fbpx
Wikipedia

Lieutenant colonel (United States)

February 10, 2023

For the use of this rank outside the United States, see Lieutenant colonel.

In the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, lieutenant colonel is a field-grade officer rank, just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.

Lieutenant colonel
Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force garrison insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel. Style and method of wear may vary between the services.
Shoulder boards
Country United States
Service branch
AbbreviationUS Army: LTC
USMC: LtCol
USAF: Lt Col
RankLieutenant colonel
NATO rank codeOF-4
Non-NATO rankO-5
Next higher rankColonel
Next lower rankMajor
Equivalent ranks
U.S. Army insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel for the dress blue uniform.
U.S. Marine Corps insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel as shown on the coat of winter uniform Alpha.
U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel as shown on the coat of the dress blue uniform.

The pay grade for the rank of lieutenant colonel is O-5. In the United States armed forces, the insignia for the rank are a silver oak leaf, with slight stylized differences between the version of the Army and the Air Force and that of the Navy and the Marine Corps.

Promotion to lieutenant colonel is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) of 1980, for officers in the Active Component, and its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act (ROPMA), for officers in the Reserve Component (e.g., Reserve and National Guard). DOPMA guidelines suggest that 70 percent of majors be promoted to lieutenant colonel after serving at least three years at their present rank and after 15–17 years of cumulative commissioned service.

Orthography

The U.S. Army uses the three letter abbreviation "LTC," while the Marine Corps and Air Force use the abbreviations of "LtCol" and "Lt Col" (note the space), respectively. These abbreviation formats are also outlined in The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing[1] and in Air Force Handbook 33-337 (AFH 33-337), The Tongue and Quill.[2]

The United States Government Publishing Office recommends the abbreviation "LTC" for U.S. Army usage, "LtCol" for Marine Corps usage, and "Lt. Col." for the Air Force.[3] The Associated Press Stylebook recommends the abbreviation "Lt. Col." for the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force.[4]

Slang terms for the rank historically used by the U.S. military include "light colonel", "short colonel", "light bird", "half colonel", "walking colonel", "bottlecap colonel" (referring to the silver oak leaf insignia), and "telephone colonel" (from self-reference as "colonel" when using a telephone).[citation needed]

History

The rank of lieutenant colonel has existed in the British Army since at least the 16th century and was used in both American colonial militia and colonial regular regiments.[5] The Continental Army continued the British and colonial use of the rank of lieutenant colonel,[6] as the second-in-command to a colonel commanding a regiment.[7] The lieutenant colonel was sometimes known as "lieutenant to the colonel."[citation needed]

In British practice, regiments were commanded by their lieutenant colonels, as the colonel was a titular position[8] (with the incumbent absent from the regiment serving as a senior staff officer, a general officer, or as a member of the nobility). Since the British colonel was not a "combat" officer, beginning in May 1778 to simplify prisoner-of-war exchanges, American regiments began to eliminate colonels by attrition and replace them with lieutenant colonel commandant. The conversion was never completely effected and some regiments remained commanded by colonels throughout the war.[9] From 1784 until 1791, there was only one lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army (Josiah Harmar), who acted as the army's commanding officer.

In the Continental Army aides to the Commander in Chief, viz., Lieutenant General George Washington, were lieutenant colonels. Additionally, certain officers serving under the Adjutant General, Inspector General, and Judge Advocate General, ranked as lieutenant colonels.[10]

During the 19th century, lieutenant colonel was often a terminal rank for many officers, since the rank of "full colonel" was considered extremely prestigious and reserved only for the most successful officers. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, the rank of lieutenant colonel became much more common and was used as a "stepping stone" for officers who commanded small regiments or battalions and were expected, by default, to be promoted to full colonel once the manpower of a regiment grew in strength. Such was the case of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who commanded a Maine regiment as both a lieutenant colonel and later as a colonel.

After the Civil War ended, those officers remaining in the military found lieutenant colonel to again be a terminal rank, although many lieutenant colonels were raised to higher positions in a brevet status. Such was the case with George A. Custer, who was a lieutenant colonel in the regular army, but held the brevet rank of major general.[11][12]

The 20th century saw lieutenant colonel in its present-day status although, during the 1930s, many officers again found the rank to be terminal as the rank of colonel was reserved for only a select few officers.

