Transcript No Slide Title - CO

Air Force & AFJROTC Rank
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TOOTLIFEST
 Demonstrate recognition of rank and
paygrade of ALL Enlisted and Officer Rank
Active Duty and Cadet
– Given a picture of ranks students will demonstrate
knowledge by successfully identifying them and their
paygrade.
– Rank knowledge is required to be considered for
promotion.
 1st Year Cadets are required to miss no more than 25 questions
on PFE
 Returning Cadets are required to miss no more than 15
questions on PFE
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AF Grade Insignia
The Air Force grade insignia system is broken down into two
“general” categories:

Officer grades
– O-1 through O-10 are the pay grades.
– Remember “O” is for Officer

Enlisted grades
– E-1 through E-9 are the pay grades.
– Remember “E” is for Enlisted
An insignia is a badge or mark of office or honor. Insignia identify
The rank of each member of the Armed Forces. There is different
but distinctive insignia for each AF rank, enlisted and officer.
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AF Airmen (E-1 to E-4)

Airman Basic (AB). The AB is an apprentice. Airmen Basics
have no rank insignia. The official term of address is “airman
basic” or “airman.” (Unofficially called: ‘Slick sleeves’)

Airmen (Amn) wear a chevron of one stripe with a silver star
in the center. Pay grade is E-2. An Amn is an apprentice
(learning their job). The official term of address is “airman.”

Airman First Class (A1C) wear a chevron of two stripes
with a silver star in the center. Pay grade is E-3. An A1C
complies with Air Force standards and is a role model for
subordinates. The official term of address is “airman first
class” or “airman.”

Senior Airmen (SrA) wear a chevron of three stripes with a
silver star in the center. Pay grade is E-4. Personnel serving
as SrA are in a transition period from journeyman/worker to
NCO. The official term of address is “senior airman” or
“airman.”
No Insignia
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AF Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) (E-5 to E-6)
 Staff Sergeants (SSgt) wear a chevron of
four stripes with a silver star in the center. Pay
grade is E-5. SSgts are primarily craftsmen
with certain NCO supervisory responsibilities.
The official term of address is “staff sergeant”
or “sergeant.”
 Technical Sergeants (TSgt) wear a chevron
of five stripes with a silver star in the center.
Pay grade is E-6. TSgts hold a 7-skill level (or
technician) and are qualified to perform highly
complex technical duties and they also
provide supervision. The official term of
address is “technical sergeant” or “sergeant.”
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AF Senior NCOs – “Top 3” (E-7 to E-9)

Master Sergeants (MSgt) wear a chevron of six stripes with a
silver star in the center. One of the six stripes is in an inverted V
position above the star. Pay grade is E-7. MSgts function
primarily in craftsman and supervisory positions as they prepare
for more advanced leadership and management positions. The
official term of address is “master sergeant” or “sergeant.”

Senior Master Sergeants (SMSgt) wear a chevron of seven
stripes with a silver star in the center. Two of the seven stripes
are in an inverted position above the star. Pay grade is E-8.
SMSgts perform as superintendents or managers. The official
term of address is “senior master sergeant” or “sergeant.”

