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I get a lot of questions about the Marine Corps rank structure
and most people do not understand the differences. This causes
much confusion and to understand thesimple structure, I have
posted a quick explanation from a letter I wrote to a friend.
To answer some of your questions about rank, the first thing that
you must realize is that there are two completely different structures
and I will explain it in terms of a civilian company. First, you
have enlisted and officers. Enlisted Marines are like the blue-collar
workers in the company. They do most of the physical labor. If
you go enlisted, you have requirements to meet such as a high
school diploma. You go to boot camp, usually right out of high
school, and then are trained to do a job. You pick up rank depending
on how good you are and how long you stay in. The rank structure
and collar insignias go like this:
1. Private (none)
2. Private First Class (One stripe)
3. Lance Corporal (One stripe with two crossed rifles below)
4. Corporal (Two stripes up with two crossed rifles below)
5. Sergeant (Three stripes up with two crossed rifles below)
6. Staff Sergeant (3 stripes up with two crossed rifles
in the middle and one stripe below)
7. Gunnery Sergeant (3 stripes up with two crossed rifles
in the middle and two stripes below)
8. Master Sergeant (3 stripes up with two crossed rifles
in the middle and three stripes below)
or (these are equal in rank)
First Sergeant (3 stripes up with one diamond in the middle
and three stripes below)
9. Master Gunnery Sergeant (3 stripes up with a bursting
bomb in the middle and four stripes below)
or (these are equal in rank)
Sergeant Major (3 stripes up with a star in the middle and four
stripes below)
There is one more rank. It is call the Sergeant Major of
the Marine Corps. There is only one of these at a time and he
is the senior enlisted Marine in the entire Corps. His insignia
is 3 stripes up with an eagle, globe, and anchor (the Marine
Corps symbol) flanked by two stars in the middle and four stripes
below.
Now for the officers. Officers are like the management portion
of a company. They are the leaders and are more trained than
the average enlisted. Officers must have a college degree, go
through a 6-week bootcamp calls Officers' Candidate School,
and then go to a 6-month training regiment called The Basic
School (TBS). After that, they are trained in their specific
job and sent out to the fleet where they are put in charge of
a number of enlisted troops. They have their own rank structure
and insignia as follows:
1. 2nd Lieutenant (One gold bar)
2. 1st Lieutenant (One silver bar)
3. Captain (Two silver bars)
4. Major (One gold oak leaf)
5. Lieutenant Colonel (One silver oak leaf)
6. Colonel (One eagle)
7. Brigadier General (One star)
8. Major General (Two stars)
9. Lieutenant General (Three stars)
10. General (Four stars)
There is also the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He is
the senior officer in the Corps much like the CEO of a company.
He has four stars.
There is also warrant officers which kind of fall between
the enlisted and officers. These are usually enlisted marines
who have become so good and specialized at what they do, they
are promoted to warrant officer and have a rank structure all
of their own..
The most junior officer outranks the most senior enlisted.
All officers are senior to all warrant officers who are all
senior to enlisted personnel.
I took a strange route. I was enlisted up to the rank of
Sergeant and then got into a commissioning program where the
Marine Corps sent me to college to get a degree. After that,
I did all the requirements for being an officer and switched
over to the officer ranks. We are known as "mustangs" and are
usually held in a little higher regard due to our prior service.
There are not very many of us because usually you are either
enlisted or officer your entire career.
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