RANK STRUCTURE IN THE USN AND USMC

[mollokoplus]

A few days ago I was skimming through the various fanfic offerings and stumbled over a piece which had a character in the Marine Corps with a Navy rank, so I decided to post this, in the hope of saving some people some incredible embarrassment. This will be kind of long, since I don’t think the message board format will allow me to post a table.

Enlisted USN:
Seaman Recruit
Seaman Apprentice
Seaman
Petty Officer Third Class
Petty Officer Second Class
Petty Officer First Class
Chief Petty Officer
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Master Chief Petty Officer (Petty Officers (PO) and Chief Petty Officers (CPO) are equivalent to Non-Commissioned Officers, or NCOs, in other services)
Chief Petty Officer

Enlisted USMC:
Private
Private First Class
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
First Sergeant / Master Sergeant
Sergeant Major / Master Gunnery Sergeant

Warrant Officers are the highest non-officer ranks, and are senior to the enlisted and junior to the officers.
USN . . . . . . . .USMC:
WO-1 . . . . . . .WO
CWO-2. . . . . .CWO2
CWO-3. . . . . .CWO3
CWO-4. . . . . .CWO4

Midshipman (plural, midshipmen) is the term used for the students at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The USNA commissions middies as both USN and USMC officers. Pilots in the USMC wear Navy wings.

Officer Country
USN. . . . . . . USMC:
Ensign. . . . . . 2nd Lieutenant
Lieutenant junior grade. . . . . . 1st Lieutenant
Lieutenant . . . . . . . .Captain
Lieutenant Commander. . . . . . Major
Commander. . . . . . Lieutenant Colonel
Captain. . . . . . Colonel
Rear Admiral (Lower Half; formerly Commodore). . . . . Brigadier General
Rear Admiral (Upper Half; formerly just plain ol’ Rear Admiral). . . . . Major General
Vice Admiral. . . . Lieutenant General
Admiral. . . . . . General
Fleet Admiral (this is strictly a wartime position, and has no equivalent in the USMC, although it does have equivalents in the USA and USAF)

Hope this helps everyone.

Darla

[Deleted]

So would a Sergeant be the equivalent to the PO 2 in the enlisted ranks?

[mollokoplus]

Yes. Both petty officers and the various levels of sergeant are NCOs--Non-Commissioned Officers.

Darla

[Deleted]

What rank would you need to be in the Marine Corps in order to be a Marine MP? And how many years does it take to achieve that rank?

[Ninja Girl]

I don't believe that there is a minimum number of years or a rank. I think that you just have to fit the qualifications, but I'm not sure. I could be totally wrong.

Here's a website that might help:

usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjo2/a/58.htm

Cheers,

NinjaGirl

[Deleted]

One more dumb question. We use the term "Naval Officer" for when we don't know the officer's name or rank. What's the equivalent for when you see an enlisted person?

Or if they're wearing a sailor-suit type uniform as part of a security detail, would they be enlisted or not?

[middleagecrazy]

Not a dumb question at all, Meg! I believe enlisted naval personnel whose rank(s) you did not know would be referred to as "sailors". And male sailors are the ones who would be wearing the distinctive sailor-type uniform. Male officers wear collared shirts, with or without ties, depending on the activity.

Here's a helpful link to show the differences in dress:

buperscd.technology.navy.mil/bup_updt/508/unireg/Chapter3/uniformsMenu.htm

[Deleted]

Thanks, that helps. One more question, what are the records called that we see them put up on the Plasma all the time, service records?

[mollokoplus]

Yes, that's what they are: service records.

And for a previous question: Technically (and traditionally), officers are gentlemen and enlisted are men. An officer in the Navy (which is always capitalized when it's "our" navy, and never when it's "their" navy! ;D ) is a Naval officer; an officer in the Marines is a Marine officer. Enlisted are "sailors" or "marines."
Darla, sailor's brat born in an Army hospital

[Deleted]

Just trying to keep this up where it's easy to find. Any chance we could have it pinned?

[Aerie]

I've pinned it for now. Maybe we'll have some interest in it.


It goes along with the previous thread - An Essay on Characters and Development - yeah, I'm reaching.



I've never known a person who's been in the military. Or if they have they aren't talking about it.

[burntsugrr]

Thank you so much for this. I'm in a continual state of confuzzlement when it comes to rankings and such so this is fantastic!