ARMY'S

• The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York commissions its graduates as second lieutenants in the Regular Army. Graduates of other military academies of the United States may elect to be commissioned in the Army
• Enlisted men who successfully pass Officer Candidate Schools (OCS)
• College graduates who underwent Army Reserve Officer Training Corps courses at a four-year university
• Lawyers, doctors, nurses, veterinarians, and chaplains may be directly commissioned into their respective corps

Once commissioned, an officer attends several levels of professional education, starting with branch qualification in their respective branch and concluding in Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Professional education is required for promotion at certain grades.

The Warrant Officer Corps is largely composed of highly trained specialists in certain select areas who must have a rank commensurate with their responsibility. Warrant officers receive the same pay as an analagous commissioned officer (a WO1 is paid the same as a second lieutenant, CW2 as a first lieutenant, CW3 as a captain, and CW4 as a major) but rank below commissioned officers and above non-commissioned officers.

The primary sources for Warrant Officers are the various Warrant Officer Training Programs at military posts and installations around the United States.

The Non-Commissioned Officer Corps (or NCO Corps) is the first line of leadership for the Enlisted members of the Army, and includes the ranks of

• Corporal (CPL; pay grade E-4) (two stripes up),
• Sergeant (SGT; pay grade E-5)(three stripes up),
• Staff Sergeant (SSG; pay grade E-6)(three stripes up and one down),
• Sergeant First Class (SFC; pay grade E-7) and Platoon Sergeant (PSG; pay grade E-7) (three stripes up and two down),
• Master Sergeant (MSG; pay grade E-8) (three stripes up and three down),
• First Sergeant (1SG; pay grade E-9) (which holds the same enlisted pay grade as Master Sergeant, but which carries extra administrative duties - three stripes up and three down with a lozenge in the center),
• Sergeant Major (SGM; pay grade E-9) (three stripes up and three down with a star in the center),
• Command Sergeant Major (three stripes up and three down with a wreathed star in the center)
• and Sergeant Major of the Army (of whom there is only one, and who advises the Chief of Staff of the Army on matters relating to Enlisted personnel - three stripes up and three down with a centered eagle accompanied with two stars).

It should be noted here that it is the outstanding quality of the Non-Commissioned Officer ranks which has largely built the excellent reputation of the United States Army. Until relatively recent history, most countries depended upon their officer corps to micromanage strategy, tactics and virtually every other aspect of military operations. With the development of the NCO Corps, the United States Army took a giant step toward utilizing the skills, intelligence, adaptability and independence of its citizens during times of conflict. The confidence and esteem in which the Officer Corps holds the NCOs which serve in the United States Army is based upon hard-won combat experience. This experience has repeatedly shown that rank is no indicator of leadership ability, and that leaders will emerge during times of hardship and conflict. Many military historians have held that this is the true strength of any military organization which serves a democracy.

Enlisted ranks are

• Private (PV1; pay grade E-1) (no rank insignia),
• Private Enlisted Grade 2 (PV2; pay grade E-2) (one chevron pointing up),
• Private First Class (PFC; pay grade E-4) (one stripe up and a curved stripe (a rocker below),
• and Specialist (SPC; pay grade E-4) (which is the same Enlisted Grade as Corporal, but which requires technical leadership skills, as opposed to the combat leadership skills required of corporal -a dark green patch with an eagle centered). A Specialist ranks below a corporal in terms of chain of command.

All members of the Army must take an oath upon being sworn in as members, swearing (or affirming) to "protect the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic." This emphasis on the defense of the United States Constitution illustrates the concern of the framers that the military be subordinate to legitimate civilian authority. The civilian executive is the Secretary of the Army, formerly the Secretary of War, at the founding of the Republic.

C/JTF-Kuwait

ARCENT Kuwait

ARCENT Saudi

ARCENT Qatar

Army Prepositioned Stock (APS-3)

Army Prepositioned Stock (APS-5)

7th Infantry Division "Bayonets", Carson, CO (Light)

39th Infantry Brigade (Light) (Separate)

41st Infantry Brigade (Light) (Separate)

45th Infantry Brigade (Light) (Separate)

75th Division, Houston, TX (Training Support)

1st Brigade (Training Support)

2nd Brigade (Training Support)

3rd Brigade (Training Support)

4th Brigade (Training Support)

91st Division, Houston, TX (Training Support)

1st Brigade (Training Support)

2nd Brigade (Training Support)

3rd Brigade (Training Support)

4th Brigade (Training Support)

Army Units

5th Armored Brigade (Training Support)

120th Infantry Brigade (Training Support)

166th Aviation Brigade (Training Support)

191st Infantry Brigade (Training Support)

V Corps, Heidelberg, Germany

1st Infantry Division ("The Big Red One")

1st Armored Divsion-- Wiesbaden, Germany

2nd Infantry Division ("Indian Head" Division)

25th Infantry Division (Light) ("Tropic Lightning")

I Corps, Fort Lewis, Washington ("America's Corps")

3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Light)

1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Light)

III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas

1st Cavalry Division

4th Infantry Division (Mechanized)

--III Corps U.S. Army National Guard

7th Infantry Division (Light) ("Bayonet" Division)

3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized} ("Rock of the Marne")

3rd Brigade ("Sledgehammer").

10th Mountain Division (Light}

1st Brigade

2nd Brigade

27th Brigade (Orions)-- New York National Guard

82nd Airborne Division

82nd Aviation Brigade

325th Airborne Infantry Regiment

2nd Battalion 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment

3rd Battalion 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment

504th Parachute Infantry Regiment

1st Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment

3rd Battalion 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment

505th Parachute Infantry Regiment

1st Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment

2nd Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment

3rd Battalion 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment

101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) (Screaming Eagles)-- Fort Campbell, Kentucky

XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery

18th Field Artillery Brigadet

2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment

16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne)

18th Aviation Brigade (Airborne)

20th Engineer Brigade (Combat)(Airborne)

35th Signal Brigade (Airborne)

108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade

229th Aviation Regiment (Attack)

1-229th Attack Helicopter Battalion

3-229th Attack Helicopter Regiment

525th Military Intelligence Brigade (Airborne)

See also:

• United States armed forces
• Special Operations Forces
• Comparative military ranks

External link