Colonel (O-6)
Colonel (Col) is the sixth Marine Corps commissioned officer rank, pay grade O-6. Its insignia is a silver eagle with spread wings.
Easily confused with
How to read it
Colonel follows lieutenant colonel (O-5) and is the highest field grade rank; brigadier general (O-7) above it is the first general officer. The uniform regulations describe a silver spread eagle, made in right and left pairs, with one foot grasping an olive branch and the other a bundle of arrows. On the collar the eagle’s head is worn toward the top, facing the front.
Also searched as: Col, marine colonel.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
A Marine colonel or a Navy captain?
The Navy’s O-6 is the captain, and it wears the same silver eagle. A Marine Captain (O-3) is O-3 and wears two silver bars.
Read next
More marine Corps ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves.
Sources
- Marine Corps Ranks, marines.mil, Ranks, United States Marine Corps, Officer
- Marine Corps Uniform Regulations (MCO 1020.34H), MCO 1020.34H, 1 May 2018, Commandant of the Marine Corps, para 4005.2.e, 4005.3.c(2), pp. 1-99 to 1-100
- Officer Knowledge (Officer Development School), Officer Training Command Newport, ODS Knowledge Book, Naval Service Training Command, U.S. Navy, Navy and Marine Corps Officer Rank Structure
- 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, O-6
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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