Police
Rank
Insignias
Rank
Insignias
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| Private E2 |
The best way for
you to identify
rank insignias
used by police
departments is
to familiarize
yourself with
the enlisted and
officer insignias
of the United
States Army.
Nearly all police
departments
use the same
insignias.
you to identify
rank insignias
used by police
departments is
to familiarize
yourself with
the enlisted and
officer insignias
of the United
States Army.
Nearly all police
departments
use the same
insignias.
| Private First Class |
| Corporal |
| Sergeant |
| Staff Sergeant |
| Sergeant First Class |
| United States Army |
| Master Sergeant |
| First Sergeant |
| Sergeant Major |
| Command Sergeant Major |
| Sergeant Major of the Army |
| 2nd Lieutenant |
| 1st Lieutenant |
| Captain |
| Major |
Some police departments may
use these insignias for special
recognition such as Master
Police Officer; Police Officer
First Class; Trooper First
Class, etc. These ranks may,
or may not, carry any
additional authority or higher
pay grade within the structure.
use these insignias for special
recognition such as Master
Police Officer; Police Officer
First Class; Trooper First
Class, etc. These ranks may,
or may not, carry any
additional authority or higher
pay grade within the structure.
| Police Officer Rank Insignias |
The rank of corporal is not
universal throughout police
departments. However, the
rank does carry supervisory
authority. The corporal will
normally act as the squad or
unit supervisor when the
sergeant is on leave or
otherwise unavailable.
universal throughout police
departments. However, the
rank does carry supervisory
authority. The corporal will
normally act as the squad or
unit supervisor when the
sergeant is on leave or
otherwise unavailable.
The three stripe sergeant
insignia is the most common
sergeant rank among police
departments. The sergeant is
normally the first line of
supervision.
insignia is the most common
sergeant rank among police
departments. The sergeant is
normally the first line of
supervision.
You probably won't
see these sergeant
insignias that
frequently. When
see these sergeant
insignias that
frequently. When
the number of chevrons on the bottom of
the insignia.Some state police agencies,
which are more military oriented, may
utilize these multiple sergeant ranks.
the insignia.Some state police agencies,
which are more military oriented, may
utilize these multiple sergeant ranks.
The lieutenant rank is
universal among police
departments. The
majority of
departments have only
one lieutenant insignia.
Whether the bar is
gold or silver is simply
a matter of choice.
Again, a few
departments may use
both to distinguish
rank with the silver
being the higher rank.
universal among police
departments. The
majority of
departments have only
one lieutenant insignia.
Whether the bar is
gold or silver is simply
a matter of choice.
Again, a few
departments may use
both to distinguish
rank with the silver
being the higher rank.
The captain rank is
usually the highest
rank earned through a
competitive civil
service process. The
captain is usually the
first line of command.
However, in some
departments, the
captain may be
referred to by another
title such as
"inspector."
usually the highest
rank earned through a
competitive civil
service process. The
captain is usually the
first line of command.
However, in some
departments, the
captain may be
referred to by another
title such as
"inspector."
The rank of major and
above are all command
ranks, and they are
usually appointed by the
police chief to serve at his
or her pleasure. Police
officers who achieve these
ranks usually have
considerable political
support from outside the
police department.
above are all command
ranks, and they are
usually appointed by the
police chief to serve at his
or her pleasure. Police
officers who achieve these
ranks usually have
considerable political
support from outside the
police department.
The colonel insignia is
popular. You'll often
see police chiefs wearing
this insignia. In larger
departments where
people are designated as
chiefs of various
functions, you'll see
more of these.
popular. You'll often
see police chiefs wearing
this insignia. In larger
departments where
people are designated as
chiefs of various
functions, you'll see
more of these.
There's no standard
here. If you see a chief
of police with one star,
you won't see any other
star insignias in that
department. If the
chief wears four stars,
you may see one to
three stars on the
collars of some of that
department's other top
commanders.
here. If you see a chief
of police with one star,
you won't see any other
star insignias in that
department. If the
chief wears four stars,
you may see one to
three stars on the
collars of some of that
department's other top
commanders.
| The Stars |
| Lieutenant Colonel |
| Colonel |
| Major General |
| General |
| General of the Army |
choice. In a small department, the chief
can wear any insignia he or she wants. In
larger police departments where tradition
is more entrenched, or where changing
insignias would simply cause too much
confusion, the chief may not have as much
latitude.
