Military ranks are more than just who salutes who. Military ranks are a badge of leadership and responsibility.

Responsibility for personnel, equipment, and mission grows with each increase in rank.

Don't confuse ranks with pay grades, such as E-1, W-2 and O-5. Pay grades are an administrative classification used primarily to standardize compensation across the military services. The "E" in E-1 stands for "Enlisted" while the "1" indicates the pay grade for that position. The other pay categories are "W" for "Warrant Officers" and "O" for "Commissioned Officers". Some enlisted pay grades have two or more ranks.

The Army, for example, has the ranks of Corporal and Specialist at the pay grade of E-4. A Corporal is expected to fill a leadership role and has a higher rank than a specialist even though both receive the same amount of pay. In the Marine Corps, Master Gunnery Sergeants and Sergeant Majors are at the pay grade of E-9, but the Sergeant Major has the higher rank.

To find out more information about each rank, click on one of the seals below, or use the navigation menu on the left.