US Publishes 2026 Salaries for Lieutenants, Captains and Majors, Details Pay by Rank
- The United States continues to win people over when it comes to transparency in all sectors
- This comes after an agency under the Department of War has published details of the monthly salaries for commissioned officers
- These salaries for commissioned officers in the various ranks, however, do not include allowances
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The United States has released the 2026 basic pay for commissioned officers in the Army.
The Defence Manpower Data Centre (DMDC), an agency under the U.S. Department of Defence (DoD), shared data on its website outlining what commissioned officers can expect to earn.
Source: Getty Images
YEN.com.gh therefore shares insight into what selected ranks in the commissioned service take home as starting pay.
US Army publishes salaries of commissioned members
It is worth noting that soldiers ranked as commissioned officers in the US Army include 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, General, and General of the Army.
The US Army pay structure for members in the commissioned service also considers duration of service, with long-serving members earning more than new entrants.
2nd Lieutenant
According to Defence Finance and Accounting Service data, a 2nd Lieutenant who has just joined the service upon commissioning receives the lowest pay. The starting pay for a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army is $4,150 per month.
1st Lieutenant
A 1st Lieutenant is a soldier who may have spent less than two years as a commissioned officer but ranks above a 2nd Lieutenant. For an officer with the rank of 1st Lieutenant, the starting salary stands at $4,782 per month.
Captain
Also featured on the list of commissioned officers is a soldier who holds the rank of Captain. A Captain is a senior soldier who may have served as a commissioned officer for about four years. Soldiers in this rank have considerable experience in the performance of their duties. The starting pay is $5,534 per month.
Source: Getty Images
Major
For a commissioned officer to attain the rank of Major in the US Army, the soldier should have served for about 10 years. The starting pay, according to data from the Defence Finance and Accounting Service, for a Major is $6,295.
Lieutenant Colonel
One top position that comes with many benefits as a commissioned officer is the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Usually, such officers have leadership roles and may have been in service for about 16 years. The monthly salary for a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army is $7,295.
Colonel
In the US Army, a Colonel is a senior rank for commissioned officers who often have served for over two decades. According to the pay structure, a Colonel's starting salary is $8,751 per month.
The pay structure shown above does not include allowances.
Ghanaian man joins the US Army
In a related development, YEN.com.gh reported that Kwaku Raymond, a famous Ghanaian soldier, joined the US Army on June 4, 2025.
He shared the news on his TikTok account, EchoLima, after serving in the Ghana Army for nearly two decades.
Source: YEN.com.gh
