Ranks and insignia of NATO

Ranks and insignia of NATO affiliated nations are combined military ranks and insignia used by the member countries (and other affiliated nations) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The rank scale is used for specifying posts within NATO.

Rank codes by STANAG 2116 / APersP-01[edit]

NATO maintains a "standard rank scale" which is also known as a "standardized reference system" in an attempt to standardize NATO codes of rank for military personnel and indicate correspondence with nations ranks.^[1] The NATO rank reference code categories were established in a 1978 document entitled STANAG 2116 (formally titled NATO Codes for Grades of Military Personnel). The current 7th edition dated January 13, 2021 (supersedes Edition 6, dated February 25, 2010) is just the cover, and the core of the standard is in APersP-01, Edition A^[1].

NATO rank codes are not the same as military ranks (US Army examples: Private, Corporal, Warrant Officer 1, Chief Warrant Officer 5, Captain, Major, Colonel, etc.) and military pay grades (US military examples: E-1, W-1, CW-5, O-1, O-1e, O-10, etc.). They are rank codes that allow for interoperability among NATO member nations.

Typical errors/inaccuracies related to STANAG 2116[edit]

Errors/inaccuracies related to STANAG 2116 can be grouped by the following features:

STANAG 2116 does not contain criteria according to which a particular rank has a particular code
lack of completeness of information in STANAG 2116 regarding all branches of the US Armed Forces
use of sources that appear authoritative, but which are either not official or contain an inaccuracy or typo
lack of public access to a number of official sources
application of NATO ranks to countries that are not NATO members

For example, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense issued an order to confirm the conformity of military ranks with NATO codes^[2], but the order had a confidential status.^[3]. This, in particular, led to the Ukrainian Wikipedia incorrectly indicating the codes of sergeants for 3 years after this order and to establish the truth it was necessary to use OSINT methods, analyzing other orders and/or publications^[4].

In connection with the above, the article is supplemented with a special section, which lists the currently known ones, and a number of errors or inaccuracies are commented on in other sections.^[5]^[6]

Officer rank codes[edit]

OF-1 – OF-10 (lowest rank code to highest) are used for commissioned officers:^[7]

OF-6 – OF-10: General officers
OF-3 – OF-5: Senior officers
OF-1 – OF-2: Junior officers

In US Forces the Warrant Officer is a separate and distinct category of officers. This officer rank and precedence is below those of officer personnel, but above that of non-officer personnel, therefore has a special group of codes (W-1 – W-5).^[8]

In British Armed Forces and Canadian Armed Forces warrant officers are the highest other ranks.^[9]

Other rank codes[edit]

OR1–OR9 (lowest rank code to highest) are used for other ranks:^[7]

OR-5 – OR-9: Non-commissioned officers (for NATO purposes)
OR-1 – OR-4: Enlisted ranks (usually)

At the same time, in certain branches of the armed forces, OR-4 and even OR-3 can also serve as non-commissioned officers (NCOs), for example:

NCOs in British Armed Forces are called Senior NCOs in OR-5 to OR-7 inclusive and Junior NCOs in OR-3 and OR-4.^[10]

This is not a new feature: it was present in previous editions of STANAG 2116, but was sometimes overlooked.

Comparison to US system[edit]

The numbers in the system broadly correspond to the U.S. uniformed services pay grades, with OR-x replacing E-x. The main difference is in the commissioned officer ranks, where the US system recognises two ranks at OF-1 level (O-1 and O-2), meaning that all O-x numbers after O-1 are one point higher on the US scale than they are on the NATO scale (e.g. a major is OF-3 on the NATO scale and O-4 on the US scale).

