what does this symbol mean?

Marine Corps ranks

Every US Marine Corps rank insignia, enlisted, warrant officer and officer, in order, with its pay grade.

US Marine Corps ranks run from private (E-1) to general (O-10): enlisted Marines from E-1 to E-9, warrant officers from W-1 to W-5 and commissioned officers from O-1 to O-10. The Marine Corps calls E-4 and E-5 non-commissioned officers and E-6 to E-9 staff NCOs. It has no five-star rank: the Defense Department’s chart gives the Marine Corps N/A at that level, and its commandant and assistant commandant hold four-star ranks.

Enlisted 11 symbols

Warrant officers 5 symbols

Officers 10 symbols

The private wears no insignia

A Marine private (E-1) has no rank insignia; the Navy’s officer training guide lists the private’s insignia as “None”. The private first class (E-2) wears one stripe. The same single chevron is an Army private (E-2), and the Army’s private first class is an E-3.

Crossed rifles and rockers

From lance corporal to master sergeant, Marine chevrons have crossed rifles beneath the stripes: one stripe for lance corporal, two for corporal, three for sergeant. Staff NCOs add rockers under the rifles, one for staff sergeant, two for gunnery sergeant and three for master sergeant. The first sergeant has a diamond where the rifles would be, over three rockers. At E-9 there are four rockers, under a bursting bomb for the master gunnery sergeant and a star for the sergeant major. Army insignia have no rifles, and the Army’s sergeants major have three arcs.

Two ranks at E-8 and E-9

Each of the top two pay grades holds two ranks. First sergeants and sergeants major are senior enlisted advisers to a commanding officer; master sergeants and master gunnery sergeants provide technical leadership in their specialty. At E-9 the sergeant major has the higher rank, the Defense Department says, though both receive the same pay.

Warrant officers

Marine warrant officers wear a gold or silver bar with scarlet enamel. The Marine Corps Uniform Regulations count the scarlet blocks: two on the gold bar of a warrant officer, three on a CWO2’s, two and three on the silver bars of CWO3 and CWO4. The Navy’s officer training guide describes the same devices as a red background with one or two gold or silver breaks, counting the metal between the blocks. A CWO5 has one scarlet stripe along a silver bar. A chief warrant officer serving as an infantry weapons officer is a Marine Gunner and wears a bursting bomb on the left collar in place of the warrant insignia.

Sources

  1. Marine Corps Ranks, marines.mil, Ranks, United States Marine Corps, Enlisted, warrant officer and officer ranks
  2. U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Enlisted and officer tables
  3. Officer Knowledge (Officer Development School), Officer Training Command Newport, ODS Knowledge Book, Naval Service Training Command, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps rank insignia table
  4. 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 21–7
  5. Marine Corps Uniform Regulations (MCO 1020.34H), MCO 1020.34H, 1 May 2018, Commandant of the Marine Corps, para 4005.2.k–o

Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research