USMC MARINE GUNNER COLLAR DEVICES

It’s a bit difficult imagining a more elite group of enlisted personnel within the Marine Corps than Marine Gunners. Potential Marine Gunners are drawn from highly recommended E-7 Gunnery Sergeants, all of whom have at least sixteen years time in service to their credit. Those who pass the Marine Gunner Selection Board are not promoted to Warrant Officer 1, but rather are directly commissioned into a permanent grade of Chief Warrant Officer 2 (“permanent” as in not temporary, they may advance to CW3, CW4, etc.). While their administrative title is Infantry Weapons Officers, they also have the official designation of Marine Gunners--and there are only around 100 or so of them serving at any given time.

Marine Gunners are unique in that they are permitted to wear a specialty device on one of their collars. The gold-colored insignia is worn on the left collar of khaki shirt, centered an inch from and parallel to the front edge of the collar, with the “burst” of the bomb positioned toward the top edge of the collar. A black insignia is worn on the combat utility coat, centered an inch from the outer edges of the collar and parallel to the deck.