Real work.
Earned progress.

Promotions are sequential. Each milestone adds requirements to those already earned. Revenue thresholds are a proposal to validate before launch; they are not an earnings promise. Reaching the honorary threshold creates eligibility for unanimous panel review.

1. E-1

   Private

   Choose a mission and begin the fundamentals.

   • Enter the academy. Create a learner profile, choose a primary track, and accept the evidence and community standards.
   • Complete orientation. Finish the short orientation covering safe AI use, honest attribution, and how progress is verified.

2. E-2

   Private First Class

   Understand the tools well enough to direct them deliberately.

   • Finish one foundation. Complete the foundation curriculum and knowledge check in the selected primary track.

3. E-3

   Lance Corporal

   Turn a guided lesson into a working artifact.

   • Build the first working artifact. Submit one artifact that runs or renders as described and includes a short note explaining what was built and what remains imperfect.

4. E-4

   Corporal

   Work across the full AI production stack.

   • Complete all three foundations. Pass the foundation level in AI Coding, Agent Operations, and AI Video.

5. E-5

   Sergeant

   Deploy useful work for someone beyond yourself.

   • Reach operator level. Complete the operator curriculum and assessment in the primary track.
   • Make one useful deployment. Put a working result in front of at least one real person outside the build team and document the feedback.

6. E-6

   Staff Sergeant

   Combine disciplines into a repeatable workflow.

   • Qualify in two tracks. Complete operator-level curriculum in any two of the three academy tracks.
   • Build across tracks. Submit a reproducible artifact that intentionally combines at least two tracks.

7. E-7

   Gunnery Sergeant

   Operate production work with safeguards, documentation, and recovery paths.

   • Master the primary track. Complete the advanced curriculum and assessment in the primary track.
   • Document a production-grade build. Submit a reproducible system with setup notes, quality checks, failure handling, and a known-limitations section.

8. E-8

   First Sergeant

   Raise the standard by helping other builders ship.

   • Help three builders improve. Complete three substantive, constructive reviews of other learners’ work; recipients and a reviewer must confirm the contribution.

9. E-9

   Sergeant Major

   Prove full-spectrum command of code, agents, and video.

   • Qualify across the academy. Complete at least operator-level curriculum in all three tracks and advanced curriculum in the primary track.
   • Pass the three-track capstone. Ship and defend a reproducible capstone that uses software, an operated agent workflow, and a finished video output toward one coherent outcome.
   • Demonstrate trusted leadership. Complete five reviewed contributions that helped other learners make measurable progress.

10. O-1

    Second Lieutenant

    Cross from training into a verified public launch.

    • Launch for real users. Release a production outcome and document use by at least three people who were not part of the build team.

11. O-2

    First Lieutenant

    Move beyond a portfolio launch into sustained distribution.

    • Ship a durable release. Keep a distributed production system live for at least 30 days and verify use by at least ten external people or customers.

12. O-3

    Captain

    Prove that customers will pay for the outcome.

    • Generate the first $1,000. Verify at least $1,000 in cumulative customer revenue attributable to the submitted product or AI-enabled service, net of refunds.

13. O-4

    Major

    Turn an early sale into repeatable commercial demand.

    • Reach $10,000. Verify at least $10,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds.

14. O-5

    Lieutenant Colonel

    Build a business that survives beyond the first launch cycle.

    • Reach $50,000. Verify at least $50,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds.

15. O-6

    Colonel

    Create a documented, repeatable operating system for growth.

    • Reach $100,000. Verify at least $100,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds.
    • Document the operating system. Submit current documentation for delivery, quality control, customer support, and failure recovery.

16. O-7

    Brigadier General

    Scale a proven outcome without abandoning quality.

    • Reach $250,000. Verify at least $250,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds.

17. O-8

    Major General

    Operate at scale with evidence, controls, and durable systems.

    • Reach $500,000. Verify at least $500,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds.

18. O-9

    Lieutenant General

    Build a seven-figure AI business with accountable operations.

    • Reach $1,000,000. Verify at least $1,000,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds.

19. O-10

    General

    Pair exceptional commercial results with meaningful builder leadership.

    • Reach $5,000,000. Verify at least $5,000,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds.
    • Create measurable builder impact. Provide at least ten reviewed contributions showing that other builders shipped, improved, or avoided a material failure because of the member’s help.

20. Fictional · Honorary AI Army rank

    Five-Star General

    An exceptional AI Army capstone for durable commercial and community impact.

    • Exceed $10,000,000. Verify at least $10,000,000 in cumulative customer revenue, net of refunds. This threshold creates eligibility; it does not automatically confer the title.
    • Show exceptional ecosystem impact. Receive a documented, unanimous review for enduring mentorship, responsible practice, and material contribution to builders beyond the member’s own company.