United States Army enlisted rank insignia of World War I

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The United States Army's enlisted rank insignia that was used during World War I differs from the current system. The color scheme used for the insignia's chevron was olive drab for field use uniforms or one of several colors depending on the corps on dress uniforms. The chevron system used by enlisted men during World War I came into being on July 17, 1902,^[1] and was changed to a different system in 1919. Specification 760, which was dated May 31, 1905, contained 45 different enlisted insignia that varied designs and titles by different corps of the Army. General Order Number 169, which was enacted on August 14, 1907, created an even larger variety of enlisted rank insignia. Pay grades similar to the current system were not yet in use by the U.S. Army, and instead, the pay system reflected the job assignment of the soldier rather than their rank. By the end of World War I, the system contained 128 different insignia designs.^[2]

Field service rank insignia[]

1st grade	2nd grade	3rd grade	4th grade	5th grade	6th grade	7th grade	8th grade	9th grade	10th grade	11th grade	12th grade
											No insignia
Regimental sergeant major	Regimental supply sergeant	Battalion sergeant major	Color sergeant	First sergeant	Mess sergeant	Stable sergeant	Company supply sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Lance corporal/Private first class (from 1920)	Private

Other rank insignia[]

The ranks used by the army during the war (1917-1918), by branch, were:

Cavalry[]

Regimental sergeant major	Chief musician	Chief trumpeter	Drum major	Corporal	Farrier/blacksmith
Regimental quartermaster sergeant	Squadron sergeant major	Principal musician	Sergeant	Lance corporal	Saddler
Regimental commissary sergeant	Color sergeant	First sergeant	Troop quartermaster sergeant	Cook	Trumpeter

Infantry[]

• 

  Regimental Supply Sergeant Infantry 1902-1903

• 

  First Sergeant Infantry 1902-1903

Coast Artillery Corps^[3][]

Field Artillery[]

Signal Corps[]

• 

  Sergeant First Class Signal Corps 1902-1909

Corps of Engineers[]

• 

  Sergeant First Class Engineers 1902-1909

Medical Department[]

• 

  Sergeant First Class Hospital Corps 1902-1909

• 

  Sergeant Hospital Corps 1902-1909

Ordnance Department[]

• Ordnance Sergeant
• Sergeant
• Corporal
• Private serving as Lance Corporal
• Private First Class
• Private Second Class

• 

  Sergeant First Class Ordinance Corps 1902-1909

Quartermaster Corps[]

Quartermaster Sergeant 1902-1909

Air Service (Created May 24, 1918)[]

Chemical Warfare Service (Created June 28, 1918)[]

• Master Chemical Sergeant
• Sergeant First Class
• Sergeant
• Corporal
• Private serving as Lance Corporal
• Private First Class
• Private

Tank Corps (Created in late 1917)[]

Motor Transport Corps (Created August 15, 1918)[]

• Quartermaster Sergeant, Senior Grade
• Quartermaster sergeant, Quartermaster COrps
• Sergeant First Class
• Sergeant
• Corporal
• Private serving as Lance Corporal
• Private First Class
• Private

U.S. Military Academy Detachment[]

• First Sergeant
• Band sergeant and Assistant leader
• Sergeant
• Sergeant of Field Music
• Corporal
• Cook
• Bugler First Class (created on July 9, 1918)
• Bugler
• Private serving as Lance Corporal

Service School Detachments[]

Article III, paragraph 9 of the Regulations for Army of the United States 1913, Corrected to April 15, 1917, gives the order of precedence for officers and noncommissioned officers as:

• 1. Lieutenant General
• 2. Major General
• 3. Brigadier General
• 4. Colonel
• 5. Lieutenant Colonel
• 6. Major
• 7. Captain
• 8. First Lieutenant
• 9. Second Lieutenant
• 10. Aviator, Signal Corps
• 11. Cadet
• 12. (a) Sergeant Major, Regimental

• Sergeant Major, Senior Grade, Coast Artillery Corps

• 12.(b) Quartermaster Sergeant, Senior Grade, Quartermaster Corps

• Master Hospital Sergeant, Medical Department
• Master Engineer Senior Grade, Corps of Engineers
• Master Electrician, Coast Artillery Corps
• Master Signal Electrician
• Band Leader

• 12.(c) Hospital Sergeant, Medical Department

• Master Engineer Junior Grade, Corps of Engineers
• Engineer, Coast Artillery Corps

• 13.Ordnance Sergeant

• Quartermaster Sergeant, Quartermaster Corps
• Supply Sergeant Regimental

• 14. Sergeant Major, Squadron and Battalion

• Sergeant Major Junior Grade, Coast Artillery Corps
• Supply Sergeant, Battalion, Corps of Engineers

• 15.(a) First Sergeant
• 15.(b) Sergeant First Class, Medical Department

• Sergeant First Class, Quartermaster Corps
• Sergeant First Class, Corps of Engineers
• Sergeant First Class, Signal Corps
• Electrician Sergeant First Class, Coast Artillery Corps
• Electrician Sergeant, Artillery Detachment, United States Military Academy
• Assistant Engineer, Coast Artillery Corps
• Master Gunner, Coast Artillery Corps
• Master Gunner, Artillery Detachment, United States Military Academy
• Band Sergeant and Assistant Leader, United States Military Academy Band
• Assistant Band Leader
• Sergeant Bugler
• Electrician Sergeant Second Class, Coast Artillery Corps
• Electrician Sergeant Second Class, Artillery Detachment, United States Military Academy
• Radio Sergeant

• 16.Color Sergeant
• 17.Sergeant

• Supply Sergeant Company
• Mess Sergeant
• Stable Sergeant
• Fireman, Coast Artillery Corps

• 18. Corporal

See also[]

• Comparative officer ranks of World War II
• United States Army enlisted rank insignia
• United States Army enlisted rank insignia of World War II
• United States Army officer rank insignia
• United States Army uniforms in World War II

References[]

External links[]

• Roots Web World War I Army Rank Insignia Identification
• Roots Web World War I Uniforms
• Military Historians-Chevrons
• U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry-History of Enlisted Ranks
• Emerson, William K. (Winter 2004). "The Army's Last Set of Confusing Chevrons". Military Collector & Historian. 56 (4): 219–233. Retrieved 22 April 2019.