Military Enlisted Paygrades for Ranks E1 - E9

Military Enlisted Paygrades for Ranks E1 - E9Military Enlisted Paygrades for Ranks E1 - E9When considering enlisting into the military, it is not unlike other professions where you will start at the bottom and through education, skills acquired, and hard work, you will advance through the ranks. The term rank and paygrade are used interchangeably within the military. The following information describes the differences and relations of both terms There are nineenlisted paygrades in the military, starting with E-1 and progressing up through E-9. The career path of a typical enlisted member will take 18-20 years to achieve the highest rank of the enlisted pay grades.However, in the Armed Forces, rank isgenerally determined by pay grade. The following charts cover the pay grade and ranks, starting with the low-level (or Entry Level) pay grades.Service members in the first three pay grades are usually either in some kind of training status (basic training) or on their initial assignment a fter receiving job training. Enlisted Pay Grades E-1 / E-2 / E-3 Air Force,Army,Marine Corps,Navy andCoast Guard *E-1 Air Force - Airman Basic No insignia Army - Private No Insignia USMC - Private No insignia USN / USCG - Seaman Recruit(SR) No Insignia E-2 Air Force - Airman (AMN) Army - Private E2 (PV2) USMC - Private First Class?(PFC) USN / USCG - Seaman Apprentice?(SA) E-3 Air Force - Airman First Class?(A1C) Army - Private First Class?(PFC) USMC - Lance Corporal (LCpl) USN / USCG - Seaman?(SN) E-4 Through E-6 In the mid-level enlisted ranks (E-4 through E-6) , there is a significant increase in leadership responsibility.At this point, there is formal recognition given of that increase in responsibility with the use of the terms non-commissioned officer (NCO) and Petty Officer. For rank and precedence within the Army, specialist ranks immediately below corporal. Among the services, however, rank and precedence are determined by pay grade. An Air Force staff sergeant, an Army se rgeantand a Marine corporal are considered NCO ranks. The Navy and Coast Guard NCO equivalent of petty officer is achieved at the rank of petty officer third-class. Enlisted Pay Grades E-4 / E-5 / E-6 Air Force,Army,Marine Corps,Navy andCoast Guard *E-4 Air Force - Senior Airman?(SrA) Army - Corporal?(CPL) Army - Specialist?(SPC) USMC - Corporal?(CPL) USN / USCG - Petty Officer Third Class?(PO3) E-5 Air Force - Staff Sergeant?(SSG) Army Sergeant?(SGT) USMC - Sergeant?(SGT) USN / USCG - Petty Officer Second Class?(PO2) E-6 Air Force - Technical Staff Sergeant?(TSgt) Army - Staff Sergeant?(SSG) USMC - Staff Sergeant?(SSG) USN / USCG - Petty Officer First Class?(PO1) * Note regarding Navy Coast Guard rank insignia for E4 and above a specialty mark in the center of a rating badge (between the eagle and the chevron(s) indicates the wearers particular rating. For both the Navy and the Coast Guard, the sleeve insignia chevrons are red (or if in summer uniform, navy blue). In the Navy, how ever, if the petty officer has reached/obtained 12 years of continuous good conduct, the petty officer is required to wear gold chevrons. If the petty officer loses eligibility for future good conduct, s/he reverts back to red chevrons. Enlisted Pay Grades E-7 / E-8 / E-9 Air Force,Army,Marine Corps,Navy andCoast Guard *E-7 Air Force - Master Sergeant (MSgt) Army - First Sergeant USMC Sergeant First Class (SFC) USMC Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) USN / USCG - Chief Petty Officer (CPO) E-8 Air Force - Senior Master Sergeant?(SMSgt) Army - First Sergeant Army - Master Sergeant?(MSG) Army - First Sergeant?(1SG) USMC - Master Sergeant?(MSgt) USMC - First Sergeant?(1st Sgt) USN / USCG - Senior Chief Petty Officer?(SCPO) E-9 Air Force Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt) Army - First Sergeant Command Army - Chief Master Sergeant USMC - SergeantMajor?(SGM) USMC - Command Sergeant Major?(CSM) USMC - Master Gunnery Sergeant?(MGySgt) USMC - Sergeant Major?(SgtMaj) USN / USCG - Master Chief Petty Officer? (MCPO) USN / USCG - Fleet / Command Master Chief Petty Officer In the top-level enlisted ranks, there is an even mora significant increase in leadership responsibility.As a whole, ranks E-8 and E-9 have between 15 and 30 years on the job, and are usually the commanders senior advisers for enlisted matters. Some of the rank insignia become dependent upon the job At the E-7 level, the Air Force has two positions at the same pay grade, and that is reflected in the difference in the two insignia. Whether one is, for example, a master sergeant or a first sergeant in the Air Force depends on the persons job. At the E-8 level, the Air Force, Armyand Marine Corps have two positions at the same pay grade with differing rank insignia, and which rank one has depends on the job. At the E-9 level, things get even more interesting.At a primary level, all branches have split positions (and different insignia) that depend upon the job. But theres one more level to the E-9 paygrade that of the senio r enlisted person in each service. Chief Master Sergeant of the Air ForceMaster Chief Petty Officer of the Coast GuardMaster Chief Petty Officer of the NavySergeant Major of the ArmySergeant Major of the Marine Corps These individuals are the spokespersons of the enlisted force at the highest levels of their services. Regardless of service, you will be required to learn the ranks of all the branches of service upon entering. The military is a joint operations world, especially in combat zones.Learning all the ranks and insignia is not just something people do out of courtesy, but rather because their boss may be from a different service branch.