| Lieutenant | |
|---|---|
    Insignia of the rank of Lieutenant (O-3) USN, USCG, USPHS, NOAA Corps | |
| Country |  United States |
| Service branch |  United States Navy  United States Coast Guard  United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps  NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps |
| Abbreviation | LT |
| Rank group | Junior Officer |
| NATO rank code | OF-2 |
| Pay grade | O-3 |
| Next higher rank | Lieutenant commander |
| Next lower rank | Lieutenant junior grade |
| Equivalent ranks | Captain (USA, USMC, USAF, USSF) |
The military rank of lieutenant is the commissioned officer rank title associated with pay grades O-3 in the United States Armed Forces military branches of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard. [1] [2] And while pay grade O-2 is often referred to as a "lieutenant" in address, the rank is Lieutenant, Junior Grade.
It is also used in the commissioned officer ranks of the United States Uniformed Services of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with their National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA-COO) [3] , and the medical arm of the United States Public Health Service with their United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHS-CC). [4]
The two ranks referred to as lieutenant the following:
- Lieutenant (pay grade O-3), abbreviated as LT and equivalent to a Captain in the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
- Lieutenant, junior grade (pay grade O-2), abbreviated as LTJG and sometimes referred as "JG" It is equivalent to the rank of First Lieutenant (O-2), sometimes called simply "lieutenant," in the United States Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force.
Neither of the above naval style ranks should be confused with the rank of Second Lieutenant (pay grade O-1), in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force, which is equivalent to the rank of Ensign in the Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA-COO & PHS-CC. [1]
