Mustang is a military slang term used in the United States Armed Forces to refer to a commissioned officer who began their career as an enlisted service member. A mustang officer is not a temporary or brevet promotion but is a commissioned officer who receives more pay according to their rank of O1-E, O2-E, etc., but has no more command responsibilities than those of any commissioned officer of the same grade.
Mustang officers are generally older than their peers-in-grade who have been commissioned from one of the service academies (such as the United States Merchant Marine Academy, United States Military Academy, United States Air Force Academy, United States Naval Academy, or United States Coast Guard Academy), Officer Candidate School, or the Reserve Officer Training Corps.
History
The term "mustang" refers to the mustang horse, a feral animal and not a thoroughbred, which is captured and tamed.
The original definition of mustang was a military officer who had earned a battlefield commission; they were especially prevalent during World War II and the Korean War. Notable examples include Audie Murphy (World War II) and David Hackworth (Korean War). During the Vietnam War, some army warrant officer pilots were offered a direct commission to 2nd or 1st Lieutenant, while usually being younger than 25 at the time of commission. Department of Defense military pay tables authorize approximately ten percent pay premiums for officers in grades O-1, O-2 and O-3 who have credit for over four years of enlisted or warrant officer service before commissioning (Grades O-1E, O-2E, O-3E).
A mustang is characterized by former enlisted service before transitioning to officer rank. As a slang term, there is no official U.S. Government definition or set of criteria to determine which officers can properly be called a mustang. By the end of World War II, it was understood across the armed forces that a Mustang was an officer with service in the enlisted ranks before commissioning.
A similar term is Maverick used for the same reason.
By Branch
A United States Navy or United States Marine Corps mustang officer can be a warrant officer, a chief warrant officer, a limited duty officer, a staff corps officer, a restricted line officer or an unrestricted line officer, depending on the particular situation.
Notable mustangs American mustang officers 19th century Samuel Chamberlain (1829–1908) – Dragoon sergeant of the Mexican War who re-enlisted in 1861 and eventually became a brevet general. Patrick Cleburne (1828–1864) – British army corporal who later became a Confederate general. Johnny Clem (1851–1937) – Enlisted in the US Civil War as a drummer boy in the Union Army and retired as a US Army general in 1917. Christian Fleetwood (1840–1915) – USCT sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient, later became a major in the District of Columbia National Guard. Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821–1877) – He began his career in the Confederate States Army as a private in the cavalry and was commissioned colonel in 1861, eventually becoming a lieutenant general. Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859) – Enlisted as a private during the Texas Revolution and received a battlefield commission as a colonel and command of the Texian cavalry immediately before the Battle of San Jacinto. Lamar would later serve as the Texas Secretary of War and be elected president. William McKinley (1843–1901) – Enlisted as a private in the Union Army in 1861; promoted to the rank of sergeant. Received a battlefield commission for bravery under fire at the Battle of Antietam; mustered out of the army as a major. Subsequently, he became the 25th president of the United States. John Murphy (born c.1820, date of death unknown) – Irish sergeant who deserted the US army during the Mexican War and received a commission in the San Patricios Battalion of the Mexican Army. Galusha Pennypacker (1841/1844–1916). Initially a Union Army quartermaster sergeant in 1861. Promoted to major general in 1865. Winfield Scott (1786–1865) – Enlisted as a militia cavalry corporal in 1807 and commissioned as a captain in the Regular Army in 1808. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1814, aged 27, and eventually became a major general (and brevet lieutenant general). Frederick Winthrop (1839-1865) – Enlisted in the army as a private in April 1861 and appointed captain in October 1861, later brevetted to brigadier general in 1864. He fought in most of the US Civil War's major battles, and was killed at the Battle of Five Forks about a week before General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. He was brevetted major general for that battle.
