Question for Marine NCO'S

[GMG]

1. My grandson is stationed in Okinawa and is an E-3. He told his grandmother his SGT. in formed him he's up for E-4 in Dec. He seems to think there is some kind of ceremony for his second stripe. Or is it more like just a hand shake and congratulations you can now sew on your new stripes.

I know when I was in the Navy I passed all my qualifications for E-4 but had to wait until an E-4 Gunners Mate either retired or made E-5 because there were no billets available. There was no ceremony!

2. I understand as an NCO he is eligible to wear a sword for certain ceremony's. Is a sword issued when he makes E-4 or does he have to buy it on his own?
If he has to buy it on his own, where does one buy it and what do they normally cost?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

[steelrain82]

There is the normal promotion ceremony where he gets pinned. Then the other nco's have him walk the gauntlet. And then later that night he takes them out for his wet down (drinking, he pays). And he buys his sword but generally only after he has been through the corporals course. And as soon as he gets promoted he needs to take all his service and dress uniforms in to get his blood stripes and chevrons put on.

[Punisher]

Every promotion is given by an officer and all those in presence, stand at the position of attention. So, this would be the promotion "ceremony". As far as anything further than that; the red stripe is called a blood stripe, and depending on how motivated he and his unit is, he could have sore legs and be very hung over the next day.

NCO's are not issued swords, you must purchase them for yourself. I think this would be a great gift from a grandfather! Swords are only worn in ceremonies, like the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, funeral honors; or perhaps if a fellow Marine was getting married and chose to have the men wear their Dress Blue uniform during the service.

Don't buy a cheap "replica" sword; the Corps buys from Atlanta cutlery I believe. It's gold plated and the engraving is beautiful; something your grandson could pass on to his children some day.

There are regulations on the length of the sword though; so you may want your grandson to hold a sword or get measured. Otherwise, he may have to return it for the right size; which may or may not be a big deal. Here's a couple websites on where to buy them.

http://www.grunt.com/swords

http://www.atlantacutlery.com/p-1172-us-marine-corps-nco-saber.aspx

From Grunt.com: "To measure for your sword size, stand at attention with your hand in the carrying position and have a friend measure from your hand to your eye. The tip of the sword should fall 1" above or below your eye.":

[jaustin612]

Hmm, small world, I'm a sergeant in Okinawa.

For Corporal there is a promotion ceremony, just like all the other ranks. His warrant, the paper that he is given will be different, and he will more than likely have the NCO creed read to him. Following that He will be given the option to choose someone to promote him, usually a peer at his shop, or have the CO do it, its up to him.

Now, depending on the unit, he may have an unnofficial promotion ceremony somewhere private afterwords with all his buddies, where he'll get his rank pinned and bloodstripes. I can say honestly that was one of the best days in my career.

As far as the sword he could go out and buy one off the bat, but honestly he should learn how to drill with it first, which they still teach in corporals and sergeants course. Normally unless he is participating in a Marine Corps ceremony he will not ever carry one.

[rooster85]

Getting pinned and getting your bloodstripes. Very fun and thrilling to say the least. He'll have fun.

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[the86d]

...is called a blood stripe, and depending on how motivated he and his unit is, he could have sore legs and be very hung over the next day.

WHAT!?!?!?

What happened to the "Kinder-Gentler" Corps. I kept HEARING about (yet never experienced)...?

[glbtrottr]

Buy him is darn sword.

I paid more for mine back in the day! They're $225 as a result of a contract overrun.

http://www.atlantacutlery.com/p-1172-us-marine-corps-nco-saber.aspx

[GMG]

Thank you for all the reply's.

Have to have him get one of his buddies to measure him for a sword !

[GillaFunk]

Even in a grunt unit I never got my 'blood stripes' ceremony afterwards. Then again, the junior NCO's in my platoon had no leadership skills and anger issue so most of the E-3's and below avoided them.

Buy the kid the damn sword, just make sure its within regulation. Get him on the phone and discuss the details of it. "Wait, so you have to have one built for your height? Wow...thats the miltary for ya. How long would your sword have to be exactly?

I just measured myself and ordered one. Will go along nicely with the custom shadow box I'm making.

[Unit74]

It's June..... He has at least two more quarters before then. Promotions slow and close during the winter months because nobody enlists around these times. Promotions are like waves in an ocean. They go up and down based on the flow of the water.

It is a projection of his score assuming all his pros and cons remain the same and if he has MCIs hitting the system.

Don't ink Dec in ink for his promotion. Cross your fingers instead.

[The Soup Nazi]

He'll be pinned just like any other promotion, they'll probably throw in the NCO creed in the same binder his warrant is in. I'm somewhat skeptical about projecting a promotion 5 months in advance though, the only time you can guarantee it is when you've won a meritorious board and your command lets you know what month you're getting promoted. Even if you have the highest composite score, you can still sit around with an MOS closed out for a year. Both times that I was meritoriously promoted (Cpl and Sgt), my MOS was closed out and I was the only one to be promoted in those respective months.

Your grandson will not be given a sword, but he may be temporarily issued one if he is required to stand sword detail. I've seen swords awarded for the honor graduate of Drill Instructor School. If he wants to buy one, he needs to get it measured and make sure it's in regs. The uniform stores will have them, but I suggest if he is going to buy one, that he doesn't buy a cheap replica sword.

[6114DAVE]

Ah yes..the gauntlet! My wet down was in Yuma of all places ...coin night anyone? Lol

[rooster85]

Yuma, man I hated that place. We did enjoy drinking with the wingers in their Eclub though. Those guys didn't know what to think about us.

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[USMC169]

You guys are lucky, you actually had a wet down. When I got promoted to Corporal, I was in Kuwait, a DRY country. Not very fun.

[SgtMerc]

Ah yes..the gauntlet! My wet down was in Yuma of all places ...coin night anyone? Lol

We talking Platinum's Wednesday night? Because that's when our squadron had field day, so single guys never got the chance.


To OP, Some promotion ceremonies are different from others. Most of the time, they have you march up, they remove old rank insignia and pin your new rank insignia onto your collar. If you're promoted to Corporal, sometimes they also drape red strips of cloth over your shoulders (these are bloodstripes, to be later sewn onto your trouser seams) and some units will have you walk the gauntlet (each of your NCO peers will bump the side of your leg with their knee, punch your shoulder where the rank patch sits, and possibly "snakebite" your rank pins into your collarbone.)

Following that, the new promotee will take his buddies out to the bar. The difference between his old paycheck and his new paycheck is placed on the bar and everyone celebrates together.

I would be extremely happy if someone had bought my NCO sword for me. Just remember, NCOs use a different sword than USMC Officers, and there are cheap knock-offs all over. Get him a good one, and congrats to the kid!

ETA: The gauntlet is an informal thing, to be done among friends/peers. It is not a command sanctioned portion of the promotion ceremony