In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade
military officer rank immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and immediately
below the rank of brigadier general. It is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in
the other uniformed services, such as the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard
and the commissioned corps of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
and United States Public Health Service. The insignia of the rank of colonel, as seen
on the right, is worn on the officer's left side.
Promotion to colonel is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense
Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980. DOPMA guidelines suggest 50% of lieutenant
colonels should be promoted to colonel after serving a minimum of three years at their
present rank and after attaining 21-23 years of cumulative commissioned service. The pay
grade for the rank of colonel or naval captain in the United States is O-6.
Insignia
The insignia for a colonel is a silver eagle which is a stylized representation of the
eagle dominating the Great Seal of the United States. As on the Great Seal, the eagle has
a U.S. shield superimposed on its chest and is holding an olive branch and bundle of arrows
in its talons. However, in simplification of the Great Seal image, the insignia lacks
the scroll in the eagle's mouth and the rosette above its head. On the Great Seal, the olive
branch is always clutched in the eagle's right-side talons, while the bundle of arrows is always
clutched in the left-side talons. The head of the eagle faces towards the olive branch,
rather than the arrows, advocating peace rather than war. As a result, the head of the eagle
always faces towards the viewer's left. During World War II the military insignia for the
rank of Colonel changed somewhat with the eagle facing the arrows. This was done only
during war years. These special "war eagles," although rare, can sometimes be found in military
surplus or memorabilia sales.
However, when worn as a single insignia with no matching pair, such as on the patrol cap,
garrison cap/flight cap, or the front of the Army ACU, there is a split between the services
on which mirror image of the eagle should be worn. In the United States Army and United
States Air Force, the eagle is always worn with "the head of the eagle to the wearer's
right," with the olive branch clutched in the eagle's right hand talons(1)). In the
United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Coast Guard and NOAA, the eagle
is worn with "the head facing forward" on the wearer's right side of the garrison cover).
Since respective service's officer insignia is worn on the left side and the rank insignia
is worn on the right hand side of the Navy, Marine, Coast Guard and NOAA garrison caps,
the eagle is facing to the eagle's left with the olive branch clutched in the eagle's left
hand talons, which is a mirror opposite to the wear of the single eagle for Army and
Air Force officers. Origins
The United States rank of colonel is a direct successor to the same rank in the British
Army. The first colonels in America were appointed from Colonial militias maintained as reserves
to the British Army in the American colonies. Upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary
War, colonial legislatures would grant commissions to men to raise a regiment and serve as its
colonels. Thus, the first American colonels were usually respected men with ties in local
communities and active in politics. Such was the origin of the phrase "soldier and statesman."
With the post-war reduction of the US Army, the rank of colonel disappeared, and was not
re-introduced until 1802. The first insignia for the rank of colonel
consisted of gold epaulettes worn on the blue uniform of the Continental Army. The first
recorded use of the eagle insignia was in 1805 as this insignia was made official in
uniform regulations by 1810. 19th century
The rank of colonel was relatively rare in the early 19th century, partly because the
Army was very small, and the rank was usually obtained only after long years of service.
During the War of 1812 many temporary colonels were appointed, but these commissions were
either considered brevet ranks or the commissions were canceled at the war’s conclusion.
The American Civil War saw a large influx of colonels as the rank was commonly held
in both the Confederate Army and Union Army by those who commanded a regiment. Since most
regiments were state formations and were quickly raised, the colonels in command were known
by the title "Colonel of Volunteers," in contrast to Regular Army colonels who held ranks from
the "old school" of the professional army before the Civil War.
During the Civil War, the Confederate Army maintained a unique insignia for colonel,
three stars worn on the collar of a uniform. Robert E. Lee wore this insignia due to his
former rank in the United States Army and refused to wear the insignia of a Confederate
general, stating that he would only accept permanent promotion when the South had achieved
independence. After the Civil War, the rank of colonel again
became rare as the forces of the United States Army became extremely small. However, many
brevet colonels were appointed again during the Spanish American War, prominent among
them Theodore Roosevelt and David Grant Colson. 20th century
World War I and World War II saw the largest numbers of colonels ever appointed in the
United States armed forces. This was mostly due to the temporary ranks of the National
Army and the Army of the United States, where those who would normally hold the rank of
Captain in the peacetime Regular Army were thrust into the rank of colonel during these
two wars. By the end of the Korean War, appointments
to the rank of colonel were standardized to be granted after roughly 16–18 years of
service in the military; however, temporary colonel appointments continued well into the
Vietnam War. The last temporary appointments to the rank of colonel were in the late 1970s;
since then, all colonels have received permanent appointments upon promotion. Currently, an
officer typically reaches the rank of colonel after around 21–23 years of military service.
21st century Modern American colonels usually command Army
infantry, artillery, armor, aviation or other types of brigades, USAF groups or wings, and
USMC regiments, Marine Expeditionary Units or Marine Aircraft Groups. An Army colonel
typically commands brigade-sized units, with another colonel or a lieutenant colonel as
Deputy Commander, a major as executive officer, and a Command Sergeant Major as a senior non-commissioned
officer advisor. An Air Force colonel typically commands a wing consisting of 1,000 to 4,000+
airmen with another colonel as the vice commander and a Command Chief Master Sergeant as principal
senior NCO enlisted adviser. Some USAF colonels are commanders of groups, which are the four
major components of wings. Colonels are also found as the chief of staff at divisional
level-(Army) or Numbered Air Force-level staff agencies.
