Reviewed by Jonathan Teplitsky · Updated July 2026
Army ranks in order (lowest to highest)
The Army has 25 ranks across three tracks: enlisted (E-1–E-9), warrant officer (W-1–W-5), and commissioned officer (O-1–O-10). Pay grade — not the rank title — is what actually determines base pay; rank titles exist for command structure and tradition.
Enlisted ranks (E-1–E-9)
| Grade | Rank | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | Private | PVT |
| E-2 | Private | PV2 |
| E-3 | Private First Class | PFC |
| E-4 | Corporal / Specialist | CPL / SPC |
| E-5 | Sergeant | SGT |
| E-6 | Staff Sergeant | SSG |
| E-7 | Sergeant First Class | SFC |
| E-8 | Master Sergeant / First Sergeant | MSG / 1SG |
| E-9 | Sergeant Major / Command Sergeant Major | SGM / CSM |
E-4 splits into two titles at the same pay grade: Corporal is the first non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank and carries leadership responsibility, while Specialist is a non-supervisory technical track. E-8 and E-9 also split by duty position — Master Sergeant and First Sergeant hold different jobs at the same E-8 grade, and the senior-most Sergeant Major of the Army is the single soldier holding that title Army-wide.
Warrant officer ranks (W-1–W-5)
| Grade | Rank | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| W-1 | Warrant Officer 1 | WO1 |
| W-2 | Chief Warrant Officer 2 | CW2 |
| W-3 | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | CW3 |
| W-4 | Chief Warrant Officer 4 | CW4 |
| W-5 | Chief Warrant Officer 5 | CW5 |
Warrant officers are technical specialists — most commonly Army aviators, but also cyber, maintenance, and intelligence experts — who sit between enlisted and commissioned ranks. They don't compete for general officer command positions the way commissioned officers do; instead, they build deep expertise in a single technical field over a full career.
Commissioned officer ranks (O-1–O-10)
| Grade | Rank | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| O-1 | Second Lieutenant | 2LT |
| O-2 | First Lieutenant | 1LT |
| O-3 | Captain | CPT |
| O-4 | Major | MAJ |
| O-5 | Lieutenant Colonel | LTC |
| O-6 | Colonel | COL |
| O-7 | Brigadier General | BG |
| O-8 | Major General | MG |
| O-9 | Lieutenant General | LTG |
| O-10 | General | GEN |
Four-star General (O-10) is the highest rank normally held. The five-star General of the Army is a wartime-only rank Congress has reserved for a handful of World War II commanders and has not been used since — it isn't part of the Army's standing peacetime rank structure.
Army rank insignia
Insignia mark your rank at a glance and follow the tier: enlisted soldiers wear chevrons, warrant officers wear a silver bar, and commissioned officers wear bars, a leaf, an eagle, or stars.
- Enlisted (E-1–E-9): Chevrons (V-shaped stripes) that add a curved “rocker” arc underneath as rank increases — a Sergeant (E-5) wears three chevrons, a Sergeant First Class (E-7) wears three chevrons with two rockers. Senior NCO insignia (E-8, E-9) add a center device, such as the star worn by the Sergeant Major of the Army.
- Warrant officers (W-1–W-5): A silver bar with black enamel squares — one square for WO1, up to four for CW4. CW5 wears a silver bar with a single black vertical stripe instead of squares.
- Company grade officers (O-1–O-3): A single gold bar (Second Lieutenant), a single silver bar (First Lieutenant), or two silver bars (Captain).
- Field grade officers (O-4–O-6): A gold oak leaf (Major), a silver oak leaf (Lieutenant Colonel), or a silver eagle (Colonel).
- General officers (O-7–O-10): One to four silver stars, one added per grade from Brigadier General up to General.
Insignia are worn on the collar, shoulder, or chest depending on the uniform. For the pay each grade maps to, see the tables above or the Army pay chart.
How rank ties to pay
Rank titles carry tradition and command authority, but pay grade plus years of service is what sets your monthly base pay. A Corporal and a Specialist, both E-4, earn identically at the same time in service. See the Army pay chart for exact base pay by grade and years of service, or run your own numbers with the Army pay calculator.
Other branch rank charts
See how the Army's rank structure compares to the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard.
Sources
Army.mil — Ranks and Insignia.
Frequently asked questions about Army ranks
What are all the Army ranks in order? Private through General across enlisted, warrant, and officer tracks — see the full tables above.
What is the highest Army rank? General (O-10), four stars. General of the Army (5 stars) is wartime-only and unused since WWII.
Corporal vs Specialist? Same pay grade (E-4); Corporal carries NCO leadership authority, Specialist is a non-supervisory technical track.
What is a warrant officer? A technical specialist rank (WO1–CW5) between enlisted and commissioned officer, common among Army aviators.
Special operations ranks and selection
Army special operations units use the same enlisted, warrant, and officer ranks listed above. Rangers, Green Berets, and Delta operators get no separate rank scale and no automatic pay bump. What changes is the job, the training pipeline, and who is allowed to volunteer.
Rank still decides which door you walk through. Each unit sets a pay-grade window for candidates.
75th Ranger Regiment
The 75th Ranger Regiment screens volunteers through the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, and your pay grade decides which version you attend. Soldiers in grades E-1 through E-5 attend RASP 1. Soldiers in grade E-6 and above attend RASP 2, a shorter course that also covers warrant officers and commissioned officers.
Ranger School is a separate thing, and the two get mixed up constantly. Ranger School is a leadership course open to soldiers across the Army, and graduating earns the Ranger Tab. Serving in the Regiment earns the Ranger Scroll, and that requires RASP.
Special Forces (Green Berets)
Special Forces picks candidates from a set rank band, then retrains them into the 18-series career field. Enlisted volunteers generally apply between grades E-4 and E-7. Officers apply as first lieutenants or captains, and a first lieutenant must be promotable to captain before starting the Qualification Course.
Civilians can enter the pipeline directly on an 18X enlistment contract. Candidates attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection at Camp Mackall, North Carolina, then the Special Forces Qualification Course. GoArmy.com lists the Qualification Course at about 53 weeks, including language training.
Rank also shapes the team itself. A 12-soldier Operational Detachment Alpha is commanded by a captain (18A), with a warrant officer (180A) as second in command and a master sergeant (18Z) as team sergeant. The other seats hold weapons, engineer, medical, and communications sergeants, usually sergeants first class through sergeants.
Delta Force (1st SFOD-D)
The Army does not publish selection standards for 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. Two things are public and reliable: civilians cannot apply directly, and candidates are already-serving soldiers, most often from Special Forces, the Ranger Regiment, and combat arms units. Operators keep their normal Army pay grade and are paid from the same charts as everyone else.
Anyone quoting exact scores, course lengths, or rank cutoffs for Delta is guessing. Treat unofficial numbers with care.
Navy SEALs and the other branches
The Navy handles special operations rank through its rating system instead of a separate structure. Enlisted SEALs hold the Special Warfare Operator (SO) rating and move through the standard E-1 to E-9 grades, with BUD/S as the selection course. Our Navy ranks guide explains how rates and ratings fit together.
For every branch side by side, start at the military ranks hub. To see what each grade pays, use the military pay hub.