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Coast Guard LieutenantO-3 Junior Officer, U.S. Coast Guard |
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Coast Guard Ranks » Lieutenant Rank • LT Pay • LT Rank History • Promotion Information
History of the Coast Guard Lieutenant Rank
A Lieutenant is a Junior Officer in the United States Coast Guard at DoD paygrade O-3.
The title of "lieutenant", derived from the French "lieu"; ("in place of") and "tenant" ("holder, occupier") means, literally, "place holder". It refers to a second-in-command position, an officer who will step into a command role in the absence of his or her commanding officer.
In 1855, the US Navy introduced this rank as a new rank as a lieutenant-in-training known as "master in line for promotion". They were typically Naval Academy graduates with some experience and needed to be distinguished from warrant officers and more junior Ensigns on the one hand and from fully-fledged naval lieutenants on the other. The rank insignia they wore represented half a lieutenant's rank.
Want to learn more? Read about the Coast Guard's Lieutenant rank on Military-Ranks.org.
History of the Coast Guard
The Coast Guard has changed names several times over its 200+ year history, but it is largely the same organization as it was in 1790 as the Revenue Marine. Uniforms, culture, and professions are very similar to the Navy, but the mission is different. While the Navy ensures freedom of navigation internationally, the Coast Guard does so for our nation's coasts through vessel inspections, law enforcement, drug and migrant interdiction, maintenance of navigation aids, environmental protection and research, ice operations, and search-and-rescue. Sailors of the Navy and Coast Guard have a high respect for each other, knowing that one can do what the other cannot.