Military Ranks (RDM)
Ranks
| Rank Pay Grade | BSG Military Rankings | U.S. Navy Equivalent | U.S. Army / Air Force Equivalent | BSG Examples |
| FLAG OFFICERS | ||||
| [O-11] | Fleet Admiral | Fleet Admiral | General of the Army/Air Force (5 Star) | Nagala |
| [O-10] | Admiral | Admiral | General (4 Star) | Nagala |
| [O-9] | Vice Admiral | Vice Admiral | Lieutenant General (3 Star) | |
| [O-8] | Rear Admiral | Rear Admiral(Upper Half) | Major General (2 Star) | Nelena Cain |
| [O-7] | Commander | Rear Admiral(Lower Half) (formerly Commodore) | Brigadier General (1 Star) | William Adama |
| COMMISSIONED OFFICERS | ||||
| [O-6] | Colonel | Captain | Colonel | Saul Tigh |
| [O-5] | Major | Commander | Lieutenant Colonel | Dr. Cottle |
| [O-4] | Captain | Lieutenant Commander | Major | Lee Adama, Kelly |
| [O-3] | Lieutenant | Lieutenant | Captain | Felix Gaeta, Kara Thrace |
| [O-2] | Junior Lieutenant/Lieutenant Junior Grade | Lieutenant Junior Grade | First Lieutenant | Karl C. Agathon, Sharon Valerii |
| [O-1] | Ensign | Ensign | Second Lieutenant | Davis |
| NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS | ||||
| [E-9] | Master Chief Petty Officer (Fleet); Sergeant Major (Marines) | Master Chief Petty Officer | Sergeant Major / Chief Master Sergeant | |
| [E-8] | Senior Chief Petty Officer (Fleet); Senior Master Sergeant (Marines) | Senior Chief Petty Officer | Master Sergeant / Senior Master Sergeant | |
| [E-7] | Chief Petty Officer (Fleet); Master Sergeant (Marines) | Chief Petty Officer | Sergeant (1st Class) / Master Sergeant | Galen Tyrol, Sergeant Hadrian |
| [E-6] | Petty Officer 1st Class (Fleet); Staff Sergeant (Marines) | Petty Officer 1st Class | Staff Sergeant / Technical Sergeant | |
| [E-5] | Petty Officer 2nd Class (Fleet); Sergeant (Marines) | Petty Officer 2nd Class | Sergeant / Staff Sergeant | Anastasia Dualla |
| [E-4] | Petty Officer 3rd Class (Fleet); Corporal (Marines) | Petty Officer 3rd Class | Corporal / Senior Airman | Venner, Cally (assumed) |
| ENLISTED PERSONAL | ||||
| [E-3] | Crewman (Fleet); Private 1st Class (Marines) | Seaman | Private 1st Class / Airman 1st Class | Socinus (assumed) |
| [E-2] | Crewman Apprentice (Fleet); Private 2nd Class (Marines) | Seaman Apprentice | Private E2 / Airman | Prosna (assumed) |
| [E-1] | Crewman Recruit (Fleet); Private Recruit (Marines) | Seaman Recruit | Private / Airman Basic | |
Insignia
| OFFICERS | |||
| Admiral | Commander | Colonel | Major |
| File:Admiralpip sm.jpg | File:Commanderpip sm.jpg | File:Colonelpip sm.jpg | File:Majorpip sm.jpg |
| Captain | Lieutenant | Lieutenant JG | Ensign |
| File:Captainpip sm.jpg | File:Lieutentantpip sm.jpg | File:Ltjuniorpip sm.jpg | File:Ensignpip sm.jpg |
| Enlisted | |||
| Master Chief | Chief Petty Officer | Petty Officer | |
| File:Masterpopip sm.jpg | File:Chiefpopip sm.JPG | File:Pettyofficerpip sm.jpg | |
| Specialist | Deckhand | Recruit | |
| File:Specialistpip sm.jpg | File:Deckhandpip sm.jpg | File:Recruitpip sm.jpg | |
Notes
- On February 19, 2005 Ronald Moore gave a little insight into the rank structure of Battlestar Galactica:
"What is the rank structure? It doesn't seem consistant with the Navy."
"The rank structure is derived from the original series. I didn't want to change Commander Adama to Captain Adama or Colonel Tigh to Commander Tigh, so I elected to simply embrace the co-mingled nature of the original rank structure. For our internal purposes, we've decided that the ranks are indeed a mixture of naval and army nomenclature and are basically as follows:
Officers -- Admiral Commander Colonel Major Captain Lieutenant Lieutenant (junior grade) Ensign
Enlisted -- Master Chief Petty Officer Chief Petty Officer Petty Officer (1st, 2nd Class) Specialist Deck Hand Recruit
Just to complicate matters further, there are also Marines aboard Galactica which conform more closely to the traditional enlisted Marine ranks, with Sergeants, Sergeant-Majors, etc. Unresolved is the question of whether the Marine officers would also adhere to the mixed rank structure (which sounds odd) or if they are strictly army equivalents (which makes no sense given that the "Navy" ranks seem oblivious to there being any such distinction). Aren't you glad you asked?"
- The images of the ranks were drawn by Kevin Houghton and are based on Ronald Moore's list. The ones that I have seen and/or have photos of are admiral, commander, colonel, captain, lieutenant, chief petty officer, petty officer, and specialist. The rest are conjecture based on a somewhat logical progression of the different ranks as seen, and how most military ranks progress.
See Also
- Military Ranks (TOS) - Ranks from the original series.