Locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver. The primary combat specialty of the Marine Corps ground forces.
ASVAB CL: 90 or GT: 90
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
The Rifleman is the foundation of the Marine Corps and the largest occupational field in the service. Daily life revolves around the fire team and squad, with heavy emphasis on physical training, marksmanship, and small-unit drills. Field exercises are frequent and demanding, involving long movements under load, patrolling, and live fire ranges. Garrison time is spent on weapons maintenance, gear accountability, classes, and preparing for the next training cycle. Leadership responsibility arrives early, and a capable Marine may lead a fire team well within a first enlistment.
You learn marksmanship to the Corps' notably high standard, along with land navigation, patrolling, and combat marksmanship. Small-unit tactics, communications, and the employment of crew-served weapons are core competencies. Combat lifesaver skills teach bleeding control and casualty care under pressure. You learn to plan, brief, rehearse, and execute an operation as a team. Physical conditioning is trained as a professional skill rather than an afterthought.
The job builds mental toughness and an unusually high tolerance for discomfort and fatigue. You develop discipline that shows up in small things, from uniform standards to gear accountability. It teaches leadership by example, since Marines follow the person who carries their share and then some. Riflemen tend to become people with strong personal standards and a bias toward action. You also gain the confidence that comes from repeatedly doing things you initially believed you could not.
No civilian employer advertises for a Rifleman, so the honest answer is where these Marines actually land. Police departments, sheriff's offices, and fire departments recruit heavily from this population, and many agencies give veterans preference or credit in hiring. The trades absorb a large number through apprenticeships in construction, electrical, welding, and heavy equipment, where service time often counts toward hours. Defense and security contractors hire former riflemen as instructors, security specialists, and overseas protective staff, and consulting work supporting military training is a realistic path. Sales, logistics, and frontline management also take many, and the GI Bill lets others change direction completely, with the discipline and reliability consistently cited by employers as the differentiator.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“My grandfather was in 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, (which) fought at Inchon and at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.”
“I wholeheartedly chose the military occupational specialty of 0311 to continue furthering the legacy that my family built in the Marine Corps.”
“I created this in 2023 while on the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to help my junior infantrymen become more lethal and proficient at a faster rate. I felt this book was something junior Marines were missing.”
“We recently conducted a few Individual Performance Assessments on combat orders, call for fire, basic infantry knowledge, and operational terms and graphics. The handbook improved my understanding of what I was going to be tested on.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
Reveille brings PT and weapons cleaning before you draw gear and head to the range or maneuver area with your squad. You spend the day running fire-and-maneuver drills, patrolling, and rehearsing battle drills under the eye of your team and squad leaders. Evenings are for cleaning weapons, prepping gear, and getting the frag order for tomorrow's mission.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Marines, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Earned skill levels: tan, gray, green, brown and black belt. Applies across combat and support specialties.
Belts require documented training, sustainment and performance testing under authorized instructors. Higher belts have additional prerequisites, including applicable grade and professional-education requirements; neither promotion nor elapsed service awards a belt. Confirm the current requirements for the next belt with your instructor.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Marines 0311 Rifleman, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceMarine NCO grades are E-4 and E-5; staff NCO grades are E-6 through E-9. At E-8 and E-9, first sergeant/sergeant major and master sergeant/master gunnery sergeant have distinct leadership roles. Warrant and commissioned officers are separate career tracks. This service-wide structure is not a verified promotion ceiling for this MOS.
Marine Corps ranks and career-track distinctionsService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
The FY27 regular warrant program requires technical and professional qualifications for the requested warrant MOS and selection. A listed warrant destination does not establish an enlisted feeder match. The February 2026 deadline has passed; this announcement documents a selection route, not a currently open opportunity.
Marine FY27 regular warrant selection announcementSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver. The primary combat specialty of the Marine Corps ground forces.
The Rifleman is the foundation of the Marine Corps and the largest occupational field in the service. Daily life revolves around the fire team and squad, with heavy emphasis on physical training, marksmanship, and small-unit drills. Field exercises are frequent and demanding, involving long movements under load, patrolling, and live fire ranges. Garrison time is spent on weapons maintenance, gear accountability, classes, and preparing for the next training cycle. Leadership responsibility arrives early, and a capable Marine may lead a fire team well within a first enlistment.
You learn marksmanship to the Corps' notably high standard, along with land navigation, patrolling, and combat marksmanship. Small-unit tactics, communications, and the employment of crew-served weapons are core competencies. Combat lifesaver skills teach bleeding control and casualty care under pressure. You learn to plan, brief, rehearse, and execute an operation as a team. Physical conditioning is trained as a professional skill rather than an afterthought.
No civilian employer advertises for a Rifleman, so the honest answer is where these Marines actually land. Police departments, sheriff's offices, and fire departments recruit heavily from this population, and many agencies give veterans preference or credit in hiring. The trades absorb a large number through apprenticeships in construction, electrical, welding, and heavy equipment, where service time often counts toward hours. Defense and security contractors hire former riflemen as instructors, security specialists, and overseas protective staff, and consulting work supporting military training is a realistic path. Sales, logistics, and frontline management also take many, and the GI Bill lets others change direction completely, with the discipline and reliability consistently cited by employers as the differentiator.
ASVAB CL: 90 or GT: 90. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
NAVMC 1200.1L, FY26 Military Occupational Specialties Manual (effective October 1, 2025), chapter 1 · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Deployment likelihood: Higher*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.