United States Marine Corps rank insignia

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Various Marine and Navy rank insignia (as well as other devices) left at the summit of Mount Suribatchi on Iwo Jima.

Marine ranks in descending order, with tables indicating abbreviations in the style used by the Marine Corps, pay grades, and rank insignia:

Commissioned Officers

See also: United States Marine Corps officer rank insignia

Commissioned Officers are distinguished from other officers by their commission, which is the formal written authority, issued in the name of the President of the United States, that confers the rank and authority of a Marine Officer. Commissioned officers carry the "special trust and confidence" of the President of the United States.[1] Commissioned officer ranks are further subdivided into Generals, field-grade officers, and company-grade officers.

Commissioned Officer Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Generals
General (Gen) Lieutenant General (LtGen) Major General (MajGen) Brigadier General (BGen)
O-10 O-9 O-8 O-7
Field-grade Officers
Colonel (Col) Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol) Major (Maj)
O-6 O-5 O-4
Company-grade Officers
Captain (Capt) First Lieutenant (1stLt) Second Lieutenant (2ndLt)
O-3 O-2 O-1

Warrant Officers

See also: Warrant Officer (United States)

Warrant Officers provide leadership and skills in specialized fields and skills. Unlike most other militaries, the United States military confers commissions on its Warrant Officers, though they are generally not responsible for leadership outside of their specialty. Warrant officers come primarily from the senior Non-Commissioned Officer ranks.

A Chief Warrant Officer, CWO2-CWO5, serving in the MOS 0306 "Infantry Weapons Officer" carries a special title, "Marine Gunner", which does not replace their rank. A Marine Gunner replaces the Chief Warrant Officer insignia on the left collar with a bursting bomb insignia. Other warrant officers are sometimes informally also referred to as "Gunner".

Warrant Officer Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Chief Warrant Officer-5 (CWO5) Chief Warrant Officer-4 (CWO4) Chief Warrant Officer-3 (CWO3) Chief Warrant Officer-2 (CWO2) Warrant Officer (WO) Infantry Weapons Officer
"Marine Gunner"
W5 W4 W3 W2 W1 varies

Enlisted

See also: United States Marine Corps enlisted rank insignia

Enlisted Marines with paygrades of E-4 and E-5 are considered non-commissioned officers (NCOs) while those at E-6 and higher are considered Staff Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs). The E-8 and E-9 levels each have two ranks per pay grade, each with different responsibilities. Gunnery Sergeants (E-7) indicate on their annual evaluations, called "fitness reports", or "fitreps" for short, their preferred promotional track: Master Sergeant or First Sergeant. The First Sergeant and Sergeant Major ranks are command-oriented, with Marines of these ranks serving as the senior enlisted Marines in a unit, charged to assist the commanding officer in matter of discipline, administration and the morale and welfare of the unit. Master Sergeants and Master Gunnery Sergeants provide technical leadership as occupational specialists in their specific MOS. First Sergeants typically serve as the senior enlisted Marine in a company, battery or other unit at similar echelon, while Sergeants Major serve the same role in battalions, squadrons or larger units.

The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is a billet, not a rank, conferred on the senior enlisted Marine of the entire Marine Corps, personally selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. It and the Marine Gunner are the only billets which rate modified rank insignia in place of the traditional rank insignia.

Staff Non-commissioned Officer (SNCO) Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Sergeant Major (SgtMaj) Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt) First Sergeant (1stSgt) Master Sergeant (MSgt) Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) Staff Sergeant (SSgt)
E-9 E-8 E-7 E-6
Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Sergeant (Sgt) Corporal (Cpl)
E-5 E-4
Enlisted Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Lance Corporal (LCpl) Private First Class (PFC) Private (Pvt)
E-3 E-2 E-1
no insignia

Forms of address

See also: List of U.S. Marine Corps acronyms and expressions

Marines address all enlisted personnel by rank, and all Commissioned officers with "sir" or "ma'am". Warrant Officers, regardless of rank, are addressed just as commissioned officers, but may also be addressed as "Warrant Officer", or "Gunner", although the latter is improper unless the Warrant Officer holds the Military Occupational Specialty of Infantry Weapons Officer (MOS 0306). During recruit training, recruits are indoctrinated to address all superiors as "sir" or "ma'am".

The most junior ranks between pay grades E-1 and E-3 (Privates, Privates First Class, and Lance Corporals) are also referred to by proper rank and/or last name only, though the latter is informal.

During recruit training, recruits are not considered full-fledged Marines; as a result, all Marines who have completed recruit training are addressed as "sir" or "ma'am" by incoming recruits who are beginning recruit training. Also, incoming recruits must refer to themselves in the third person (i.e. "this recruit"), and their rank is replaced with the word "Recruit". This usually lasts until the last week of recruit training when in most instances, recruits are then considered-full fledged Marines. Likewise, during officer training, officer candidates are not yet commissioned Marine officers, and must refer to themselves as "this candidate" or "the candidate", even though some officer candidates have evolved to officer training from the enlisted ranks where they hold enlisted ranks. During the period of Officer Candidate School, each candidate is referred to as "candidate", and not "Marine".

Informally, some enlisted ranks have commonly used nicknames, though they are not official and may be improper for use in formal situations. The acceptability of nickname use by juniors is at the discretion of the individual rank holder. A Gunnery Sergeant is typically called "Gunny" and occasionally "Guns", a Master Sergeant is commonly called "Top", and a Master Gunnery Sergeant is "Master Gunny" or "Master Guns". Differing from the US Army and Air Force, all ranks containing "Sergeant" are always addressed by their full rank and never shortened to simply "Sergeant" or "Sarge". A Private First Class is usually referred to as a PFC, instead of simply "private" as the Army does. The rank of Lance Corporal has some pejorative nicknames: "Lance Coolie", "Lance Coconut" and "Lance Criminal." Senior Officers may informally address junior officers by first name. This typically only happens teacher/student or mentor/apprentice. Marines of the same rank may also address each other by first name when among peers only and never in the presence of junior or senior Marines.

Finally, Marines generally consider it an insult to be called a "soldier" (as soldiers are in the Army); the proper term is always Marine. When writing journalism or scholarly references to the Marine Corps, its elements, and/or individual Marines, the correct attributions might include, "soldiers or Sailors and Marines", "members of the U.S. armed forces", or even simply "troops", which is an acceptable collective reference.[1]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military ranks of the United States Marine Corps.

References

  1. ^ a b Estes, Kenneth W. (2000). The Marine Officer's Guide, 6th Edition. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-567-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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