Army Ranks and Pay

Isn't it a good feeling to wear the most respectable uniform and being looked upon by everyone. We all know that the security of a nation is the responsibility of the defense services. To ensure our safety they get to live in few undesirable conditions and places. This does not mean that they get posted mostly in these areas, but then no matter where they get to serve their duty, they are on a constant vigil risking their lives just to ensure that we must live safe. Enlisting in the army could be one the most respectable jobs one can ever be able to get. The army ranks and pay structure should come secondary when thinking of joining the army.

U.S. Army Ranks

The U.S. Army ranks are divided into Enlisted officers, Warrant officers and Commissioned officers. And then they have their respective pay grades. Do not get confused between ranks and pay grades. Pay grades are like E-1, E-2, O-2, W-2, etc. The purpose of these pay grades is to standardize and administer the compensation across the army. It is a kind of formula for standardization. The 'E' from the E-1 stands for 'enlisted' and the number '1' is the relative pay grade for that position. In the same manner, 'W' stands for warrant officers and 'O' is for commissioned officers. In the army, a corporal and a specialist has the same pay grade and that is E-4. But then in terms of responsibility and leadership, a corporal is of a higher rank than a specialist. Mentioned below is the list of Enlisted Officers.

Enlisted Officers
Enlisted officers are the major chunk of the armed forces, and are mostly the technical staff and of course most of the combat force.

• Private (PVT)
• Private 2 (PV2)
• Private First Class (PFC)
• Specialist (SPC)
• Corporal (CPL)
• Sergeant (SGT)
• Staff Sergeant (SSG)
• Sergeant First Class (SFC)
• Master Sergeant (MSG)
• First Sergeant (1SG)
• Sergeant Major (SGM)
• Command Sergeant Major (CSM)
• Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA)

Warrant Officers
Warrant officers are specialists in certain strategies and they hold warrant from their service secretary. Mentioned below is the list of Warrant officers.

• Warrant Officer (WO1)
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2)
• Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3)
• Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4)
• Chief Warrant Officer 5 (CW5)

Commissioned Officers
The Commissioned officers are of the highest order in the army and in the military. They are appointed by the Senate and also hold the presidential commissions. Mentioned below is the list of Commissioned officers.

• Second Lieutenant (2LT)
• First Lieutenant (1LT)
• Captain (CPT)
• Major (MAJ)
• Lieutenant Colonel (LTC)
• Colonel (COL)
• Brigadier General (BG)
• Major General (MG)
• Lieutenant General (LTG)
• General (GEN)
• General of the Army (GA)

U.S. Army Ranks and Pay Scale

Talking about U.S. army ranks and pay, mentioned below is a table to help you understand it. The figures mentioned below is the monthly pay scale of the officers. It does not include incentives, special pays, allowances, etc. The table below will give you an idea about their income in respective years. Please note that the pay scale and the promotion depends highly on individual feat and achievements.

PAY GRADE	ARMY RANK	2 YEARS OR LESS OF SERVICE	6+ YEARS OF SERVICE	10+ YEARS OF SERVICE	16+ YEARS OF SERVICE	20+ YEARS OF SERVICE	30+ YEARS OF SERVICE	40+ YEARS OF SERVICE
E-1	Private 1	1450.00	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
E-2	Private	1620.00	1620.00	1620.00	1620.00	1620.00	1620.00	1620.00
E-3	Private First Class	1710.00	1920.00	1920.00	1920.00	1920.00	1920.00	1920.00
E-4	Specialist/Corporal	1890.00	2290.00	2290.00	2290.00	2290.00	2290.00	2290.00
E-5	Sergeant	2060.00	2580.00	2910.00	2930.00	2930.00	2930.00	2930.00
E-6	Staff Sergeant	2250.00	2800.00	3150.00	3440.00	3490.00	3490.00	3490.00
E-7	Sergeant First Class	2610.00	3210.00	3510.00	3970.00	4130.00	4670.00	4670.00
E-8	Master Sergeant/First Sergeant	NA	NA	3910.00	4260.00	4620.00	5340.00	5340.00
E-9	Sergeant Major/Command Sergeant Major/Sergeant Major of the Army	NA	NA	4570.00	4960.00	5360.00	6440.00	7090.00
W-1	Warrant Officer 1	2680.00	3410.00	3830.00	4340.00	4640.00	4640.00	4640.00
W-2	Chief Warrant Officer 2	3060.00	3690.00	4150.00	4630.00	4920.00	5110.00	5100.00
W-3	Chief Warrant Officer 3	3450.00	3950.00	4570.00	5070.00	5600.00	6060.00	6060.00
W-4	Chief Warrant Officer 4	3780.00	4490.00	4890.00	5700.00	6100.00	7050.00	7050.00
W-5	Master Warrant Officer 5	NA	NA	NA	NA	6730.00	7980.00	8800.00
O-1	Second Lieutenant	2740.00	3450.00	3450.00	3450.00	3450.00	3450.00	3450.00
O-2	First Lieutenant	3160.00	4380.00	4380.00	4380.00	4380.00	4380.00	4380.00
O-3	Captain	3660.00	5120.00	5540.00	5960.00	5960.00	5960.00	5960.00
O-4	Major	4160.00	5510.00	6230.00	6880.00	6950.00	6950.00	6950.00
O-5	Lieutenant Colonel	4830.00	6120.00	6570.00	7540.00	7960.00	8190.00	8190.00
O-6	Colonel	5790.00	6810.00	7130.00	8250.00	9097.00	10240.00	10240.00
O-7	Brigadier General	7810.00	8720.00	9230.00	10640.00	11380.00	11670.00	11670.00
O-8	Major General	9390.00	10220.00	10750.00	11610.00	12580.00	13210.00	13540.00
O-9	Lieutenant General	NA	NA	NA	NA	13280.00	14940.00	16470.00
O-10	General	NA	NA	NA	NA	15190.00	16940.00	18670.00

(Please note that the figures above are approximate figures and are subject to change.)

The U.S. Army is one of the back bones of the U.S. Armed Forces. The number of brave soldiers being recruited in the army is ever-increasing. The strict recruiting requirements make U.S. Soldiers the best trained and highly skilled, always ready for serving the country. The pay scale and the allowances should be the last thing that should come in the mind of an individual who wishes to join the army.

Though money is something which cannot be ignored, what lies beneath is the respect for one's country and the pledge which each and every soldier takes for the security of the country and their people. Once an individual has thought about joining the army, thereafter there is no looking back. With your commitment and dedication it will promise to make you a better soldier.