I'd like a list of the ranks of the U.S. military divisions (Air
Force, Marines, Navy, Army), in order of course.  A simple list will
do, one for each division, and I don't need "extra" parts if there are
any (like "first class" or .. whatever else there may be).  I just
want enough to know if a Lieutenant Colonel is higher or lower than a
Colonel.  (Don't laugh at my ignorance!  Heh.)

Thanks in advance.  I also don't need links or search strategies
(though you can put them in if you want to) - I feel competent to look
this information up myself, but I don't want the trouble.

Greetings.  Here is the information you are looking for.  There are
separate lists here for officers and enlisted personnel.

Commissioned Officers - Air Force, Marines, and Army

General (4 stars)
Lieutenant General (3 stars)
Major General (2 stars)
Brigadier General (1 star)
Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
Major
Captain
First Lieutenant
Second Lieutentant

Commissioned Officers - Navy and Coast Guard

Admiral
Vice Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral (Lower)
Captain
Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Ensign

For the Air Force, Navy, and Army, there have historically been
five-star ranks, respectively General of the Air Force, Fleet Admiral,
and General of the Army, but there are no living officers of this
grade.

Enlisted Personnel - Air Force

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force 
Chief Master Sergeant
Senior Master Sergeant
Master Sergeant
Technical Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Senior Airman
Airman First Class
Airman
Airman Basic

Enlisted Personnel - Marine Corps

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps
Sergeant Major / Master Gunnery Sergeant
First Sergeant / Master Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Sergeant
Corporal 
Lance Corporal
Private First Class
Private

Enlisted Personnel - Navy 

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Master Chief Petty Officer
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Chief Petty Officer
Petty Officer, First Class
Petty Officer, Second Class
Petty Officer, Third Class
Seaman
Seaman Apprentice
Seaman Recruit

Enlisted Personnel - Army

Sergeant Major of the Army
Command Sergeant Major / Sergeant Major
First Sergeant / Master Sergeant
Sergeant First Class
Staff Sergeant
Sergeant
Corporal
Private First Class
Private

Hope this helps!
surajambar-ga

Perfect :-)  Thanks a lot!

*puzzled*

Does a Lieutenant General really outrank a Major General, despite a
Major outranking a Lieutenant?

The Army has two ranks of Private, E-1 and E-2.

Also, there are the ranks of warrant officer (5 ranks)
Each service has the same rank name
They include:
Warrant Officer 1
Chief Warrant Officer 2-5

Exceptions: Navy and Coast Guard don't have Warrant Officer 1
or Chief Warrant Officer 5.
There are no warrant officers in the Air Force.

That's affirmative xarqi. See
http://www.bragg.army.mil/18abn/rank.htm

Traditionally, the rank of Major General originated from the rank of
Sergeant Major General, the non commisioned rank lower than
Lieutenant, and therefore the rank of Major General is lower than the
rank of Lieutenant General, even though the rank of Major itself is
higher than the rank of Lieutenant

Great answer! A few notes:

There is also such thing as a 5 star General in the Amry. (General of
the Army)

http://www.bragg.army.mil/18abn/rank.htm

There is no 5 star in the Corps, just the Commandant (4 star).

The Coast Guard is often regarded as a military service. It's actually
part of the Department of transportation as of April 1st 1967.

SgtCory

On that last comment the Coast Guard is under the DOT in peacetime,
but moves to the DOD in wartime.

Semper Fi deadmongoose!

"On that last comment the Coast Guard is under the DOT in peacetime,
but moves to the DOD in wartime."

And you and I both fall under the Department of the Navy, but does
that make us squids? ;-)

Happy Holidays!

SgtCory