Officer ranks
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers								Officer cadet
NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1						OF(D)						Student officer
Uniformed services pay grade	Special grade		O-10		O-9		O-8		O-7		O-6		O-5		O-4		O-3		O-2			O-1			Officer candidate/Cadet

Other ranks
Rank group	Non-commissioned officers																						Enlisted
NATO code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Uniformed services pay grade	Special			E-9			E-8		E-7		E-6						E-5						E-4				E-3		E-2						E-1

NATO rank codes outside NATO^[5]^[6][edit]

Based on the intentions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Ukraine, to join NATO, NATO codes for military ranks have been officially introduced in these countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina did so by adopting a corresponding law in 2005.^[11] In Ukraine, the introduction of NATO codes for military ranks took place in two stages:

in 2020, the Ukrainian parliament amended the structure of military ranks^[12]
in January 2021, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine approved the compliance of military ranks with NATO codes by his order^[2]

Such European countries as Austria^[13] and Ireland^[14] use NATO rank codes to determine the equivalent of their ranks, but either explicitly warn that this is unofficial information^[13], or it is unclear whether some official source was used to compile the correspondence.

Officer ranks and criteria for them^[5]^[6][edit]

The lack of clear criteria in STANAG 2116, according to which a particular code corresponds to a particular position, leads to errors in interpreting this standard. First of all, this applies to countries that are NATO partners and therefore are not reflected in the standard. A good example is the lack of consensus on the equivalence of non-commissioned officer ranks in the Israel Defense Forces with those in the US Army:

Rank	Web site IDF (2007-2012)^[15]	Asher Shafrir's article (2013)^[16]^[17]	Reot Gross's dictionary (2021)^[18]
רב-סמל Rav samal	Sergeant First Class (OR-7)	Sergeant First Class (OR-7)	Sergeant First Class (OR-7)
רב-סמל ראשון Rav samal rishon	Master Sergeant (OR-8)	Master Sergeant (OR-8)	Master Sergeant (OR-8)
רב-סמל מתקדם Rav samal mitkadem	Sergeant Major (OR-9)	Sergeant Major (OR-9)	Sergeant Major (OR-9)
רב-סמל בכיר Rav samal bakhír	Warrant Officer (W-1)	Command Sergeant Major (OR-9)	---
רב-נגד משנה Rav nagad mishne^[19]	--- (Master Warrant Officer^[19]^[20])	Warrant Officer (W-1)	---
רב-נגד Rav nagad	Chief Warrant Officer (W-2)	Chief Warrant Officer (W-2)	Command Sergeant Major (OR-9)

This problem is related to the fact that the ranks of IDF unserial officers do not depend on the position held, but on length of service, so their relationship with NATO codes is a debatable issue. Each of the above points of view has its own comments, which are given in the corresponding comments to the sources. The most widely disseminated point of view was that of the professor Asher Shafrir^[21]^[22], although he is a linguist and not a military specialist. The Dictionary of Acronyms in Foreign Armies^[18] is closer to the truth, but because it is in Hebrew, its position is currently little known.

In order to correct/prevent such errors, this Wikipedia article has been supplemented with this section, where the corresponding analysis is carried out.

Army/marine/air force officer ranks[edit]

US Army, US Air Force and US Marine Corps officers are called company grade officers in OF-1/OF-2, field grade officers in OF-3 to OF-5 and general officers in OF-6 and higher.^[23]

Appendix B of the APP-06 standard^[24] lists 11 formation/unit groups and identifies the commanders of 7 of them:

Basic designation	Canadian aviation designation	Usually commanded by
Corps	Corps^[25]	OF-8
Division	Division^[25]	OF-7
Brigade	Aviation group	OF-5 or 6
Regiment	Wing	OF-4, 5 or 6
Batalion	Squadron	OF-3 or 4
Company	Flight	OF-2 or 3
Platoon	Section	OF-1/OF-2 or OR-7/OR-8

Navy officer ranks[edit]

US Navy officers are called junior grade officers in OF-1/OF-2, mid-grade officers in OF-3 to OF-5 and flag officers in OF-6 and higher.^[23] As practice shows, these groups occupy the following positions:

flag officers command ship formations
mid-grade officers command ships
junior grade officers usually serve as officers on ships, but can also command very small ships

Warrant officer ranks[edit]

In US Forces Warrant Officer grades are as follows:^[8]:

