Lieutenant (junior grade)
Lieutenant (junior grade)
Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), is a junior commissioned officer rank of 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 Officer Corps (NOAA Corps). LTJG has a US military pay grade of O-2,[1][2] and a NATO rank code of OF-1a. The rank is also used in the United States Maritime Service. The NOAA Corps's predecessors, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps (1917–1965) and the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps or ESSA Corps (1965–1970), also used the rank.
Lieutenant, junior grade, ranks above ensign and below lieutenant and is equivalent to a first lieutenant in the other uniformed services (the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force) and sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy and the navies of many Commonwealth countries.
Promotion to LTJG is governed by Department of Defense policies derived from the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act of 1980. DOPMA guidelines suggest all "fully qualified" ensigns should be promoted to LTJG. The time for promotion to LTJG is a minimum of two years after commissioning in the Navy or 18 months in the Coast Guard. Lieutenants, junior grade typically lead petty officers and non-rated personnel, unless assigned to small aircraft or on staff duty. A LTJG's usual shipboard billet is as a division officer.
Lieutenant, junior grade is often referred to colloquially as JG. Prior to March 3, 1883, this rank was known in the U.S. Navy as master.[3]
A U.S. Navy LTJG's insignia.
A U.S. Coast Guard LTJG's insignia.
A U.S. NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps LTJG's insignia.
A U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps LTJG's (Assistant) insignia.
Notable LTJGs
Neil Armstrong, Korean War Naval Aviator and as an astronaut, Commander of Apollo 11
Paul Brown, exceptional High School, College and Pro level American Football Coach
George H. W. Bush, World War II Naval Aviator and 41st President of the United States[4]
Albert David, only Atlantic Fleet sailor awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II
Kirk Douglas, American actor
Henry Fonda, American film and stage actor
L. Ron Hubbard, science fiction writer and founder of scientology
John F. Kennedy, commanding officer of motor torpedo boat PT-109 and 35th President of the United States
Bob Kerrey, Navy SEAL Medal of Honor recipient and U.S. Senator
Harvey Milk, gay rights activist and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Thomas R. Norris, Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient
David Robinson, U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1987) and National Basketball Association (NBA) Hall of Fame player[5]
Potter Stewart, served in World War II as a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve aboard oil tankers, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
Malcolm Wilson, New York politician
Fictional LTJGs
Douglas A. "Doug" Roberts in the 1960s TV series Mister Roberts
John Wayne as "Rusty" in the 1945 film They Were Expendable
H. Paynter Jr. in The Caine Mutiny
Radar intercept officers Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), Ron "Slider" Kerner (Rick Rossovich), and Marcus "Sundown" Williams (Clarence Gilyard) in the 1986 film Top Gun
Attorneys Daniel Alistair Kaffee (Tom Cruise) and Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) in the 1992 film A Few Good Men
Bright Noa in Mobile Suit Gundam
Tim O'Neill and Lonnie Henderson in seaQuest DSV
Nick Holden (Tony Curtis) in the 1959 film Operation Petticoat
Cathy Connors (Barbara Eden) and Danny Romano (Frankie Avalon) in the 1961 film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Meg Austin (Tracey Needham) and Bud Roberts (Patrick Labyorteaux) in the 1990s TV series JAG
Felix Gaeta in Battlestar Galactica
Joseph Tormolen in the episode The Naked Time of Star Trek; this was the only time in TOS the rank was shown or named
Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, andStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home**
Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Iroquois Pliskin in Metal Gear Solid 2. Solid Snake was disguised as this U.S. Navy SEAL.
Tom Paris in Star Trek: Voyager
Ezri Dax was promoted from Ensign to LTJG by Captain Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space 9
Fred Boynton (Chris Eigeman) in the 1994 film Barcelona
Deborah Solomon (Cheryl Ladd) in Purple Hearts
Julian Mintz in Legend of the Galactic Heroes
Fred-104 in Halo 5: Guardians
Malcolm Blanke MD in C.S. Forester's short story "Dr Blanke's First Command". In the US Navy Reserve.
LeRoy Carpentor in McHales Navy,
See also
Comparative military ranks
U.S. Navy officer rank insignia