GI Joe Ranks (Updated)

[Graz73]

Did you include both joes called "Rampage"? One had a real filecard, while the other just had a new code name on another figures filecard.

[Blackjack]

No, I didn't list the first Rampage figure. Mainly bacause YoJoe.com doesn't have his file card on their site. Since his file card is pretty much the same as Heavy Metal's, and I'm assuming even his real name and rank are the same as well, I left him out.

[bluebikerboy1]

were on earth did you get this? its cool looking and all. is this a complete list of all the joes made? if so it would be an interesting checklist for me to mark off as i go along in my collection. I am curius as to when one of you is making a list of cobra officers as well.

[Blackjack]

were on earth did you get this? its cool looking and all. is this a complete list of all the joes made? if so it would be an interesting checklist for me to mark off as i go along in my collection. I am curius as to when one of you is making a list of cobra officers as well.

I put it together by using the file cards on YoJoe.com's site for reference. It is a list of all characters who have been made into action figures to date. It will continue to grow, as more characters are made into figures.

As for Cobra, since they don't seem to use ranks like the military, it is hard to do. I mean, other than Major Bludd and the Cobra Troop pack, who outranks who? No way to tell if Interrogator outranks Scrap-Iron, and so on. One could make an educated guess, but it would still be a guess.

If I had to guess, I would say:
Cobra Commander
Serpentor
Destro
Baroness
Mindbender
Tomax
Xamot
Major Bludd
Scrap-Iron
Interrogator
Black-Out
Scalpel
Crimson Guard Commander
CLAWS Commander
Neo-Viper Commander
Cobra Officers
Scar-Face
Crimson Guardsmen
Then all troop characters (Vipers, Neo-Vipers, CLAWS, Tele-Vipers, etc)

Firefly, Zartan, Slice, Dice, Slash, Nightcreepers, Iron Grenediers, and the Dreadnoks are hired help, and don't really go into the rank structure.

[Graz73]

I would think that Cobra would need a more complex organizational chart with different branches.

[Blackjack]

I would think that Cobra would need a more complex organizational chart with different branches.

I agree. I guess I will dwell on this a while, and see what I come up with.

[Blackjack]

Updated to include the newest release figures (Tiger Claw, Comic 3-packs, etc)

[Blackjack]

Updated-Bombstrike added

[Rotty]

I've never seen this thread before today, but since it's back, I might as well post the updated edition of the rank chart I originally posted to The Pit mailing list circa 1996. This is the third edition: the second included the fat promotions Thomas Wheeler gave the Joes in '97 and '98, almost all of which have been retconned on all subsequent file cards for those characters. I now assume that only the '97 or '98 file cards of characters who have not been rereleased since then are canon.

UNITED STATES ARMY
Joseph Colton ----- O-10

General Hawk ------ O-8

General Flagg Sr. - O-7 (as of 1982)
General Flagg Jr. - O-7 (as of 1992)

Colonel Courage --- O-6

Sure Fire --------- O-5

Bullet-Proof ------ O-4
Major Storm ------- O-4

Capt. Claymore ---- O-3
Capt. Grid-Iron --- O-3
Doc --------------- O-3
Gears ------------- O-3
Psyche-Out -------- O-3
Rapid-Fire -------- O-3
Updraft ----------- O-3

Falcon ------------ O-2
Sub-Zero ---------- O-2
Super Trooper ----- O-2

Steeler ----------- O-1
Thunderwing ------- O-1

Wild Bill --------- WO-4

Flint ------------- WO-2
Lift Ticket ------- WO-2
Major Altitude ---- WO-2

Altitude ---------- E-9 (Sargeant Major of the Army)
Mercer ------------ E-9

Airwave ----------- E-8
Big Brawler ------- E-8
Blizzard ---------- E-8
Dojo -------------- E-8
Drop Zone --------- E-8
Duke -------------- E-8
Mace -------------- E-8
Skydive ----------- E-8
Storm Shadow ------ E-8*

Airborne II ------- E-7
Armadillo --------- E-7
Beachhead --------- E-7
Cold Front -------- E-7
Crossfire --------- E-7
Dodger ------------ E-7
Hot Seat ---------- E-7
Long Range -------- E-7
Salvo ------------- E-7
Shockwave --------- E-7
Snake Eyes -------- E-7
Snow Job ---------- E-7
Stalker ----------- E-7
Static Line ------- E-7
T'Jbang ----------- E-7
Zap --------------- E-7

Blowtorch --------- E-6
Dart -------------- E-6
Dial-Tone --------- E-6
Iceberg ----------- E-6
Lady Jaye --------- E-6
Lifeline II ------- E-6**
Low-Light --------- E-6
Mutt -------------- E-6
Pathfinder -------- E-6
Rampage ----------- E-6
Repeater ---------- E-6
Roadblock --------- E-6
Rock & Roll ------- E-6
Side Track -------- E-6
Snow Storm -------- E-6
Whiteout ---------- E-6
Windchill --------- E-6