W-5: Chief Warrant Officer 5 (US Army, USMC, US Navy)
W-4: Chief Warrant Officer 4 (US Army, USMC, US Navy)
W-3: Chief Warrant Officer 3 (US Army, USMC, US Navy)
W-2: Chief Warrant Officer 2 (US Army, USMC, US Navy)
W-1: Warrant Officer 1 (US Army, USMC; no longer used in US Navy)

Non-commissioned officer (NCO) ranks[edit]

According to Bi-SC Directive 040-002^[26] NATO rank Indicators for NCOs are as follows:

OR-1 through OR-3: These are the basic entry ranks into the military structure. NATO personnel are expected to uphold national standards of conduct and follow the orders of supervisors and regulations. These members will be expected to learn and adapt to national and NATO standards on their way to occupational proficiency. Leaders will challenge these ranks commensurate with their rank.
OR-4: The first level of leadership within the NATO NCO ranks. Is responsible for the good order and discipline, training, personal appearance and general welfare of their subordinate personnel.
OR-5: The OR-5 is the first NATO designated NCO grade and the level of leadership with the greatest impact on subordinate ranks. Practices leadership-by-example, demonstrating personal compliance with standards while enforcing those standards in order to ensure the good order and discipline, training, personal appearance and general welfare of subordinate personnel. Unquestionably competent to execute tasks correctly, exercise leadership, care for assigned personnel and support mission accomplishment with minimal supervision.
OR-6: Based on greater experience or longevity, the OR-6 is assigned to positions requiring increased responsibilities and a broader scope. The OR-6 is responsible for managing subordinates and equipment, and uses greater experience and leadership to ensure proper and effective use of resources under their control. This is the first grade at which OR should be considered for Staff NCO duties at NATO higher headquarters employment. (As such some NATO nations may recognize OR-6 through OR-9 as Senior NCOs (SNCO) or Warrant Officers (WO). Additionally, at this point some NATO nations distinguish technical expertise from institutional leadership.)
OR-7: The OR-7 is empowered and considered a key element within the command structure. They focus their increased experience and leadership skills toward collective mission accomplishment and are responsible for the effective management of larger numbers of personnel and equipment. At this level, SNCOs are expected to be able to provide sound advice to their leadership. While no formal mandate exists, this is the level at which, when consistent with their national authorities, SNCOs start to provide mentorship/assistance for Junior Officers (OF-1/OF-2); this relationship forms the basis for building a robust Command Team or Command Group in their future careers.
OR-8: Uses enhanced leadership skills and broad operational experience to advise unit/element leaders and commanders on organizational effectiveness. They educate and empower the enlisted force through effective standards and training, while developing subordinates and themselves through professional enhancement opportunities. OR-Bs are expected to merge subordinates talents, skills, and resources with other NATO crossfunctional team(s) and organization(s) to implement planning and management processes for collective mission accomplishment.
OR-9: The most experienced SNCO within the NATO NCO structure. They use enhanced leadership skills and broad experience in a greater capacity to successfully implement planning and management for collective mission accomplishment. Advises staff element, instructs and mentors subordinates, and coordinates and supervises training. Monitors unit effectiveness and upholds standards. Additionally, OR-9s monitor unit effectiveness, morale and welfare, OR PD, and upholds standards. The OR-9 serves as role model for all NCOs/ORs, as well as Junior Officers. This grade is normally utilized in an advisory capacity when assigned to a higher headquarters.

This directive leaves it to the NATO member state's discretion which positions are held by which OR rank, and whether an NCO may have a rank below OR-5. This means that even within a single country there may be different approaches for different branches of the armed forces. This is especially true for the US armed forces:

In US Army E–5(OR-5) through E–6 (OR-6) are junior NCO; E–7 (OR-7) through E–9 (OR-9) are senior NCO^[27]
In US Marine Corps E-4 (OR-4) and E-5 (OR-5) are NCOs; E-6 (OR-6) through E-9 (OR-9) are Staff NCOs^[28]