United States Marine Corps rank insignia

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

Contents 1 Commissioned Officers 2 Warrant Officers 3 Enlisted 4 Forms of Address 5 References

[edit] 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 Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Generals
General of the Marines (Gen.Marines)	General (Gen)	Lieutenant General (LtGen)	Major General (MajGen)	Brigadier General (BGen)
O-10	O-10	O-9	O-8	O-7
Image:USAGENA.png

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

[edit] Warrant Officers

Warrant Officers provide leadership and skills in specialized fields and skills. Unlike most other militaries, the American 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" (not a 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" but this usage is not correct.

Warrant Officer Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Chief Warrant Officer-5 (CWO-5)	Chief Warrant Officer-4 (CWO-4)	Chief Warrant Officer-3 (CWO-3)	Chief Warrant Officer-2 (CWO-2)	Warrant Officer (WO-1)
W-5	W-4	W-3	W-2	W-1

[edit] 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 rank conferred on the senior enlisted Marine of the entire Marine Corps, personally selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Staff Noncommissioned Officer (SNCO) Rank Structure of the United States Marine Corps
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (SgtMajMC)	Sergeant Major (SgtMaj)	Master Gunnery Sergeant (MGySgt)	First Sergeant (1stSgt)	Master Sergeant (MSgt)	Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt)	Staff Sergeant (SSgt)
E-9	E-9	E-9	E-8	E-8	E-7	E-6

Noncommissioned 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

[edit] Forms of Address

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". Unlike the Army, ranks containing "Sergeant" are always addressed by their full rank and never shortened to simply "Sergeant"

Senior Officers may informally address junior officers by first name. This typically only happens outside the presence of enlisted Marines and is meant to foster a relationship similar to that of a father/child, scholar/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. To do so would be looked upon as unprofessional conduct.

Informally, some enlisted ranks have commonly used nicknames, though they are not official and technically improper. For instance, a Master Gunnery Sergeant is commonly called "Master Guns," and a Master Sergeant is "Top." Sergeants Major and First Sergeants are always referred to by proper rank. A Gunnery Sergeant is typically called "Gunny," and (much less often) "Guns." Staff Sergeants, Sergeants, and Corporals are also always referred by proper rank. The rank of Sergeant is never referred to as "Sarge."

The most junior ranks between pay grades E-1 and E-3 are also referred to by proper rank or last name only due to their status as non-NCOs. It is not considered to be politcally correct and may be taken offensively to refer to a non-NCO as a "non-rate." The rank of Lance Corporal is the only exception, which are often referred to (derisively) as "Lance Coolies", "Lance Coconuts", "Lance Criminals" or some other derivative.

[edit] References

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