Modern usage

In the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps (USMC), a lieutenant colonel typically commands a battalion- or squadron-sized unit (300 to 1,200 Soldiers or Marines), with a major as executive officer (XO) and a command sergeant major or sergeant major (USMC) as principal non-commissioned officer (NCO) or senior enlisted adviser (SEA). A lieutenant colonel may also serve as a brigade/brigade combat team, regiment/regimental combat team, Marine Aviation Group (MAG), Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), or battalion task force executive officer. Lieutenant colonels routinely serve as principal staff officers, under a colonel as chief of staff, on a general staff ("G" staff) of a division, Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB), Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), or Marine Logistics Group (MLG). These staff positions include G-1 (administration and personnel), G-2 (intelligence), G-3 (operations), G-4 (logistics), G-5 (planning), G-6 (computers and communications), and G-9 (Civil Affairs). "The G-n" may mean either a specific staff section or the staff officer leading a section. Lieutenant colonels may also be junior staff at a variety of higher echelons.

In the United States Air Force, a lieutenant colonel is generally a squadron commander in the operations group, mission support group, maintenance group, or squadron commander or division chief in a medical group. The lieutenant colonel also may serve as a Director of Operations (DO) in a squadron in the operations group before assuming command of his or her own squadron (this is common for rated officers in flying units), or as a deputy commander of a squadron in the maintenance, mission-support, or medical group. Lieutenant colonels may serve also on general staff and may be the heads of some wing staff departments. Air Force lieutenant colonels in the acquisition career fields can be selected to serve as "Materiel Leaders" (Program Managers or Branch Chiefs), similar to how other Air Force lieutenant colonels are selected to serve as squadron commanders. Senior lieutenant colonels occasionally serve as group commanders, most commonly in units of the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard.

In U.S. Army ROTC detachments, the commander is typically a lieutenant colonel, with several majors, captains, and non-commissioned officers serving as assistants. In the U.S. Air Force, Air Force ROTC detachments may be commanded by full colonels or lieutenant colonels, depending on the size of the detachment and the size of the associated college or university.

Insignia

Notable American lieutenant colonels

References

  1. ^ Shenk, Robert (2008). The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing (3rd ed.). Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-822-7.
  2. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Preliminary-cloth.indd" (PDF). Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  4. ^ Jack (21 May 2009). "AP Style Book". Apstylebook.blogspot.com. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  5. ^ . U.S. Army Center of Military History. 1 May 1982. p. 13). Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  6. ^ . usmilitary.about.com. 9 April 2012. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  7. ^ . U.S. Army Center of Military History. 1 May 1982. p. 13 ff.). Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  8. ^ . U.S. Army Center of Military History. 1 May 1982. p. 48). Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  9. ^ . U.S. Army Center of Military History. 1 May 1982. pp. 127–128 ff.). Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  10. ^ . U.S. Army Center of Military History. 1 May 1982. pp. 128 & 145). Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Lieutenant-Colonel And Brevet Major-General George A. Custer, U.S.A". All-biographies.com. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  12. ^ . Civilwarhome.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Aaron Burr". American Battlefield Trust.
  14. ^ "Benjamin Busch". HarperCollins Speakers Bureau.
  15. ^ "Childers Ernest "Chief"". www.uswarmemorials.org.

