Commissioned officers, which are distinguished from other officers by their commission, or formal written authority, have ranks that are subdivided into general officers, field-grade officers, and company-grade officers. Warrant officers provide leadership and training in specialized fields and skills. Enlisted Marines with paygrades of E-4 and E-5 are non-commissioned officers (NCOs) while those at E-6 and higher are staff noncommissioned 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") their preferred promotional track: master sergeant or first sergeant.
Warrant officers provide leadership and training in specialized fields and skills. Unlike other nation's militaries (which rank warrant officers as SNCO equivalents), the United States Military confers warrants and commissions on its warrant officers and classifies them into a separate category senior to all enlisted grades of rank (including officer candidates), cadets, and midshipmen. Because warrant officers are officer-level technical specialists, they generally do not exercise command outside of their specialty. Warrant officers come primarily from the SNCO ranks.
A chief warrant officer, CWO2–CWO5, serving in the MOS 0306 "Infantry Weapons Officer" is often referred to as "Marine gunner," which does not replace his rank. A Marine gunner replaces the chief warrant officer insignia on the left collar with a bursting bomb insignia. Other warrant officers are sometimes incorrectly referred to as "gunner".
Enlisted Marines with paygrades of E-4 and E-5 are non-commissioned officers (NCOs) while those at E-6 and higher are staff noncommissioned officers (SNCOs).[4] 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") their preferred promotional track: master sergeant or first sergeant. The first sergeant and sergeant major ranks are command-oriented senior enlisted advisors, with Marines of these ranks serving as the senior enlisted Marines in a unit, charged to assist the commanding officer in matters 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 a similar echelon, while sergeants major serve the same role in battalions, squadrons, or larger units.[5]
Different styles of rank insignia are worn on different Marine uniforms:
L to R: Evening Dress coat, Dress Blue coat, Service Dress coat, Service Dress "B" and "C" shirt, and combat utility pin-on insignia for a Staff Sergeant
Gold stripes on a red flash are worn on the Dress Blue uniform coat. Green stripes on a red flash are worn on the Service uniform coat. Rank insignia are worn on the upper sleeve of both coats. Khaki uniform shirts use green stripes on a khaki flash and are worn on the upper sleeves of both long and short-sleeved shirts. Utility uniform rank insignia are black metal pins and are worn on the collars, or black embroidered insignia sewn into patches of material when wearing armor. Musicians in the United States Marine Band wear insignia with lyre in the center as opposed to the crossed rifles, to denote their lack of a combat mission; full-service Marines who are attached to the 10 field bands of the Operating Forces and Supporting Establishment continue to wear their normal rank insignia.[7] The crossed M1 rifles insignia were added to E-3 through E-8 chevrons in 1959.
[1] No universal insignia for officer candidate rank [2] No official insignia and not currently listed by the Army as an obtainable rank. John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: (collar) (epaulettes) [3] These ranks are reserved for wartime use only, and are still listed as ranks within their respective services [4] Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created [5] Grade has never been created or authorized
For the Army and Air Force, first sergeants are temporary and lateral ranks and are senior to their non-diamond counterparts, while Marine Corps first sergeants have no lateral movement within paygrade and is a permanent rank.
The rank insignia is used by other Coast Guard senior enlisted leaders.
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer training corps (OTC) or reserve officer training corps (ROTC), or officer candidate school (OCS) or officer training school (OTS), after receiving a post-secondary degree.
Sergeant is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, serjeant, is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. Its origin is the Latin serviens, 'one who serves', through the French term sergeant.
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services.
A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries.
Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world.
Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, above staff sergeant and below master sergeant and first sergeant, and is a senior non-commissioned officer (SNCO). It has a pay grade of E-7.
Senior Chief Petty Officer(SCPO) is an enlisted rank in the navies of some countries.
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as a chief petty officers.
The chart below shows the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Army, with seniority, and pay grade, increasing from right to left. The enlisted ranks of corporal (E-4) and higher are considered non-commissioned officers (NCOs). The rank of specialist is also in pay grade E-4, but does not hold non-commissioned officer status; it is common that a soldier may never hold the rank of corporal, and instead be promoted from specialist to sergeant, attaining junior NCO status at that time.
Technical sergeant is the name of two current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces, as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Marine Corps.
Master gunnery sergeant (MGySgt) is the 9th and highest enlisted grade in the United States Marine Corps. Master gunnery sergeants are senior staff non-commissioned officers (SNCOs) with the pay grade of E-9, equivalent to sergeants major and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps.
The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is a billet, as well as a unique enlisted grade of rank, and is designated a special paygrade above E-9. The position also has a unique non-commissioned grade of rank insignia, in the United States Marine Corps. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted marine in the Marine Corps, unless an enlisted marine is serving as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman.
In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, cadets, and midshipmen, but subordinate to the lowest officer grade of O‑1. This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries, where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks, equivalent to the U.S. Armed Forces grades of E‑8 and E‑9.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) prescribes several types of military uniform to distinguish its service members from other armed services, depending on the situation.
The U.S. Army enlisted rank insignia that was used during World War II differs from the current system. The color scheme used for the insignia's chevron design was defined as golden olive drab chevrons on a dark blue-black wool background for wear on "winter" uniform dress coats and dress shirts or silvery-khaki chevrons on a dark blue-black cotton background for wear on the various types of field jackets and "winter" uniform fatigue shirts. An unauthorized variant that nevertheless saw wide use was olive drab chevrons on a khaki cotton background for wear on the "summer" uniform dress coats and dress shirts. This scheme of rank insignia was established by War Department Circular No. 303 on 5 August 1920 and would see two significant changes in 1942. The usage of this style of insignia was ended by Department of the Army Circular No. 202, dated 7 July 1948, which provided for significant changes in both rank and insignia design.
The United States Marine Corps MOS 0306, infantry weapons officers, commonly referred to as "the gunner" or "Marine gunner" are non-technical chief warrant officers that are weapons specialists and are knowledgeable in the tactical employment of all the infantry weapons in the Marine Corps arsenal—all weapons organic to Marine infantry units.
First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries.
Chief Petty Officer (CPO) is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, is above Petty Officer First Class and below Senior Chief Petty Officer. The term "rating" is used to identify enlisted job specialties. In this way, enlisted personnel are segregated into three segments containing different enlisted ranks. Furthermore, rates are broken down into three levels: non-rated members without a designated occupation. Advancement to E-4 and above is dependent on graduating from a specialty school that define what the enlisted is rated for. Petty officers and chief petty officers are part of the rated force and considered extremely knowledgeable about their particular rating. Examples include Culinary Services Chief and Aviation Maintenance Chief. The Chief Petty Officer is the rank. Gunners Mate is a rating. E7 is a pay grade. The term rating is used to identify the career field of a chief petty officer. For example, the title of a chief petty officer in the Master-at-Arms rating would be spoken or spelled out as Chief Master-at-Arms. The title would be abbreviated MAC. The grade of chief petty officer was established on 1 April 1893 in the United States Navy. The United States Congress first authorized the Coast Guard to use the promotion to Chief Petty Officer on 18 May 1920. Chief petty officer is also the final cadet grade in the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
