Marine Corps Wife

Being a wife to a United States Marine is not easy. The military is a completely different world and learning the ins and outs of military life can be confusing. Not only are you uprooted from your family and friends and moved across country (in some cases) but you are also expected to know words and acronyms that may sound foreign. It can be overwhelming at first, but rest assured, you can survive and even thrive in this unique culture.

Learning rank structure can go a long way to understanding what is expected from your husband and some of his responsibilities. In the Marine Corps there are two distant career paths: Officer and Enlisted. While it is possible for an enlisted member to become a commissioned officer, there is a special procedure and steps that need to be followed. Most Marines, however, will stay in the career path that they enlisted into. Officers are those individuals who completed a college degree and completed Officer Candidate School thus earning their commission into the Marine Corps. Enlisted members are those with a High School diploma who successfully completed boot camp. Officers establish policy and enlisted members enforce policy. The majority of young Marines are enlisted; therefore we will discuss those ranks below.

The ranks including Private, PFC (Private First Class) and Lance Corporal (LCpl) are the worker bees. These are the Marines who do the grunt work. Day in and day out they are expected to handle workload and day-to-day operations in their specific job (called an MOS or Military Occupational Specialty). They are not expected to have an opinion and are basically resigned to "yes, Sir", "No, Sir", and "Aye, Ma'am". These ranks can get frustrating at times and expect your spouse to gripe and complain.

Corporal and Sergeant and like middle management and are called NCO's (Non-Commissioned Officers). They have some say over the LCpl's and below, however they must answer to their bosses. Cpl's and Sgt's share the workload with their subordinates with some Marines auditing the completed work. In some positions, they are directly responsible for the health and welfare of their troops. In other areas they may not have much leeway or say in day to day operations and simply carryout orders from higher ups.

After a Marine is promoted to GySgt they will decide to stay in their field or take a more command approach. If they decide to work more with commanding entire Marine Corps units and dictating policy through the Marine Corps as a whole, then they can be promoted to First Sergeant and then Sergeant Major. A 1stSgt and SgtMaj are the ones Marines answer to when they have gotten into trouble. They are also the ones that decide on promotions, demotions, duty assignments and other Marine Corps related activities. They plan events make policy and are on the top of the enlisted food chain. This rank strikes fear in the lower ranks.

Knowing the rank structure can help a Marine Corps wife understand her spouse's roles and responsibilities, as well as foster an understanding of how the Marine Corps structure works. "Willful obedience to orders" is an important aspect in the Marine Corps. Therefore rank structure is imperative in both combat situations and office environments. Ranks are not just a formality, it is a way to distinguish authority, accomplish the mission, protect the troops, and save lives. Ranks are very important in the Marine Corps and knowing how to address an individual in a position of authority is important. This can save both the Marine and his spouse from a potentially embarrassing situation.

The rank of Staff Sergeant can seem fairly prestigious, but like all positions it depends on the location. Some SSgt's run entire offices, platoons, or sections. They are in charge and have the final say on everything from Physical Training to work operations. What they say goes and there is no question. In other sections, they are only section heads and run a small unit or team. They are in direct content with troops and work at correcting and distributing workload, giving orders and handling discipline problems. This rank is highly versatile with each duty station being different. SSgt's must handle troops and operations, as well as appease those higher in rank. It can be frustrating to be caught in the middle and still not be able to run the section as they would like.

The ranks of Gunnery Sergeant, Master Sergeant, and Master Gunnery Sergeant are the top enlisted members in their field. At this position they make policy, take disciplinary actions, dictate fitness schedules and locations, ensure workflow is completed, and update procedures. Much of their time is used managing the office as a whole rather than individuals. They are considered experts in their field and their word is law. GySgt's, MSgt's, and MGySgt's do not mingle with Cpl's and below unless it is a unit function and even then it is important to give them the courtesy and respect they deserve. Most GySgt's and above has been in the Marine Corps for 15 or 20 years. They have worked hard to get to this position and they have earned respect from their subordinates. MGySgt is the highest rank a Marine can obtain in their MOS.

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