Which rank corresponds to pay grade O-9?

• A. Lieutenant General
• B. Major General
• C. Brigadier General
• D. Colonel

Answer: (A)

Pay grades for commissioned officers follow a clear ladder among general officers. In the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, the general officer ranks map to O-7 through O-10 as follows: Brigadier General is O-7, Major General is O-8, Lieutenant General is O-9, and General is O-10. So pay grade O-9 corresponds to Lieutenant General. (For contrast, in the Navy the same pay grade is called Vice Admiral, illustrating how service-specific titles differ even as the pay scale aligns.) The other options fall one level earlier: Brigadier General is O-7, Major General is O-8, and Colonel is O-6.