OCS Officer Candidate School Black Letters OCP with Hook Fastener

In the Army, rank not only indicates pay grade, but also the amount of responsibility held. Corporals, for example, may be responsible for a small team of Soldiers, while a Major General could hold command of anywhere between 10,000-15,000 Soldiers.

Ranks are classified by pay grade in the United states army. Enlisted ranks are represented by an “E”, and “O” for officers, followed by a number representing the rank.Enlisted Army ranks are broken down into three groups - Junior Enlisted (E-1 through E-4), NCOs (E-4 through E-6) and Senior NCOs (E-7 through E-9).

Officer Army Ranks begin at 2nd Lt, (O-1) to General (O-9)

There are higher ranks than (four star) General, though those are not classified with a standard pay-grade.

Ranks are either metal (Brite or Black) or fabric (OCP, ACU, or ASU), each variation worn on a matching type of uniform.