Airborne I -------- E-5
Alpine ------------ E-5
Avalanche --------- E-5
Backblast --------- E-5
Barricade --------- E-5
Bazooka ----------- E-5
Blaster ----------- E-5
Blocker ----------- E-5
Breaker ----------- E-5
Budo -------------- E-5
Bullhorn ---------- E-5
Bushido ----------- E-5
Chuckles ---------- E-5
Cross Country ----- E-5
Dusty ------------- E-5***
Free Fall --------- E-5
Fridge, the ------- Honorary E-5
Frostbite --------- E-5
Grand Slam -------- E-5
Grunt ------------- E-5
Heavy Duty -------- E-5
Ice Cream Soldier - E-5
Jinx -------------- E-5
Kamakura ---------- E-5
Knockdown --------- E-5
Lifeline I -------- E-5
Nunchuk ----------- E-5
Outback ----------- E-5
Recoil ------------ E-5
Red Dog ----------- E-5
Scarlett ---------- E-5
Short-Fuze -------- E-5
Sideswipe --------- E-5
Sneak Peek -------- E-5
Starduster -------- E-5
Steam Roller ------ E-5
Stretcher --------- E-5
Switch Gears ------ E-5
Taurus ------------ E-5
Thunder ----------- E-5
Tollbooth --------- SP-5
Tunnel Rat -------- E-5
Wide Scope -------- E-5

Agent Faces ------- E-4
Airtight ---------- E-4
Banzai ------------ E-4
Barbeque ---------- E-4
Barrel Roll ------- E-4
Charbroil --------- E-4
Clean Sweep ------- E-4
Cloudburst -------- E-4
Clutch ------------ E-4
Cover Girl -------- E-4
Crankcase --------- E-4
Crazylegs --------- E-4
Crosshair --------- E-4
Dee-Jay ----------- SP-4
Downtown ---------- E-4
Fast Draw --------- E-4
Flash ------------- E-4
Footloose --------- E-4
Hard Drive -------- E-4
Hardball ---------- E-4
Heavy Metal ------- E-4
Hi-Tech ----------- E-4
Hit & Run --------- E-4
Law --------------- E-4
Lightfoot --------- E-4
Long Arm ---------- E-4
Muskrat ----------- E-4
Ozone ------------- E-4
Quick Kick -------- E-4
Recondo ----------- E-4
Red Spot ---------- E-4
Rip Cord ---------- E-4
Rollbar ----------- E-4
Rumbler ----------- E-4
Sci-Fi ------------ E-4
Scoop ------------- E-4
Skidmark ---------- E-4
Spearhead --------- E-4
Spirit ------------ E-4
T'gin-Zu ---------- E-4
Tiger Claw -------- E-4
Tripwire ---------- E-4
Wildcard ---------- E-4
Wreckage ---------- E-4

Ambush ------------ E-3
Robo-Joe ---------- E-3

Sgt. Hacker ------- unspecified, E-5 to E-9
Back Stop --------- not given

*Defected to Cobra under brainwashing. It is unknown how he attained the rank of Master Sergeant after attacking US troops during his initial stint as a Cobra terrorist.
**Second version apparently demoted to E-5, but appearance and rank seem to have been confused with Lifeline I.
***Promoted to E-5 in 1991, all subsequent file cards say E-4. This is ignored on the assumption that disciplinary action resulting in demotion would entail his removal from GI Joe.

UNITED STATES NAVY
Keel-Haul --------- O-9

Wet Down ---------- WO-5

Torpedo ----------- WO-4

Deep Six ---------- E-7
Shipwreck --------- E-7
Tracker ----------- E-7

Topside ----------- E-6
Wet-Suit ---------- E-6

Depth Charge ------ E-5

Link -------------- E-4
Rampart ----------- E-4

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
Gung-Ho ----------- E-9****

Leatherneck ------- E-7
Sgt. Slaughter ---- E-7

Hollow Point ------ E-6
Mirage ------------ E-6

Mainframe --------- E-5

Blast-Off --------- E-4

****Promoted to E-9 in 1992, apparently demoted to E-7 in 2002. As with Dusty, this is ignored.

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
Payload ----------- O-6

Skystriker -------- O-5

Ghostrider -------- O-4
Ace --------------- O-4

Countdown --------- O-3
Maverick ---------- O-3
Windmill ---------- O-3

Dogfight ---------- O-2
Slipstream -------- O-2

Hardtop ----------- E-5

Space Shot -------- E-4

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
Cutter ------------ O-2

BRITISH ARMY
Big Ben ----------- Staff Sergeant

AUSTRALIAN ARMY
Skymate ----------- Corporal

UNKNOWN SERVICE
Action Man

Interesting notes:
1) General "Hawk" Abernathy outranks Flagg the Younger. What role then does Flagg serve vis-a-vis GI Joe?
2) There are three enlisted men in GI Joe who outrank Duke: Airwave, Gung-Ho, and Mercer. Even if we accept the '97 file card for Duke, these three still have more time in grade than him, and thus would not be his subordinates. What the heck?
3) Airwave's rank makes no bloody sense whatsoever. Not only is Sergeant Major of the Army a desk job, but Airwave apparently outranks his own squad leader, "Sky Patrol Leader" Skydive.
4) The United States Marine Corps is the only branch of the US military not to have an officer represented in GI Joe.

[joebahama]

3) Airwave's rank makes no bloody sense whatsoever. Not only is Sergeant Major of the Army a desk job, but Airwave apparently outranks his own squad leader, "Sky Patrol Leader" Skydive..

Even as a kid I wondered about that. Two separate persons must have written both filecards.

4) The United States Marine Corps is the only branch of the US military not to have an officer represented in GI Joe.

I never thought of that. Heck Now Hasbro has an idea for a new character. I do think the Joes need more Marines.