Navy Ranks in Order

The naval warfare service of the United States Armed Forces - the United States Navy, boasts of being the largest naval force in the world. Other than 286 active Navy ships and 3200 aircraft, the US Navy has 328,516 active personnel and 101,689 reserve personnel to its credit. Approximately 15 percent of the total active personnel are Commissioned Officers, 80 percent are Enlisted Rates (enlisted personnel), while the remaining 5 percent belong to the group of Midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy and the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps.

United States Navy

The fact that the US Navy is larger than the next 13 largest naval forces of the world combined speaks in volumes about its strength. With as many as eleven aircraft carriers in service (and one in construction as of now), the United States Navy also boasts of the largest carrier fleet in the world. Even though the US Marine Corps and the US Coast Guards are not directly associated with the US Navy, both these organizations do work in close coordination with the naval unit. Since its inception on 13th October, 1775, the US Navy has played a pioneering role at various war fronts - including the Vietnam War, Korean War and the Persian War. Not to forget, it has also been deployed to tackle pirates in various oceans of the world. As of today, the US Naval vessels have been deployed in various regions of the world - including the Middle East and East Asia, which has made the United States of America more powerful than ever before.

US Navy Ranks

The rank of an 'Admiral' is the highest military rank that one can achieve in the United States Navy. Even though there does exist the rank of 'Fleet Admiral', which is higher than that of the Admiral, it is exclusively reserved for war time use. The Admiral ranks above Vice Admiral, who in turn ranks above the Rear Admiral and so on. Given below is the list of ranks, in order starting from the highest, which will help you get a better understanding of the rank structure in the United States Navy.

Navy Ranks in Order

Commissioned Officers Rank Abbrev. Pay Grade Fleet Admiral FADM O-10 (Special) Admiral Chief of Naval Operations/Commandant of the Coast Guard ADM O-10 Vice Admiral VADM O-9 Rear Admiral (upper half) RADM O-8 Rear Admiral (lower half) RDML O-7 Captain CAPT O-6 Commander CDR O-5 Lieutenant Commander LCDR O-4 Lieutenant LT O-3 Lieutenant, Junior Grade LTJG O-2 Ensign ENS O-1

Commissioned Warrant Officers Rank Abbrev. Pay Grade Chief Warrant Officer 5 CWO5 W-5 Chief Warrant Officer 4 CWO4 W-4 Chief Warrant Officer 3 CWO3 W-3 Chief Warrant Officer 2 CWO2 W-2 Warrant Officer WO1 W-1

Enlisted Personnel Rank Abbrev. Pay Grade Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy MCPON E-9 (Special) Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard MPCOCG E-9 (Special) Force Master Chief Petty Officer FORCM E-9 Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer FLTCM E-9 Command Master Chief Petty Officer MCPOC E-9 Master Chief Petty Officer MCPO E-9 Senior Chief Petty Officer SCPO E-8 Chief Petty Officer CPO E-7 Petty Officer 1st Class PO1 E-6 Petty Officer 2nd Class PO2 E-5 Petty Officer 3rd Class PO3 E-4 Seaman SN E-3 Seaman Apprentice SA E-2 Seaman Recruit SR E-1

While the Admiral is the highest Commissioned Officer Rank of the US Navy (with four stars and a pay grade of O-10), the lowest is that of the Ensign (with pay grade O-1.) As in case of the Marines, there exist five Commissioned Warrant Officers between the Commissioned Officers and enlisted personnel. In the lower half of the list, you come across the enlisted members of the US naval forces who are referred to as Enlisted Rates. In the hierarchical system of military ranks, enlisted personnel form the upper half, while Commissioned Officers are in the lower half.

The color of the service uniform is one attribute of the navy personnel on the basis of which you can differentiate between the officers (Service Khaki or Service White) and enlisted personnel (Navy Service Uniform). This hierarchical system of US Navy officer ranks is just one of the numerous amazing facets of this uniformed service which make it so popular with thousands of individuals enlisting in the navy to serve their nation every year.