U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Space Force In the
U.S. Army,
U.S. Marine Corps,
U.S. Air Force, and
U.S. Space Force, a first lieutenant is a junior
commissioned officer. It is just above the rank of
second lieutenant and just below the rank of
captain. It is equivalent to the rank of
lieutenant (junior grade) in the other
uniformed services. Promotion to first lieutenant is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the
Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980. DOPMA guidelines suggest all "fully qualified" officers should be promoted to first lieutenant. A second lieutenant (
grade O-1) is usually promoted to first lieutenant (grade O-2) after 18 months in the Army or 24 months in the Marine Corps and Air & Space Forces. The difference between the two ranks is slight, primarily being experience and a higher pay grade. It is not uncommon to see officers moved to positions requiring more experience after promotion to first lieutenant. For example, in the Army and Marine Corps these positions can include leading a specialty
platoon, or assignment as the
executive officer for a
company-sized unit (70–250 soldiers or marines). In the Air Force, a first lieutenant may be a flight commander or section's officer in charge with varied supervisory responsibilities, including supervision of as many as 100+ personnel, although in a flying unit, a first lieutenant is a rated officer (pilot, navigator, or air battle manager) who has just finished training for his career field and has few supervisory responsibilities.
U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard In the
U.S. Navy and
U.S. Coast Guard, "first lieutenant" is the name of a
billet and position title, rather than rank. Officers aboard early sailing ships were the captain and a number of lieutenants. The senior among those lieutenants was known as the first lieutenant, and would have assumed command if the captain were absent or incapacitated. As modern ships have become more complex, requiring specialized knowledge of engineering, communications, and weapons, the "first lieutenant" is the officer in command of the
deck department responsible for
line handling during
mooring and
underway replenishment. On smaller ships, the officer of the "first lieutenant" billet holds the rank of
lieutenant, junior grade or
ensign. On larger vessels, the position of "first lieutenant" is held by a lieutenant or, in the case of extremely large warships such as cruisers or
aircraft carriers, the position of "first lieutenant" may be held by a
lieutenant commander or even
commander. However, on
submarines and in aircraft squadrons, where the deck department may only have a few junior sailors, the "first lieutenant" billet may be filled by a first-class
petty officer or
chief petty officer. What is known in the U.S. Navy as the "first lieutenant division" is usually composed of junior sailors (E-3 and below) who are completing their ninety days of temporary assigned duty, or TAD, that all enlisted personnel are required to perform when initially assigned to a command. The primary mission of the division is servicing, cleaning, organizing and inventorying items within a command.
U.S. Revenue Cutter Service The term "first lieutenant" had a dual meaning in the
United States Revenue Cutter Service (known until 1894 as the
United States Revenue-Marine). The position title of first lieutenant was held by a junior officer who was in charge of deck operations and gunnery. The rank of first lieutenant was the equivalent of lieutenant in the current rank structure of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy,
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. The next senior officer ranking above first lieutenant was captain and the next two lower officer ranks were second and
third lieutenant, respectively. When the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the
United States Life-Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915, the rank of first lieutenant carried over into Coast Guard and remained in use until 1918, when the Coast Guard adopted the rank structure of the U.S. Navy. ==Gallery==