief warrant officer 2. Commissioned officers plan, give orders and lead. Inside the enlisted group, the line that matters is the noncommissioned officer: corporal and above. The tables below list each title with its pay grade; the unit sizes page shows which rank leads what.
Who leads an Army unit, and how big is it?
Army company
60 to 200 Soldiers
| Usually led by | a captain, with a first sergeant |
| Made of | 3 to 5 platoons |
Figures given by the Army on army.mil.
Early promotions set by time
The Army states the time it takes to become eligible for its first promotions: private E-2 after six months of service; private first class after four months in grade and twelve months of service; specialist after six months in grade and 24 months of service; sergeant after eleven months in grade and 47 months of service. Basic pay follows the grade, not the title, so a specialist and a corporal with the same years draw the same $3,142.20 or more a month in 2026.
Insignia
As the images of the Department of War chart show, Army enlisted insignia are chevrons, with rockers below them from staff sergeant up; the first sergeant adds a diamond and the sergeant major a star. Officers wear bars, oak leaves, an eagle and stars. The images in the tables are those of the Department of War chart.
Army enlisted ranks, E-1 to E-9
| Pay grade | Rank | Abbreviation | Insignia | 2026 starting basic pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 | Private | PV1 | $2,407.20 | |
| E-2 | Private | PV2 |  | $2,697.90 |
| E-3 | Private First Class | PFC |  | $2,836.80 |
| E-4 | Specialist | SPC | | $3,142.20 |
| E-4 | Corporal (position) | CPL | | $3,142.20 |
| E-5 | Sergeant | SGT |  | $3,342.90 |
| E-6 | Staff Sergeant | SSG |  | $3,401.10 |
| E-7 | Sergeant First Class | SFC |  | $3,932.10 |
| E-8 | Master Sergeant | MSG |  | $5,656.50 |
| E-8 | First Sergeant (position) | 1SG |  | $5,656.50 |
| E-9 | Sergeant Major | SGM |  | $6,910.20 |
| E-9 | Command Sergeant Major (position) | CSM |  | $6,910.20 |
| E-9 | Sergeant Major of the Army (one person) | SMA |  | $6,910.20 |
Army warrant officer ranks
| Pay grade | Rank | Abbreviation | Insignia | 2026 starting basic pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W-1 | Warrant Officer 1 | WO1 |  | $4,056.60 |
| W-2 | Chief Warrant Officer 2 | CW2 |  | $4,621.80 |
| W-3 | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | CW3 |  | $5,223.30 |
| W-4 | Chief Warrant Officer 4 | CW4 |  | $5,719.80 |
| W-5 | Chief Warrant Officer 5 | CW5 |  | $10,169.70 |
Army officer ranks, O-1 to O-10
| Pay grade | Rank | Abbreviation | Insignia | 2026 starting basic pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O-1 | Second Lieutenant | 2LT |  | $4,150.20 |
| O-2 | First Lieutenant | 1LT |  | $4,782.00 |
| O-3 | Captain | CPT |  | $5,534.10 |
| O-4 | Major | MAJ |  | $6,294.60 |
| O-5 | Lieutenant Colonel | LTC |  | $7,295.40 |
| O-6 | Colonel | COL |  | $8,751.30 |
| O-7 | Brigadier General | BG |  | $11,540.10 |
| O-8 | Major General | MG |  | $13,888.50 |
| O-9 | Lieutenant General | LTG |  | $18,999.90 |
| O-10 | General | GEN |  | $18,999.90 |
| O-11 (wartime) | General of the Army |  | no table |