Precedence of Military Ranks and Civil Service pay programs
(see explanation of program identifiers below)

Prec Code

2/3

4

5

6

7

8 @

8

8

8

8

8

8

8

Military

O10 ***

O9

O8

O7

O6

-

O5

O4

-

O3

O2

-

O1

GS

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

GM

15

14

13

NSPS##

NSPS 3

NSPS 3

NSPS 2

NSPS 2

NSPS 1

NSPS 1

NSPS 1

NSPS 1

NSPS 1

ES (SES) #

5

6

ST

ST

ST

SL

SL

SL

SL

SL

SR

IPA *

EX

II

III

IV

V

AL

3-1

CA

1

3

3

FO**

Senior

1

2

3

4

5

6

FP**

1

2

3

4

4/5

5

6

7

8

VHA

Asst Secy for Health

Surg Gen + & Dep Surg Gen

Asst Surg Gen

Director

Senior

Full

Sr Asst

Asst

Jr Asst

TCO

III

III/II

II

II

I

I

TCM

IV

IV

III

III

WG/L/S

ZA

V

IV

IV

III

III

II

II

II

II

ZS

V

V/IV

IV

ZP

V

IV

IV

III

III

II

II

II

II

ZT

V

IV

IV

III

III

II

II

NI

4

 # Precedence for SES members is determined by the position, not pay level.  In November 2005 The DoD Order of Precedence was changed to include the following footnote:

"8. Precedence for members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) and Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service (DISES) is established by the position held (the SES includes various executive and managerial positions and excludes non-managerial, Senior Level (SL) and Scientific and Professional (ST) positions as well as Defense Intelligence Senior Level Professional positions). It is not possible to identify and list the title for each SES position within the Department on this order of precedence list. To the extent possible, this update reflects the principal positions held by members of the SES. The principal factor for determining the precedence for SES who positions are not specified on the order of precedence is where their positions are in their organization’s hierarchy. For those members of the SES/DISES within OSD components, Defense Agencies and DoD Field Activities who positions are not specifically identified, their positions are in Code 6, under “Other members of the Senior Executive Service.” It is recognized that within the Military Departments and on the Joint Staff there are members of the SES who positions may be comparable to General/Flag Officers of the 2 and 3 star rank but those positions are not addressed on this list (e.g. Deputy Chiefs of Staff on an Army major command staff). The Protocol and or Executive Personnel Offices for the Military Departments and the Joint Staff may issue supplementary guidance in order to establish the appropriate precedence for the members of the SES in positions at those levels within their respective organization; their remaining SES will be in Code 6, “Other members of the Senior Executive Service and Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service.”  "

## The NSPS (National Security Personnel System) being implemented by DoD is broken into three pay levels (high to low):  3, 2, and 1.  Those levels  are classified as Entry Level (pay level 1), Full Performance (pay level 2) and Subject Matter Expert (pay level 3).  Using the Standard Career Group, there are three position prefixes:  YA-Professional/Analytical, YB-Technical/Support, and YC-Supervisory/Managerial.  Until more definitive information is available from DoD, we recommend that, within each pay level, precedence be set as follows:  YC (highest), YA (next), YB (lowest).  Our only logic for putting the YA group (Professional/Analytical) before the YB group (Technical/Support) is that annual pay schedules are higher for the YA group. This follows the precedence set by General Schedule (GS) pay.  To clarify, lacking specific guidance from DoD, we recommend that the order of precedence for NSPS be set as follows (highest to lowest):

YC-3
YA-3
YB-3
YC-2
YA-2
YB-2
YC-1
YA-1
YB-1

@ Precedence code '8' was added by revision to the Army Precedence List dated May 1999

* IPA-Intergovernmental Personnel Act:  these are civilian employees from local, state, and federal agencies that are placed temporarily in positions at other levels of government.  Fix their precedence to the position they are filling, or compare to the grade of the supervisor and/or co-workers.

** USAID policy for functional area 400, ADS470: Pay Under the Foreign Service, 4/23/01 at www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/400/470.pdf .

*** The pay grade of O10 (4-star rank) exists at both the 2 and 3 levels of precedence.  The 2 level includes all O10 flag officers who are in joint positions such as the service chiefs; the chairman and vice chairman, Joint Staff; and joint command commanders.  The 3 level applies to 4-star officers in service-specific positions like the Commander, Army Materiel Command or the Commander, Air Force Logistics Command.

+ The Surgeon General, PHS, has rank equal to a 3-star flag officer; however, by the Army and Air Force precedence lists takes precedence at the 2-star level.

GS, GSM - General Schedule
FO - Foreign Service (commissioned)
NSPS - National Security Personnel System)
FP - Foreign Service(non-commissioned)
VHA - Veterans Health Administration (PHS)
WG, WL, WS, WD, WN - Federal Wage System
EX - Executive Schedule
TCO/TCM - CIA wage bands
ES - Senior Executive Service
SR - Statutory Rate
SL - Senior Level
IPA - Intergovernmental Personnel Act
ST - Scientific & Professional
AL - Administrative Law
CA - Contract Appeals Board Members
ZP – Dept. of Commerce; Scientific & Engineering
ZT – Dept of Commerce; Scientific/Engineering Technician
ZA – Dept. of Commerce; Administrative
ZS – Dept. of Commerce; General Support