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

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

Commissioned officers[edit]

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 general officers, field-grade officers, and company-grade officers. The highest billets in the Marine Corps, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps are, by statute, four-star ranks, as the Marine Corps is a separate naval service under the Department of the Navy.^[2]

Officer	Company-grade officers			Field-grade officers			General officers
Title (Abbreviation)	Second lieutenant (2ndLt)	First lieutenant (1stLt)	Captain (Capt)	Major (Maj)	Lieutenant colonel (LtCol)	Colonel (Col)	Brigadier general (BGen)	Major general (MajGen)	Lieutenant general (LtGen)	General (Gen)
US DoD Pay Grade	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10
NATO Code	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9
Insignia
Marine Service Uniform Insignia

"Tombstone promotions" [edit]

The Act of Congress of March 4, 1925, allowed officers in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to be promoted one grade upon retirement if they had been specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat. Combat citation promotions were colloquially known as "tombstone promotions" because they conferred all the perks and prestige of the higher rank including the loftier title on their tombstones but no additional retirement pay. The Act of Congress of February 23, 1942, enabled tombstone promotions to three- and four-star grades. Tombstone promotions were subsequently restricted to citations issued before January 1, 1947, and finally eliminated altogether effective November 1, 1959. The practice was terminated in an effort to encourage senior officer retirements prior to the effective date of the change to relieve an overstrength in the senior ranks.

Any officer who actually served in a grade while on active duty receives precedence on the retirement list over any tombstone officer holding the same retired grade. Tombstone officers rank among each other according to the dates of their highest active duty grade.^[3]

Warrant officers[edit]

Warrant Officers provide leadership and training in specialized fields and skills. Unlike other nations' militaries (which rank warrant officers as Staff NCO 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. As Warrant Officers are officer-level technical specialists they generally do not exercise command outside of their specialty. Warrant officers come primarily from the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer (SNCO) 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 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 informally referred to as "Gunner."

Warrant Officers
Infantry Weapons Officer "Marine Gunner"	Warrant Officer (WO)	Chief Warrant Officer-2 (CWO2)	Chief Warrant Officer-3 (CWO3)	Chief Warrant Officer-4 (CWO4)	Chief Warrant Officer-5 (CWO5)
US DoD Pay Grade	W-1	W-2	W-3	W-4	W-5
NATO Code	WO-1	WO-2	WO-3	WO-4	WO-5

Enlisted[edit]

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 similar echelon, while Sergeants Major serve the same role in battalions, squadrons, or larger units.^[5]

The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is a billet and with it carries a special rank insignia, conferred on the senior enlisted Marine of the entire Marine Corps, personally selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps.^[6] It and the Marine Gunner are the only billets which rate modified rank insignia in place of the traditional rank insignia.^{[citation needed]}

Enlisted	Junior enlisted			Non-commissioned officers (NCOs)		Staff non-commissioned officers (SNCOs)
Title (Abbreviation)	Private (Pvt)	Private first class (PFC)	Lance corporal (LCpl)	Corporal (Cpl)	Sergeant (Sgt)	Staff sergeant (SSgt)	Gunnery sergeant (GySgt)	Master sergeant (MSgt)	First sergeant (1stSgt)	Master gunnery sergeant (MGySgt)	Sergeant major (SgtMaj)	Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps (SMMC)
US DoD Pay Grade	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8		E-9
NATO Code	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5	OR-6	OR-7	OR-8		OR-9
Insignia	no insignia

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

The gold stripes on red flash are worn on the Dress Blue uniform coat, green stripes on red flash are worn on the Service uniform coat; the rank insignia are worn on the upper sleeve of both blouses. The khaki uniforms use green stripes on khaki flash, and again are worn on the upper sleeves of both long and short-sleeved service blouses. 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 a flak. 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]

Forms of address[edit]

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 are, but may also be addressed as "Warrant Officer" or "Gunner", although the latter is sometimes considered improper unless the officer is an Infantry Weapons Officer (MOS 0306). During recruit training, recruits are indoctrinated to address all superiors as "sir" or "ma'am". Addressing a commissioned officer (or any rank) as "Mister" has long been considered a grievous insult towards the individual. The most junior ranks between pay grades E-1 and E-3 (privates, privates first class, and lance corporals) are commonly referred to by their last name only, using their rank only in a formal situation. "Marine" is also a common form of address for junior Marines.

During recruit training, recruits are not Marines until they graduate, and must address all Marines who have completed recruit training, including instructors, as "sir" or "ma'am". Incoming recruits must also refer to themselves in the third person (i.e., "this recruit"), and their rank is replaced with the word "Recruit". This continues until the last week of bootcamp, when recruits must pass the final, grueling test of the "Crucible" in order to earn both their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor and the title of "Marine." 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 may hold an enlisted rank. During Officer Candidate School, each candidate is referred to as "candidate" and not "Marine." Unlike their enlisted counterparts, officer candidates refer to enlisted Marines, including their instructors, by their full and proper rank; only commissioned officers are addressed as "sir" or "ma'am".

To reinforce the leadership responsibility of the rank or to show an extra measure of respect, it is common to add the words "of Marines" after the rank itself; i.e. "Corporal of Marines" and "Sergeant of Marines." This verbiage comes straight from the USMC noncommissioned officer promotion warrants.

