Technical sergeant

Military enlisted rank used in the US and Philippine Armed Forces

Flag commissioned officers
	Armies, air forces (non-Commonwealth)	Navies, coast guards	Air forces (Commonwealth system)
	Field marshal	Admiral of the fleet	Marshal of the air force
	General or colonel general or army general	Admiral	Air chief marshal
	Lieutenant general or army corps general	Vice admiral	Air marshal
	Major general or divisional general	Rear admiral or Counter admiral	Air vice-marshal
	Brigadier or brigadier general	Commodore or flotilla admiral	Air commodore
Senior commissioned officers
	Colonel	(Ship-of-the-line) Captain	Group captain
	Lieutenant colonel	Frigate captain or Commander	Wing commander
	Major or commandant	Corvette captain or Lieutenant commander	Squadron leader
Junior commissioned officers
	Captain	Lieutenant	Flight lieutenant
	First lieutenant or lieutenant	Lieutenant junior grade or sub-lieutenant	Flying officer
	Second lieutenant or junior lieutenant	Ensign or midshipman	Pilot officer
	Officer cadet	Officer cadet	Flight cadet
Non-commissioned officers
	Warrant officer or sergeant major	Warrant officer or chief petty officer	Warrant officer
	Sergeant	Petty officer	Sergeant
Enlisted ranks
	Corporal or bombardier	Leading seaman	Corporal
	Lance corporal or Lance bombardier or Specialist	Able seaman	Leading aircraftman
	Private or gunner or trooper or sapper	Seaman	Aircraftman or airman or aviator

Technical sergeant is the name of three current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces,^{[citation needed]} as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, the Philippine Marine Corps.

Philippines

The rank of technical sergeant is used by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is a non-commissioned officer rank used by Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force and Philippine Marine Corps (under the Philippine Navy). The rank stands above the rank of staff sergeant and below master sergeant.

Technical sergeant insignia
Philippine Army
Technical sergeant insignia
Philippine Air Force
Technical sergeant insignia
Philippine Marine Corps

United States

Technical sergeant is a rank in the United States Air Force, United States Space Force, and Civil Air Patrol. It is a former rank in the United States Army and United States Marine Corps.

Army

The rank of technical sergeant existed from after World War I until 1948 when the rank was renamed sergeant first class. In 1920 the army combined several battalion/squadron level "staff" NCO ranks, including battalion quartermaster sergeant, battalion supply sergeant, ordnance sergeant, hospital sergeant, three grades of master sergeant (junior grade), and six additional senior-level technical and specialist ranks into the new technical sergeant rank. In 1944 when rifle squad leaders became staff sergeants, platoon sergeants were promoted to technical sergeants. In 1948 the army renamed technical sergeant as sergeant first class.^[1]

Technical sergeant insignia, U.S. Army (1920–1948)

Marine Corps

Technical sergeant was a rank in the United States Marine Corps until 1958. From 1941 until 1946, the rank was equivalent to grade 2, ranking with gunnery sergeant and other technical ranks. From 1947 until 1958, the rank was reclassified as E-6 and became the sole rank in this grade. The rank gunnery sergeant replaced it and elevated to E-7 after the reorganization of grades in 1959.^{[citation needed]}

Technical sergeant insignia, U.S. Marine Corps (1941–1946)
Technical sergeant insignia, U.S. Marine Corps (1946–1959)

Air Force

Technical sergeant, "tech sgt" or "TSgt" in informal parlance, is the sixth enlisted rank (pay grade E-6) in the U.S. Air Force, just above staff sergeant and below master sergeant. A technical sergeant is a noncommissioned officer and abbreviated as TSgt (with no period in official USAF and other military correspondence). Official terms of address are "technical sergeant" or "sergeant",^[2] although many use "tech sergeant" in informal situations.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. Air Force technical sergeant insignia

Civil Air Patrol

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP), a non-profit corporation Congressionally chartered to operate as the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, has a quasi-military structure which includes the rank of technical sergeant. The grade of technical sergeant is above staff sergeant and beneath master sergeant. Former military enlisted personnel who held the rank of technical sergeant in the United States Armed Forces may retain that rank as members of the CAP.^[3]

Civil Air Patrol technical sergeant insignia

Space Force

On February 1, 2021, the United States Space Force announced its permanent rank structure, establishing the grade of technical sergeant as its permanent E-6 grade. This continued its usage from the Air Force. The grade of technical sergeant is above sergeant and beneath master sergeant.^[4]

U.S. Space Force technical sergeant insignia

References

^ Perrenot,P. United States Army Grade Insignia Since 1776 (2009)
^ Air Force Instruction 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure Archived 2008-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, Air Force E-Publishing
^ Office of the National Commander – Civil Air Patrol (4 September 2018). "Memorandum for all CAP Members" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
^ Cohen, Rachel S. (2021-01-29). "Space Force to Adopt 'Specialist,' Other New Ranks Feb. 1". Air Force Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-29.

United States enlisted ranks

Pay grade Branch of service	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9	Special
Army	PVT	PV2	PFC	SPC – CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG – 1SG¹	SGM – CSM	SMA – SEAC
Marine Corps	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt – 1stSgt¹	MGySgt – SgtMaj	SMMC – SEAC
Navy	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO – CMDCS	MCPO – CMDCM – FORCM, FLTCM	MCPON – SEAC
Air Force	AB	Amn	A1C	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt – 1st Sgt¹	SMSgt – 1st Sgt¹	CMSgt – 1st Sgt¹ – CCM	SEANGB – CMSAF – SEAC
Space Force	Spc1	Spc2	Spc3	Spc4	Sgt	TSgt	MSgt	SMSgt	CMSgt	CMSSF – SEAC
Coast Guard	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO – CMC – DMCPOCG²	MCPOCG
For the Army and Air Force, first sergeants are temporary and lateral ranks and are senior to their non-diamond counterparts, while Marine Corps first sergeants have no lateral movement within paygrade and is a permanent rank. The rank insignia is used by other Coast Guard senior enlisted leaders.