The next time you're watching the news
where there's a press conference involving
multiple police jurisdictions, check the
insignias of the police chiefs. You'll notice
that if there's three chiefs, there may well
be three different insignias.
can wear any insignia he or she wants. In
larger police departments where tradition
is more entrenched, or where changing
insignias would simply cause too much
confusion, the chief may not have as much
latitude.
The next time you're watching the news
where there's a press conference involving
multiple police jurisdictions, check the
insignias of the police chiefs. You'll notice
that if there's three chiefs, there may well
be three different insignias.
When you see a soldier with no insignia of
rank on his or her uniform, it tells you
that soldier has no authority over anyone.
It's not that way with a police officer.
Every sworn police officer is vested with
fullauthority under the law. Just because
you see no insignia of rank, that
observation should not make you believe
his or her authority is diminished in any
way. The lowest ranking police officer has
exactly the same authority under the law
as does the highest ranking sworn member
of that police department.
As in the military, the police department
rank structure is designed for supervisory;
management, and command functions. In
the military, the rank of corporal through
the ascending sergeant ranks are
supervisory functions. Second and first
lieutenants and captains are company
grade ranks, and they can be compared to
management. Major through the colonel
ranks are field grade officers, and they can
be compared to command.
rank on his or her uniform, it tells you
that soldier has no authority over anyone.
It's not that way with a police officer.
Every sworn police officer is vested with
fullauthority under the law. Just because
you see no insignia of rank, that
observation should not make you believe
his or her authority is diminished in any
way. The lowest ranking police officer has
exactly the same authority under the law
as does the highest ranking sworn member
of that police department.
As in the military, the police department
rank structure is designed for supervisory;
management, and command functions. In
the military, the rank of corporal through
the ascending sergeant ranks are
supervisory functions. Second and first
lieutenants and captains are company
grade ranks, and they can be compared to
management. Major through the colonel
ranks are field grade officers, and they can
be compared to command.
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you do see
them, they
simply
indicate
ascending
rank by
them, they
simply
indicate
ascending
rank by
| Brigadier General |
| Lieutenant General |
I've only seen the five
star insignia once, but
I'm sure it's worn by
more than a few police
chiefs. It's almost
always a matter of
star insignia once, but
I'm sure it's worn by
more than a few police
chiefs. It's almost
always a matter of
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Insignia: The Way You Tell Who's Who in the Military
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 1999 – One big problem throughout military history has been identifying who's in
charge.
From the earliest days of warfare to the present, special rank badges meant survival. In the heat of battle,
knowing who to listen to was as important as the fighting skills soldiers and sailors developed. They had to
know at a glance whose shouted orders to obey.
In the earliest times, rank was not an issue. "Do what Grog says" was enough so long as everyone knew
Grog. As armies and navies started growing, however, that kind of intimacy wasn't possible. The badge of
rank, therefore, became important. Today's Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard rank
insignia are the result of thousands of years of tradition.
Through the ages, the badge of ranks have included such symbols as feathers, sashes, stripes and showy
uniforms. Even carrying different weapons has signified rank. The badges of rank have been worn on
hats, shoulders and around the waist and chest.
The American military adapted most of its rank insignia from the British. Before the Revolutionary War,
Americans drilled with militia outfits based on the British tradition. Sailors followed the example of the most
successful navy of the time -- the Royal Navy.
So, the Continental Army had privates, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, colonels, generals, and several
now-obsolete ranks like coronet, subaltern and ensign. One thing the Army didn't have was enough money
to buy uniforms.
To solve this, Gen. George Washington wrote, "As the Continental Army has unfortunately no uniforms,
and consequently many inconveniences must arise from not being able to distinguish the commissioned
officers from the privates, it is desired that some badge of distinction be immediately provided; for instance
that the field officers may have red or pink colored cockades in their hats, the captains yellow or buff, and
the subalterns green."
Even during the war, rank insignia evolved. In 1780, regulations prescribed two stars for major generals
and one star for brigadiers worn on shoulder boards, or epaulettes.
