Colonel (O-6)
A silver eagle with spread wings is the insignia of a colonel (COL), pay grade O-6 in the US Army.
Easily confused with
How to read it
DA Pamphlet 670-1 describes the colonel insignia as a silver-colored spread eagle in a shiny finish, 3/4 inch high and 1 1/2 inches between the wingtips, with the eagle’s head facing the wearer’s right or the front. The Department of Defense lists the grade as O-6, the highest of the field grade ranks. The Army’s ranks page says a colonel typically commands a brigade-sized unit of 1,500 to 3,200 soldiers, with a command sergeant major as principal NCO assistant, and is typically the chief of divisional-level staff agencies. Below the colonel is the Lieutenant colonel (O-5), with a silver oak leaf; above is the Brigadier general (O-7), with one star.
Also searched as: COL.
Ranks and insignia as the US Army’s own regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
The eagle
The Army Institute of Heraldry dates the colonel’s eagle to 1832 and says the eagle with shield, arrows and olive leaves in Army insignia was taken from the Coat of Arms of the United States.
How a colonel is addressed
As “Colonel”, the same title Army Regulation 600-20 gives to a Lieutenant colonel (O-5).
More army ranks
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves.
Sources
- DA Pamphlet 670-1, Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, DA PAM 670-1, 26 January 2021, Headquarters, Department of the Army (Army Publishing Directorate), para 21–6a(2), 21–6a(1), 21–5a(4)
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Insignia chart: lieutenant-colonel, colonel, brigadier-general; Officer insignia
- U.S. Army Ranks, army.mil ranks page (enlisted, warrant officer and officer ranks), U.S. Army, Officer ranks: Colonel
- Army Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy, AR 600-20, 6 February 2025 (administrative revision 20 February 2025), Headquarters, Department of the Army (copy hosted by the Army Transportation Corps, transportation.army.mil), para 1–7b; table 1–1
- Military Customs and Courtesies (Initial Soldier Training), U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Future Soldier training slides, 14 April 2020, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Officer rank, slide 17
- Officer Insignia of Rank: Origin, The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army heraldry, insignia of grade, The Institute of Heraldry, U.S. Army, Officer Insignia of Rank: Origin
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research