| Army ranks are divided basically in to Enlisted and Officer ranks. There are also Warrant Officers, but the Army is trying to streamline that system in to the main two categories- and it doesn't fit in my narrative. | |||
| Enlisted Ranks | Officer Ranks | ||
| E1 | Recruit |
|
Second Lieutenant (2LT) |
| E2 | Private (PVT) |
|
First Lieutenant (1LT) |
| E3 | Private First Class (PFC) |
|
Captain (CPT) |
| E4 | Specialist Fourth Class (SPEC4) or Corporal (CPL) |
|
Major (MAJ) |
| E5 | Sergeant (SGT) |
|
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) |
| E6 | Staff Sergeant (SSG) |
|
Colonel (COL) |
| E7 | Sergeant First Class (SFC) |
|
General (I'm afraid I know next to nothing about General ranks) |
| E8 | Master Sergeant (MSG) or First Sergeant (1SG) |
|
|
| E9 | Sergeant Major (SGM) |
|
|
Enlisted
When you enlist in the Army, you're a recruit. When you graduate from training and go to your unit, you may be a private or a private first class depending on how well you did. The first promotion is to E4, and you'll either be a corporal or a Spec 4. Corporals are in leadership positions, Spec 4s are not. Sergeant is the first Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) position. The next place where position makes a difference is E8. Again, the difference is in leadership. A First Sergeant (top sergeant, top dog, top) is the highest ranking NCO in a company, and the company commander's chief advisor on enlisted matters. A Master Sergeant is an E8 not in a leadership position.
Officer
When you get commissioned, from the United States Military Academy (West Point), ROTC, or Officer Candidate School (OCS), you get a gold bar on your collar and the rank of Second Lieutenant. That bar is why they're referred to as butter bars. That was my rank when I got my commission from University of Virginia ROTC. Ideally, a Second Lieutenant is a platoon leader. In some branches and some situations, this isn't possible. For instance, the Chemical Officer (CHEMO) for a battalion may be a 2LT. I was lucky, I escaped a teaching position and got a platoon. First Lieutenants may still be platoon leaders, but they often have specialty positions within a battalion- such as Scout Platoon Leader, Mortar Platoon Leader, or Company Executive Officer (XO, extra officer). When I was a 1LT, they made me battalion S1, or personnel officer. Although it was a captain's position, the Army allows for personnel within a pay grade to fill such a position. Some lucky 1LTs get company commands. In general, this is a sign of extreme trust in the officer. I was Rear Detachment Commander (RDC) as a 1LT, while the majority of the battalion was at Fort Irwin, CA (the National Training Center, or NTC, in the Mojave Desert). Generally staff officers and company commanders are captains. Majors work as staff officers or battalion executive officers. Lieutenant Colonels (light colonels, light birds) work as staff officers or battalion commanders. Full Colonels (full birds, for the eagle's on their collar) work as staff officers for generals, or command brigades. And so on, up to the President of the United States (the NCA, or National Command Authority).