First lieutenant (O-2)
First lieutenant (1stLt) is the second Marine Corps commissioned officer rank, pay grade O-2. Its insignia is a single silver bar.
Easily confused with
- Chief warrant officer 5 (W-5)Chief warrant officer 5 (CWO5) is the highest Marine Corps warrant officer rank, pay grade W-5. Its insignia is a silver bar with one scarlet enamel stripe along its length.
- Second lieutenant (O-1)Second lieutenant (2ndLt) is the first Marine Corps commissioned officer rank, pay grade O-1. Its insignia is a single gold bar.
How to read it
First lieutenant is the middle company grade rank, between second lieutenant (O-1) and Captain (O-3) (O-3). Its bar is the second lieutenant’s shape in silver instead of gold, and the captain’s insignia is two of the same silver bars joined together.
Also searched as: 1stLt, O-2 marines.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
One silver bar in other services
The Navy’s O-2, lieutenant junior grade, also wears one silver bar on the collar. A single silver bar with a thin scarlet line down its length is a Marine chief warrant officer 5.
In the field
The uniform regulations allow subdued insignia on field uniforms, where silver insignia are flat black.
Read next
- Next in Marine Corps ranksCaptain (O-3)Captain (Capt) is the third Marine Corps commissioned officer rank, pay grade O-3. Its insignia is two silver bars side by side, joined at each end.
- In Army ranksFirst lieutenant (O-2)A single silver bar is the insignia of a first lieutenant (1LT), pay grade O-2 in the US Army.
More marine Corps ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with lines.
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.h–k, 4005.3.a, 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-2
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 30, 2026. How we research
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