The United States Air Force is the aerial and space warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces (U.S. Military Forces). It is one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, and one of the seven American uniformed services.

See Also: U.S. Air Force Salary By Ranking

U.S. Air Force Ranks – Enlisted and Officer, from Lowest to Highest

An enlisted member enters the Air Force as an Airman Basic. After completing basic training, the enlisted recuits advances to Airman First Class. The next notable advancement is to a Noncommissioned Officer.

The highest rank attainable in the Air Force is the five-star General of the Air Force. In 1944, Congress created the rank General of the Air Force. The only person to hold this rank was Henry H. Arnold.

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The table below lists all the standard ranks in the U.S. Air Force and their respective pay grades, insignias, abbreviations, and classifications.

Pay Grade	Insignia	Rank	Abbreviation	Classification
E-1	No Insignia	Airman Basic	AB	Enlisted Airman
E-2		Airman	Amn	Enlisted Airman
E-3		Airman First Class	A1C	Enlisted Airman
E-4		Senior Airman	SrA	Enlisted Airman
E-5		Staff Sergeant	SSgt	Noncommissioned Officer
E-6		Technical Sergeant	TSgt	Noncommissioned Officer
E-7		Master Sergeant	MSgt	Noncommissioned Officer
E-8		Senior Master Sergeant	SMSgt	Noncommissioned Officer
E-9		Chief Master Sergeant	CMSgt	Noncommissioned Officer
E-9		Command Chief Master Sergeant	CCM	Noncommissioned Officer
E-9		Chief Master Sergeant Of The Air Force	CMSAF	Noncommissioned Officer (Special)
O-1		Second Lieutenant	2d Lt	Commissioned Officer
O-2		First Lieutenant	1st L	Commissioned Officer
O-3		Captain	Capt	Commissioned Officer
O-4		Major	Maj	Field Officer
O-5		Lieutenant Colonel	Lt Co	Field Officer
O-6		Colonel	Col	Field Officer
O-7		Brigadier General	Brig	General Officer
O-8		Major General	Maj G	General Officer
O-9		Lieutenant General	Lt Ge	General Officer
O-10		General	Gen	General Officer
O-10		General of the Air Force	GAF	General Officer