1. Drill Sergeant
   PFC
2. Private
   Recruit

This is the lowest rank that you can get, being a recruit into the military. The chain of command differs with each military branch, but for the most part, everyone starts off as a recruit and enlists into the military.

1. National Security Council
   Corps Commander
2. Flight Chief
   Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Defense is essentially second in command of the U.S. Armed Forces. The person in this rolle has control and command (known as C2) of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marine Corps – and, when C2 is transferred to the Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard.

1. Officer cadet
   Homeland Security Council
2. Secretary of the Army
   Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is an appointed role by both the president and the secretary of defense. But this person has had a career within the military. The CJCS reports to the president and secretary of defense.

1. A chaplain
   A medical officer
2. An officer in the Office of the Judge Advocate General
   All of the above

Chain of command is especially important in combat situations. But the military has various specialist positions including legal and medical. Although they all fall under the umbrella of whatever military branch they belong to, they have their own special commands and units.

1. Battalion
   Region
2. Regiment
   Company

A captain or major will command a company, which has 80 to about 150 soldiers and is typically made up of three to six platoons. A company is typically found in the Army or the Marines.

1. Training officer
   Brigade commander
2. Command master chief
   Section commander

Besides someone's direct supervisor, the command master chief can help an enlisted service member with issues such as morale, job satisfaction and support for one's family. They can take that information to their superiors to help create policies that better serve seamen and petty officers.

1. Squad
   Platoon
2. Field army
   Fireteam

There are are different types of generals, but typically, if you hear the term "general", then this person is leading a field army. A field army is made up of a few corps with sizes ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 soldiers. Field armies haven't been used in battle since World War II.

1. Homeland Security
   National Security Council
2. Defense
   Transportation

The Coast Guard is one of five armed forces, but is under the newer Department of Homeland Security as of 2003. During times of war, the Coast Guard will fall under the purview of the Department of Defense.

1. Numbered fleet commander
   Component commander
2. Chief of Naval Operations
   Secretary of the Navy

The Chief of Naval Operations, a four-star admiral, is a part of the administrative command of the U.S. Navy. The civilian head of the Navy is the Secretary of the Navy.

1. MAJCOM
   Battalion
2. Element
   Fire team

An airman's element is a group of fellow recruits. It's like the boot camp version of belonging to a section, where two or more airman are grouped together.

1. Dorm chief
   Element leader
2. Chaplain
   Flight guidon

The flight guidon is responsible for carrying for the basic training flight anytime the flight marches, which is a highly visible role. The dorm chief makes sure that fellow recruits are doing what they need to be doing when their flight instructor isn't there. Element leaders help the dorm chief with making sure recruits carry out orders.

1. Corporal
   Sergeant
2. Lieutenant colonel
   Six-star general

A battalion has at least two batteries, troops or companies. There are typically 300 to 1,200 soldiers within a battalion.

1. Army
   Navy
2. Air Force
   Coast Guard

A drill sergeant is probably one of the most familiar and recognizable positions in the military. They're responsible for helping shape civilian recruits into battle-ready soldiers, and they do so with a lot of loud and memorable authority.

1. Squadron
   Wing
2. Group
   Flight

In the U.S. Air Force, a flight can have up to 100 people. The flight commander is typically a captain and the flight non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) or flight chief is a sergeant.

1. Fleet Admiral
   Lieutenant
2. Command Master Chief Petty Officer
   Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy

After sailors and other Navy service members expressed their concerns that leadership had been out of touch with their needs, the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MPCON) role was created in the 1960s. This senior enlisted advisor (SEA) advises both the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chief of Naval Personnel on enlisted member matters.

1. Executive officer
   Training officer
2. Command master chief
   Commanding officer

The commanding officer (CO), executive officer (XO) and the command master chief (CMC) make up the Big Three or command triad of a Navy ship. They're basically the ship's leadership team. The CO and XO are a part of the naval chain of command, but the CMC is typically not.

1. Insubordination
   Convening authority
2. Dishonorable discharge
   General court martial

If a service member breaks the chain of command, they could be charged with insubordination – and this is toward any superior officer. Acts of insubordination includes assault, disrespectful treatment or disobedience.

1. Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
   Sergeant Major of the Army
2. Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
   All of the above

Being a senior enlisted advisor (SEA) involves advising a commanding officer. They provide a crucial link between commissioned officers and enlisted service members. Others include Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard.

