Gunnery sergeant (E-7)
Gunnery sergeant (GySgt) is the seventh enlisted rank in the US Marine Corps, pay grade E-7. Its insignia is three chevrons over crossed rifles over two rockers.
Easily confused with
How to read it
Gunnery sergeant comes after staff sergeant (E-6) and is the last rank before the enlisted ladder splits in two. Above it, E-8 and E-9 each have two ranks, and the Marine Corps says gunnery sergeants state which promotion track they prefer on their annual evaluations: master sergeant, a technical specialist, or first sergeant, a senior enlisted advisor to a commander.
Also searched as: E-7 marines, gunny, GySgt.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Gunnery sergeant or Army sergeant first class?
Both are E-7. The Army’s sergeant first class wears three chevrons above two arcs, the same count of stripes as a gunnery sergeant, without the crossed rifles.
Gunnery sergeant or master sergeant?
The master sergeant above has the same chevrons and rifles with a third rocker. Counting the rockers under the rifles tells the two apart.
Read next
- Next in Marine Corps ranksMaster sergeant (E-8)Master sergeant (MSgt) is one of two Marine Corps enlisted ranks at pay grade E-8, the technical one. Its insignia is three chevrons over crossed rifles over three rockers.
- The same shape in Accessibility symbolsAssistive listening symbol (ear)An ear with a diagonal bar across it is the International Symbol of Access for Hearing Loss. It marks an assistive listening system: a loop, infrared or FM system that sends sound to hearing aids or headsets.
More marine Corps ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with crosses, curves and waves 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-7
- 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), p. 178
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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