The use of most English ranks carried on even after the United States won the war. The Army and Marine
Corps used comparable ranks, especially after 1840. The Navy took a different route.
The rank structure and insignia continued to evolve. Second lieutenants replaced the Army's coronets,
ensigns and subalterns, but they had no distinctive insignia until Congress gave them "butterbars" in 1917.
Colonels received the eagle in 1832. From 1836, majors and lieutenant colonels were denoted by oak
leave; captains by double silver bars -- "railroad tracks"; and first lieutenants, single silver bars.
In the Navy, captain was the highest rank until Congress created flag officers in 1857 -- before then,
designating someone an admiral in the republic had been deemed too royal for the United States. Until
1857, the Navy had three grades of captain roughly equivalent to the Army's brigadier general, colonel
and lieutenant colonel. Adding to the confusion, all Navy ship commanders are called "captain" regardless
of rank.
With the onset of the Civil War, the highest grade captains became commodores and rear admirals and
wore one-star and two- star epaulettes, respectively. The lowest became commanders with oak leaves
while captains in the middle remained equal to Army colonels and wore eagles.
At the same time, the Navy adopted a sleeve-stripe system that became so complex that when David
Glasgow Farragut became the service's first full admiral in 1866, the stripes on his sleeves extended from
cuff to elbow. The smaller sleeve stripes used today were introduced in 1869.
Chevrons are V-shaped stripes whose use in the military go back to at least the 12th century. It was a
badge of honor and used in heraldry. The British and French used chevrons -- from the French word for
"roof" -- to signify length of service.
Chevrons officially denoted rank in the U.S. military for the first time in 1817, when cadets at the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., wore them on their sleeves. From West Point, chevrons spread to
the Army and Marine Corps. The difference then was chevrons were worn points down until 1902, when
Army and Marine Corps enlisted personnel switched to the present points up configuration.
Navy and Coast Guard petty officers trace their insignia heritage to the British. Petty officers were
assistants to the officers aboard ship. The title wasn't a permanent rank and the men served at the
captain's pleasure. Petty officers lost their rank when the crew was paid off at the end of a voyage.
In 1841, Navy petty officers received their first rank insignia -- an eagle perched on an anchor. Ratings --
job skills -- were incorporated into the insignia in 1866. In 1885, the Navy designated three classes of petty
officers -- first, second and third. They added chevrons to designate the new ranks. The rank of chief petty
officer was established in 1894.
During World War II, the Army adopted technician grades. Technicians of a given grade earned the same
pay and wore the same insignia as equivalent noncommissioned officers except for a small "T" centered
under the chevrons. Technicians, despite the stripes, had no command authority over troops. This evolved
into the specialist ranks, pay grades E-4 to E-7. The last vestige today survives plainly as "specialist," pay
grade E-4. When there were such people as specialists 7, they wore the current eagle symbol surmounted
by three curved gold bars -- often called "bird umbrellas."
When the Air Force became a separate service in 1947, it kept the Army officer insignia and names, but
adopted different enlisted ranks and insignia.
Warrant officers went through several iterations before the services arrived at today's configuration. The
Navy had warrant officers from the start -- they were specialists who saw to the care and running of the
ship. The Army and Marines did not have warrants until the 20th century. Rank insignia for warrants last
changed with the addition of chief warrant officer 5. The Air Force stopped appointing warrant officers in
the 1950s and has none on active duty today.
Other interesting rank tidbits include:
o Ensigns started with the Army but ended with the Navy. The rank of Army ensign was long gone by the
time the rank of Navy ensign was established in 1862. Ensigns received gold bars in 1922, some five years
after equivalent Army second lieutenants received theirs.
o "Lieutenant" comes from the French "lieu" meaning "place" and "tenant" meaning "holding." Literally,
lieutenants are place holders.
o While majors outrank lieutenants, lieutenant generals outrank major generals. This comes from British
tradition: Generals were appointed for campaigns and often called "captain generals." Their assistants
were, naturally, "lieutenant generals." At the same time, the chief administrative officer was the "sergeant
major general." Somewhere along the way, "sergeant" was dropped.
o Gold is worth more than silver, but silver outranks gold. This is because the Army decreed in 1832 that
infantry colonels would wear gold eagles on an epaulette of silver and all other colonels would wear silver
eagles on gold. When majors and lieutenant colonels received the leaves, this tradition could not continue.