In the modern armed forces, the colonel's eagle is worn facing forward with head and
beak pointing towards the wearer's front. Of all U.S. military commissioned officer
rank, only the colonel's eagle has a distinct right and left insignia. All other commissioned
officer rank insignia can be worn on either the right or left side.
Colonels are sometimes referred to as full-bird colonels or "O-6," which is their pay grade,
in order to differentiate between colonels and lieutenant colonels, since lieutenant
colonels are also referred to and addressed as simply "colonel."
Most Army colonels receive postgraduate level senior joint professional military education
at the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The 2009 graduating class was 336 including
198 army officers and the rest divided among other military branches as well as foreign
military leaders. All USAF colonels will be graduates of the Air War College at Maxwell
AFB, Alabama via in-residence at Maxwell AFB, or via non-resident seminar at another USAF
installation, or via correspondence, or will be graduates of an equivalent senior JPME
program sponsored by the National Defense University or one of the other US military
services. Honorary colonels
Some people known as "colonels" are actually recipients of honorary colonel ranks from
a state governor and are not officers of the U.S. armed forces. In the 19th century the
honorary colonels were military appointments and they still are nominally appointed to
governor's staff, but without military rights or duties. Famous honorary colonels include
Colonel Harland Sanders of KFC fame, a Kentucky colonel; Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's
manager, who received the honor from a Louisiana governor; and Edward M. House, known as Colonel
House, a Texas honorary colonel and adviser to President Woodrow Wilson.
Famous American colonels Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin—Second person
to step on the moon. Charlie Beckwith—Founder of 1st Special
Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, the Army's elite top-secret special forces detachment.
John Boyd —Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist. Responsible for developing EM
theory, a method of determining the performance capabilities of a prospective fighter [plane]
before production. Anthony G. Brown—Lieutenant Governor of
Maryland and Commander of the 153rd Legal Support Organization in Pennsylvania; Highest-ranking
elected official in the nation to have served a tour of duty in Iraq; Co-Chair of the Obama/Biden
Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Alexander Butterfield—U.S. Air Force colonel who became an aide to President Nixon and
was later appointed administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Cooperated with prosecutors
during the Watergate scandal. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain—Commander of
the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg.
Jeff Cooper—WWII and Korean War veteran and "The Father of Modern Shooting."
John Jackson Dickison- led the Confederate forces which captured the USS Columbine, in
the only known incident in US history where a cavalry unit sank an enemy gunboat.
Federico Fernández Cavada- Union Army colonel who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and
later became the Commander-in-Chief of Cuban forces during the Ten Years' War.
Wesley L. Fox—United States Marine Corps recipient of the Medal of Honor.
John Glenn—Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, and U.S. Senator.
Ambrosio José Gonzales—Cuban revolutionary who fought for the US annexation of Cuba before
serving as a colonel in the CSA. David Hackworth—Served in Korea and Vietnam,
an author and military media consultant. Formerly the highest decorated living soldier.
Jack H. Jacobs—Served in Vietnam, recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Henry Knox—As colonel of the Continental Regiment of Artillery in 1776, he brought
guns from Ft. Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, forcing the British out of Boston the next
morning. Later, President Washington made him Secretary of War as part of the first
Presidential Cabinet in America. He also served in Washington's crossing of the Delaware River
for the Battle of Trenton. W. Patrick Lang Retired Special Forces officer,
Commentator on the Middle East. Intelligence Executive, and Author
Robert E. Lee—Led the raid against John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Commanding general
of the Confederate Army. Ed McMahon—United States Marine Corps aviator
and television personality. Martha McSally—United States Air Force first
American woman to fly in combat. Virgil R. Miller- Regimental commander of
the 442d Regimental Combat Team, a unit which was composed of "Nisei", during World War
II. He led the 442nd in its rescue of the Lost Texas Battalion of the 36th Infantry
Division, in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France.
William Moultrie—Defended Ft. Sullivan against British attack in 1776; his regiment was later
absorbed by the Continental Army, and he was promoted to brigadier general.
William Wilson Quinn - Served under Patton during WWII and received two Purple Hearts,
a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and became a Knight and Officer of the National Order of
the Legion of Honor; he also was the commanding officer of the 17th Infantry during the Korean
War, which he served two years in. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and captured Hermann
Goring and arrived at Dachau the day after it was liberated. After the war Quinn played
a key role in forming the CIA. Felix Rodriguez — A former Central Intelligence
Agency officer infamous for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation
and execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, and his ties to George H. W. Bush
during the Iran-Contra Affair. Theodore Roosevelt—1st United States Volunteer
Cavalry Regiment, recipient of the Medal of Honor, and later 26th President of the United
States. Henry Rutgers—Revolutionary War colonel
- philanthropist and namesake of Rutgers University. Robert Gould Shaw—Commander of the African
American Army Regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. References