February 10, 2023
lieutenant, colonel, united, states, this, rank, outside, united, states, lieutenant, colonel, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenge. For the use of this rank outside the United States see Lieutenant colonel This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Lieutenant colonel United States news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message In the United States Army U S Marine Corps U S Air Force and U S Space Force lieutenant colonel is a field grade officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services Lieutenant colonelArmy Marine Corps Air Force and Space Force garrison insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel Style and method of wear may vary between the services Shoulder boardsCountry United StatesService branchArmyMarine CorpsAir ForceSpace ForceAbbreviationUS Army LTC USMC LtCol USAF Lt ColRankLieutenant colonelNATO rank codeOF 4Non NATO rankO 5Next higher rankColonelNext lower rankMajorEquivalent ranksCommander United States Navy and United States Coast Guard U S Army insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel for the dress blue uniform U S Marine Corps insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel as shown on the coat of winter uniform Alpha U S Air Force and U S Space Force insignia of the rank of lieutenant colonel as shown on the coat of the dress blue uniform The pay grade for the rank of lieutenant colonel is O 5 In the United States armed forces the insignia for the rank are a silver oak leaf with slight stylized differences between the version of the Army and the Air Force and that of the Navy and the Marine Corps Promotion to lieutenant colonel is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act DOPMA of 1980 for officers in the Active Component and its companion Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act ROPMA for officers in the Reserve Component e g Reserve and National Guard DOPMA guidelines suggest that 70 percent of majors be promoted to lieutenant colonel after serving at least three years at their present rank and after 15 17 years of cumulative commissioned service Contents 1 Orthography 2 History 3 Modern usage 4 Insignia 5 Notable American lieutenant colonels 6 ReferencesOrthography EditThe U S Army uses the three letter abbreviation LTC while the Marine Corps and Air Force use the abbreviations of LtCol and Lt Col note the space respectively These abbreviation formats are also outlined in The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing 1 and in Air Force Handbook 33 337 AFH 33 337 The Tongue and Quill 2 The United States Government Publishing Office recommends the abbreviation LTC for U S Army usage LtCol for Marine Corps usage and Lt Col for the Air Force 3 The Associated Press Stylebook recommends the abbreviation Lt Col for the Army Marine Corps and Air Force 4 Slang terms for the rank historically used by the U S military include light colonel short colonel light bird half colonel walking colonel bottlecap colonel referring to the silver oak leaf insignia and telephone colonel from self reference as colonel when using a telephone citation needed History EditThe rank of lieutenant colonel has existed in the British Army since at least the 16th century and was used in both American colonial militia and colonial regular regiments 5 The Continental Army continued the British and colonial use of the rank of lieutenant colonel 6 as the second in command to a colonel commanding a regiment 7 The lieutenant colonel was sometimes known as lieutenant to the colonel citation needed In British practice regiments were commanded by their lieutenant colonels as the colonel was a titular position 8 with the incumbent absent from the regiment serving as a senior staff officer a general officer or as a member of the nobility Since the British colonel was not a combat officer beginning in May 1778 to simplify prisoner of war exchanges American regiments began to eliminate colonels by attrition and replace them with lieutenant colonel commandant The conversion was never completely effected and some regiments remained commanded by colonels throughout the war 9 From 1784 until 1791 there was only one lieutenant colonel in the U S Army Josiah Harmar who acted as the army s commanding officer In the Continental Army aides to the Commander in Chief viz Lieutenant General George Washington were lieutenant colonels Additionally certain officers serving under the Adjutant General Inspector General and Judge Advocate General ranked as lieutenant colonels 10 During the 19th century lieutenant colonel was often a terminal rank for many officers since the rank of full colonel was considered extremely prestigious and reserved only for the most successful officers Upon the outbreak of the Civil War the rank of lieutenant colonel became much more common and was used as a stepping stone for officers who commanded small regiments or battalions and were expected by default to be promoted to full colonel once the manpower of a regiment grew in strength Such was the case of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain who commanded a Maine regiment as both a lieutenant colonel and later as a colonel After the Civil War ended those officers remaining in the military found lieutenant colonel to again be a terminal rank although many lieutenant colonels were raised to higher positions in a brevet status Such was the case with George A Custer who was a lieutenant colonel in the regular army but held the brevet rank of major general 11 12 The 20th century saw lieutenant colonel in its present day status although during the 1930s many officers again found the rank to be terminal as the rank of colonel was reserved for only a select few officers Modern usage EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message In the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps USMC a lieutenant colonel typically commands a battalion or squadron sized unit 300 to 1 200 Soldiers or Marines with a major as executive officer XO and a command sergeant major or sergeant major USMC as principal non commissioned officer NCO or senior enlisted adviser SEA A lieutenant colonel may also serve as a brigade brigade combat team regiment regimental combat team Marine Aviation Group MAG Marine Expeditionary Unit MEU or battalion task force executive officer Lieutenant colonels