Major (United States)

Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force insignia of the rank of major.

U.S. Army insignia of the rank of major.

U.S. Marine Corps insignia of the rank of major.

U.S. Air Force insignia of the rank of major.

In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, major is a field grade military officer rank above the rank of captain and below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of lieutenant commander in the other uniformed services. Although lieutenant commanders are considered junior officers by their respective services, the rank of major is considered field grade in the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps.

The pay grade for the rank of major is O-4. The insignia for the rank consists of a golden oak leaf, with slight stylized differences between the Army/Air Force version and the Marine Corps version. Promotion to major is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980.

Army

A major in the U.S. Army typically serves as a battalion executive officer (XO) or as the battalion operations officer (S3). A major can also serve as a primary staff officer for a regiment, brigade or task force in the areas concerning personnel, logistics, intelligence, and operations. A major will also be a staff officer / action officer on higher staffs and headquarters. In addition, majors command augmented companies in Combat Service and Service Support units. U.S. Army majors also command Special operations companies, such as U.S. Army Special Forces companies, Civil Affairs companies, Military Information Support Operations companies, as well as certain types of separate, numbered vice lettered, Military Intelligence companies.

Selected majors in the United States Army attend the 10-month Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, with a greater number attending satellite schools administered by Fort Leavenworth at Fort Belvoir, Fort Lee, Virginia, Redstone Arsenal, and Fort Gordon.^[1] Nine-hundred-sixty graduated from the Leavenworth course in 2009 (the largest class in Army history).^[2]

American Revolution

The Continental Army mostly followed the organization and rank structure of the British Army. A regiment consisted of 8 companies with three officers (a captain, a lieutenant and ensign) and about 60 enlisted men each. The field grade officers of a regiment were the colonel, the lieutenant colonel and a major. The major was the regiment's third in command and, at least in theory, would command one of the regiment's two battalions if the regiment were divided for tactical purposes.

American Civil War

Major rank insignia of the Confederate Army as used during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War the Union Army continued to use the existing titles of rank and rank insignia established for the US Army. After the Southern states seceded and became the Confederate States of America, the Confederate Army retained the same titles of rank as its Union counterpart, but developed a new system of rank identification and insignia for its officers.

While Union officers continued to wear their rank insignia on their shoulder straps, Confederate officers wore their rank insignia on the collar (one, two, or three horizontal gold bars for lieutenants and captains; one, two, or three gold stars for field grade officers; and three gold stars surrounded by a wreath for all general officers), as well as rows of gold lace forming an Austrian knot pattern on each sleeve. The number of rows of gold lace increased with the rank of the officer.

Post Civil War

In the late 1800s the US Army changed from the traditional 10 company regiment to one of 12 companies organized into three four company battalions, each commanded by a major. Prior to World War II, battalion commanders became lieutenant colonels. The basic regimental organization remained standard until after the Korean War when regiments with organic battalions were no longer used as tactical units. Battalions attached to brigades replaced the regiment. Battalions commanded by lieutenant colonels became the US Army's basic tactical unit. As a result, there were only a limited number of command positions for majors although Medical, Special Forces and Aviation companies are usually commanded by majors.

Air Force

A major in the Air Force typically has duties as a senior staff officer at the squadron and wing level. In flying squadrons majors are generally flight commanders or assistant directors of operations. In the mission support and maintenance groups majors may occasionally be squadron commanders. In the medical corps, a major may be the head of a clinic or flight.

Law enforcement

Many police agencies in the United States use the rank of major for officers in senior administrative and supervisory positions. The position is most often found in larger agencies, where the number of sworn personnel requires an expanded and complex rank structure. The term "major" is not always used in these scenarios, and some police departments prefer to use titles such as "Deputy Chief," "Commander," or similar, retaining only the rank insignia. However, there are several agencies, particularly state police, which prefer to use both the insignia and title. The rank may also be used in conjunction with, rather than instead of, a descriptive title, such as in the example, "Major John Smith, Patrol Commander".

References

External links

• Confederate Army rank insignia: A guide
• Officer rank insignia
• Rank history

United States uniformed services commissioned officer and officer candidate ranks
Pay grade / branch of service	Officer candidate	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11 (Obs.)	Special grade
Insignia	[1]			[6]					[6]	[6]	[6]		[2]
Army	CDT / OC	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	GA[3]	GAS[3]
Marine Corps	Midn / Cand	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	[5]	[5]
Navy	MIDN / OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM[3]	AN[3]
Air Force	Cadet / OT / OC	2d Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	GAF[3]	[5]
Coast Guard	CDT / OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	[5]	[5]
PHS Corps	[OC]	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RADM	RADM	VADM	ADM	[5]	[5]
NOAA Corps	OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	[4]	[5]	[5]
[1] No universal insignia for officer candidate rank; Navy candidate insignia shown [2]Official 1945 proposal for General of the Armies insignia; John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: ; George Dewey's Admiral of the Navy insignia: [3] Rank used for specific officers in wartime only, not permanent addition to rank structure [4] Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created [5] Grade has never been created or authorized [6] USAF and U.S. Army insignia shown

United States warrant officer ranks
	W-1	W-2	W-3	W-4	W-5
Army	WO1	CW2	CW3	CW4	CW5
Marine Corps	WO1	CWO2	CWO3	CWO4	CWO5
Navy	WO1[1]	CWO2	CWO3	CWO4	CWO5
Air Force	WO1[1]	CWO2[1]	CWO3[1]	CWO4[1]	CWO5[1]
Coast Guard	WO1[1]	CWO2	CWO3	CWO4	[2]
PHS Corps	[2]	[2]	[2]	[2]	[3]
NOAA Corps	[3]	[3]	[3]	[3]	[3]
[1] Grade inactive [2] Grade is authorized for use by U.S. Code but has not been created [3] Grade never created or authorized