A master sergeant is the

military rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military organisation , military lines, such ...

for a senior

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

in the armed forces of some countries.

Israel Defense Forces

The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF). Because the IDF is an integrated force, they have a unique rank structure. IDF ranks are the same in all services (army, navy and air force). The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary developed in the British Mandate of Palestine period to protect the . This origin is reflected in the slightly compacted IDF rank structure.

Philippines

Master sergeant is used by the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

as a non-commissioned officer rank. It is used by the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...

, Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Marine Corps (under the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

. The rank is below Senior master sergeant and above

Technical sergeant Technical sergeant is the name of three current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces, as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and ...

. As of February 8, 2019, a new ranking classification for the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

was adopted, eliminating confusion of old ranks. Master sergeant is one of the new classification for non-commissioned officer rank. The rank stands above the Police

Staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

and below the Police Senior master sergeant.

Singapore

Singapore Armed Forces

In the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

(SAF), master sergeant is the highest rank amongst the specialist corps, ranking above

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

and below third warrant officer. In the

Singapore Army The Singapore Army is the Ground warfare, land Military branch, service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The largest of the Singapore Armed Forces#Organisation, four branches of the SAF, the Singapore Army traces its origins to the Inf ...

, master sergeants are usually instructors, staff specialists, or sergeants major of battalion or company-sized units. They are addressed as "master" or "master sergeant".

National Cadet Corps

In the National Cadet Corps (NCC), the rank of master sergeant is awarded to outstanding NCC cadets who have contributed greatly to their unit. The insignia of MSG (NCC) is the same as the SAF's, except that the letters 'NCC' are below the insignia, to differentiate SAF and NCC master sergeants.

United States

Master sergeant is a senior

rank used within the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, Marine Corps,

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

, and

Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

. It is ranked differently depending on the service branch. The

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a Congressional charter, congressionally chartered, federally supported Nonprofit corporation, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliaries, auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CA ...

also has the rank of master sergeant.

U.S. Army

Master sergeant (MSG) is the eighth enlisted grade (E-8), ranking above sergeant first class and below

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

, command sergeant major, Sergeant Major of the Army, and equal in grade but not authority to a

first sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

. It is abbreviated as ''MSG'' and indicated by three chevrons above three inverted arcs, commonly referred to as "rockers". A master sergeant may be assigned as a brigade-level section noncommissioned officer in charge and serves as the subject matter expert in their field, but may also hold other positions depending on the type of unit. The equivalent-grade first sergeant is the senior noncommissioned officer of a company, battery, or troop. When holding the position of first sergeant, while uncommon, the master sergeant is referred to as "first sergeant"; however, when not in the position of first sergeant, master sergeants are addressed as "sergeant". This is the standard address for all pay grades E-5 through E-8. Use of the term "top" or "master sergeant" is not a requirement, but is considered courteous, and remains to be at the discretion of the one addressing the master sergeant, though "top" is preferred, due to the long tradition of its use in the U.S. Army, which has, since the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, emphasized the importance of senior NCOs closely advising and instructing newly commissioned second lieutenants,

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

s and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

s. In 1920, the Army combined several regimental level "staff" NCO ranks, including four grades of sergeant major, three grades of quartermaster sergeant, regimental supply sergeant, senior ordnance sergeant, senior band sergeant, four grades of senior master sergeant, and seven additional master-level technical and specialist ranks into the new master sergeant rank. Master sergeant then became the senior enlisted rank, ranking above technical sergeant and first sergeant (a positional rank/title for the senior technical sergeant in a company/battery/troop), while "sergeant major" became a "courtesy title" for the senior master sergeant in a battalion/squadron or higher headquarters. In 1942, the rank of first sergeant was elevated one grade and was then considered as a junior version of master sergeant, because while first sergeants served as senior NCOs at the company/battery/troop level, master sergeants held positions as the senior NCO in their MOS at battalion/squadron and higher level headquarters. In 1958, both first sergeant and master sergeant were elevated one grade to the new E-8 pay grade, while the rank of sergeant major was restored as the senior enlisted rank at the new pay grade of E-9.