routinely serve as principal staff officers under a colonel as chief of staff on a general staff G staff of a division Marine Expeditionary Brigade MEB Marine Aircraft Wing MAW or Marine Logistics Group MLG These staff positions include G 1 administration and personnel G 2 intelligence G 3 operations G 4 logistics G 5 planning G 6 computers and communications and G 9 Civil Affairs The G n may mean either a specific staff section or the staff officer leading a section Lieutenant colonels may also be junior staff at a variety of higher echelons In the United States Air Force a lieutenant colonel is generally a squadron commander in the operations group mission support group maintenance group or squadron commander or division chief in a medical group The lieutenant colonel also may serve as a Director of Operations DO in a squadron in the operations group before assuming command of his or her own squadron this is common for rated officers in flying units or as a deputy commander of a squadron in the maintenance mission support or medical group Lieutenant colonels may serve also on general staff and may be the heads of some wing staff departments Air Force lieutenant colonels in the acquisition career fields can be selected to serve as Materiel Leaders Program Managers or Branch Chiefs similar to how other Air Force lieutenant colonels are selected to serve as squadron commanders Senior lieutenant colonels occasionally serve as group commanders most commonly in units of the Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard In U S Army ROTC detachments the commander is typically a lieutenant colonel with several majors captains and non commissioned officers serving as assistants In the U S Air Force Air Force ROTC detachments may be commanded by full colonels or lieutenant colonels depending on the size of the detachment and the size of the associated college or university Insignia Edit U S Army rank insignia of a lieutenant colonel U S Marine Corps rank insignia of a lieutenant colonel U S Air Force rank insignia of a lieutenant colonel U S Space Force rank insignia of a lieutenant colonel Notable American lieutenant colonels EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Eben Bartlett U S Army member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Aaron Burr Continental Army 13 Benjamin Busch U S Marine Corps TV and film actor 14 James Pratt Carter U S Army Ernest Childers U S Army Medal of Honor recipient 15 Jerry Coleman U S Marine Corps Robert G Cole U S Army Medal of Honor recipient David P Cooley U S Air Force Philip Corso U S Army Bruce P Snake Crandall U S Army Medal of Honor recipient for his actions at Ia Drang George Armstrong Custer U S Army James Harold Jimmy Doolittle U S Air Force Medal of Honor recipient for his raid on Tokyo Tammy Duckworth U S Army U S Senator D Illinois Joni Ernst Iowa Army National Guard U S Senator R Iowa William Montague Ferry Jr U S Army Rick Francona U S Air Force John C Fremont U S Army Tulsi Gabbard U S Army former U S Representative from Hawaii Gregory D Gadson U S Army Virgil I Gus Grissom U S Air Force Dave Grossman U S Army professor of psychology and military science author and speaker David Bull Gurfein U S Marine Corps Iceal Hambleton U S Air Force Alexander Hamilton Continental Army Anthony B Herbert U S Army Christopher B Howard U S Air Force Lisa Jaster U S Army first female USAR officer to become a Ranger School graduate Shawna R Kimbrell U S Air Force the first female African American fighter pilot Gus Kohntopp U S Air National Guard John Laurens Continental Army Bruce R McConkie U S Army apostle The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints Bob McDonnell U S Army former Republican Attorney General and Governor of Virginia Amy McGrath U S Marine Corps political candidate first female pilot to fly the F A 18 on a combat mission Hal Moore U S Army famous for his actions at Ia Drang Michael Mori U S Marine Corps lawyer and military judge retired known for representing David Hicks Dick Muri U S Air Force Oliver North U S Marine Corps Ellison S Onizuka U S Air Force Ralph Peters U S Army Rob Riggle U S Marine Corps William R Rowley U S Army Stuart Scheller U S Marine Corps Richard Scheuring U S Army Francis R Scobee U S Air Force John Shimkus U S Army U S Representative from Illinois Ronald Speirs U S Army Michael Strobl U S Marine Corps Tench Tilghman Continental Army William Travis Texas Militia Matt Urban U S Army John Paul Vann U S Army Alexander Vindman U S Army Allen West U S Army former U S Representative from Florida Ed White U S Air Force Earl Woods U S Army References Edit Shenk Robert 2008 The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing 3rd ed Annapolis Md Naval Institute Press ISBN 978 1 59114 822 7 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 26 November 2020 Retrieved 18 November 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Preliminary cloth indd PDF Retrieved 27 April 2012 Jack 21 May 2009 AP Style Book Apstylebook blogspot com Retrieved 27 April 2012 The Continental Army U S Army Center of Military History 1 May 1982 p 13 Archived from the original on 23 July 2016 Retrieved 3 July 2016 History of the lieutenant colonel rank usmilitary about com 9 April 2012 Archived from the original on 13 May 2013 Retrieved 27 April 2012 The Continental Army U S Army Center of Military History 1 May 1982 p 13 ff Archived from the original on 23 July 2016 Retrieved 3 July 2016 The Continental Army U S Army Center of Military History 1 May 1982 p 48 Archived from the original on 23 July 2016 Retrieved 3 July 2016 The Continental Army U S Army Center of Military History 1 May 1982 pp 127 128 ff Archived from the original on 23 July 2016 Retrieved 3 July 2016 The Continental Army U S Army Center of Military History 1 May 1982 pp 128 amp 145 Archived from the original on 23 July 2016 Retrieved 3 July 2016 Lieutenant Colonel And Brevet Major General George A Custer U S A All biographies com Retrieved 27 April 2012 Brevet Rank in the Civil War Civilwarhome com Archived from the original on 18 November 2013 Retrieved 27 April 2012 Aaron Burr American Battlefield Trust Benjamin Busch HarperCollins Speakers Bureau Childers Ernest Chief www uswarmemorials org Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lieutenant colonel United States amp oldid 1132895871, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.