A family guide to the work behind the uniform. A rank tells part of a service story. Training, specialty, assignments, responsibility, and the people a member helped tell the rest. This guide helps families turn unfamiliar abbreviations into an understandable account of a loved one’s contribution.

Read five parts of the service story

Branch: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, or Coast Guard. Component: active duty, Reserve, or National Guard where applicable. Grade and rank: compensation category and service title. Specialty: the occupation or technical field. Duty assignment: the actual position held in a particular unit and period.

Active duty, Reserve, and National Guard describe ways of serving; they are not ranks. Cadets, midshipmen, officer candidates, and trainees have accession or training statuses that should be recorded separately. Civilian employees and contractors contribute to missions but do not acquire military rank through their civilian jobs.

Three career paths

Enlisted, E-1–E-9: learn and perform the work of a specialty, then may progress into supervision, instruction, and senior advice. Warrant officers, W-1–W-5 where authorized: develop deep technical and operational expertise. Commissioned officers, O-1–O-10: lead, plan, manage resources, and may command or serve in professional specialties. These are distinct paths; advancement through one does not automatically lead into another.

Pay grade is not a complete job description. An Army specialist and corporal can both receive E-4 pay but have different leadership roles. A Navy captain is O-6; an Army captain is O-3. A command appointment, flight qualification, or technical certification cannot be proved by rank alone.

Enlisted levels: from learner to senior adviser

E-1–E-3 · Learn the profession

Basic and specialty training, followed by supervised work and qualification. Members build reliability, teamwork, safety habits, and the ability to perform tasks to a standard. Families should look for school completion and qualification records.

E-4 · Growing proficiency and, in some branches, first formal leadership

Experienced work within a specialty; some members begin leading others. NCO or petty-officer status depends on branch and rank: Army corporal and Marine corporal are NCOs, Navy and Coast Guard E-4 are petty officers, while Air Force and Space Force E-4 are not NCO grades.

E-5–E-6 · Lead and develop a team

Direct supervision, technical quality, planning daily work, training others, and accountability for equipment or tasks. Skills can include coaching, scheduling, troubleshooting, and coordinating a team. The actual position must be established from assignments and evaluations.

E-7–E-9 · Lead through other leaders

Senior technical, training, personnel, or command-advisory responsibility. Members may coordinate larger programs, mentor supervisors, and advise commanders. Senior service advisers remain E-9; these appointments are not a new pay grade.

Branch rank names · E-1 through E-9

Open the relevant branch. Navy and Coast Guard E-1–E-3 titles shown are the seaman series; other occupational apprentice titles also exist. Senior command and service-adviser appointments, and Air Force first-sergeant duties, add titles within existing grades.

Army

Grade	Rank
E-1	Private
E-2	Private (PV2)
E-3	Private First Class
E-4	Specialist / Corporal
E-5	Sergeant
E-6	Staff Sergeant
E-7	Sergeant First Class
E-8	Master Sergeant / First Sergeant
E-9	Sergeant Major / Command Sergeant Major

Marine Corps

Grade	Rank
E-1	Private
E-2	Private First Class
E-3	Lance Corporal
E-4	Corporal
E-5	Sergeant
E-6	Staff Sergeant
E-7	Gunnery Sergeant
E-8	Master Sergeant / First Sergeant
E-9	Master Gunnery Sergeant / Sergeant Major

Navy

Grade	Rank
E-1	Seaman Recruit
E-2	Seaman Apprentice
E-3	Seaman
E-4	Petty Officer Third Class
E-5	Petty Officer Second Class
E-6	Petty Officer First Class
E-7	Chief Petty Officer
E-8	Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-9	Master Chief Petty Officer

Air Force

Grade	Rank
E-1	Airman Basic
E-2	Airman
E-3	Airman First Class
E-4	Senior Airman
E-5	Staff Sergeant
E-6	Technical Sergeant
E-7	Master Sergeant
E-8	Senior Master Sergeant
E-9	Chief Master Sergeant

Space Force

Grade	Rank
E-1	Specialist 1
E-2	Specialist 2
E-3	Specialist 3
E-4	Specialist 4
E-5	Sergeant
E-6	Technical Sergeant
E-7	Master Sergeant
E-8	Senior Master Sergeant
E-9	Chief Master Sergeant

Coast Guard

Grade	Rank
E-1	Seaman Recruit
E-2	Seaman Apprentice
E-3	Seaman
E-4	Petty Officer Third Class
E-5	Petty Officer Second Class
E-6	Petty Officer First Class
E-7	Chief Petty Officer
E-8	Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-9	Master Chief Petty Officer

Warrant officer levels · W-1 through W-5

Warrant availability, grades used, entry routes, and titles vary by branch and specialty. The Army overview provides the following progression in technical responsibility; it is an orientation, not a promise of the same duties or available grades in every branch.

