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 follows second lieutenant (O-1) and comes before Captain (O-3) (O-3); all three are company grade officers. The bar is the same shape as the second lieutenant’s, 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.
More marine Corps ranks
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
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research