How to Learn Military Ranks

In the civilian world there are your coworkers, your boss, your other boss (maybe a few more, depending on your company) and then the vice president followed by the CEO. Everyone from bottom to top knows their role on the social ladder. In the military you have the same social scale however; it may be a stricter and formal than in the civilian sector.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Learn what the different patches worn by each person means. For instance in the Army one yellow stripe with a green border means the person is an enlisted private first class. Two strips is an enlisted sergeant.
2. Understand the basic levels in the military: Enlisted personnel, Warrant Officers and Commissioned Officers. Commissioned officers are above warrant officers and enlisted members while warrant officers are above enlisted members.
3. Watch military movies and films. Today directors and scriptwriters try to be militarily accurate with weapons used to language used. Plus, scriptwriters seem to love to always have each character identify themselves by announcing their rank whenever possible.
4. Buy military books that explain military ranks and elaborate about how one can go about going from one level to the next.
5. Try and speak with various military personnel and see if they can help you understand military ranks. If you speak to a military recruiter for instance, he or she may have information made by the military for civilians to understand military ranks and what each rank is responsible for.

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