| GURPS Rank |
Alternate Cost |
Pay Grade |
U.S. Air Force | U.S. Army | U.S. Coast Guard | U.S. Marine Corps | U.S. Navy | Star Trek Star Fleet | Pay Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9[1] | 45 | O-11[1] | General of the Armies[1] |
[1] | [1] | Admiral of the Navy[1] |
Admiral of the Fleet |
O-11[1] | |
| General of the Air Force |
General of the Army |
Fleet Admiral | Fleet Admiral | ||||||
| 8 | 42 | O-10 | General (Air Force Chief of Staff) |
General | Admiral (Commandant of the Coast Guard) |
General | Admiral (Chief of Naval Operations) |
Admiral | O-10 |
| 40 | O-9 | Lieutenant General | Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral | Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral | Vice Admiral | O-9 | |
| 7 | 37 | O-8 | Major General | Major General | Rear Admiral (Upper Half) |
Major General | Rear Admiral (Upper Half) |
Rear Admiral | O-8 |
| 35 | O-7 | Brigadier General | Brigadier General | Rear Admiral (Lower Half) |
Brigadier General | Rear Admiral (Lower Half) |
Commodore | O-7 | |
| 6 | 30 | O-6 | Colonel | Colonel | Captain | Colonel | Captain | Captain | O-6 |
| 5 | 25 | O-5 | Lieutenant Colonel | Lieutenant Colonel | Commander | Lieutenant Colonel | Commander | Commander | O-5 |
| 4 | 22 | O-4 | Major | Major | Lieutenant Commander |
Major | Lieutenant Commander |
Lieutenant Commander |
O-4 |
| 20 | O-3 | Captain | Captain | Lieutenant | Captain | Lieutenant | Lieutenant | O-3 | |
| 3 | 17 | O-2 | First Lieutenant | First Lieutenant | Lieutenant Junior Grade |
First Lieutenant | Lieutenant Junior Grade |
Lieutenant Junior Grade |
O-2 |
| 15 | O-1 | Second Lieutenant | Second Lieutenant | Ensign | Second Lieutenant | Ensign | Ensign | O-1 | |
| 4[6] | 22 | W-5 | [2] | Chief Warrant Officer 5 |
N/A | Chief Warrant Officer 5 |
Chief Warrant Officer 5 |
N/A | W-5 |
| 20 | W-4 | Chief Warrant Officer 4 |
Chief Warrant Officer 4 |
Chief Warrant Officer 4 |
Chief Warrant Officer 4 |
W-4 | |||
| 3 | 18 | W-3 | Chief Warrant Officer 3 |
Chief Warrant Officer 3 |
Chief Warrant Officer 3 |
Chief Warrant Officer 3 |
W-3 | ||
| 16 | W-2 | Chief Warrant Officer 2 |
Chief Warrant Officer 2 |
Chief Warrant Officer 2 |
Chief Warrant Officer 2 |
W-2 | |||
| 15 | W-1 | Warrant Officer 1 |
Warrant Officer 1[3] |
Warrant Officer 1[3] |
Warrant Officer 1[3] |
W-1 | |||
| 4[6] | 20 | E-9[4] | Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force |
Sergeant Major of the Army |
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard |
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps |
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy |
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Fleet |
E-9[4] |
| 3 | 17 | E-9 | Command Chief Master Sergeant |
Command Sergeant Major |
Command Master Chief Petty Officer |
Sergeant Major | Command Master Chief Petty Officer |
Master Chief Petty Officer |
E-9 |
| 15 | E-9 | Chief Master Sergeant[5] |
First Sergeant | Master Chief Petty Officer |
Mastery Gunnery Sergeant |
Master Chief Petty Officer |
E-9 | ||
| 2 | 12 | E-8 | Senior Master Sergeant[5] |
Master Sergeant | Senior Chief Petty Officer |
First Sergeant | Senior Chief Petty Officer |
Senior Chief Petty Officer |
E-8 |
| Master Sergeant | |||||||||
| 10 | E-7 | Master Sergeant[5] | Sergeant First Class | Chief Petty Officer | Gunnery Sergeant | Chief Petty Officer | Chief Petty Officer | E-7 | |
| 1 | 7 | E-6 | Technical Sergeant | Staff Sergeant | Petty Officer 1st Class |
Staff Sergeant | Petty Officer 1st Class |
Petty Officer 1st Class |
E-6 |
| 5 | E-5 | Staff Sergeant | Sergeant | Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Sergeant | Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Petty Officer 2nd Class |
E-5 | |
| 0 | 3 | E-4 | Senior Airman | Corporal | Petty Officer 3rd Class |
Corporal | Petty Officer 3rd Class |
Petty Officer 3rd Class |
E-4 |
| Specialist | |||||||||
| 2 | E-3 | Airman First Class | Private 1st Class | Airman Fireman Seaman |
Lance Corporal | Seaman | Crewman | E-3 | |
| 1 | E-2 | Airman | Private 2 | Airman Apprentice Fireman Apprentice Seaman Apprentice |
Private 1st Class | Seaman Apprentice | Crewman Apprentice | E-2 | |
| 0 | E-1 | Airman Basic | Private | Seaman Recruit | Private | Seaman Recruit | Crewman Recruit | E-1 |
[1] O-11 grades are reserved for wartime and as such are fairly rare appointments. Since the Marine Corps and Coast Guard fall under Naval command they have no O-11 grade. You may want to treat O-11 as Rank 8 or as Rank 9, depending on your personal preference. Rank 9 is somewhat appropriate, though, as it's a grade that can only be earned in wartime so has a certain prestige to it.
General of the Armies and Admiral of the Navy are special ranks, collectively held by only four men - Gen. John J. Pershing was awarded General of the Armies in 1919 for his service in WWI; Gen. George Washington was posthumously awarded General of the Armies by Congress in the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial celebration for his service during the Revolutionary War; Adm. George Dewey was awarded Admiral of the Navy in 1903, retroactive to 1899, for his victory in Manila Bay in 1898 during the Spanish-American War; and most recently Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was awarded General of the Armies by Congress in 2023, soon after the 200th anniversary of his birth..
[2] The Air Force stopped appointing Warrant Officers in 1959. While a small number existed for the next 21 years, and the ranks still technically exist today, they are no longer in use.
[3] Warrant Officer 1 was discontinued in the Navy and Marine Corps in 1975. While it still exists in the Coast Guard it's no longer used.
[4] There is only one E-9 of this pay grade for each service, representing the highest ranking NCO in their respective services.
[5] The Air Force maintains two ranks at each pay grade E-7 to E-9 with the same title but different rank insignias and different pay scales.
[6] A case can be made that the highest E-9 and W-4 to W-5 grades should be GURPS Rank 3 or 4, though technically they may both be only Rank 3. Even so, the highest E-9 ranked NCO reports directly to the O-10 Admiral/General of his service, which is pull that even O-7 grade officers do not have.
The alternate cost represents a system of "partial rank" to fill in the gaps where the regular Rank advantage doesn't cover. These partial ranks include some extra responsibility, and extra pay, so have a slight bonus to them. They would also give a +1 reaction bonus from anyone of the same GURPS Rank who serves under you.
Copyright © 2018 Eric B. Smith
