Operate and command aircraft, ships, or armored vehicles.Plan, organize, and lead troops and activities in military operations.Perform technical and support activities.Operate, maintain, and repair equipment.Participate in, or support, military operations, such as combat or training operations, or humanitarian or disaster relief.Army aviators, for example, make up one group of warrant officers.Įnlisted personnel typically do the following: About 8 percent of officers are warrant officers, who are technical and tactical experts in a specific area. The remaining 18 percent are officers-military leaders who manage operations and enlisted personnel. Enlisted personnel make up about 82 percent of the Armed Forces and carry out military operations. The military distinguishes between enlisted and officer careers.
(The Coast Guard, which is included in this profile, is part of the Department of Homeland Security.) Duties Members serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, or in the Reserve components of these branches, and in the Air National Guard and Army National Guard. Although some service members work in occupations specific to the military, such as fighter pilots or infantrymen, many work in occupations that also exist in the civilian workplace, such as nurses, doctors, and lawyers. The rank of 5 Stars is solely reserved for wartime, and as such there are currently no 5 Star Generals or Admirals.Members of the U.S. However, one should not be mistaken, a cadet or midshipman does not have the same authority.ĩ. Cadets and midshipmen are commissioned officers in training, and so we have included them with the commissioned officers for our count. The Coast Guard had this rate authorized, but as of yet they have not used/issued the rate of Chief Warrant Officer 5.Ĩ. These senior advisers are the highest ranking enlisted members of each service, who are responsible for presenting the concerns and opinions of the enlisted service members to the officers.ħ. MCPOs have silver stars and silver specialty rating marks.Ħ. Gold stripes on Navy insignia indicate 12+ years of good conduct.ĥ. But, they are of equal rank to E-4 service members in other branches.Ĥ. Within the Army, a Specialist is ranked lower than a Corporal. There are 41,121 service members of the Coast Guard as of June 2017.ģ. These numbers do not include Coast Guard personnel, for whom the Department of Defense has not published breakdown by rank. The Navy and Coast Guard share rank insignia, but the background color is different. Corresponding rates and ranks have different names across branches and more than one may fall under the same pay grade.ġ. But, it is important to note that pay grade is an administrative distinction in the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force one's position is their rank, and in the Navy and Coast Guard it is their rate. We've organized our table by pay grade, which pretty handily corresponds to level of authority. Commissioned officers are leaders appointed by government documentation (by "commission"). Warrant officers are enlisted personnel who are promoted by "warrant" due to technical expertise. Enlisted personnel may become non-commissioned officers, giving them command authority. In terms of authority, enlisted ranks are at the bottom, warrant officers in the middle, and commissioned officers are at the top. We have not included them in the count below. There are reserve personnel from every pay grade. Across all branches of service, there are 813,017 reserve members as of June 30, 2017. Their ranks reflect those of their respective services. The National Guard is also represented by the JCS, but the Guard comprises reserve troops. The Joint Chiefs of Staff drawn from the service branches report directly to the Secretaries of their respective services. The Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, but may be moved to the Navy during wartime. The Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard