Lieutenant colonel (O-5)
A silver oak leaf is the insignia of a lieutenant colonel (LTC), pay grade O-5 in the US Army.
Easily confused with
How to read it
DA Pamphlet 670-1 describes the lieutenant colonel insignia as a silver-colored oak leaf in a satin finish with an irregular surface, worn with the stem towards the outside shoulder seam. The Major (O-4) wears the same leaf in gold. The Department of Defense lists the grade as O-5. The Army’s ranks page says a lieutenant colonel typically commands a battalion-sized unit of 300 to 1,000 soldiers, with a command sergeant major as principal NCO assistant, and may be selected as executive officer of a brigade or task force. Above the lieutenant colonel is the Colonel (O-6), whose insignia is an eagle.
Also searched as: LTC.
Ranks and insignia as the US Army’s own regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
How a lieutenant colonel is addressed
As “Colonel”. Army Regulation 600-20 gives the same title of address for a lieutenant colonel and a colonel, and the Army Recruiting Command’s customs training says both LTC and COL are addressed as “Colonel” followed by the last name.
When the leaves were adopted
The Army Institute of Heraldry dates the oak leaves of lieutenant colonels and majors to 1836.
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(3), 21–6a(2), 21–6a(1)
- 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: major, lieutenant-colonel, colonel
- U.S. Army Ranks, army.mil ranks page (enlisted, warrant officer and officer ranks), U.S. Army, Officer ranks: Lieutenant 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