Lieutenant commander (United States)

Insignia of Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

The hat of a Lieutenant commander. Note the lack of embellishment

In 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 Corps, lieutenant commander (LCDR) is a mid-ranking officer rank, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code Of-3. Lieutenant commander ranks above Lieutenant and below Commander and is distinguished by the "half-stripe" between the two full bars (as opposed to a Commander's full third stripe). The rank is equivalent to a Major in the other uniformed services. Notably, Lieutenant commanders do not wear the gold embroidery (colloquially known as "scrambled eggs) seen on the cap of a Major.

While the gold oak leaf collar insignia worn by a Major of the USAF, Army, and Marine Corps is also worn by Lieutenant commanders on certain uniforms, they also wear, on formal uniforms the two medium and one narrow sleeve and shoulder braid stripe insignia like their counterparts in the Royal Navy, though with a speciality insignia instead of a loop. In this illustration, the inverted star of a line officer is used.

See also

• Military unit
• Comparative military ranks
• U.S. Navy officer rank insignia