Lieutenant commander (LCDR) is a

senior officer A senior officer is an officer of a more senior grade in military or other uniformed services. In military organisations, the term may refer to any officer above junior officer rank, but usually specifically refers to the middle-ranking group of ...

rank in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

, the

United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHSCC; also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service) is the uniformed service branch of the United States Public Health Service and one of t ...

, and the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (informally the NOAA Corps) is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( ...

(NOAA Corps), with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3. Lieutenant commander ranks above

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and below

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. The rank is also used in the

United States Maritime Service The United States Maritime Service (USMS) was established in 1938 under the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 as voluntary training organization to train individuals to become officers and crewmembers on merchant ships that form the ...

. The rank is equivalent to a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, and

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space force branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the Unite ...

. When introducing a lieutenant commander, their full rank should always be used; however, in general conversation they are usually called "commander" even though they are not "full" commanders (which is one rank higher). Simply "lieutenant" is never used because it is one rank lower. Promotion to lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy is governed by

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

policies derived from the

Defense Officer Personnel Management Act The Defense Officer Personnel Management Act (DOPMA) () is a United States federal law passed in 1980 that for the first-time standardized officer personnel management across the United States Armed Forces. It established ceilings on the number o ...

of 1980. DOPMA guidelines suggest 80% of lieutenants should be promoted to lieutenant commander after serving a minimum of three years as lieutenants and after attaining nine to eleven years of cumulative commissioned service. While lieutenant commander is the U.S. Navy's first commissioned officer rank to be selected by a board, lieutenant commanders are still considered to be junior officers due to their origin as "lieutenant, commanding". This can be seen by lieutenant commanders not wearing the headgear embellishment (colloquially known as " scrambled eggs") on their combination covers. The U.S. Coast Guard used its own rank system until

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1916, discontent grew among Coast Guard captains: By law, they ranked below a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy despite similar roles and duties. Pursuant to the Appropriations Act of 1918, the Coast Guard adopted the U.S. Navy rank structure to prevent disagreements over seniority. There are two insignia used by lieutenant commanders. On service khakis and all working uniforms, lieutenant commanders wear a gold oak leaf collar device, similar to the ones worn by majors in the

and

, and identical to that worn by majors in the

. In all dress uniforms, they wear sleeve braid or shoulder boards bearing a single gold quarter-inch stripe between two gold half-inch strips (nominal size). In the case of officers of the U.S. Navy, above or inboard of the stripes, they wear their specialty insignia, notably a star for officers of the line, crossed oak leaves for Civil Engineer Corps. File:US Navy O4 insignia.svg,

File:USCG O-4 insignia.svg,

File:US PHS O4 insignia.svg,

File:US NOAA O4 insignia.svg,

References

{{US officer ranks Military ranks of the United States Coast Guard Military ranks of the United States Navy

See also

References