United States Army enlisted rank insignia
Encyclopedia
The chart below represents the current enlisted rank
Enlisted rank
An enlisted rank is, in most Militaries, any rank below a commissioned officer or warrant officer. The term can also be inclusive of non-commissioned officers...

 insignia of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

.
US DoD Pay grade E-1 E-2 E-3 E-4 E-5 E-6 E-7 E-8 E-9
Insignia No Insignia
Title Private Private Private First Class Specialist
Specialist (rank)
Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...

Corporal Sergeant Staff Sergeant Sergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class is the seventh enlisted rank in the U.S. Army, above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is the first senior non-commissioned officer rank...

Master Sergeant First Sergeant Sergeant Major Command Sergeant Major Sergeant Major of the Army
Sergeant Major of the Army
The Sergeant Major of the Army is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Army. The holder of this rank is the most senior enlisted member of the Army, unless an Army NCO is serving as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, when in that case that NCO will be the most senior...

Abbreviation PVT PV2 PFC SPC ² CPL SGT SSG SFC MSG 1SG SGM CSM SMA
NATO Code OR-1 OR-2 OR-3 OR-4 OR-4 OR-5 OR-6 OR-7 OR-8 OR-8 OR-9 OR-9 OR-9
² SP4 is no longer an acceptable abbreviation for Specialist.

This chart represents the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 enlisted rank insignia with seniority increasing left-to-right inside a given pay grade
Pay grade
Pay grades are used by the uniformed services of the United States to determine wages and benefits based on the corresponding military rank of a member of the services...

. All ranks of Corporal and higher are considered non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...

s (NCOs).

The rank of Specialist
Specialist (rank)
Specialist is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the U.S. Army, just above Private First Class and equivalent in pay grade to Corporal. Unlike Corporals, Specialists are not considered junior non-commissioned officers...

 is a soldier of pay grade E-4 who has not yet attained non-commissioned officer status. It is common that a soldier may never be a Corporal and will move directly from Specialist to Sergeant, attaining NCO status at that time.

Command

In each command of company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

-sized units, there is assigned a senior enlisted who is the monitor and advocate of the enlisted personnel to the commanding officer. This position is known as the "First Sergeant," though the person carrying that title does not have to be the rank of first sergeant (it is the highest ranking enlisted person in the company). In a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

 or larger unit, the senior enlisted Soldier is a Command Sergeant Major. The rank of sergeant major is usually carried by the senior enlisted person of the S-3 staff section in a battalion or a brigade, and in most staff sections in larger units.

In terms of command, the rank of a person typically determines what job and command the Soldier has within a unit. For personnel in US Army mechanized infantry, a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle
M2 Bradley
The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is an American fighting vehicle platform manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, formerly United Defense.As with other infantry fighting vehicles, the Bradley is designed to transport infantry with armor protection while providing covering fire to suppress enemy...

 (M2A2) is commanded by a Staff Sergeant, the gun is manned by a Specialist or Sergeant and the driver is Specialist or below. For the Armor, the Abrams Main Battle Tank
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for...

 (M1A2) is commanded by a Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant First Class or Staff Sergeant, the gunner is a Staff Sergeant or Sergeant, the driver is a Specialist, Private First Class, PV2 or PV1, and the loader is a Specialist or below.

Address

Formal terms of address specified in Army Regulation 600-20 "Army Command Policy" are "Sergeant Major" for all Sergeant Major ranks, "First Sergeant" for First Sergeants, "Sergeant" for Master Sergeants, Sergeants First Class, Staff Sergeants, and Sergeants. Corporals and Specialists are addressed by their rank. Privates First Class and Privates are all addressed as Privates.

In some cases, informal titles are used. "Top" is commonly used by NCOs as an informal address to First Sergeants, or anyone serving as a Company 1st Sergeant. In Field Artillery, a Platoon Sergeant (usually an E-7) is referred to as "Smoke", and squad leaders (usually an E-6) are called "Chief" (some squad leaders discourage this, as "Chief" is also a common term of address for Warrant Officers). In some smaller units, with more tight-knit squads, soldiers might call their squad leader "Boss", or a similar respectful term. A habit that has all but died out is that a Platoon Sergeant, in any unit other than Artillery, is affectionately called "Platoon Daddy", in casual conversation or in jest (but never in any official communication of any type). In training units (Basic Combat Training and AIT or OSUT), trainees are called "Private", regardless of the rank worn (when the soldier is a Private First Class or below). Special titles, such as "Drill Sergeant" are specific to certain jobs, and should not be confused for actual rank.

Other services differ, such as the Marines, which address each other by full rank.

Some terms are used jokingly when referring to a soldier's rank. For instance, Specialists are sometimes jokingly referred to as "Command Private Major", "Specialist Major," "Full-Bird Private", "Sham shield" or "PV4". An E-1 Private may be referred to as "E-Nothing" or "E-Fuzzy," due to the lack of rank patch on the velcro portion of the Army Combat Uniform (ACU).

See also

  • United States Army enlisted rank insignia of World War II
    United States Army enlisted rank insignia of World War II
    The U.S. Army enlisted rank insignia that was used during World War II differs from the current system. The color scheme used for the insignia's chevron design was defined as either silver grey on dark blue, olive drab on dark blue, or khaki on dark blue . This scheme of rank insignia was...

  • United States Army officer rank insignia
    United States Army officer rank insignia
    United States Army officer rank insignia in use today.-History:The structure of U.S. ranks has its roots in British military traditions. At the start of the American Revolutionary War, uniforms, let alone insignia, were barely affordable and recognition of ranks in the field was problematic...

  • United States warrant officer rank insignia
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