Sergeant major (E-9)
Sergeant major (SgtMaj) is one of two Marine Corps enlisted ranks at pay grade E-9, the one that advises a commander. Its insignia is three chevrons over a star over four rockers.
Easily confused with
- Master gunnery sergeant (E-9)Master gunnery sergeant (MGySgt) is one of two Marine Corps enlisted ranks at pay grade E-9, the technical one. Its insignia is three chevrons over a bursting bomb over four rockers.
- Sergeant major of the Marine Corps (E-9)A star, or the eagle, globe and anchor between two stars, over four rockers.
- Sergeant major (E-9)A star between the stripes in both; four rockers for the Marines, three arcs for the Army.
How to read it
Sergeants major are senior enlisted advisors who assist the commanding officer in matters of discipline, administration, and the morale and welfare of the unit, in battalions, squadrons or larger units; the first sergeant (E-8) does the same job for a company or battery. The Department of Defense says a sergeant major and a master gunnery sergeant are both E-9 on the same pay, and that the sergeant major has the higher rank. Above both is the one sergeant major of the Marine Corps.
Also searched as: sergeant major marines, SgtMaj.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Sergeant major or master gunnery sergeant?
Both insignia have three chevrons over four rockers. A star between them marks the sergeant major; a bursting bomb marks the master gunnery sergeant.
Marine or Army sergeant major?
The Army’s sergeant major also has a five-pointed star between the stripes, over three arcs. The Marine insignia has four rockers.
Read next
- Next in Marine Corps ranksSergeant major of the Marine Corps (E-9)The sergeant major of the Marine Corps (SMMC) is the senior enlisted Marine of the whole Marine Corps, pay grade E-9. The insignia is three chevrons over the eagle, globe and anchor between two stars, over four rockers.
- The same shape in African flagsFlag of the ComorosThe Comoros flag is four horizontal stripes, yellow, white, red and blue from the top, with a green triangle along the pole holding a white crescent and four white stars in a line between its tips. Norway’s Store norske leksikon explains the crescent as the symbol of Islam and the four stars as the four islands of the Comoros; Lex says the four stripes are said to stand for the islands too.
More marine Corps ranks
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves, lines or stars.
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-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(4), p. 177
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 29, 2026. How we research
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