U.S. Marine Corps

The eighth enlisted grade, ranking above gunnery sergeant and below master gunnery sergeant,

, and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. It is equal in grade to

, and is abbreviated ''MSgt''. In the U.S. Marine Corps, master sergeants provide technical leadership as occupational specialists at the E-8 level. Most infantry master sergeants serve as the operations chief of a weapons company, in place of the gunnery sergeant found in the company headquarters of a rifle company. Infantry master sergeants also serve as the assistant operations chief in the S-3 section of the headquarters of an infantry regiment and Marine Expeditionary Unit and in the G-3 section of the headquarters of a Marine Expeditionary Brigade. The Marine division and Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters contains two infantry master sergeants, one as the training SNCO and the other as the readiness chief. Some combat support battalions have master sergeants at the company level (e.g., one as the tank leader, again replacing the company gunnery sergeant, in the operations section of the tank company headquarters, and two in the company headquarters of an assault amphibian company, one master sergeant as the company gunnery sergeant in the headquarters section and the other as the section leader of the company headquarters AMTRAC Section). In Marine aircraft squadrons MSgts usually serve as SNCOICs of the ordnance and avionics divisions in the aircraft maintenance department. The Aircraft Maintenance Chief/SNCOIC is usually a MGySgt (q.v.), and there are eight aviation-related MSgt billets in each Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS). (A MALs is organic to each Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) and performs intermediate aviation supply, aircraft maintenance (including aviation life support equipment and avionics), and aviation ordnance support for its supported aircraft squadrons.) Most non-infantry master sergeants serve as section chief/SNCOIC of their MOS type staff section in a battalion or higher level headquarters. General command leadership at this paygrade is provided by the separate rank of first sergeant. Only in the Marine Corps are master sergeants required to be addressed by their full rank. In the Marine Corps, master sergeants may be referred to by the nickname of "Top". This usage is an informal one, however, and would not be used in an official or formal setting. Use of this nickname by Marines of subordinate rank is at the rank holder's discretion. In the U.S. Armed Forces, all master sergeants (Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps) are senior non-commissioned officers (i.e., pay grades E-7 through E-9). However, in the U.S. Marine Corps, the non-commissioned officer ranks of

and above, are classified as Staff Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs), a classification that is unique in U.S. usage to the USMC.

U.S. Air Force

The seventh enlisted grade, ranking above

technical sergeant Technical sergeant is the name of three current and two former enlisted ranks in the United States Armed Forces, as well as in the U.S. Civil Air Patrol. Outside the United States, it is used only by the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, and ...

and below senior master sergeant. It is abbreviated as ''MSgt''. Advancement to master sergeant is one of the most significant promotions within the enlisted Air Force and Space Force. At the rank of master sergeant, the airman enters the senior non-commissioned tier and transitions his or her duties from front line technicians and supervisors to operational leaders. An operational leader develops his or her leadership and management skills since this rank carries increased broad leadership, supervisory, and managerial responsibilities rather than technical performance. Per Air Force Instruction 36–2618, master sergeants do serve in positions as squadron superintendents, flight chiefs, section chiefs, and non-commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC). Air Force first sergeants occupy the pay grades of E-7 through E-9 and are referred to officially as "first sergeant" regardless of pay grade, and unofficially as "first shirt" or "shirt". In 1991, the Air Force changed its NCO insignia so that a maximum of five stripes, or rockers, were placed on the bottom of the chevrons. The master sergeant rank insignia was changed by removing the bottom (sixth) rocker, and relocating it above as a single chevron, on top of the five lower stripes. The single chevron above visually identifies Senior NCO status for E-7 master sergeants along with two chevrons above for E-8 senior master sergeants and three chevrons above for E-9 chief master sergeants in the Air Force NCO insignia. In 2015, the Air Force announced its promotion overhaul and newly established boards for master sergeant.

Civil Air Patrol

The

(CAP), a

non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a nonprofit corporation ma ...

Congressionally chartered to operate as the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, has a quasi-military structure which includes the rank of master sergeant. The grade of master sergeant is below senior master sergeant and above

. Former military enlisted personnel who held the rank of master sergeant in the

may retain that rank as members of the CAP.

U.S. Space Force

On February 1, 2021, the United States Space Force announced its permanent rank structure, establishing the grade of master sergeant as its permanent E-7 grade. This continued its usage from the Air Force. The grade of master sergeant is above

and beneath senior master sergeant.

Gallery

File:Army-USA-OR-09c.svg, Master sergeant
( Liberian Ground Forces) File:PHIL_ARMY_MSG_WOODLAND.svg, Master sergeant
(

) File:Army-SGP-OR-6b.svg, Master sergeant
(

) File:UA shoulder mark 08.svg,

( Ukrainian Ground Forces) File:Army-USA-OR-08b (Army greens).svg, Master sergeant
(

)

References

External links

U.S. Army Enlisted Rank Insignia - Criteria, Background, and Images

{{US_enlisted ranks Military ranks Enlisted ranks of the United States Air Force Enlisted ranks of the United States Space Force Military ranks of Singapore Military ranks of the United States Army Military ranks of the United States Marine Corps United States military enlisted ranks