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Commissioned officers are authorized to use deadly force to carry out the lawful orders of their government, either directly or through orders to non-commissioned officers or soldiers.

Having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not be commissioned.

In the United States, there are some uniformed commissioned officers who are not members of the military. See uniformed services of the United States, NOAA Corps, and United States Public Health Service.

1 British and American Commissioned Officer Ranks

Many of the militaries of the world base their officer ranks upon the officer ranks of the British and American militaries. Officer ranks are typically differently titled but equivalent in rank between the army and navy. For more information, see Comparative military ranks.

1.1 British Commissioned Officer Ranks

1.1.1 Army/Royal Marines

• Second LieutenantSecond Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned rank in many armed forces. In the United States Army, the rank bore no insignia until 1917 when a gold bar was introduced to contrast with the silver bar of a First Lieutenant. As a result those in the rank hav
• LieutenantA Lieutenant is a military or paramilitary officer. The word lieutenant derives from French; the lieu meaning "place" as in a position or territory; and tenant meaning "holding" as in "holding a position". The British monarch's representative in Ireland a
• CaptainCaptain is both a nautical term and a military rank. The word came to English via French from the Latin capitaneus ("chief") which is itself derived from the Latin word for "head" caput . The term has different meanings both at sea and in the military.
• MajorFor non-military meanings, see major (disambiguation). In the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the British Army, a major is a commissioned officer superior to a captain and inferior to a lieutenant colonel. The equivalent rank in the US Navy is Lieute
• Lieutenant-Colonel
• ColonelColonel ( Ger: Oberst is a military rank, usually the highest below general grades, and just above Lieutenant Colonel. The word is pronounced similarly to "kernel". In the US military, a colonel in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps is equivalent to a c
• BrigadierBrigadier is a rank in the British military and the Australian Army ranking above Colonel and immediately below Major General. It was introduced in 1928 to replace the rank of Colonel Commandant that had briefly replaced the rank of Brigadier General in 1
• Major-General
• Lieutenant-General
• General
• Field Marshal

The highest rank currently held by a Royal Marines officer is Major-General, although the ranks of Lieutenant-General and General still exist. The Royal Marines equivalent to Field Marshal is the Captain-General, a purely honorary rank currently held by the Duke of Edinburgh.