Military Ranks

Every grade in the Amestrian forces is signaled by a distinct badge displayed on the shoulder marks of the uniform. These emblems let soldiers read one another's standing at a glance, growing more elaborate as authority increases, from the plain markings worn by privates up to the ornate crest reserved for the head of state.

At the pinnacle sits the Führer, also styled Generalissimo or Führer President, a post held by King Bradley and later Grumman; the 2003 anime formally retired both the office and its rank after Bradley's death. Below it descend the general grades: General, borne by Roy Mustang and Philip Gargantos Armstrong; Lieutenant General, held by Grumman, Raven and Gardner; Major General, worn by Olivier Mira Armstrong; and Brigadier General, the tier to which Maes Hughes was raised by two steps posthumously. Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel and Major follow next, with Major standing equal to the authority granted to a State Alchemist.

The commissioned ladder continues through Captain, First Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant, occupied by figures such as Buccaneer, Riza Hawkeye and Maria Ross. Beneath the officers come the enlisted grades: Warrant Officer, Master Sergeant, Sergeant, Corporal, Lance Corporal and Private, alongside the separate Military Police designation. A recurring footnote clarifies that a State Alchemist wields authority equivalent to a Major, though during the Ishval Civil War such alchemists earned that clout only by first proving themselves as ordinary soldiers.