Master 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.
Easily confused with
How to read it
Master sergeant follows gunnery sergeant (E-7). The Marine Corps has two ranks at E-8 with the same pay and different jobs: master sergeants provide technical leadership as specialists in their military occupational specialty (MOS), while first sergeants are senior enlisted advisors to a commander. The Marine Corps describes master sergeants together with master gunnery sergeants, the technical rank at E-9. The Department of Defense says E-8s and E-9s have 15 to 30 years on the job.
Also searched as: E-8 marines, MSgt.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Master sergeant or first sergeant?
Both insignia have three chevrons over three rockers. Between them, the master sergeant has crossed rifles and the first sergeant a diamond.
Master sergeant in other services
The Army’s master sergeant is also E-8, with three chevrons above three arcs and no rifles. In the Air Force, master sergeant is E-7.
Read next
- Next in Marine Corps ranksFirst sergeant (E-8)First sergeant (1stSgt) is one of two Marine Corps enlisted ranks at pay grade E-8, the one that advises a commander. Its insignia is three chevrons over a diamond 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 to E-9
- 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(6), p. 177
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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