Uniformed services pay grades of the United States

Pay grades[1] are used by the eight uniformed services of the United States[2] (in order of precedence per US law: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps) to determine wages and benefits based on the corresponding military rank of a member of the services. While different titles or ranks may be used among the eight uniformed services, pay grades are uniform and equivalent between the services and can be used to quickly determine seniority among a group of members from different services.[3] They are also essential when determining a member's entitlements such as basic pay and allowances.[4]

Pay grades are divided into three groups:[1] enlisted (E), warrant officer (W), and officer (O). Enlisted pay grades begin at E-1 and end at E-9; warrant officer pay grades originate at W-1 and terminate at W-5; and officer pay grades start at O-1 and finish at O-11 (although O-11 has not been used since General of the Army Omar Bradley died in 1981;[5] currently O-10 is the highest authorized pay grade and pay grade O-11 appears nowhere in Title 10 of the US Code pertaining to authorized distribution of general/flag officers,[6] nor within various documents establishing rates of pay[7][1][8]). Not all of the uniformed services use all of the grades; for example, the Navy and Coast Guard (USCG) have authority to use, but do not use the grade W-1 (the USCG also chooses not to use W-5[9][10]), and the Air Force (USAF) discontinued appointing new warrant officers in 1959 (although the last USAF warrant officer did not retire until 1992).[11]

Although authorized to do so, currently, neither the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), nor the Public Health Service (USPHS), use any of the enlisted or warrant officer grades.[6][12][13][14][15] (However, in October 2004, the USPHS initiated "a program to establish a cadre of Warrant Officers to support the long-established Commissioned Corps of the PHS." As of 2/1/2014 the program was still in development.)[16] Additionally, while not formally established as one of the seven uniformed services, the Maritime Service (which provides officers serving in the Maritime Administration and as administrators and instructors at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), and the six state-operated maritime academies)[17][18] is also authorized, but does not currently employ, enlisted[19] or warrant officer grades.[20]

Officers in pay grades O-1, O-2, and O-3 with more than four years of prior cumulative service (creditable toward both length of service and retirement) in an enlisted or warrant officer grade are paid "...the special rate of basic pay for pay grade O-1E, O-2E, or O-3E,"[21] respectively.[4] This benefit does not affect their rank and is used simply for reward and incentive purposes in recognition of their prior enlisted (or warrant officer) experience. A cumulative total of 1,440 days of creditable Federal active duty and/or reserve inactive duty for training days is required to qualify.[22][23]

Warrant Officer-1 pay grade is normally reserved for officers appointed using a "warrant"[3][24] rather than a "commission"[25][26] by the Secretary of Defense or by each of the service secretaries, using authority delegated from the President,[27] to an intermediate rank between enlisted non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers (starting at W-2).[10] However, appointments to this grade can by made by commission by the service secretaries, defense secretary, or the President,[24] but this is more uncommon. By law, regulation, and traditional customs and courtesies across the military services, warrant officers serving in pay grade W-1 have the same privileges as commissioned officers (with certain exceptions grounded in the distinction required in the Constitution that all "officers of the United States" be commissioned[28], which affects the command authority and specific standing of warrant officer-1's under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Manual for Courts-Martial).[29][11][30][31][32]

While those officers appointed by the President directly as cadets or midshipmen at four of the Federal Service Academies (US Military Academy; US Naval Academy; US Air Force Academy; US Coast Guard Academy) are members of the Regular Component of their Service,[3] serving on active duty, they hold neither a commission nor a warrant of appointment, nor are they appointed to an enlisted grade or rank.[33] US statutes no longer include any pay grade for cadets or midshipmen;[1] as "inchoate officers,"[34][35] appointed using the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution[36] as "inferior officers," they are recognized as having only a precedence below the most junior warrant officer, and above the enlisted grades, and almost entirely lack any authority over any other servicemembers (including other cadets and midshipmen) except for specific internal Academy functions, or very narrowly drawn training purposes while serving with their Service for leadership and skills development.[31]

Those officers appointed to attend the US Merchant Marine Academy (the fifth Federal Service Academy), by the Administrator of the Maritime Administration (within the Department of Transportation),[37][38] will also be appointed by the Secretary of the Navy directly as Midshipmen, US Navy Reserve, without enlistment.[39] Additionally, the Service Secretaries will appoint the cadets or midshipmen of the Senior Reserve Officers Training Corps (SROTC),[40][41] but unlike the cadets and midshipmen of each Federal Service Academy, SROTC are first enlisted into the reserve component of their respective service.[42][43][44][3][45][46] Cadets and midshipmen from both the USMMA and SROTC are appointed as "inchoate officers"[34][35] without a commission or warrant,[34] but unlike the other four Federal service academies, they are also appointed under Article II as "inferior officers" in their respective reserve component,[36] and only serve on active duty during authorized training events (typically the "Sea Year" for USMMA midshipmen,[19] or for SROTC during the summers between years of college).[4][47][43] They share the ill-defined precedence, and lack of statutory pay grade, of cadets and midshipmen of the Academies, and have even less apparent authority (since they are generally not in any official duty status) beyond their internal USMMA and ROTC requirements, although they—like the cadets and midshipmen serving in the Regular Component at the Federal Service Academies—have the innate potential to command troops in emergencies, and otherwise perform duties far beyond their academic environment, as required by competent authorities.[19][31][32][33][34][35][42]

For both types of cadets and midshipmen, Academy Cadets/Midshipmen and SROTC members/applicants, without a statutory pay grade, their Basic pay rate is: $1,087.80, effective 1 January 2018, which is: "... the monthly rate equal to 35 percent of the basic pay of a commissioned officer in the pay grade O–1 with less than two years of service..."[48][22][47]

For pay tables and information on specific pay grade wages and entitlements for members of the uniformed services, see United States military pay.