What Do You Call a Space Force Service Member?
Since the Space Force was first stood up, one question has been what we will call the men and women filling its ranks. While there have been many humorous guesses such as Spacemen and Space Cadets, some are simply built on practicality such as Space Forcemen and Space Marines. In December, former Vice President Mike Pence put the guessing to an end when he announced that our newest DOD service members, standing alongside Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen, will be called Guardians.
Now we can also tell you what ranks those Guardians will hold:
Grade | Rank | Abbreviation | Terms of Address |
E1 | Specialist 1 | Spc1 | Preferred term is Specialist but Spec1 or Specialist 1 are both acceptable |
E2 | Specialist 2 | Spc2 | Preferred term is Specialist but Spec2 or Specialist 2 are both acceptable |
E3 | Specialist 3 | Spc3 | Preferred term is Specialist but Spec3 or Specialist 3 are both acceptable |
E4 | Specialist 4 | Spc4 | Preferred term is Specialist but Spec4 or Specialist 4 are both acceptable |
E5 | Sergeant | Sgt | Sergeant |
E6 | Technical Sergeant | TSgt | Sergeant or Technical Sergeant or Tech Sergeant |
E7 | Master Sergeant | MSgt | Sergeant or Master Sergeant |
E8 | Senior Master Sergeant | SMSgt | Senior or Senior Master Sergeant |
E9 | Chief Master Sergeant | CMSgt | Chief or Chief Master Sergeant |
E9 | Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force | CMSSF | Chief or Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force |
O1 | Second Lieutenant | 2d Lt | Second Lieutenant or Lieutenant |
O2 | First Lieutenant | 1st Lt | First Lieutenant or Lieutenant |
O3 | Captain | Capt | Captain |
O4 | Major | Maj | Major |
O5 | Lieutenant Colonel | Lt Col | Lieutenant Colonel or Colonel |
O6 | Colonel | Col | Colonel |
O7 | Brigadier General | Brig Gen | Brigadier General or General |
O8 | Major General | Maj Gen | Major General or General |
O9 | Lieutenant General | Lt Gen | Lieutenant General or General |
O10 | General | Gen | General |
Crowdsourced feedback on rank names was collected from the field and was part of the decision-making process. Guardians will wear Air Force rank insignia until the Space Force finalizes its own rank insignia designs, which is expected sometime in the coming months. The service will announce opportunities for Guardians to contribute feedback during the design process.