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 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"; similarly, Lance Corporal is not shortened to "Corporal". Senior officers may informally address junior officers by their first name. Marines of the same rank may also address each other by their first names when among peers only and never in the presence of junior or senior Marines.

Finally, Marines consider it a grievous insult to be called a "soldier", as soldier is an army-specific appellation, except in the Marine Corps nom de guerre "Soldier(s) of the Sea" or its variation "Sea Soldier(s)" and in the highly generic sense of referring to any member of the military, especially those members performing ground combat missions such as Navy SEALs and Air Force special operations and Security Forces personnel. Additionally, while Marines often are collectively called "troops", it is never appropriate to address Marines individually or collectively as either a "troop" or "trooper(s)", as these terms are only properly used by the Army (originally in cavalry units but in modern use extended to armor and airborne or air assault units) and US state police forces; the proper term is always Marine. When writing journalistic or scholarly references to the Marine Corps, its elements, and individual Marines, the correct attribution is Marine(s).

Traditions[edit]

Marines have multiple traditions surrounding their rank insignia.
When Marines are promoted, the promoting officer at the ceremony may give the promotee the opportunity to select one or two individuals present (such as a mentor or family member) to pin the new rank on the collar of the utility uniform. It is customary for the newly promoted Marine to hand down the old insignia from his or her former rank to a junior who shows leadership potential. It is considered an honor to be promoted with chevrons previously worn by a mentor.
At annual rifle or pistol qualification, shooters who achieve expert scores sometimes remove their rank insignia from their shooting shoulder and give it to their Combat Marksmanship Coach to show appreciation for their assistance during the practice days. The coach may then pin the rank to his or her assault pack. A coach's assault pack may display many insignia of a variety of ranks.

See also[edit]

• British and United States military ranks compared


• Comparative military ranks


• 
  List of United States Marine Corps acronyms and expressions for more nicknames and forms of address


• Ranks and insignia of NATO

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• 
   This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.


• 
  MCO P1070-12K: Individual Records Administration Manual. United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 2008-10-03. 
  


• 
  Nalty, Bernard C.; Truman R. Strobridge; Edwin T. Turnbladh (1962). United States Marine Corps Ranks and Grades, 1775–1962 (PDF). Historical Division, United States Marine Corps. 
  

External links[edit]

• USMC Rank Chevrons through the ages...since 1917


• Marine Corps ranks

v t e United States uniformed services commissioned officer and officer candidate ranks
Pay grade / branch of service	Officer candidate	O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6	O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11	Special grade
Insignia	[1]			[6]					[6]	[6]	[6]		[2]
Army	CDT / OC	2LT	1LT	CPT	MAJ	LTC	COL	BG	MG	LTG	GEN	GA[3]	GAS[3]
Marine Corps	Midn / Cand	2ndLt	1stLt	Capt	Maj	LtCol	Col	BGen	MajGen	LtGen	Gen	[5]	[5]
Navy	MIDN / OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	FADM[3]	AN[3]
Air Force	Cadet / OT / OC	2d Lt	1st Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig Gen	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	GAF[3]	[5]
Coast Guard	CDT / OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	ADM	[5]	[5]
PHS Corps	[OC]	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RADM	RADM	VADM	ADM	[5]	[5]
NOAA Corps	OC	ENS	LTJG	LT	LCDR	CDR	CAPT	RDML	RADM	VADM	[4]	[5]	[5]
[1] No universal insignia for officer candidate rank; Navy candidate insignia shown [2]Official 1945 proposal for General of the Armies insignia; John J. Pershing's GAS insignia: ; George Dewey's Admiral of the Navy insignia: [3] Rank used for specific officers in wartime only, not permanent addition to rank structure [4] Grade is authorized by the U.S. Code for use but has not been created [5] Grade has never been created or authorized [6] USAF and U.S. Army insignia shown

v t e United States warrant officer ranks
	W-1	W-2	W-3	W-4	W-5
Army	WO1	CW2	CW3	CW4	CW5
Marine Corps	WO1	CWO2	CWO3	CWO4	CWO5
Navy	WO1[1]	CWO2	CWO3	CWO4	CWO5
Air Force	WO1[1]	CWO2[1]	CWO3[1]	CWO4[1]	CWO5[1]
Coast Guard	WO1[1]	CWO2	CWO3	CWO4	[2]
PHS Corps	[2]	[2]	[2]	[2]	[3]
NOAA Corps	[3]	[3]	[3]	[3]	[3]
[1]Grade inactive [2]Grade is authorized for use by U.S. Code but has not been created [3]Grade never created or authorized

v t e United States enlisted ranks
Pay grade → Branch of service ↓	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9
Army	PVT	PV2	PFC	SPC – CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG – 1SG	SGM – CSM – SMA
Marine Corps	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt – 1stSgt	MGySgt – SgtMaj – SgtMajMarCor
Navy	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO – CMDCS	MCPO – CMDCM – FORCM, FLTCM – MCPON
Air Force	AB	Amn	A1C	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt – 1st Sgt	SMSgt – 1st Sgt	CMSgt – 1st Sgt – CCM – CMSAF
Coast Guard	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO – CMC – Area CMC, CGRF-CMC – MCPOCG