line officer

In the United States Armed Forces, the term line officer or officer of the line refers to a U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine, U.S. Air Force or U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer who exercises general command authority and is eligible for operational command positions, as opposed to officers who normally exercise authority within a specialty. The term is not generally used by officers of the U.S. Army—the roughly corresponding Army terms are basic branch and special branch although the concepts are not synonymous, as some special branch Army officers are eligible to hold command.