E-7

Military abbreviation · Military Pay Grade

E-7
Stands forEnlisted pay grade 7
CategoriesMilitary

E-7 stands for Enlisted pay grade 7, a military pay grade abbreviation.

Seventh US enlisted pay grade and the start of the senior NCO corps in most services: Sergeant First Class in the Army, Chief Petty Officer in the Navy and Coast Guard, Master Sergeant in the Air Force and Space Force, and Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps.

Example: Making E-7 meant trading his dungarees for khakis and joining the chiefs' mess.

Usage notes

Promotion to E-7 is decided by selection boards in most services rather than by tests or points alone. In the Navy and Coast Guard, reaching E-7 changes a sailor's uniform to khaki and brings a weeks-long initiation season. NATO code OR-7, equal to a British staff or colour sergeant.

More military pay grade abbreviations

  • E-1 – Enlisted pay grade 1
  • E-2 – Enlisted pay grade 2
  • E-3 – Enlisted pay grade 3
  • E-4 – Enlisted pay grade 4
  • E-5 – Enlisted pay grade 5
  • E-6 – Enlisted pay grade 6
  • E-8 – Enlisted pay grade 8
  • E-9 – Enlisted pay grade 9
  • O-1 – Officer pay grade 1
  • O-10 – Officer pay grade 10
  • O-1E – Officer pay grade 1 with prior enlisted service
  • O-2 – Officer pay grade 2

See all 44 military pay grade abbreviations →