Can an FBI Agent Hold a Military Rank?

by Susan Echaore-McDavid

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, more commonly known as the FBI, is the criminal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. Its special agents are responsible for enforcing more than 300 federal criminal laws. They investigate violations involving white-collar crime, organized crime, public corruption, bribery, bank robbery, extortion, kidnapping, interstate criminal activity, air piracy, cyber crime, civil rights, foreign counterintelligence and terrorism, among other federal crimes. As of May, 2013, the FBI employed 13,785 special agents. Some of them have military backgrounds.

FBI Agents with a Military Rank

The FBI is a federal civilian agency; therefore, it does not confer military ranks to its special agents. However, FBI special agents who are retired military officers continue to hold their rank, such as captain or colonel, which they may use in social situations. FBI agents who are veterans, on the other hand, do not maintain their rank. Military veterans resign their rank when they separate from military service.

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