Military Ranks

The average American takes for granted that the military is not, and never has been, monolithic. To say “the troops” invites a confused look from GIs, who are left wondering, “Which ones?” That’s important because not every soldier is the same. In fact, the rank system in the American military is structured so that no two soldiers are equivalent. In this post, I’ll briefly explain the ranking system of modern American (and ancient Roman) armed forces.

American Forces

Branch

It’s best to avoid referring to soldiers as “active” since every American soldier has an active contract with an armed service branch, not just those in the five main branches: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force. A dangerous hierarchy can place so-called “active” soldiers above others, but the truth is that every soldier is a soldier, plain and simple. Except for the Space Force, each branch has a Reserve Component of soldiers who report to duty one weekend a month and two weeks a year. These nine federal branches are the largest but not the only armed service branches.

Additionally, all 50 states and four of 16 territories in the Union (Guam, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and D.C.) have a force of National Guardsmen that their Governor and the President can each call up for service. The same states and territories also command an Air component, meaning 54 states and territories have two Guard branches each.

Finally, the least known armed service branch is the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), comprised of discharged veterans with time remaining on their eight-year Military Service Obligation. That makes 109 armed service branches, collectively called the Total Force.

Rank

In most militaries, ancient and modern, another distinction matters as much as, if not more than, branch, and that is a soldier’s rank. At the bottom are the Enlisted (E) ranks. At the bottom of the bottom are “lower enlisted” ranks, from E-1 to E-3, with different names depending on the branch. Starting at ranks E-4 or E-5, a soldier becomes a Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) and can rise to E-9. The oath enlisted soldiers take comes from Title 10 of the United States Code (“Armed Forces”), section 205, which includes a clause about obedience to officers above them, including the President.

It used to be that a soldier with no interest in leadership responsibilities could remain a “Technician” (TEC) and continue to increase their pay, albeit more slowly than NCOs. But Warrant Officers have replaced the Technician ranks, so named because they receive a “warrant” from their service secretary to specialize in their field. They outrank enlisted soldiers but are outranked by Commissioned Officers. In other words, a Chief Warrant Officer (W-5) has to salute a Lieutenant (O-1). 🫡

In general, there are four enlisted soldiers for every officer. Also, the oath Officers take does not include a clause about obedience and comes from Title 5 of the United States Code (“Government Organization and Employees”), section 3331. A salty grunt could argue that only enlisted folk are soldiers…

Specialty

Another element for Christian soldiers to consider is Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), the specific job a soldier performs in th military. They vary by branch, but specialties fall into three basic groups. Combat Arms specialties like infantry, artillery, cavalry, aviation, and Special Forces are closest to the frontlines. Combat Support jobs like signal, engineers, and intelligence are just behind them. Finally, there are the essential skills every military needs, called Combat Service and Support, including legal, finance, ordnance, medical, and supply.

The Tooth to Tail Ratio is the measure of a military’s Combat Arms troops to Service and Support soldiers. Militaries with more Tooth would have a higher rate of frontline fighters and those with more Tail would have more REMF troops According to one study, the average military of developed nations in 2010 was 63% tail and 26% tooth. Although you might think the United States, which boasts of having the most lethal and professional military in the world, is even more toothy - maybe close to 50%. Nope. That same study found that America’s military was 76% tail in 2010, second only to Switzerland.

Roman Forces

Numeri

At the bottom of the heap in the ancient Roman military were the barbarian hordes, called numeri. A numerus was the Latin name of an army loyal to one of Rome’s many political allies. Because of the shifting nature of treaties, these forces were not a part of the Roman military structure. Commanding numeri were the kings of client states, like Herod and his sons, who served as border security in exchange for concessions of some kind. Grunts of these client states were called stratiotes (G4757), but they neither spoke Greek nor assimilated into imperial culture.

Auxilia

Just above the numeri were forces made up of foreigners seeking the benefits of Roman politeia (G5417), which the KJV translates as “freedom,” but which modern versions render “citizenship.” Those with money and connections, like Claudius Lysias, could skip the line with “a large sum of money” (Acts 22:28). Those without had to serve a full term, usually 20 years, before being granted a “diploma” they could use to verify their status as a Roman citizen. Auxiliary troops could marry and were typically employed within or near their provincial origin. Cohorts of 1,000 were commanded by citizens of low status, like Claudius Lysias, or retired Italian legionaries.

Legionarii

Only Italian-born, able-bodied, unmarried male citizens could serve in the legions in the first century C.E. These light-skinned peninsular Romans could count on regular bonuses and all the money they could extort from local populations in which they camped. A lowly stratiōtēs could become a centurion in charge of 100 men in a few years, but only the most hard-nosed grunt could hope to become centurion of the first rank and all the 6,000 men of an entire legion, second only to the commander (legatus) and his officers (tribuni).