Master sergeant (E-8)
Three chevrons above three arcs, with nothing between them, are the insignia of a master sergeant (MSG), pay grade E-8 in the US Army.
Easily confused with
How to read it
DA Pamphlet 670-1 describes the master sergeant insignia as three chevrons above three arcs. The First sergeant (E-8) wears the same chevrons and arcs with a diamond (a pierced lozenge, in the pamphlet’s words) between them, and both are E-8, according to the Department of Defense. Army Regulation 600-20 lists the master sergeant immediately below the first sergeant and above the Sergeant first class (E-7), who has two arcs. The Army’s ranks page calls the master sergeant the principal NCO at the battalion level and often higher.
Also searched as: E-8 army, MSG.
Ranks and insignia as the US Army’s own regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Master sergeant or first sergeant?
Look between the chevrons and the arcs: an empty space is a master sergeant, a diamond is a first sergeant. The Army Recruiting Command’s customs training says first sergeants, like master sergeants, are E-8s, but first sergeants serve in a leadership position. They are addressed differently too: Army Regulation 600-20 gives “Sergeant” for a master sergeant and “First Sergeant” for a first sergeant.
Master sergeant in the Air Force
The same title is a grade lower in the Air Force: the Department of Defense’s chart lists an Air Force master sergeant at E-7.
More army ranks
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Sources
- DA Pamphlet 670-1, Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, DA PAM 670-1, 26 January 2021, Headquarters, Department of the Army (Army Publishing Directorate), para 21–7a(7), 21–7a(6), 21–7a(5)
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Insignia chart: sergeant-first-class, master-sergeant, first-sergeant; Enlisted insignia, E-7 (Air Force) and E-8
- U.S. Army Ranks, army.mil ranks page (enlisted, warrant officer and officer ranks), U.S. Army, Enlisted ranks: Master Sergeant
- Army Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy, AR 600-20, 6 February 2025 (administrative revision 20 February 2025), Headquarters, Department of the Army (copy hosted by the Army Transportation Corps, transportation.army.mil), para 1–7b; table 1–1
- Military Customs and Courtesies (Initial Soldier Training), U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Future Soldier training slides, 14 April 2020, U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Enlisted ranks, slide 14
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research