The chart below shows the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Army, with seniority, and pay grade, increasing from right to left. The enlisted ranks of corporal (E-4) and higher are considered non-commissioned officers (NCOs). The rank of specialist is also in pay grade E-4, but does not hold non-commissioned officer status; it is common that a soldier may never hold the rank of corporal, and instead be promoted from specialist to sergeant, attaining junior NCO status at that time.
The Navy "E" Ribbon or Battle Efficiency Ribbon was authorized on March 31, 1976, by Secretary of the Navy J. William Middendorf as a unit award for battle efficiency competition. The service ribbon replaced the "E" patch previously sewn on the right sleeve of the enlisted naval uniform for rates/pay grades E-1 through E-6.
A Wound Chevron was a United States military insignia authorized for wear on the service uniform between 1918 and 1932. The Wound Chevron was a gold metallic-thread chevron on an Olive Drab backing displayed on the lower right cuff of a US military uniform. It denoted wounds which were received in combat against an enemy force or hospitalization following a gassing.
Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air Squadron; however, these are not trainee officers with many not choosing a career in the armed forces.
An Overseas Service Bar is an insignia worn by United States Army soldiers on the Army Service Uniform, and previously on the Army Green and the Army Blue uniforms, that indicates the recipient has served six months overseas in a theater of war.
The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military awards of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Navy's variant of the Good Conduct Medal was established in 1869, the Marine Corps version in 1896, the Coast Guard version in 1923, the Army version in 1941, and the Air Force version in 1963; the Air Force Good Conduct Medal was temporarily discontinued from February 2006 to February 2009, followed by its subsequent reinstatement.
The diver insignia are qualification badges of the uniformed services of the United States which are awarded to servicemen qualified as divers. Originally, the diver insignia was a cloth patch decoration worn by United States Navy divers in the upper-portion of the enlisted service uniform's left sleeve during the first part of World War II, when the rating insignia was worn on the right sleeve. When enlisted rating insignia were shifted to the left sleeve in late World War II, the patch shifted to the upper right sleeve. The diving patch was created during World War II, and became a breast insignia in the late 1960s.
Mess dress uniform is the most formal type of uniforms used by military personnel, police personnel, and other uniformed services members. It frequently consists of a mess jacket, trousers, white dress shirt and a black bow tie, along with orders and medals insignia. Design may depend on regiment or service branch, e.g. army, navy, air force, marines, etc. In Western dress codes, mess dress uniform is the supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian black tie for evening wear or black lounge suit for day wear although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. Mess dress uniforms are typically less formal than full dress uniform, but more formal than service dress uniform.
Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, including private ones such as marriages and funerals. Full dress uniforms typically include full-size orders and medals insignia. Styles tend to trace back to uniforms used during the 19th century, although the 20th century saw the adoption of mess dress-styled full-dress uniforms. Designs may depend on regiment or service branch. In Western dress codes, full dress uniform is a permitted supplementary alternative equivalent to the civilian white tie for evening wear or morning dress for day wear – sometimes collectively called full dress – although military uniforms are the same for day and evening wear. As such, full dress uniform is the most formal uniform, followed by the mess dress uniform.
The United States Army in World War II used a variety of standard and non-standard dress and battle uniforms, which often changed depending upon the theater of war, climatic environment, and supply exigencies.
The uniforms of the United States Navy include dress uniforms, daily service uniforms, working uniforms, and uniforms for special situations, which have varied throughout the history of the navy. For simplicity in this article, officers refers to both commissioned officers and warrant officers.
A physical training uniform is a military uniform used during exercise, calisthenics, drills, and in some cases, very casual periods of time. Most militaries, especially the United States Armed Forces and their auxiliaries require use of a physical training (PT) uniform during unit exercise. All items worn by military personnel conducting PT as a group are subject to uniformity, at commander discretions, however, some U.S. military units produce unique T-shirts with their unit insignia and motto, and for special events, this shirt is part of the uniform. Occasionally, exercise will also be conducted in that branch's utility uniforms, normally with the blouse removed and the undershirt exposed. For unit runs, esprit de corps or special occasions, commanders may have personnel wear unique T-shirts with the distinctive unit insignia and unit colors.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) prescribes several types of military uniform to distinguish its service members from other armed services, depending on the situation.
This is a list of rank insignia of the United States Marine Corps. Different styles of rank insignia are worn on different marine uniforms.
In the United States Navy prior to June 2019, sailors in pay grades E-4 to E-9 were authorized to wear golden rate insignia instead of red if they met the requirements for good conduct service. Those sailors in paygrades E-4 to E-6 who had met good conduct service requirements were also authorized to wear collar insignia and cap devices with gold chevrons on their service uniforms. On 1 June 2019, golden rate insignia began to be worn by all sailors with 12 years of service or more, regardless of disciplinary history.
The Kriegsmarine was the navy of Nazi Germany prior to and during World War II. Kriegsmarine uniform design followed that of the preexisting Reichsmarine, itself based on that of the First World War Kaiserliche Marine. Kriegsmarine styles of uniform and insignia had many features in common with those of other European navies, all derived from the British Royal Navy of the 19th century, such as officers' frock coats, sleeve braid, and the "sailor suit" uniform for enlisted personnel and petty officers.
The United States Navy has nearly 500,000 personnel, approximately a quarter of whom are in ready reserve. Of those on active duty, more than eighty percent are enlisted sailors, and around fifteen percent are commissioned officers; the rest are midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy and midshipmen of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at over 180 universities around the country and officer candidates at the navy's Officer Candidate School.
Chief Petty Officer (CPO) is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, just above Petty Officer First Class and below Senior Chief Petty Officer. The term "rating" is used to identify enlisted job specialties. In this way, enlisted personnel are segregated into three segments containing different enlisted ranks. Furthermore, rates are broken down into three levels: non-rated members without a designated occupation. Advancement to E-4 and above is dependent on graduating from a specialty school that define what the enlisted is rated for. Petty officers and chief petty officers are part of the rated force and considered extremely knowledgeable about their particular rating. Examples include Culinary Services Chief and Aviation Maintenance Chief. The Chief Petty Officer is the rank. Gunners Mate is a rating. E7 is a pay grade. The term rating is used to identify the career field of a chief petty officer. For example, the title of a chief petty officer in the Master-at-Arms rating would be spoken or spelled out as Master-at-Arms, Chief Petty Officer or Chief Master-at-Arms. The title would be abbreviated MAC. The grade of chief petty officer was established on 1 April 1893 in the United States Navy. The United States Congress first authorized the Coast Guard to use the promotion to Chief Petty Officer on 18 May 1920. Chief petty officer is also the final cadet grade in the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