Chief Master Sergeants (CMSgt) wear a chevron of eight
stripes with a silver star in the center. Three of the eight stripes
are in an inverted position above the star. Pay grade is E-9. The
rank of CMSgt is the highest Air Force enlisted rank, with the
exception of the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
(CMSAF). CMSgts are superintendents and managers who
provide senior enlisted leadership. The official term of address is
“chief master sergeant” or “chief.”
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First Sergeant
 In the United States Air Force, First
Sergeant is not a rank, but a special
duty held by a senior enlisted member of
a military unit who reports directly to the
unit commander. This billet is held by
individuals of ranks Master Sergeant,
Senior Master Sergeant and Chief
Master Sergeant, and is denoted on the
rank insignia by a French lozenge. The
first sergeant is responsible for the
morale, welfare, and conduct of all the
enlisted members in a squadron and is
the chief adviser to the squadron
commander concerning the enlisted
force.
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Command Chief Master Sergeant
 The position of Command Chief
Master Sergeant was created in
November 1998. Formerly titled
Senior Enlisted Advisor,
Command Chief Master
Sergeants serve as senior
advisors to commanders at
Wing, Numbered Air Force
(NAF), Field Operating Agency
(FOA), and Major Command
(MAJCOM) levels.
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Chief Master Sergeant of the AF
 Chief Master Sergeant of the
Air Force James A. Roy
– Holds highest position of
any AF enlisted personnel
– Acts as personal advisor to
Air Force Chief of Staff and
Secretary of the Air Force
– Provides information about
welfare, effectiveness, and
progress of enlisted force
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AF & AFJROTC Enlisted Ranks
“The Differences”
 For enlisted grades, there are
only slight differences between
active duty insignia and Junior
ROTC insignia.
– AF:
Star inside a circle
– ROTC: torch of knowledge
inside a shield and
shape of the stripes
 Key Point! The number of
stripes are the same for all of
the enlisted ranks.
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Historical Footnote #1
 The current Air Force officer
rank names and insignia
were borrowed from the
Army upon the establishment
of the Air Force as a
separate service in 1947.
This explains why the Air
Force has brigadier generals
but no brigades. The insignia
have been essentially
unchanged since then,
except for a brief period
during the 1990s.
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Company Grade Officers (O-1 to O-3)
 Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt). Rank insignia is one gold bar.
Pay grade is O-1 The "O" stands for officer. You address
them as "Second Lieutenant" or "Lieutenant." (or ‘Butter
bars’)
 First Lieutenant (1st Lt). Rank insignia is one silver bar. Pay
grade is O-2. You address them as "First Lieutenant" or
"Lieutenant."
 Captain (Capt). Rank insignia is two silver bars connected.
Pay grade is O-3. You address them as "Captain."
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Historical Footnote #2
 "Lieutenant" comes from the
French "lieu" meaning "place"
and "tenant" meaning
"holding." Literally, lieutenants
are place holders. A
Lieutenant "holds the place"
(Latin: “locum tenens”) for,
represents, the superior
officer (normally the Captain).
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Field Grade Officers (O-4 to O-6)
 Major (Maj). Rank insignia is a gold oak leaf. Pay
grade is O-4. You address them as "Major."
 Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col). Rank insignia is a silver
oak leaf. Pay grade is O-5. You address them as
"Lieutenant Colonel" or "Colonel."
 Colonel (Col). Rank insignia is a silver eagle.
Paygrade is O-6. You address them as "Colonel."
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Historical Footnote #3, Part 1
 Our present system of officers’
grade insignia began on 18 June
1780 when it was prescribed that
Major Generals would wear two
stars and Brigadier Generals one
star on each epaulette. In 1832,
the Colonel’s eagle was initiated
and in 1836, leaves were adopted
for Lieutenant Colonels and
Majors, while Captains received
two bars and one bar was
prescribed for First Lieutenant.
Second Lieutenants did not
receive the gold bar until
December 1917.
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Historical Footnote #3, Part 2
 Gold is worth more than silver, but
silver outranks gold. This is
because the Army decreed in 1832
that infantry colonels would wear
gold eagles on an epaulette of
silver and all other colonels would
wear silver eagles on gold. When
majors and lieutenant colonels
received the leaves, this tradition
could not continue. So silver leaves
represented lieutenant colonels
and gold, majors. The case of
lieutenants is different: First
lieutenants had been wearing silver
bars for 80 years before second
lieutenants had any bars at all.
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Historical Footnote #3, Part 3
 Other than the dates of
authorization, nothing has been
located as to why the leaf and bar
was selected for officer’s insignia.
Military routinely incorporate the
design representing their country
in their insignia and the eagle with
shield, arrows and olive leaves
was taken from the Coat of Arms
of the United States.
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General Officer (0-7 to O-10)
 Brigadier General (Brig Gen). Rank insignia
is one silver star. Pay grade is O-7. Terms of
address are "Brigadier General" or "General."
 Major General (Maj Gen). Rank insignia is
two silver stars in line. Pay grade is O-8.
Terms of address are "Major General" or
"General."
 Lieutenant General (Lt Gen). Rank insignia is
three silver stars in line. Pay grade is O-9.
Terms of address are "Lieutenant General" or
"General."
 General (Gen). Rank insignia is four silver
stars in line. The pay grade is O-10. Term of
address is "General."
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Historical Footnote #4
 While majors outrank lieutenants:
lieutenant generals outrank major
generals. This comes from British
tradition: Generals were appointed
for campaigns and often called
"captain generals." Their assistants
were, naturally, "lieutenant
generals." At the same time, the
chief administrative officer was the
"sergeant major general."
Somewhere along the way,
"sergeant" was dropped from the
title.
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General of the Air Force

In the United States Air Force, General of
the Air Force is the highest rank,
equivalent to a five star General. The rank
has only been held by one person in
history: Henry H. Arnold.

The insignia for General of the Air Force
has never been worn by an officer of the
modern Air Force on active duty. Arnold
was a General of the Army and retired
before the Air Force was made a separate
service, but on May 7, 1949 he was
awarded the rank of General of the Air
Force after his retirement, and was
photographed in an Air Force uniform
wearing the insignia of that rank.
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AF & AFJROTC Officer Ranks
Differences
 For officer grades, active duty
grade insignia are very different
from cadet grade insignia
– AF: bars, oak leafs, eagle
and stars
– ROTC: look like houses with
stripes inside of them; the
stripes can be thin or thick
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AFJROTC Officer Rank
 Cadet 2nd Lieutenant – one thin
stripe
 Cadet 1st Lieutenant – two thin
stripes
 Cadet Captain – three thin stripes
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AFJROTC Officer Rank
 Cadet Major – one thick stripe
 Cadet Lieutenant Colonel – one thin
stripe and one thick stripe
 Cadet Colonel – two thin stripes and
one thick stripe
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Visual Cues for Identifying Rank
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Ways to Identify an Officer
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