USTommyMC

Rank: Private (Pvt)
Pay Grade: E1
Promoted: November 12, 1997
Time In Grade: 6 Months
Time In Service: 0

Every recruit enters basic training as an E1. Although one is an E1, and therefore technically a Private, you are just a recruit. You are the lowest piece of scum on Earth. I should know because my Drill Instructors told me so. Your time in grade and service start on the day you step on the yellow footprints. After 13 weeks, or three months, you end up with 3 months of time in service and grade as a Private. Unlike some of the other services, the rank of Private in the United States Marine Corps has no rank insignia.

Rank: Private First Class (PFC)
Pay Grade: E2
Promoted: May 1, 1998
Time In Grade: 8 Months
Time In Service: 6 Months

To get promoted to a Private First Class you basically just need to breathe and live. It is your first real promotion, with a ceremony and everything, and it is your first physical rank. You need 6 months time in service and grade as a Private to be considered for promotion to Private First Class. The insignia for a Private First Class in the United States Marine Corps is “one stripe up, no crossed rifles”.

Rank: Lance Corporal (LCpl)
Pay Grade: E3
Promoted: January 1, 1999
Time In Grade: 8 Months
Time In Service: 1 Year, 2 Month

The rank of Lance Corporal is the last rank that you get “for free”. From here on out you compete with others in your Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) via a Composite score. The score to beat, for promotion, is called the Cutting score. You are eligible for a Composite score once you are eligible for the next rank. With the rank of Lance Corporal you get your first set of “crossed rifles”. You need 9 months time in service and 8 months time in grade as a Private First Class to be considered for promotion to Lance Corporal. At this time “the system” also starts to calculate your Composite score. The insignia for a Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corps is “one stripe up, crossed rifles in the middle”.

Rank: Corporal (Cpl)
Pay Grade: E4
Promoted: September 1, 1999
Time In Grade: 1 Year, 5 Months
Time In Service: 1 Year, 10 Months

Welcome to the ranks of a United States Marine Corps’ Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO). As a Corporal you are the junior NCO in the Corps. You have come a long way and with great power comes great responsibility. A Corporal’s sole purpose in life is to scare the bejesus out of junior Marines and be called an asshole behind his/her back. As a Corporal you are the epitome of fear. A Corporal is a “working supervisor”. A Corporal is the diesel fuel in the engine that is the Marine Corps of the United States. The so called “back-bone” that gets the job done at all costs.

The rank of Corporal is the first rank of Non-Commissioned Officers. You are an NCO by right and title. Other services might consider their E4s as just another rank but we give respect and trust to ours. As a Corporal you will compete for promotion using the same Composite/Cutting score system as that of a Lance Corporal but it is the last rank to use the “score” system. You need 12 months time in service and 8 months time in grade as a Lance Corporal to be considered for promotion to Corporal. At this time “the system” once again starts to calculate your Composite score. The insignia for a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps is “two stripes up, crossed rifles in the middle”.

Rank: Sergeant (Sgt)
Pay Grade: E5
Promoted: February 1, 2001
Time In Grade: 4 Years, 9 Months
Time In Service: 3 Years, 3 Months

The senior and last Non-Commissioned Officer echelon. You are the second piece of the “back-bone” and if the rank of Corporal is the “diesel” then the rank of Sergeant is the “engine oil”. If a Corporal is a “working supervisor”, a Sergeant “THE” supervisor. A Sergeant takes the mission at hand and makes sure that his fear mongers (Corporals) execute and make it happen. A Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps is an expert in his/her specialty. If the Corporals or junior Marines can’t do it, then the Sergeant will do it. A Sergeant’s sole purpose in life is to keep the Staff Non-Commissioned Officers out of sight and out of everyone’s business.

The rank of Sergeant is the first rank to use a Fitness Report (FitRep) system for promotion. You no longer compete for promotion via a scoring system. A Fitness Report is an annual evaluation by your Superior Commissioned Officer on your performance. A Fitness Report will make or break a career. A Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps is a “Sergeant”. A Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps is not a “Sarge” or an “E5″ (an E5 is a Pay Grade not a rank). Call a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps a Sarge and you shall feel the wrath of God and Satan simultaneously on your flesh and blood.

You need 24 months time in service and 12 months time in grade as a Corporal to be considered for promotion to Sergeant. The insignia for a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps is “three stripes up, crossed rifles in the middle”.

Rank: Staff Sergeant (SSgt)
Pay Grade: E6
Promoted: November 1, 2005
Time In Grade: Current Rank Held
Time In Service: 8 Years

Ah, the life of a Staff Non-Commissioned Officer (Staff NCO). You are now in the big leagues. No longer are you in the trenches with those hard ass Sergeants and scary Corporals. Your life as a laborer has just ended. Welcome to a life behind a computer desk. As a Staff NCO, your job is now to manage a section of hardcore, motivated, killing machines. You just went from being a big brother/sister to being Dad/Mom. You are now in mid-level management and your job is to make sure the mission gets done. Yes the Sergeant is taking care of most of the work but you have the wisdom and years of experience to supervise and give guidance. The NCOs are hard chargers but nothing can make up for shear experience.

The rank of Staff Sergeant is the junior rank in the Staff Non-Commission Officer echelon. You are, in a way, starting over. You proved yourself a hardcore Sergeant turning water into wine, turning sand into sugar and dirt into pudding but now you must prove yourself to the senior establishment. The Marines that make up the senior establishment are gods in their own right. They have been through everything and have seen it all. They will be watching your every step, your every move and your every decision. Do good in their eyes and you will reap the rewards. Fail and you will reap the consequences.

A Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps is a “Staff Sergeant”. A Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps is not a “Sergeant” a “Sarge” or an “E6″ (an E6 is a Pay Grade not a rank). Call a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps a Sergeant and you shall feel the wrath of God, Satan, Jesus, Moses, the archangel Gabriel, Cartman, PinHead, Freddy, Jason and Chucky simultaneously on your flesh and blood. The Army may call their E5s and above anything they wish but you will address a Marine Staff Sergeant as nothing less.

For promotion, a Staff Sergeant will continue to use the Fitness Report system that was established for you as a Sergeant. A Fitness Report is an evaluation on several aspects of a Marine’s career. You will be evaluated on such things like Leadership, Initiative, Courage, Mission Accomplishment and others. The promotion system for Staff Sergeant and above is a complicated system and is beyond the scope of this description. The insignia for a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps is “three stripes up, one stripe down, crossed rifles in the middle”.