Pay Grades

When the militaries of the founding members of the Union were combined, it was decided to use Pay Grades. Initially there was an idea to create a completely consolidated rank structure, but that idea received opposition from some of the leaders of the United Earth military

Pay grades are used by the Uniformed Services of the United Stars to determine wages and benefits based on the corresponding military rank of a member of the services. While different titles or ranks may be used among the different uniformed services, pay grades are uniform and equivalent between the services and can be used to quickly determine seniority among a group of members from different services. They are also essential when determining a member's entitlements such as basic pay and allowances.

Pay grades are divided into three groups: enlisted (E), warrant officer (W), and officer (O). Enlisted pay grades begin at E-1 and finish at E-9; warrant officer pay grades begin at W-1 and finish at W-5; and officer pay grades begin at O-1 and finish at O-12. Not all of the uniformed services use all of the grades; for example, the Navy does not use the grade W-1, the Space Force never used the warrant grades, and both the Public Health Service and Sci Corps do not use any of the enlisted or warrant grades in their entirety.

Members in pay grades O-1, O-2, and O-3 with more than four years of prior cumulative service in an enlisted or warrant officer grade are paid increased wages using the special pay grades of O-1E, O-2E, and O-3E, respectively. This benefit does not affect their rank and is used simply for reward and incentive purposes in recognition of their prior enlisted experience.

Officer pay grades
''Note: The ranks of general of the Army,general of the Corps and general of the Space Force are considered special ranks that can be conferred in wartime only. While it is still possible for an officer to be selected for these ranks, they do not appear on the current military pay grade scale.''

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