Operate crew-served weapons including machine guns and automatic grenade launchers. Provide suppressive fire support.
ASVAB GT: 80
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Machine Gunners employ the infantry battalion's medium and heavy machine guns as part of a gun team. Daily work covers gun drills, range time, ammunition handling, and the substantial maintenance these weapons require. You carry heavy loads, since the gun, tripod, and ammunition are distributed across the team. Field exercises emphasize positioning, sectors of fire, and rapid displacement. Between training there is weapons cleaning, gear accountability, and physical conditioning.
You learn machine gun employment, range estimation, and the gunnery principles behind effective suppressive fire. Weapons maintenance and immediate action drills are trained to reflex. The role builds land navigation, communications, and small-unit tactics alongside infantry fundamentals. You gain experience directing a gun team and coordinating with the supported unit. Combat lifesaver training adds casualty care under pressure.
The job builds exceptional physical strength and endurance from carrying heavy loads over distance. You develop composure in loud, high-stress conditions where clear thinking is difficult. It teaches disciplined teamwork, since a gun team functions only when every role executes. Machine Gunners tend to become durable, dependable people with high personal standards. You also gain early leadership experience running a team.
There is no direct civilian job title, so it is worth looking at where these Marines actually land. Law enforcement and fire service are the most common destinations, and both actively recruit from infantry backgrounds for the teamwork and stress tolerance. The skilled trades take many others, with union apprenticeships in construction, welding, and electrical work often crediting military service. Defense contractors hire former machine gunners as range instructors, security specialists, and training role-players, and some move into executive protection. A meaningful number use the GI Bill for something entirely unrelated, and the discipline and work ethic tend to make them stand out in whatever they choose.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“When the Marines first get out of (the School of Infantry) they aren’t used to conducting the ranges that we do here.”
“We show them the basic 1,000 and 2,000-meter series, we see how comfortable they are behind their weapon systems, and make sure they know how to properly conduct everything from firing missions to traversing and searching for enemies.”
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.
Your morning starts with a weapons function check on the M240 and .50 cal alongside your gun team. You spend the day drilling crew-served weapons employment, laying in fields of fire, and rehearsing displacing and reloading under time pressure. Much of the work is hauling and emplacing the gun in the field, then cleaning and prepping it back at the armory.
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 0331 Machine Gunner, 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.
Operate crew-served weapons including machine guns and automatic grenade launchers. Provide suppressive fire support.
Machine Gunners employ the infantry battalion's medium and heavy machine guns as part of a gun team. Daily work covers gun drills, range time, ammunition handling, and the substantial maintenance these weapons require. You carry heavy loads, since the gun, tripod, and ammunition are distributed across the team. Field exercises emphasize positioning, sectors of fire, and rapid displacement. Between training there is weapons cleaning, gear accountability, and physical conditioning.
You learn machine gun employment, range estimation, and the gunnery principles behind effective suppressive fire. Weapons maintenance and immediate action drills are trained to reflex. The role builds land navigation, communications, and small-unit tactics alongside infantry fundamentals. You gain experience directing a gun team and coordinating with the supported unit. Combat lifesaver training adds casualty care under pressure.
There is no direct civilian job title, so it is worth looking at where these Marines actually land. Law enforcement and fire service are the most common destinations, and both actively recruit from infantry backgrounds for the teamwork and stress tolerance. The skilled trades take many others, with union apprenticeships in construction, welding, and electrical work often crediting military service. Defense contractors hire former machine gunners as range instructors, security specialists, and training role-players, and some move into executive protection. A meaningful number use the GI Bill for something entirely unrelated, and the discipline and work ethic tend to make them stand out in whatever they choose.
ASVAB GT: 80. 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.