Rank, Title and Precedence
Rank in its military sense is the character or quality bestowed upon the men of the military and naval services which carries with it the eligibility to exercise command or authority over other members of the services within the limits prescribed by law and regulation. Rank is divided into many different grades to mark the relative positions of the persons upon whom it is conferred and to limit the extent of the authority carried with it.
In all of the services of the United States, “Commissioned Officers” are those who have received a commission from the President “by and with the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States”; and “Appointed Officers” are those who are appointed by the President or by his order but who are not “commissioned” and confirmed by the Senate.
In the Army the “Appointed Officers” are Aviators, Army Field Clerks, Field Clerks Quartermaster Corps, and Cadets at the Military Academy.
In the Navy the “Appointed Officers” are Warrant Officers and Midshipmen.
In the Marine Corps the “Appointed Officers” are Warrant Officers.
In the Army and Marine Corps “Noncommissioned Officers” are selected enlisted men who are appointed to the various ranks of enlisted authority by orders from their proper military commanders.
“Petty Officers” in the Navy are appointed enlisted men corresponding to noncommissioned officers in the Army and Marine Corps.
The “Title” of an officer is the name of the rank or grade in which he holds a commission, the formal term by which he is officially addressed in communicating with him, although custom sanctions some variations from this general rule.
In the Army and the Marine Corps all commissioned officers, line and staff, have positive rank in the several grades, and it is customary to address them when communicating orally with them by the name of the rank they hold, the variations being that all General Officers (Generals, Lieutenant Generals, Major Generals and Brigadier Generals) are commonly addressed as “General,” that Lieutenant Colonels are addressed as “Colonel,” and that all subalterns (First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants) are addressed as either “Lieutenant” or as “Mister.”
In the Navy it is customary to address officers of the Line (the command branch of the service) by the name of their rank, and to address officers of the Staff Corps either by the name of their rank or as “Mister,” for all except officers of the Medical Corps, who are usually addressed as “Doctor.” The exceptions to this rule are that all Flag Officers (Admirals, Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals) are usually addressed orally as “Admiral,” and that Lieutenant Commanders, Lieutenants and Ensigns are often addressed as “Mister.”
It is customary to address the Warrant Officers of the Navy and Marine Corps as “Mister.”
The precedence of the commissioned officers and other officers of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps is determined first by the grade or rank which the officers hold by virtue of their commissions or appointments, and if of the same grade or rank, then by the date of commission or appointment in the grade. There are certain exceptions to this latter rule in the case of some grades in the Staff Corps of the Navy.
The precedence of the warrant officers, noncommissioned officers and petty officers of all the services is determined upon the same principle, the seniority of the different grades and the relative seniority of the grades in different services being determined by regulations and orders, and the precedence in each grade being determined by the dates of the warrants or appointments.
The accompanying table shows the rank and title of each grade in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, all of the grades having the same relative rank being on the same horizontal line.
TABLE OF RELATIVE RANK OF OFFICERS IN THE NAVAL
AND MILITARY SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES
| COMMISSIONED OFFICERS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Navy | Marine Corps | Coast Guard | Public Health Service |
| None | Admiral of the Navy | None | None | None |
| General | Admiral | None | None | None |
| Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral | None | None | None |
| Major General | Rear Admiral | Major General | None | None |
| Brigadier General[A] | Commodore | Brigadier General | None | Surgeon General |
| Colonel | Captain | Colonel | Captain Commandant | Assistant Surgeon General |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Commander | Lieutenant Colonel | Senior Captain | Senior Surgeon |
| Major | Lieutenant Commander | Major | Captain | Surgeon Passed Assistant |
| Captain | Lieutenant | Captain | First Lieutenant | Surgeon |
| First Lieutenant | Lieutenant, Junior Grade | First Lieutenant | Second Lieutenant | Surgeon |
| Second Lieutenant | Ensign | Second Lieutenant | Third Lieutenant | None |
| Chief Boatswain, Chief Gunner, Chief Machinist, Chief Carpenter, Chief Sailmaker, Chief Pharmacist, Chief Pay Clerk | ||||
| APPOINTED OFFICERS | ||||
| Aviator, Signal Corps Cadet at the Academy, West Point | Midshipman at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. | None | Cadet and Cadet Engineer at the Coast Guard Academy, New London, Conn. | |
| WARRANT OFFICERS | ||||
| Army Field Clerk Field Clerk Quartermaster Corps. | Boatswain, Gunner, Machinist, Carpenter, Sailmaker, Pharmacist, Pay Clerk, Mate | Marine Gunner Quartermaster Clerk | Boatswain, Gunner, Machinist, Carpenter, Keeper, Master’s Mate | Interne Pharmacist Clerk |
[A] In accordance with an Act of Congress of October 6, 1917. Brigadier Generals of the Army and Marine Corps take relative rank with Rear Admirals of the lower half of the grade of Rear Admiral.
The personnel of the Army, as provided by statute law, consists of commissioned officers, appointed officers, noncommissioned officers and privates as follows, according to grade or rank: