United States Air Force officer rank insignia

The United States Air Force officer rank insignia in use today.

This chart displays the United States Air Force officer rank insignia. The ranks are divided into three sections: company grade, field grade, and general officers. Company grade officers are those officers of grades O-1 to O-3. Field grade officers are those of grades O-4 to O-6. General officers are those of O-7 and above.

Currently, promotion from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant is virtually guaranteed after two years of satisfactory service. Promotion to Captain is virtually guaranteed after another two years of satisfactory service. Previously there was a Promotion Board to Captain, but that was discontinued in 2013. An officer's record is reviewed by a selection board at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. This process occurs approximately between the nine- and eleven-year mark, where a certain percentage of Captains will be selected for Major. This process will repeat at the 13-16 year mark for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and then around the twenty-year mark for promotion to Colonel.

The five-star grade General of the Air Force has only been held by General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold. Federal law currently contains no provisions to promote an officer to five-star grade.

On the Air Force Mess Dress uniform, officer rank insignia are embroidered in silver or gold thread on detachable shoulder boards which are attached to the mess dress jacket. No rank insignia are worn on the mess dress shirt.

On the service dress uniform, metal rank insignia pins are worn on the epaulets of the Air Force Blue service dress jacket. Rank insignia are embroidered in silver or gold thread on Air Force Blue epaulets which slide onto the epaulet loops on the light blue shirt. The slide-on epaulet for field-grade officers' shirts has a single line of silver piping toward the outer edge of the epaulet. The slide-on epaulet for general officers' shirts has silver piping on both the inner and outer edges of the epaulets. These slide-on epaulets are also worn on the cardigan and pull-over uniform sweaters.

The Flight Duty Uniform (FDU) features subdued cloth rank insignia sewn onto the shoulders. The Air Force flight cap is worn with the FDU and service dress uniforms. The flight cap is solid Air Force Blue for enlisted personnel, but features a solid silver edge braid for general officers, and an edge braid in a silver and blue diamond pattern for other officers. Officers wear a bright metal rank insignia toward the front edge of the (wearer's) left side of the flight cap.

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Wikipedia