Lieutenant (junior grade)

Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies.

United States

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Lieutenant (junior grade)
   
Navy and Coast Guard insignia
   
Public Health Service and NOAA insignia
Country  United States
Service branch  United States Navy
  United States Coast Guard
  United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
  NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
Rank groupJunior officer
NATO rank codeOF-1
Pay gradeO-2
FormationMarch 3, 1883
Next higher rankLieutenant
Next lower rankEnsign
Equivalent ranksFirst lieutenant

Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is a junior commissioned officer rank of the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps). LTJG has a US military pay grade of O-2,[1][2] and a NATO rank code of OF-1. The rank is also used in the United States Maritime Service. The NOAA Corps's predecessors, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps (1917–1965) and the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps or ESSA Corps (1965–1970), also used the rank.

Lieutenant (junior grade) ranks above ensign and below lieutenant and is equivalent to a first lieutenant in the other uniformed services (the Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force) and sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy and the navies of many Commonwealth countries.

Promotion to LTJG is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980. DOPMA guidelines suggest all "fully qualified" ensigns should be promoted to LTJG. The time for promotion to LTJG is a minimum of two years after commissioning in the Navy or 18 months in the Coast Guard. Lieutenants, junior grade typically lead petty officers and non-rated personnel, unless assigned to small aircraft or on staff duty. A LTJG's usual shipboard billet is as a division officer.

Lieutenant, junior grade is often referred to colloquially as JG. Prior to March 3, 1883, this rank was known in the U.S. Navy as master.[3]

Notable LTJGs

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ 10 USC 5501. Navy: grades above chief warrant officer, W–5
  2. ^ 37 USC 201. Pay grades: assignment to; general rules
  3. ^ Mallory, John A. (1914). Compiled Statutes of the United States 1913. Vol. 1. St. Paul: Wast Publishing Company. p. 1062.
  4. ^ "G.I. Jobs -April 2008". Archived from the original on 2006-03-10.
  5. ^ Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force. "Paratus" (PDF). Regional Publications Ltd. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Defense Act of 2008" (PDF). 3 September 2008. p. 8. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. ^ "BADGES OF RANK". Official Jamaica Defence Force Website. 2019. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Government Notice" (PDF). Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia. Vol. 4547. 20 August 2010. pp. 99–102. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Philippine Navy Ranks". Philippine Navy. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b "U.S. Military Rank Insignia". defense.gov. Department of Defense. Retrieved 13 January 2022.