Colonel (O-6)
Colonel, pay grade O-6, US Air Force. The insignia is a silver eagle.
How to read it
Colonel is the highest field grade rank, above lieutenant colonel (a silver oak leaf) and below brigadier general (one silver star). The eagle holds arrows in its talons. It is worn facing forward: on the cap, the Air Force’s dress instruction points the beak towards the wearer’s right shoulder. The abbreviation is Col.
Also searched as: air force colonel, Col.
Ranks and insignia as the Department of the Air Force’s own instructions and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Colonel or Navy captain?
Colonel and Navy captain are the same pay grade, O-6 (37 U.S.C. 201). An Air Force Captain (O-3) is three grades lower, at O-3.
More air Force ranks
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Sources
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Officer insignia table, Air Force; officer introduction
- 37 U.S.C. 201, Pay grades: assignment to; general rules, United States Code, 2023 edition, Title 37, § 201, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 201(a)(1) table
- 10 U.S.C. 741, Rank: commissioned officers of the armed forces, United States Code, 2024 edition, Title 10, § 741, U.S. Government Publishing Office, § 741(a) and its table
- Insignia, Rank, Colonel, United States Air Force, National Air and Space Museum, object A19951076000, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Physical Description
- Insignia, Rank, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force, National Air and Space Museum, object A19951080000, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Physical Description
- Insignia, Rank, Brigadier General, United States Air Force, National Air and Space Museum, object A19951073000, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Physical Description
- DAFI 36-2903, Dress and Personal Appearance of Air Force and Space Force Personnel, DAFI 36-2903, 29 February 2024, with guidance changes, Department of the Air Force, §5.1.10.1
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research