May 2007- Featured Occupation: Armed Forces - Pay Grades

Military Pay Grade Guide*

In the United States Military, a pay grade is a system denoting rate and indicates the rate at which a member receives basic pay. It is also a way to compare ranks, which may have different names in the different services. A servicemember's basic pay is determined strictly by pay grade and the amount of time they have been in the military (known as time in service).

There are 3 tiers: Enlisted (E), Warrant Officer (W), and Commissioned Officer (O)

All U.S. military services have pay grades E-1 through E-9 and Commissioned Officer grades O-1 through O-10; all but the Air Force have Warrant Officer pay grades (W).

Individuals who were enlisted but then receive a commission may, for a few years, be paid at a different rate (O-1E, O-2E, and O-3E), but this doesn't change their rank (and is usually not an issue except strictly in matters of pay).

The names of the enlisted ranks vary from service to service, but the officer ranks carry the same names in all but the Navy and Coast Guard.

Pay grade is essential when determining a member's entitlements such as basic pay, BAH, or to determine seniority among a group of members from different services.

Pay grades and associated ranks by branch of service

Pay Grade	Rank (Army)	Rank (Marines)	Rank (Air Force)	Rank (Navy, Coast Guard)
E-1	Private	Private	Airman Basic	Seaman Recruit
E-2	Private	Private First Class	Airman	Seaman Apprentice
E-3	Private First Class	Lance Corporal	Airman First Class	Seaman
E-4	Specialist Corporal ***	Corporal	Senior Airman	Petty Officer Third Class
E-5	Sergeant	Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Petty Officer Second Class
E-6	Staff Sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Technical Sergeant	Petty Officer First Class
E-7	Sergeant First Class	Gunnery Sergeant	Master Sergeant	Chief Petty Officer
E-8	Master Sergeant First Sergeant ***	Master Sergeant First Sergeant***	Senior Master Sergeant	Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-9	Sergeant Major Command Sergeant Major Sergeant Major of the Army ***	Master Gunnery Sergeant Sergeant Major Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps ***	Chief Master Sergeant Command Chief Master Sergeant Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force ***	Master Chief Petty Officer Command Master Chief Petty Officer Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard ***

*** Denotes same paygrade but different rank.

Pay Grade	Rank (All branches except Air Force)
W-1	Warrant Officer One
W-2	Chief Warrant Officer Two
W-3	Chief Warrant Officer Three
W-4	Chief Warrant Officer Four
W-5	Chief Warrant Officer Five

Pay Grade	Rank (Army, Air Force, Marines)	Rank (Navy, Coast Guard)
O-1/O-1E	Second Lieutenant	Ensign
O-2/O-2E	First Lieutenant	Lieutenant Junior Grade
O-3/O-3E	Captain	Lieutenant
O-4	Major	Lieutenant Commander
O-5	Lieutenant Colonel	Commander
O-6	Colonel	Captain
O-7	Brigadier General	Rear Admiral Lower Half
O-8	Major General	Rear Admiral Upper Half
O-9	Lieutenant General	Vice Admiral
O-10	General	Admiral

*All information in this chart is taken from Wikipedia.org