Pay grades
O-1: second lieutenant and ensign
The entry grade of commissioned officers. Titles and abbreviations in six services, the gold bar, and the two 2026 pay tables for O-1.
O-1: rank in each service, insignia and 2026 pay
Army, O-1 · Commissioned officer
Second Lieutenant (2LT)
Company grade officer
| Marine Corps | Second Lieutenant (2ndLt) |
| Navy | Ensign (ENS) |
| Air Force | Second Lieutenant (2d Lt) |
| Space Force | Second Lieutenant (2d Lt) |
| Coast Guard | Ensign (ENS) |
| 2026 basic pay, 2 or less years | $4,150.20 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 O-1O-1 is the first commissioned officer pay grade. It is second lieutenant in the Army (2LT), the Marine Corps (2ndLt), the Air Force and the Space Force (2d Lt), and ensign (ENS) in the Navy and the Coast Guard, the titles title 37 of the US Code also uses. The Department of War chart groups O-1 to O-3 as company grade officers in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, and as junior grade officers in the Navy. The Army calls the second lieutenant "typically the entry-level rank for most commissioned officers", leading a platoon of 16 to 44 Soldiers with a platoon sergeant. In 2026, O-1 basic pay is $4,150.20 a month with two years or less of service and $5,222.40 from over three years. Officers with more than four years of prior enlisted or warrant service are paid from a separate O-1E table.
What is a promotion worth in basic pay?
O-1 to O-2, 2 or less years
+$631.80 / mo
| O-1 | $4,150.20 |
| O-2 | $4,782.00 |
| Over a year | +$7,582 |
Same years of service in both grades, 2026 DFAS table.
Ranks and pay tables read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Abbreviations that differ by service
The same rank is written four ways on the chart: 2LT for the Army, 2ndLt for the Marine Corps, 2d Lt for the Air Force and Space Force, and ENS for the naval services. The Department of War chart notes that naval officers wear "distinctively different rank devices" by uniform: collar pins on khakis, stripes on shoulder boards with whites, and stripes on the lower sleeves of blues.
How is this rank abbreviated?
Marine Corps, O-1
2ndLt
| Second Lieutenant | 2ndLt |
Abbreviations as printed on the Department of War chart; capitals differ by service.
Prior enlisted officers
DFAS note 6 states that the O-1 to O-3 rates "do not apply to commissioned officers who have been credited with over 4 years" of active service as enlisted members or warrant officers. Those officers are paid from the O-1E, O-2E and O-3E rows, published by DFAS apart and not reproduced here. Academy cadets and midshipmen, and ROTC members, receive a flat $1,452.90 a month in 2026 (DFAS officer note 1).
O-1 in the six services
| Service | Rank | Abbreviation | Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Second Lieutenant | 2LT | |
| Marine Corps | Second Lieutenant | 2ndLt |  |
| Navy | Ensign | ENS |  |
| Air Force | Second Lieutenant | 2d Lt |  |
| Space Force | Second Lieutenant | 2d Lt | |
| Coast Guard | Ensign | ENS |  |
O-1 basic pay in 2026, by years of service
| Years of service | Monthly basic pay | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or less | $4,150.20 | $49,802 |
| Over 2 | $4,320.00 | $51,840 |
| Over 3 | $5,222.40 | $62,669 |