Defense Primer: Military Enlisted Personnel

https://crsreports.congress.gov

Updated December 3, 2024

Defense Primer: Military Enlisted Personnel

Grade and Rank Defense Primer: Military Enlisted Personnel

Grade and Rank

The Armed Forces are hierarchical organizations with clearly defined levels of authority. These different levels are called grades, while rank refers to the order of precedence among those in different grades and within the same grade (e.g., someone who has been a Sergeantsergeant for three years outranks someone who has been a Sergeantsergeant for two years). However, it is common for the term rankrank to be used as a synonym for gradegrade. Pay grade is an administrative classification that determines certain rates of pay, but it is sometimes used to indicate grade as well. For example, a Staff Sergeantstaff sergeant in the Army may also be referred to as an E- 6. See Figure 1. The Service Secretariesservice secretaries manage the accession, promotion, and assignments of enlisted members under broad statutory authorities.

Numbers and Roles Enlisted personnel and military service academy cadets and midshipmen make up about 82% of the Armed Forces, with officers making up the remaining 18%. Enlisted personnel rank below all officers. Table 1 lists the number of active -duty enlisted personnel in each pay grade.

Junior enlisted personnel (pay grades E-1 to E-4) typically work in small units across the Department of Defense. Individuals normally serve in these grades during their first enlistment term (usually four years). More senior

enlisted personnel supervise them. Junior enlisted personnel make up about 50% of the enlisted workforce.

Mid-level Noncommissioned Officers noncommissioned officers (NCOs) (pay grades E-5 to E-7). NCOs have significantly more responsibility than junior enlisted personnel. They lead small units, typically ranging from a few to several dozen personnel, and serve as technical experts in their occupational specialties. NCOs at this level translate orders from their superior officers into action.

Senior Noncommissioned Officersnoncommissioned officers (pay grades E-8 and E- 9) typically serve as senior enlisted advisors to commanders or as staff NCOs. They also serve as a channel of support for the enlisted force in general. By law, the authorized daily average of enlisted personnel in pay grades E-8 and E- 9 may not be more than 3.0% and 1.25%, respectively, of the number of enlisted members in a given Serviceservice on the first day of the fiscal year. If the number of E-9s is below the cap, the difference may be applied to increase the number of E-8s. The statutory caps can be waived in certain circumstances (10 U.S.C. §517).).

Insignia As shown in Figure 1, each enlisted grade in the Armed Forces has distinctive insignia, typically worn on the sleeve, shoulder, collar, and/or headgear (caps, berets, helmets, etc.).

Table 1. Department of Defense Active -Duty Military Enlisted by Pay Grade (as of August 31, 2024)

Pay

Grade

Services

Total Army Navy Marine Corps Air Force Space Force

E-9 3,475 2,831 1,696 2,457 50 10,337

E-8 10,402 7,112 4,035 4,805 135 26,739

E-7 35,173 23,760 8,737 22,704 617 88,589

E-6 56,866 51,565 13,292 38,743 834 164,726

E-5 66,138 72,249 23,779 52,813 1,065 217,374

E-4 97,220 53,714 31,347 68,439 771 249,741

E-3 49,546 29,189 38,429 44,126 997 162,594

E-2 21,414 16,551 16,757 8,967 207 63,975

E-1 9,807 13,569 11,985 8,935 222 40,609

Total 350,041 270,540 150,057 251,989 4,898 1,024,684

March 31, 2025)

Pay Grade	Army	Navy	Marine Corps	Air Force	Space Force	Total
E-9	3,369	2,870	1,598	2,433	58	10,328
E-8	10,948	6,774	3,794	5,040	138	26,694
E-7	34,635	23,027	8,356	23,248	647	89,913
E-6	56,659	53,183	14,075	38,053	951	162,921
E-5	65,442	72,991	24,704	51,383	1,036	215,556
E-4	94,903	49,167	31,324	68,972	769	245,135
E-3	52,263	33,410	38,542	46,090	1,130	171,435
E-2	27,202	18,119	19,125	8,885	206	73,537
E-1	8,520	15,552	5,297	9,818	169	39,356
Total	353,941	275,093	146,815	253,922	5,104	1,034,875

Source: Department of Defense, Defense Manpower Data Center, Active Duty Military Personnel by Service by Rank/Grade, August 2024.

Defense Primer: Military Enlisted Personnel

https://crsreports.congress.gov

March 2025.

Figure 1. Pay Grade, Grade, and Insignia of Enlisted Servicemembers

Source: CRS adaptation of Department of Defense web page: https://dod.defense.gov/About/Insignias/Enlisted/, . The U.S. Coast Guard,, which normally falls under the Department of Homeland Security,, uses the same names for enlisted ranks as the Navy.

Resources

Chapter 31 of Title 10, U.S.C.

Code

Army Regulation 611-1, Military Occupational Classification Structure Development and Implementation..

NAVPERS 18068F, Volume 1, Manual of Navy Enlisted Manpower and Personnel Classifications and Occupational Standards..

U.S. Air Force, The Enlisted Force Structure, May 2022. May 2022.

Kristy N. Kamarck, Specialist in Military Manpower Carly A. Miller, Research Librarian

IF10684

Defense Primer: Military Enlisted Personnel

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10684 · VERSION 17 · UPDATED

Disclaimer

This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.