Corporal (E-4)
Corporal (Cpl) is the fourth enlisted rank in the US Marine Corps, pay grade E-4, and the first noncommissioned officer rank. Its insignia is two chevrons above crossed rifles.
How to read it
Corporal follows lance corporal (E-3) and comes before Sergeant (E-5) (E-5). The Marine Corps counts pay grades E-4 and E-5 as noncommissioned officers (NCOs), and says NCOs and staff NCOs together are responsible to the commanding officer for the welfare, morale, discipline and efficiency of the Marines in their charge. The Department of Defense makes the same comparison across services: an Army sergeant, an Air Force staff sergeant and a Marine corporal are all NCO ranks.
Also searched as: Cpl, E-4 marines.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Marine or Army corporal?
The Army’s corporal insignia is two chevrons with nothing beneath them; the Marine corporal adds crossed rifles. The Army also has a second E-4 rank, specialist, which ranks below its corporal. The Marine Corps has only the corporal at E-4.
More marine Corps ranks
Browse symbols drawn with crosses or lines.
Sources
- Marine Corps Ranks, marines.mil, Ranks, United States Marine Corps, Enlisted
- Officer Knowledge (Officer Development School), Officer Training Command Newport, ODS Knowledge Book, Naval Service Training Command, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Enlisted Rank Structure
- 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 insignia, E-4 and NCO ranks
- 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(10), p. 180
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research