How to become a colonel in the US Army
Colonel is pay grade O-6, the senior field-grade rank, reached by centralized promotion board at roughly 21 to 23 years of commissioned service. You cannot apply for it. What you can plan is the commission and the milestones along the way.
The route
Commission through West Point, Army ROTC, Officer Candidate School or a direct commission. Promotion to O-2 and O-3 is largely time-based and fully qualified. From major onward, promotion runs through HQDA centralized selection boards against Army-wide requirements and depends on the relevant professional military education plus key developmental assignments — battalion command is effectively a gate for O-6 in most branches.
Time in grade
Under 10 U.S.C. § 619(a)(2), three years in grade as a lieutenant colonel before eligibility for consideration.
What catches people out
The statutory clock gets shorter at the top, not longer. Section 619 requires three years in grade at captain, major and lieutenant colonel, but only one year in grade at colonel and at brigadier general. The legal minimum to be considered for general officer is a single year as an O-6 — though practice runs far longer.
Colonel salary in the US Army
Colonel is O-6, reached at roughly twenty-one to twenty-three years, so the far right of the table is the relevant part. O-6 at twenty years is $13,751.10. Note the shape of the O-6 row: it is nearly flat between eight and twelve years, then rises sharply from sixteen — which reflects that almost nobody holds the grade early.
| Grade | ≤2 yrs | Over 4 | Over 8 | Over 12 | Over 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O-1 | $4,150.20 | $5,222.40 | flat | flat | flat |
| O-2 | $4,782.00 | $6,484.50 | $6,617.70 | flat | flat |
| O-3 | $5,534.10 | $7,382.70 | $8,125.50 | $8,788.20 | $9,004.20 |
| O-4 | $6,294.60 | $7,881.00 | $8,816.40 | $9,888.30 | $10,509.90 |
| O-5 | $7,295.40 | $8,894.10 | $9,461.40 | $10,271.70 | $12,032.70 |
| O-6 | $8,751.30 | $10,245.00 | $10,725.00 | $10,783.50 | $13,751.10 |
These are basic pay only. They exclude the Basic Allowance for Housing, which varies by duty station and dependants, the Basic Allowance for Subsistence, and any special or incentive pays. Both allowances are untaxed, so total compensation is meaningfully higher than the table shows — comparing a military figure against a civilian salary is not comparing like with like.
Source: DFAS 2026 Basic Pay tables, effective 1 January 2026.
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