Army Ranks

Personnel
Main articles: Ranks and Insignia of NATO, United States Army officer rank insignia, and United States Army enlisted rank insignia

These are the U.S. Army ranks authorized for use today and their equivalent NATO designations. Although no living officer currently holds the rank of General of the Army, it is still authorized by Congress for use in wartime.

Commissioned officers:

   There are several paths to becoming a commissioned officer including the United States Military Academy, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and Officer Candidate School. Certain professions, such as physicians, pharmacists, nurses, lawyers, and chaplains are commissioned directly into the Army. But no matter what road an officer takes, the insignia are the same.

Address all personnel with the rank of general as 'General (last name)' regardless of the number of stars. Likewise, address both colonels and lieutenant colonels as 'Colonel (last name)' and first and second lieutenants as 'Lieutenant (last name).

Warrant officers:

     Warrant officers are single track, specialty officers with subject matter expertise in a particular area. They are initially appointed as warrant officers (in the rank of WO1) by the Secretary of the Army, but receive their commission upon promotion to Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2).

By regulation, warrant officers are addressed as 'Mr. (last name)' or 'Ms. (last name).'[36] However, many personnel address warrant officers as 'Chief (last name)'.

Enlisted personnel:

     Sergeants and corporals are referred to as NCOs, short for non-commissioned officers. This distinguishes them from specialists who might have the same pay grade, but not the leadership responsibilities.

Address privates (E1 and E2) and privates first class (E3) as 'Private (last name).' Address specialists as 'Specialist (last name).' Address corporals as 'Corporal (last name)'. Address sergeants, staff sergeants, sergeants first class, and master sergeants as 'Sergeant (last name).' Address first sergeants as 'First Sergeant (last name)' and all sergeants-major as 'Sergeant-Major (last name)'.