So silver leaves represented lieutenant colonels and gold, majors. The case of lieutenants is different:
First lieutenants had been wearing silver bars for 80 years before second lieutenants had any bars at all.
o Colonel is pronounced "kernal" because the British adopted the French spelling "colonel" but Spanish
pronuniciation "coronel" and then corrupted the pronunciation.
o While rank insignia are important, sometimes it isn't smart to wear them. When the rifled musket made its
appearance in the Civil War, sharpshooters looked for officers. Officers soon learned to take off their rank
insignia as they approached the battle line.
o The Air Force actually took a vote on their enlisted stripes. In 1948, then-Air Force Vice Chief of Staff
Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg polled NCOs at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington and 55 percent of them
chose the basic design still used today.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 1999 – One big problem throughout military history has been identifying who's in
charge.
From the earliest days of warfare to the present, special rank badges meant survival. In the heat of battle,
knowing who to listen to was as important as the fighting skills soldiers and sailors developed. They had to
know at a glance whose shouted orders to obey.
In the earliest times, rank was not an issue. "Do what Grog says" was enough so long as everyone knew
Grog. As armies and navies started growing, however, that kind of intimacy wasn't possible. The badge of
rank, therefore, became important. Today's Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard rank
insignia are the result of thousands of years of tradition.
Through the ages, the badge of ranks have included such symbols as feathers, sashes, stripes and showy
uniforms. Even carrying different weapons has signified rank. The badges of rank have been worn on
hats, shoulders and around the waist and chest.
The American military adapted most of its rank insignia from the British. Before the Revolutionary War,
Americans drilled with militia outfits based on the British tradition. Sailors followed the example of the most
successful navy of the time -- the Royal Navy.
So, the Continental Army had privates, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, colonels, generals, and several
now-obsolete ranks like coronet, subaltern and ensign. One thing the Army didn't have was enough money
to buy uniforms.
To solve this, Gen. George Washington wrote, "As the Continental Army has unfortunately no uniforms,
and consequently many inconveniences must arise from not being able to distinguish the commissioned
officers from the privates, it is desired that some badge of distinction be immediately provided; for instance
that the field officers may have red or pink colored cockades in their hats, the captains yellow or buff, and
the subalterns green."
Even during the war, rank insignia evolved. In 1780, regulations prescribed two stars for major generals
and one star for brigadiers worn on shoulder boards, or epaulettes.
The use of most English ranks carried on even after the United States won the war. The Army and Marine
Corps used comparable ranks, especially after 1840. The Navy took a different route.
The rank structure and insignia continued to evolve. Second lieutenants replaced the Army's coronets,
ensigns and subalterns, but they had no distinctive insignia until Congress gave them "butterbars" in 1917.
Colonels received the eagle in 1832. From 1836, majors and lieutenant colonels were denoted by oak
leave; captains by double silver bars -- "railroad tracks"; and first lieutenants, single silver bars.
In the Navy, captain was the highest rank until Congress created flag officers in 1857 -- before then,
designating someone an admiral in the republic had been deemed too royal for the United States. Until
1857, the Navy had three grades of captain roughly equivalent to the Army's brigadier general, colonel
and lieutenant colonel. Adding to the confusion, all Navy ship commanders are called "captain" regardless
of rank.
With the onset of the Civil War, the highest grade captains became commodores and rear admirals and
wore one-star and two- star epaulettes, respectively. The lowest became commanders with oak leaves
while captains in the middle remained equal to Army colonels and wore eagles.
At the same time, the Navy adopted a sleeve-stripe system that became so complex that when David
Glasgow Farragut became the service's first full admiral in 1866, the stripes on his sleeves extended from
cuff to elbow. The smaller sleeve stripes used today were introduced in 1869.
Chevrons are V-shaped stripes whose use in the military go back to at least the 12th century. It was a
badge of honor and used in heraldry. The British and French used chevrons -- from the French word for
"roof" -- to signify length of service.
Chevrons officially denoted rank in the U.S. military for the first time in 1817, when cadets at the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., wore them on their sleeves. From West Point, chevrons spread to
the Army and Marine Corps. The difference then was chevrons were worn points down until 1902, when
Army and Marine Corps enlisted personnel switched to the present points up configuration.