1. Secretary of the Air Force
   Secretary of Homeland Security
2. Secretary of the Navy
   Secretary of the Army

The Marine Corps does not have its own separate secretary. So for the chain of command, the Commandant reports to the Secretary of the Navy because the Marine Corps is under the Navy's umbrella.

1. Army
   Navy
2. Air Force
   Marines

Marine recruits will get to know their drill instructor (DI) pretty well, as their boot camp is 13 weeks long. But do not call a Marine DI a drill sergeant. That is for the Army only.

1. Army
   Navy
2. Air Force
   Marines

The Recruit Division Commander (RDC) was formerly called a company commander. A Petty Officer Second Class or above may hold this position.

1. TRADOC Commander
   Brigade Commander
2. Company Commander
   Division/Post Commander

TRADOC is short for Training and Doctrine. This command is responsible for the recruitment, training and equipping of Army servicemembers.

1. Second Lieutenant
   Staff sergeant
2. Secretary of the Air Force
   Captain

An airman typically reports to a non-commissioned officer, such as a staff sergeant. An airman will also have a second line supervisor called a technical sergeant or another senior non-commissioned officer, which is an airman's supervisor's supervisor.

1. Major
   Corporal
2. Lieutenant Colonel
   Colonel

Depending on the branch of the military, a corporal (or a sergeant or a staff sergeant) is put in command of a squad. A squad usually consists of eight to 14 servicemembers, so around three to four fireteams lead by corporals or lance corporals.

1. Regiment
   Fireteam
2. Field Army
   Platoon

Depending on the military branch, a colonel (or a brigadier general) may lead regiment or a brigade. This military unit typically has around 1,000 to 5,000 soldiers.

1. Army
   Navy
2. Air Force
   Maines

Article 138 is Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and allows service members to file a complaint if they believe they've suffered a grievance from a superior. The Air Force allows a service member to bypass chain of command, but the Army states that the complaint must be addressed to their immediate superior's commissioned supervisor. The Navy and Marines stipulate that the complaint has to go up the chain of command.

1. Corporal or Lance Corporal
   General
2. Lieutenant
   Captain or Major

A fireteam is the smallest military unit, with two to four military members. You'll primarily see these in the U.S. Army or the Marines, along with the Navy Seabees, which make up the construction battalion.

1. Regiment
   Squad
2. Division
   Corps

A division typically contains around 10,000 to 25,000 servicemembers. These divisions usually have specialties, such as the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army, which has had as many as 35,000 soldiers.

1. Dwight D. Eisenhower
   Winfield Scott
2. Ulysses S. Grant
   John Pershing

John Pershing was a World War I five-star general and was given this promotion after he held command of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). The size of the AEF was around 2,000,000 men. The rank was created to honor him for his WWI service and is noted by four gold stars (instead of four silver stars).

1. Lieutenant
   Corporal
2. Captain
   Major General

A platoon is made up of two or more squads, with about 10 to over 100 soldiers total. A platoon leader is usually a second or first lieutenant.

1. Squad
   Corps
2. Battalion
   Company

In the U.S. military, field corps are formed as necessary and are not usually permanent formations. Currently, there are only a few corps in existence, and they come from the corps formed in World War I and World War II.

1. Five-star general
   Staff sergeant
2. Brigadier general
   Second lieutenant

An army group (or a front) is comprised of at least two field armies, and has up to a million soldiers. Army groups have been used in World War I and World War II. A five-star general is also called the General of the Army.

1. Thomas Jefferson
   George Washington
2. George S. Patton
   Douglas MacArthur

To honor George Washington at America's bicentennial, the U.S. Congress and President Gerald Ford posthumously gave him the permanent role of General of the Armies of the United States. This honor was made retroactively effective on July 4, 1976.

1. General
   President of the United States
2. Secretary of Defense
   Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

At the top of the chain is the president of the United States. The official military title is "Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces."

1. Brigadier General
   General
2. Commander-in-chief
   Major General

The commander-in-chief commands a region, which holds at least four army groups which is at least around 750,000 soldiers. In the U.S. military, the CINCs are called combatant commanders since the president is the only commander-in-chief. Currently, regions refer to unified combatant commands (UCCs), and the U.S. has 10 of them, all of which involve at least two military departments.