Our nonsubdued, pin-on insignia of grade for Master Sergeants (E-8) features anodized 22K gold plating to ensure it retains its luster and brilliance for as long as you own it. Aside from being worn on the shoulder loops of two outerwear garments (Heritage Green All-Weather Coat and the Heritage Green Windbreaker), these gold, pin-on rank insignia are worn by NCOs in one of just two career fields in the Army: Culinary Specialists and Medical department personnel. For the latter, the gold pin-on chevrons are centered on both collars of the Medical Assistant smock, positioned so that a straight line through the middle of the chevrons would also “bisect” the collar through its tips. Culinary Specialists (MOS 92G) wear the chevrons centered directly above the nameplate on the Culinary Garrison Smock.
The black, or nonsubdued, version of the Master Sergeant E-8 rank insignia is worn on uniform components with hook-and-loop (Velcro) face pads designed to attach a cloth rank insignia quickly and easily. When worn on these Velcro face pads, the Master Sergeant insignia is centered on the pad itself or, when worn on the Gore-Tex material used for the Extended Cold Weather Clothing System jacket, is centered on the front tab. The subdued metal insignia is also authorized for wear on the Sun Hat, Patrol Cap, and Combat Helmet (actually on the helmet camouflage cover or liner).
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The design of the Master Sergeant E-8 rank insignia—three points-up chevrons above three arcs, or “rockers”—actually predates the establishment of the rank, or least the rank as we now refer to it. Prior to the U.S. Army revamping of its system of enlisted pay grades and insignia in 1920, at least two grades at the Regimental level (Sergeant Major and Supply Sergeant) wore insignia featuring three chevrons and three arcs. But the Army’s bloated insignia system also included insignia for many grades of Sergeant subsequently folded into the Master Sergeant E-7 that had no chevrons at all. Many of these used a combination of laurel wreaths below a branch symbol or insignia.
More Items for E-8 Master SergeantOver twenty various grades and types of enlisted personnel were placed in the Master Sergeant grade when it was established, but at the time it wasn’t E-8. Instead, as the highest of the newly defined grades, it was classified pay grade 1, a designation it held until the Army switched to a descending numerical order to describe its enlisted grade from highest (E-9) to lowest (E-1). With that change, Master Sergeant was moved up to the second-highest grade of E-8, which it shares with First Sergeant.