An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any
rank below that of a
commissioned officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...
. The term can be inclusive of
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
s or
warrant officers, except in United States military usage where warrant officers/chief warrant officers are a separate officer category ranking above enlisted grades and below commissioned officer grades. In most cases, enlisted service personnel perform jobs specific to their own occupational specialty, as opposed to the more generalized command responsibilities of commissioned officers.
The term "enlistment" refers solely to a military commitment (whether officer or enlisted) whereas the terms "taken on strength" and "struck off strength" refer to a service member being carried on a given unit's roll.
Canadian Armed Forces
In the
Canadian Armed Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
, the term
non-commissioned member (NCM) is used.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
For the
ranks used by the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, non-commissioned ranks are coded OR1–OR9 (bottom to top), OR being an abbreviation for
Other Ranks.
United Kingdom
United States Armed Forces
The branches of the U.S. Armed Forces all use the same "E-" designation for enlisted pay grades, with service-specific names applied to each (e.g., chief petty officer, master gunnery sergeant, private first class).
Each branch incorporates it as part of a service member's job specialty designator. In the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
, this job specialty designator is known as an
Air Force Specialty Code, in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
, a
Military Occupational Specialty, and in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
and
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
, a
rating.
See also
*
List of comparative military ranks
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enlisted Rank
Military ranks