Colonel (United States) Colonel (United States) In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, colonel () is the most 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. The pay grade for colonel is O-6. The insignia of the rank of colonel, as seen on the right, is worn on the officer's left side (a mirror-image version is worn on the right side, such that the eagle always faces forward to the wearer's front; the
Major general police major general ("Pon-tamruad-tree" "พลตำรวจตรี") for the Royal Thai Police. The Turkish Army and Air Force refer to the rank as "tümgeneral". The Turkish Navy equivalent is "tümadmiral". The name is derived from "tümen", the Turkish word for a military division ("tümen" itself is an older Turkish word meaning "10,000"). Thus, linguistically, it is similar to the French equivalent for a major general, "général de division". In the British Army and Royal Marines, major-general ranks below lieutenant-general and above brigadier, and is thus the lowest of the general officer ranks. Divisions are usually commanded by major-generals, and they also hold