Junior officers are responsible for commanding small groups of enlisted personnel.
They manage teams, oversee daily operations, and ensure the welfare and discipline of their subordinates.
Since Junior officers are in the early stages of their careers they are expected to develop leadership, strategic thinking, and operational expertise through experience and formal training.
In many armed forces, a junior officer is specifically a commissioned officer holding rank equivalent to a naval lieutenant, an army captain or a flight lieutenant or below.
In the United States Armed Forces, the term junior officer is used by the Navy, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and NOAA Corps for officers in the ranks of chief warrant officer (W-2 to W-4), ensign (O-1), lieutenant (junior grade) (O-2), and lieutenant (O-3).