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United States Army - O-4 Major

Yearly Base Pay

$69,638 - $116,269

Monthly Base Pay

$5,803.20 - $9,689.10

Hourly Base Pay *

$36.27 - $60.56

Army Major - Rank Details


Major (MAJ)

Classification Field Officer
Abbreviation MAJ
NATO Code OF-4
Service United States Army
Address Major (last name)
What are a Major's Responsibilities?

Majors are commissioned officers in the United States Army. They receive their commission upon appointment by the Secretary of the Army.

Their primary reason for existence is to serve as staff officers for battalion or brigade-sized elements (about 800 or 5000 soldiers respectively), although they can also spend some of their time in grade attending graduate school or professional-development schools or courses, all of which is sponsored by the Army in exchange for greater service in order to yield officers prepared for greater responsibilities in the future.

Major serves most often as the operations officer (known in the Army as the S-3) or the executive officer (known as the XO) in battalions or brigades.

They are given these positions due to their experience serving as platoon leaders and staff officers while lieutenants and commanders and staff officer's whole captains. More specifically, these experiences give Majors a deep understanding of the needs of platoon and companies and how battalions and brigades can help to serves these needs and help such units accomplish their missions.

What is a Major's Paygrade?

A Major is considered a Field Officer, with a paygrade of O-4. The civilian equivalent of this military rank is roughly GS-12 under the federal government's General Schedule payscale.

On this page you can learn more about a Major's payscale, the process of becoming a Major, and the history of the rank in the United States Army.

Seal of the Army Army Major Pay Calculator

Starting pay for a Major is $5,803.20 per month, with raises for experience resulting in a maximum base pay of $9,689.10 per month. You can use the simple calculator below to see basic and drill pay for a Major, or visit our Army pay calculator for a more detailed salary estimate.


Basic Pay:

Drill Pay:

n/a Learn more
For an O-4 Major with
years of experience.

Use the slider below to calculate the basic pay and drill pay for an O-4 Major at varying years in his or her military career.

2 or less years

Over 40 years


Equivalent Ranks to an Army Major

A Major is a Field Officer, with a military paygrade of O-4. The civilian equivalent of this military rank is roughly GS-12 under the federal government's General Schedule payscale.

The table below lists the equivalent ranks of an Army Major, and their insignia, in the other four branches of the United States' Armed Services.


** This Document Provided By www.FederalPay.org - The Civil Employee's Resource **
Source: www.federalpay.org/military/army/major