I have never been able to ascertain the duties of this Lieutenant and have so far been able to see he received the same pay as a 2nd Lieutenant.
George Martin
Third Lieutenant
A few non-English-speaking militaries maintain a lower rank, frequently translated as "Third Lieutenant". The rank title may actually translate as "Second Lieutenant", "Junior Lieutenant", "Sub-Lieutenant" or "Ensign". The Soviet Union used three ranks of Lieutenant, and Warsaw Pact countries similarly standardised their ranking system. Some of the former Soviet and Warsaw Pact nations have now discarded the third rank.
Throughout the 19th century, until as late as World War II,[4] the United States Army sometimes referred to Brevet Second Lieutenants as "Third Lieutenants." These were typically newly commissioned officers for which no authorized Second Lieutenant position existed. Additionally, the Confederate States Army also used "Third Lieutenant", typically as the lowest ranking commissioned officer in an infantry company.
In the US Air Force , the Third Lieutenant Program refers specifically to a training program at active duty bases for cadets the Air Force Academy, Air Force ROTC the summer before their fourth and final year before graduation and commissioning. A single silver or subdued pip is used to designate this rank. A similar program, Cadet Troop Leadership Training, exist in the US Army.[5]