A private is a soldier, usually with the lowest rank in many armies. Soldiers with the rank of private may be conscripts or they may be professional (career) soldiers.
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned officer ranks, the most senior of the non-commissioned officer (NCO) ranks, or in a separate category of their own. Warrant officer ranks are especially prominent in the militaries of Commonwealth nations and the United States.
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer training corps (OTC) or reserve officer training corps (ROTC), or officer candidate school (OCS) or officer training school (OTS), after receiving a post-secondary degree.
Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, serjeant, is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. Its origin is the Latin serviens, 'one who serves', through the Old French term serjant.
Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corresponds to commanding a section or squad of soldiers.
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal.
The chart below represents the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Air Force.
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC), the ATC is sponsored by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the wider Ministry of Defence (MoD). The majority of Air Training Corps staff are volunteers, though some staff are paid for full-time work; including Commandant Air Cadets, who is a Royal Air Force officer as part of a Full Term Reserve Service commitment.
Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure. It is equivalent to a staff sergeant or colour sergeant in the British Army, a colour sergeant in the Royal Marines, and a chief petty officer in the Royal Navy, and has a NATO rank code of OR-7. In the RAF, flight sergeant ranks above chief technician and below warrant officer.
Chief technician is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force which is only held by aviators in technical trades and by musicians. It is between sergeant and flight sergeant and, like the latter has a NATO code of OR-7. Aviators in non-technical trades progress directly from sergeant to flight sergeant. Along with junior technician this is a survivor of a separate ranking system for technicians introduced in 1950 and abolished in 1964. During that period it was equivalent to flight sergeant, but was made junior to that rank in 1964. Chief technicians are usually addressed as "Chief".
Junior technician was a junior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and is also used in the Pakistan Air Force and the Royal Danish Air Force. In the RAF, it ranked above senior aircraftman and below corporal and had a NATO rank code of OR-2. In 2000, the RAF replaced it with Senior aircraftman technician, although junior technicians promoted before this date retained their rank.
Senior aircraftman (SAC) or senior aircraftwoman (SACW) was a rank in the Royal Air Force, ranking between leading aircraftman and senior aircraftman technician and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank, which was non-supervisory, was introduced on 1 January 1951. The rank badge was a three-bladed propeller. The rank was renamed Air Specialist (AS1) in the Royal Air Force in July 2022.
Leading aircraftman (LAC) or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is an enlisted rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW) was formerly the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and is still in use by the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen were sometimes called "erks".
The term used in the Royal Air Force (RAF) to refer to all ranks below commissioned officer level is other ranks (ORs). It includes warrant officers (WOs), non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and airmen.
Before Unification as the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968, the Canadian military had three distinct services: the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the Canadian Army. All three services had a Regular (full-time) component and a reserve (part-time) component. The rank structure for these services were based on the services of the British military, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and the British Army. The change to a "Canadian" rank structure meant that many of the traditional (British) rank titles and insignia were removed or changed.
Specialist is a military rank in some countries' armed forces. Two branches of the United States Armed Forces use the rank. It is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the United States Army, above private (PVT), private (PV2), and private first class and is equivalent in pay grade to corporal; in the United States Space Force, four grades of specialist comprise the four junior enlisted ranks below the rank of sergeant.
The rank structure of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has been inherited from the Royal Air Force (RAF). The RAF based its officer ranks on the Royal Navy, and its airmen ranks on the British Army.
A warrant officer (WO) in the British Armed Forces is a member of the highest-ranking group of non-commissioned ranks, holding the King's Warrant, which is signed by the Secretary of State for Defence.
