United States Marine Corps rank insignia Marine ranks in ascending order , with tables indicating abbreviations in the style used by the United States Marine Corps , pay grades , and rank insignia : Commissioned Officers . Commissioned Officers are distinguished from other officers by their " commission " , which is the formal written authority , issued in the name of the President of the United States , that confers the rank and authority of a Marine Officer . Commissioned officers carry the " special trust and confidence " of the President of the United States . Commissioned officer ranks are further subdivided into general officer s , field officer s , and company - grade officer s . The highest ranks in the Marine Corps , the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps are , by statute , four - star rank s , as the Marine Corps is considered a naval service under the Department of the Navy . Warrant Officers . Warrant Officer s provide leadership and training in specialized fields and skills . Much like many other militaries , the United States military confers warrants and commissions on its Warrant Officers , though they are generally not responsible for leadership outside of their specialty . Warrant officers come primarily from the senior Non - Commissioned Officer ranks . A Chief Warrant Officer , CWO2 – CWO5 , serving in the MOS 0306 " Infantry Weapons Officer " carries a special title , " Marine Gunner " , which does not replace his rank . A Marine Gunner replaces the Chief Warrant Officer insignia on the left collar with a bursting bomb insignia . Other warrant officers are sometimes informally and erroneously referred to as " Gunner " . Enlisted . Enlisted Marines with paygrades of E - 4 and E - 5 are considered non - commissioned officer s ( NCOs ) while those at E - 6 and higher are considered Staff Noncommissioned Officer s ( SNCOs ) . The E - 8 and E - 9 levels each have two ranks per pay grade , each with different responsibilities . Gunnery Sergeants ( E - 7 ) indicate on their annual evaluations ( called " fitness reports " ) their preferred promotional track : Master Sergeant or First Sergeant . The First Sergeant and Sergeant Major ranks are command - oriented Senior Enlisted Advisor s , with Marines of these ranks serving as the senior enlisted Marines in a unit , charged to assist the commanding officer in matters of discipline , administration , and the morale and welfare of the unit . Master Sergeants and Master Gunnery Sergeants provide technical leadership as occupational specialists in their specific MOS . First Sergeants typically serve as the senior enlisted Marine in a company , battery , or other unit at similar echelon , while Sergeants Major serve the same role in battalion s , squadron s , or larger units . . The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is a billet and special rank , conferred on the senior enlisted Marine of the entire Marine Corps , personally selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps . It and the Marine Gunner are the only billets which rate modified rank insignia in place of the traditional rank insignia . Different styles of rank insignia are worn on different Marine uniforms : < BR > The gold stripes on red flash are worn on the Dress Blue coat , green stripes on red flash are worn on the Service " A " uniform coat ; the rank insignia are worn on the upper sleeve of both blouses . The khaki uniforms use green stripes on khaki flash , and again are worn on the upper sleeves of both long and short - sleeved service blouses . Utility uniform rank insignia are black metal pins and are worn on the collars , or black embroidered insignia sewn into patches of material to match the appropriate camouflage uniform . Musicians in the " President ' s Own United States Marine Band " ( commonly yet incorrectly referred to simply as The United States Marine Band ) wear insignia with the crossed rifles replaced by a lyre to denote their lack of a combat mission ; full - service Marines who are attached to the 10 Fleet Marine Force Bands continue to wear their normal rank insignia . Forms of address . Marines address all enlisted personnel by rank , and all Commissioned officers with " sir " or " ma ' am " . Warrant Officers , regardless of rank , are addressed just as commissioned officers , but may also be addressed as " Warrant Officer " , or " Gunner " , although the latter is sometimes considered improper unless the officer is an Infantry Weapons Officer ( MOS 0306 ) . During recruit training , recruits are indoctrinated to address all superiors as " sir " or " ma ' am " . Addressing a commissioned officer ( or any rank ) as " Mister " has long been considered a grievous insult towards the individual . The most junior ranks between pay grades E - 1 and E - 3 ( Privates , Privates First Class , and Lance Corporals ) are referred to by last name only , using their rank only in a formal situation . " Marine " is also a common form of address for junior Marines . During recruit training , recruits are not considered full - fledged Marines and must address all Marines who have completed recruit training , including instructors , as " sir " or " ma ' am . " Incoming recruits must also refer to themselves in the third person ( i . e . " this recruit " ) , and their rank is replaced with the word " Recruit . " This usually continues until the last week of recruit training when , in most instances , recruits are then considered full - fledged Marines . Likewise , during officer training , officer candidates are not yet commissioned Marine officers and must refer to themselves as " this candidate " or " the candidate , " even though some officer candidates may hold an enlisted rank . During Officer Candidate School , each candidate is referred to as " candidate " and not " Marine . " Unlike their enlisted counterparts , officer candidates refer to enlisted Marines , including their instructors , by their full and proper rank ; only commissioned officers are addressed as " sir " or " ma ' am . " Informally , some enlisted ranks have commonly used nicknames , though they are not official and may be improper for use in formal situations . The acceptability of nickname use by juniors is at the discretion of the individual rank holder . A Gunnery Sergeant is typically called " Gunny " and occasionally " Guns " , a Master Sergeant is commonly called " Top " , a First Sergeant is sometimes referred to as " The First Shirt " , and a Master Gunnery Sergeant is " Master Gunny " or " Master Guns " . Differing from the Army and Air Force , all ranks containing " Sergeant " are always addressed by their full rank and never shortened to simply " Sergeant " or " Sarge " . A Private First Class is usually referred to as a PFC , instead of simply " private " ; similarly , Lance Corporal is not shortened to " Corporal " . Senior Officers may informally address junior officers by first name . Marines of the same rank may also address each other by first name when among peers only and never in the presence of junior or senior Marines . Finally , Marines consider it a grevious insult to be called a " Soldier " ( as Soldiers are in the Army ) ; the proper term is always " Marine . " When writing journalism or scholarly references to the Marine Corps , its elements , and / or individual Marines , the correct attributions might include , " Soldiers , Sailors and Marines " , " members of the U . S . armed forces " , or even simply " troops " , which is an acceptable collective reference .