Navy Dads

United States Navy Commissioned Officers Rank and Structure

 

 

Commissioned officers in the Navy have pay grades ranging from O-1 to O-10, with O-10 being the highest; those with paygrades between O-1 through O-4 are considered junior officers and O-5 and O-6 as senior officers. Officers in the O-7 to O-10 range are called flag officers or "the admiralty." Promotion through O-8 is based on performance in an officer's current paygrade, which is recorded in "FITREPS" (fitness reports). Promotions to Vice Admiral (O-9) and Admiral (O-10) are based on assignment to specific positions and subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.

 

Above the rank of Admiral is Fleet Admiral, which was awarded to only four officers in World War II and is intended to be used only during a declared war. In 1899, a special rank called Admiral of the Navy was created for Admiral George Dewey, a war hero of the Spanish-American War, with the condition that it would cease to exist upon his death.

 

Commissioned officers originate from the United States Naval Academy, Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), Officer Candidate School (OCS), and a host of other commissioning programs such as the Seaman to Admiral-21 program, the Limited Duty Officer and Chief Warrant Officer Selection Programs, the United States Merchant Marine Academy, or receive Direct commissions via Officer Development School (ODS) or from its reserve component, the Direct Commission Officer School (DCO School).

 

Commissioned officers can generally be divided into line officers and staff corps; line officers can be further split into unrestricted and restricted communities. Unrestricted Line Officers are the warfighting command element and are authorized to command ships, aviation squadrons, and special operations units. Restricted Line Officers, on the other hand, concentrate on non-combat related fields, such as engineering and maintenance; they are not qualified to command combat units. Staff Corps officers are specialists in fields that are themselves professional careers and not exclusive to the military, for example: medicine, science, law, and civil engineering.

 

     Commissioned Officer Rank Structure of the United States Navy

 

Fleet Admiral Admiral Vice Admiral Rear Admiral Rear Admiral (Lower Half)
Special O-10 O-9 O-8 O-7
US Navy O11 insignia.svg US Navy O10 insignia.svg US Navy O9 insignia.svg US Navy O8 insignia.svg US Navy O7 insignia.svg
FADM ADM VADM RADM RDML

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Commander Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Ensign
O-6 O-5 O-4 O-3 O-2 O-1
US Navy O6 insignia.svg US Navy O5 insignia.svg US Navy O3 insignia.svg US Navy O2 insignia.svg US Navy O1 insignia.svg
CAPT CDR LCDR LT LTJG ENS

 

Chief Warrant Officer

 

Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) pay grades range from W-2 to the highest rank of W-5. United States Navy CWOs are officers whose role is to provide leadership and skills for the most difficult and demanding operations in a particular technical specialty. They occupy a niche that is not as well served by the line officer community, who tend to have a broader focus.

CWOs come from the senior non-commissioned officer ranks of the enlisted and receive their commission after completing the Chief Warrant Officer Program. They typically become CWOs in specialties that are most related to their previous enlisted rating. Like Staff Corps officers, CWOs wear special insignia above the rank devices on their shoulder boards and sleeves to indicate their field of expertise.

 

 

      Commissioned Warrant Officer Rank Structure of the United States Navy

 

Chief Warrant Officer Five Chief Warrant Officer Four Chief Warrant Officer Three Chief Warrant Officer Two
W-5 W-4 W-3 W-2
WO5 USN CWO5.jpg WO4 USN CWO4.jpg WO3 USN CWO3.jpg WO2 USN CWO2.jpg

 

 

Views: 13493

Replies are closed for this discussion.

MISSION STATEMENT:

NavyDads mission is to Provide Support, Encouragement, and Knowledge to Sailors and their Families throughout their Journey together in the United States Navy.

NavyDads can only succeed with your help.  We receive no outside funding and every dollar you donate helps us cover operating costs and helps keep this site running. 

Google-Based NavyDads Search


  only search NavyDads

Events

Blog Posts

Phishing for Info

Posted by Michael J Conway on April 18, 2023 at 4:08pm 0 Comments

USPS MILITARYKIT - **FREE**

Posted by Joseph Hernandez on January 28, 2023 at 11:54am 1 Comment

Before A School

Posted by Philip Steinert on January 2, 2023 at 2:10pm 2 Comments

My little sailor

Posted by william joseph wolfcale on December 3, 2022 at 4:08pm 2 Comments

my dad skII Wolfcale

Posted by william joseph wolfcale on December 3, 2022 at 4:00pm 0 Comments

Off to A School

Posted by Michael J Conway on November 13, 2022 at 9:55pm 1 Comment

Son leaves for San Diego

Posted by Jeff J Sperekas on June 25, 2022 at 7:33pm 1 Comment

CHIEF PETTY OFFICER

Posted by John W Hensman on October 9, 2021 at 4:21pm 0 Comments

Form letter

Posted by John D O'Rourke on September 16, 2021 at 5:58am 2 Comments

Boot Camp

Posted by Mark F Durovka on March 22, 2021 at 8:46pm 2 Comments

RTC

Posted by Thomas ODonnell on January 10, 2021 at 3:00pm 7 Comments

Bittersweet Happiness

Posted by Jim Lisi on December 13, 2020 at 1:21pm 3 Comments

Pride and Honor

Posted by Elliott Peigen on September 7, 2020 at 9:56am 2 Comments

Introducing Myself

Posted by John Lillyblad on March 18, 2020 at 4:38pm 5 Comments

Mail problems

Posted by Fernando Bolano on March 17, 2020 at 2:36pm 3 Comments

SHIP 06 DIV 100

Posted by Chris Koning on February 9, 2020 at 3:54pm 0 Comments

Ship 10 Div 114

Posted by Mike Cunningham on February 3, 2020 at 2:15pm 1 Comment

Day ONE

Posted by Mike Cunningham on January 15, 2020 at 1:23pm 2 Comments

Ship 2 Division 907

Posted by Mark Poindexter on December 17, 2019 at 2:36pm 0 Comments

© 2024   Created by E.G. - ND's Creator/Admin.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service