Staff sergeant (E-6)
Three chevrons above one arc are the insignia of a staff sergeant (SSG), pay grade E-6 in the US Army.
Easily confused with
How to read it
In DA Pamphlet 670-1 the staff sergeant insignia is three chevrons above one arc; a Sergeant (E-5) has no arc and a Sergeant first class (E-7) has two. The Department of Defense lists the grade as E-6. According to the Army’s ranks page, a staff sergeant leads a squad of 8 to 16 soldiers and often has one or more sergeants under them. Army Regulation 600-20 gives the title of address as “Sergeant”.
Also searched as: E-6 army, SSG.
Ranks and insignia as the US Army’s own regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Staff sergeant in other services
The title doesn’t mean the same pay grade everywhere. The Department of Defense’s insignia chart lists a Marine Corps staff sergeant at E-6, like the Army’s, but an Air Force staff sergeant at E-5.
Read next
- Next in Army ranksSergeant first class (E-7)Three chevrons above two arcs are the insignia of a sergeant first class (SFC), pay grade E-7 in the US Army.
- In Air Force ranksStaff sergeant (E-5)Staff sergeant, pay grade E-5: the first noncommissioned officer rank in the US Air Force. The insignia is four stripes with a star in a circle at their middle.
More army ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves or lines.
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 21–7a(9), 21–7a(8), 21–7a(7)
- 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: sergeant, staff-sergeant, sergeant-first-class; Enlisted insignia, E-5 and E-6 (Air Force, Marine Corps)
- U.S. Army Ranks, army.mil ranks page (enlisted, warrant officer and officer ranks), U.S. Army, Enlisted ranks: Staff Sergeant
- 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, Enlisted ranks, slide 13
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 30, 2026. How we research
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