Lieutenant Colonel Term Analysis

In the U.S. Marine Corps, lieutenant colonel is the second field officer grade commissioned officer rank. Lieutenant Colonels can command anywhere from 300 to 1,000 soldiers, with the assistance of a Major, several junior commissioned officers, and a Command Sergeant Major as the primary advisor. It takes an officer 16 to 22 years to reach this rank, which has the O-5 paygrade. As a result, many officers retire at this paygrade after performing 20 years of active-duty service. Lieutenant Colonel ranks above Major and below Colonel.