Ranks and insignia of NATO

NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is an alliance of countries from Europe and North America who work together to protect each other from possible attacks or other threats. NATO countries have different ranks that each of their military forces use. Each rank is identified by the use of insignia. Insignia is a symbol or sign that represents a person's rank in an organization. For example, an enlisted soldier might have stars on his uniform to represent their rank, while an officer might have bars. The different NATO ranks and insignia range from Private all the way up to General. Each rank has a different amount of stars or bars to represent their importance within the organization.