Colonel (United States)
As on the Great Seal, the eagle has a U.S. shield superimposed on its chest and is holding an olive branch and bundle of arrows in its talons.However, in simplification of the Great Seal image, the insignia lacks the scroll in the eagle's mouth and the rosette above its head.Upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, colonial legislatures would grant commissions to men to raise a regiment and serve as its colonel.The first insignia for the rank of colonel consisted of gold epaulettes worn on the blue uniform of the Continental Army.During the Civil War, the Confederate army maintained a unique insignia for colonel, which comprised three yellow stars worn on the collar of a uniform.After the end of the Civil War, the rank of colonel again became rare as the forces of the United States Army downsized and became extremely small.The Military Promotion System was revised and standardized for all the services in 1980 as a result of passage of the Defense Officer Personnel Management Act.[5] In the modern armed forces, the colonel's eagle is worn facing forward with head and beak pointing towards the wearer's front.Officers in pay grade O-6 visiting or on temporary assignment to other installations are also accorded "Distinguished Visitor" (DV) status for lodging and other appropriate protocol honors.
ColonelUnited StatesMarine CorpsAir ForceSpace Forcerank codeBrigadier generalLieutenant colonelCaptainuniformed servicesnaval ranksUSMC Combat Utility UniformDesert Camouflage UniformBattle Dress UniformUnited States Armyfield-grademilitaryofficerpay gradeWilliam FewsilverGreat Seal of the United Statescoat of armsolive brancharrowstalonsrosettepatrol capgarrison capflight capsame rankBritish ArmycolonialmilitiasreservesAmerican Revolutionary WarregimentepaulettesContinental ArmyWar of 1812American Civil WarConfederate armyUnion ArmyRegular ArmyRobert E. Leeinsignia of a Confederate generalSpanish–American WarTheodore RooseveltDavid Grant ColsonJeanette SustadWorld War IWorld War IIArmy of the United StatesDefense Officer Personnel Management ActbrigadesregimentsMarine Expeditionary Unitsgroupsexecutive officercommand sergeant majornon-commissioned officergroup commandersAir Staff (United States)MAJCOMNumbered Air Forcelieutenant colonelsArmy War CollegeCarlisle, PennsylvaniaAir War CollegeMaxwell AFBNational Defense UniversityNational War CollegeEisenhower SchoolNaval War CollegeMarine Corps War CollegeAir Force ReserveAir National GuardColonel (title)Harland SandersKentucky colonelColonel Tom ParkerElvis PresleyLouisianaEdward M. HouseWoodrow WilsonHarold Gregory MooreBattle of Ia DrangCharlie Beckwith1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Deltaspecial forcesDeborah L. BirxAnthony BrownLieutenant Governor of MarylandPennsylvaniaObama/Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review TeamDepartment of Veterans AffairsJoshua Lawrence Chamberlain20th Maine Volunteer Infantry RegimentGettysburgDavid HackworthJack H. JacobsMedal of HonorVietnam WarErnest Lester JonesUnited States Coast and Geodetic SurveyJohn BrownHarpers FerryGeneral in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate StatesW. Patrick LangVirgil R. Miller442nd Regimental Combat TeamLost Texas Battalion36th Infantry DivisionFranceWilliam Wilson QuinnNational Order of the Legion of HonorBattle of the BulgeHermann Göring1st United States Volunteer Cavalry RegimentPresident of the United StatesRobert Gould ShawAfrican American54th MassachusettsJames L. StoneKorean WarBlake R. Van Leer