Army officer ranks

Armies have military rank systems that are often used by other military services such as air forces or marines.

NATO rank codes

To aid in the comparison of ranks in the armed forces of different countries, NATO rank codes are used. These are established codes for determining the seniority of officer and other ranks in NATO countries for a particular joint task group or command structure, although specific appointments designate a higher level of seniority over other equivalent rank codes in a given situation. Officer ranks go from OF-1 (applying to all subaltern officers below captain) up to OF-10; OF(D) being a special category for trainee officers awaiting a commission. Other Ranks (those considered enlisted men in the United States forces) are classified from OR-1 to OR-9. Warrant Officers in the United States forces are a special case as they are single track career specialists between the enlisted and officer ranks in terms of seniority, and have no NATO rank code. The system should not be confused with the pay grades used in the US military. While countries outside the NATO command structure do not strictly fall into this classification structure and there may be incidences of overlap (particularly in OR ranks between countries), the codes still provide a useful gauge in determining what ranks are broadly equivalent.

General officers

These are the highest ranks. Promotion to OF-10 rank is now rare and usually reserved for wartime.

Note that there is doubt about rank equivalency in countries that have no brigadier-generals but both colonel-generals and full generals, such as the German Empire and Russia - often it is considered that in these countries a colonel-general equates to an OF-9 rank, a general to OF-8, a lieutenant-general to OF-7, and a major-general to OF-6 (i.e. the ranks below colonel-general all move down one grade).

Field and company officers

¹ Belgium has three official languages, French, Dutch and German.
² Canada has two official languages, English and French.
³ Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish.
⁴Jordan recognizes the English titles listed above as official.
⁵ Introduced on 1 July 2000, when promotions to the rank of Överste 1. graden ceased.
⁶ Promotions to the rank of Överste 1. graden ceased on 1 July 2000, when the new junior general officer rank of Brigadgeneral was introduced.

See also

• Air force officer ranks
• Naval officer ranks
• Comparative military ranks
• Staff (military)
• Ranks and insignia of NATO
• General of the Armies