Navy and Coast Guard petty officers trace their insignia heritage to the British. Petty officers were
assistants to the officers aboard ship. The title wasn't a permanent rank and the men served at the
captain's pleasure. Petty officers lost their rank when the crew was paid off at the end of a voyage.
In 1841, Navy petty officers received their first rank insignia -- an eagle perched on an anchor. Ratings --
job skills -- were incorporated into the insignia in 1866. In 1885, the Navy designated three classes of petty
officers -- first, second and third. They added chevrons to designate the new ranks. The rank of chief petty
officer was established in 1894.
During World War II, the Army adopted technician grades. Technicians of a given grade earned the same
pay and wore the same insignia as equivalent noncommissioned officers except for a small "T" centered
under the chevrons. Technicians, despite the stripes, had no command authority over troops. This evolved
into the specialist ranks, pay grades E-4 to E-7. The last vestige today survives plainly as "specialist," pay
grade E-4. When there were such people as specialists 7, they wore the current eagle symbol surmounted
by three curved gold bars -- often called "bird umbrellas."
When the Air Force became a separate service in 1947, it kept the Army officer insignia and names, but
adopted different enlisted ranks and insignia.
Warrant officers went through several iterations before the services arrived at today's configuration. The
Navy had warrant officers from the start -- they were specialists who saw to the care and running of the
ship. The Army and Marines did not have warrants until the 20th century. Rank insignia for warrants last
changed with the addition of chief warrant officer 5. The Air Force stopped appointing warrant officers in
the 1950s and has none on active duty today.
Other interesting rank tidbits include:
o Ensigns started with the Army but ended with the Navy. The rank of Army ensign was long gone by the
time the rank of Navy ensign was established in 1862. Ensigns received gold bars in 1922, some five years
after equivalent Army second lieutenants received theirs.
o "Lieutenant" comes from the French "lieu" meaning "place" and "tenant" meaning "holding." Literally,
lieutenants are place holders.
o While majors outrank lieutenants, lieutenant generals outrank major generals. This comes from British
tradition: Generals were appointed for campaigns and often called "captain generals." Their assistants
were, naturally, "lieutenant generals." At the same time, the chief administrative officer was the "sergeant
major general." Somewhere along the way, "sergeant" was dropped.
o Gold is worth more than silver, but silver outranks gold. This is because the Army decreed in 1832 that
infantry colonels would wear gold eagles on an epaulette of silver and all other colonels would wear silver
eagles on gold. When majors and lieutenant colonels received the leaves, this tradition could not continue.
So silver leaves represented lieutenant colonels and gold, majors. The case of lieutenants is different:
First lieutenants had been wearing silver bars for 80 years before second lieutenants had any bars at all.
o Colonel is pronounced "kernal" because the British adopted the French spelling "colonel" but Spanish
pronuniciation "coronel" and then corrupted the pronunciation.
o While rank insignia are important, sometimes it isn't smart to wear them. When the rifled musket made its
appearance in the Civil War, sharpshooters looked for officers. Officers soon learned to take off their rank
insignia as they approached the battle line.
o The Air Force actually took a vote on their enlisted stripes. In 1948, then-Air Force Vice Chief of Staff
Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg polled NCOs at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington and 55 percent of them
chose the basic design still used today.
| Check out the military rank insignias across all the United States Armed Forces. |
Military rank is more than just who salutes whom. Military rank is a badge of leadership. Responsibility for
personnel, equipment, and mission grows with each increase in rank.
Do not confuse rank with pay grades, such as E-1, W-2 and O-5. Pay grades are administrative
classifications 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 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 E-9s, but
the sergeant major has the higher rank.
personnel, equipment, and mission grows with each increase in rank.
Do not confuse rank with pay grades, such as E-1, W-2 and O-5. Pay grades are administrative
classifications 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 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 E-9s, but
the sergeant major has the higher rank.
I've linked you to pages at the
Department of Defense where you can
view all the officer and enlisted
insignias used by the Army; Navy,
Coast Guard; Marines, and Air Force.
Department of Defense where you can
view all the officer and enlisted
insignias used by the Army; Navy,
Coast Guard; Marines, and Air Force.
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