Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in the United Stars Navy . The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank in Army, Marines and Space Force is major.
A lieutenant commander is a senior department officer on a large ship/shore installation or commanding officer or executive officer (second-in-command) of a smaller ship/installation.
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 a majors in the Space Force and Army, and identical to that worn by majors in the Marine Corps . 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). Above or inboard of the stripes, they wear their speciality insignia (i.e., a star for officers of the line, crossed oak leaves for Civil Engineer Corps, etc.).