20th and 21st centuries Ellis E. Austin – Joined the U.S. Navy in 1941 as an aviation electronics technician. Promoted to chief warrant officer 1956 (Mustang) and advanced to commander as a bombardier/navigator on the A6-A Intruder (Attack Squadron VA-42) flying off the Kitty Hawk in 1966. Shot down over North Vietnam on April 21, 1966. Still Missing in Action. Awarded the Purple Heart in 1966, The Distinguished Flying Cross, The Bronze Star, and Navy Commendation Medal with "V" for heroic achievement. He joined the Caterpillar Club when he was ejected from his disabled AJ Savage aircraft in 1956. John F. Aiso (1909–1987) – Already a practicing lawyer, he was drafted in the Army in 1941 and assigned to menial jobs. Recruited by Army Intelligence to teach Japanese, but due to a prohibition of Japanese Americans being commissioned, was discharged and hired as a War Department Civilian at the Military Intelligence Service Language School. It took the intervention of Gen Clayton Bissell to demand a direct commission for Aiso to Major, the highest-ranking Japanese-American during the war. Jeremy Boorda (1939–1996) – Rose from the USN enlisted ranks to become a four-star admiral and Chief of Naval Operations. He committed suicide in 1996 while serving as CNO. Ernest C. Brace (1931–2014) – Enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a radio/radar technician in 1947, earned a commission as a Marine pilot, and flew more than 100 missions during the Korean War before being court-martialed. Gregory R. Bryant (Born 1950) – Enlisted in the United States Navy in 1970 and was eventually promoted to rear admiral. He became Deputy Chief of Staff for Fleet Maintenance, U.S. Pacific Fleet. In 2005, Gregory retired. John Francis Burnes (birth name: Martin Maher) (1883–1918) – Enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1904, achieved the rank of sergeant major by 1916, was promoted to captain (temporary service) on 3 June 1917, was wounded in WWI during the Battle of Belleau Wood, and died soon after. Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Silver Star citation. The destroyer was named for him. Dale Dye (born 1944) – Retired USMC captain. Awarded Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War. John William Finn (1909–2010) – Enlisted in the Navy in July 1926, shortly before his seventeenth birthday. Promoted to chief petty officer in 1935. Awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay during the attack on Pearl Harbor. In 1942, Finn was commissioned and served as a limited-duty officer with the rank of ensign. In 1947 he reverted to his enlisted rank of chief petty officer, eventually becoming a lieutenant with Bombing Squadron VB-102 aboard the USS Hancock (CV-19). Retired from the Navy as a lieutenant in September 1956. Robin Fontes – Enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 1981, earned a commission from West Point in 1986, and was promoted to major general in 2017. John W. Foss (born 1933) – Enlisted in Minnesota National Guard at 16 and then Regular Army upon graduation from high school. Served as an infantry private. Accepted to United States Military Academy Preparatory School and then United States Military Academy, graduating in 1956. Served two combat tours in the Vietnam War and eventually became commanding general United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. Retired as a four-star general in 1991. Wesley L. Fox (1931–2017) – Retired USMC colonel who rose from the ranks of private to first sergeant to colonel. Awarded Medal of Honor, Bronze Star (with Combat V), and four Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War. Tommy Franks (born 1945) – Enlisted in 1965 as a cryptologic analyst, selected to attend the Artillery and Missile Officer Candidate School, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1967, later rising to four-star general. Franks was the U.S. general leading the attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan in response to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon in 2001. Harry K. Fukuhara (1920–2015) – Sent to a internment camp at the outbreak of WWII. Enlisted with the Military Intelligence Service in the Pacific, earning a battlefield commission for his bravery. Inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and honored by the naming of the 500th Military Intelligence Brigade HQ at Schofield Barracks as "Fukuhara Hall." Tulsi Gabbard (born 1981) – Enlisted as a Medical Specialist with the 29th Infantry Brigade Support Battalion of the Hawaii Army National Guard; rose to the rank of major. Eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in a California unit of the U.S. Army Reserves, before going to on serve as a member of Congress representing Hawaii's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. Eventually was appointed as the eighth Director of National Intelligence (DNI) under the second Trump administration. Jim Gant (born c.1965) – US Army sergeant during the First Gulf War and captain during the American Afghan War. Randy George (born 1964) - Enlisted in the Army in 1982, attended United States Military Academy and commissioned an infantry officer in 1988. Deployed with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm. Deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom as Commanding Officer, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Later posted to positions in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and appointed Army Chief of Staff in 2023 before being forced into retirement in 2026 by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Alfred M. Gray, Jr. (1928-2024) – Served as an enlisted Marine sergeant before becoming a Mustang. Retired as a United States Marine Corps general who served as the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, from 1987 to 1991. David Hackworth (1930–2005) – Korean War and Vietnam War veteran. Retired in 1971 with the rank of colonel. Courtney Hodges (1887–1966) – Enlisted as a private in the US Army in 1906; was commissioned and served in both World War I and World War II, during the latter of which he commanded First US Army; retired in 1949 as a general. Daniel Inouye (1924–2012) – Enlisted in the segregated Japanese-American 442nd RCT in WWII, earning a battlefield commission for his bravery. Elected to the US Senate in 1962, he served for almost 50 years. Countless military assets & installations have since been named in his honor. After reviewing military records in the 1990s, Inouye was decorated with the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Italian Campaign. Young-Oak Kim (1919–2005) – Drafted into the Army in 1941, served a year as an enlisted engineer before being selected for Infantry Officer Candidate School. Served as a staff officer with the 442nd RCT in WWII. He became the first minority officer to command an Army battalion in combat in Korea and to serve as an instructor at the Army Command and General Staff College.