Grade	Typical development in the Army warrant path
W-1 · Warrant Officer 1	Entry into the warrant specialty; focused technical and tactical work.
W-2 · Chief Warrant Officer 2	Broader technical responsibility and independent expertise.
W-3 · Chief Warrant Officer 3	Advanced technical leadership, training, and advice.
W-4 · Chief Warrant Officer 4	Senior expertise and mentorship across larger organizations.
W-5 · Chief Warrant Officer 5	Master expertise, integration of complex systems, and senior technical advice.

Commissioned officer levels · O-1 through O-10

Grade	Army / Marines / Air Force / Space Force	Navy / Coast Guard
O-1	Second Lieutenant	Ensign
O-2	First Lieutenant	Lieutenant Junior Grade
O-3	Captain	Lieutenant
O-4	Major	Lieutenant Commander
O-5	Lieutenant Colonel	Commander
O-6	Colonel	Captain
O-7	Brigadier General	Rear Admiral (Lower Half)
O-8	Major General	Rear Admiral
O-9	Lieutenant General	Vice Admiral
O-10	General	Admiral

O-1–O-3 commonly develop initial leadership, specialty competence, and unit-level planning. O-4–O-6 commonly take on larger staff, program, and command responsibilities. O-7–O-10 are general or flag officers with senior organizational responsibilities. Professional officers, such as physicians and lawyers, may enter through different appointment routes and have different duties. Rank alone does not establish command or the size of a unit.

What it takes to advance

Requirements are set by the service, component, specialty, grade, and promotion cycle. They can include minimum time in service or grade, qualification in a specialty, required education, fitness or readiness standards, performance evaluations, a commanding officer’s recommendation, examinations, selection boards, and available positions or quotas. Eligibility and selection are different: completing requirements does not guarantee a promotion.

For example, MyNavy HR advancement guidance ties relevant advancement cycles to performance, examinations, and specified leadership-development prerequisites. Use the current cycle notice and applicable manual before giving an individual eligibility answer. No universal promotion timetable applies across all branches.

Entering a warrant or commissioned path requires a separate accession or appointment process. Promotion should be described as increasing responsibility supported by a record, not as a measure of a person’s value. A short period of service or a junior rank can still represent important, skilled contribution.

How service builds a career

The examples below describe possible transferable skills. They are prompts for reviewing a record, not automatic civilian job titles, licenses, degrees, or qualifications.

Military work documented in the record	Skills to describe in ordinary language
Maintenance and equipment qualification	Troubleshooting, inspection, preventive maintenance, safety, and quality control.
Supply, transport, and logistics	Inventory, scheduling, procurement support, routing, and resource accountability.
Communications, cyber, and intelligence work	System operation, analysis, secure procedures, technical documentation, and incident response where documented.
Medical and emergency duties	Patient support, triage or clinical tasks where qualified, team coordination, and emergency procedures.
Team leadership and instruction	Coaching, training plans, supervision, performance feedback, and work allocation.
Staff planning or command assignments	Operational planning, risk management, resource decisions, coordination, and organizational leadership.

Use the official COOL portal to identify occupation-related credentials, the Joint Services Transcript for documented learning, and USMAP for eligible apprenticeship pathways. Civilian licensing boards, employers, and schools decide what they accept; military experience is not an automatic civilian license or guaranteed college credit.

Family worksheet: tell the service story

Question	Record to look for
When and where did they serve?	Separation documents, orders, unit assignments, and service chronology.
What did their specialty mean at that time?	Dated occupation codes, specialty descriptions, and training records.
Which rank did they hold, and when?	Promotion or appointment orders and pay/personnel records.
What work did they actually do?	Duty descriptions, evaluations, qualification records, and corroborated personal accounts.
What did they learn and teach?	School certificates, transcripts, instructor duties, and training records.
What did their contribution support?	Award citations, unit records, and mission descriptions tied to the individual and period.

Writing model: During [dates], [name] served in [branch/component] as [rank] and worked in [specialty]. Records show [duties and qualifications]. That work supported [documented mission or team] and developed [skills supported by the evidence]. [Identify uncertainties rather than filling gaps.]

For Jaye Michael Sullivan, use the founding collection and the dated Navy records to establish rank, qualifications, and command appointments. A modern rank guide is context; it does not establish his individual duties or the promotion rules that governed his historical service.

Official sources

Reviewed October 12, 2026. U.S. Military Rank Insignia; U.S. Army ranks and responsibilities; MyNavy HR advancement; COOL; JST; USMAP. This family overview is not an individual promotion determination.

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