Staff sergeant (E-6)
Staff sergeant (SSgt) is the sixth enlisted rank in the US Marine Corps, pay grade E-6, and the first staff noncommissioned officer rank. Its insignia is three chevrons over crossed rifles over one rocker.
How to read it
Staff sergeant follows Sergeant (E-5) (E-5) and comes before gunnery sergeant (E-7). The rocker under the crossed rifles is what separates it from a sergeant’s insignia; the gunnery sergeant has two. The Marine Corps calls grades E-6 to E-9 staff NCOs, career Marines who, with the NCOs, are responsible to the commanding officer for the welfare, morale, discipline and efficiency of the Marines in their charge.
Also searched as: E-6 marines, SSgt.
Ranks and insignia as the Marine Corps’ own orders and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
Staff sergeant in other services
The title means different things in different services. The Army’s staff sergeant is also E-6, with three chevrons above one arc and no rifles. In the Air Force, staff sergeant is E-5, one grade lower.
More marine Corps ranks
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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-5 and E-6
- 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(8), p. 178
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research