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0811E4

Field Artillery Cannoneer

E-4 (Specialist/Corporal) · Marines

E1–E3E-4E-5E-6E-7E8–E9
HEADS UP

The Cpl chevron means it the first time you pin it in this Corps. You are an NCO. The section is watching how you handle the first counseling you have to give, the first fire mission you run without the section chief over your shoulder, and the first time a junior cannoneer makes a mistake you could have prevented. Those three moments define your section chief candidacy faster than any composite score.

The Honest MOS Read
Cpl in an artillery section occupies the sharpest edge of the section chief's reach. The section chief owns the gun; you own the crew position. In the section's daily rhythm, you are the senior cannoneer who the section chief trusts to run the crew during routine maintenance, to brief the fire mission data card before the Sgt repeats it, and to run the pre-operation checks on the M777A2 before the battery gunny does them himself. When the section chief is at the FDC brief, you are the senior man on the gun, and the round that goes downrange is on your verification. The 0811 Cpl is simultaneously managing upward and downward. Managing upward means keeping the section chief informed before he has to ask — the cannoneer who is drifting in pro/con marks, the crew position qualification that is still open, the maintenance discrepancy that surfaced during the daily check but was not in the section's deadline report. Managing downward means running a crew of three to five junior cannoneers whose proficiency and conduct marks you are signing for, whose T&R tasks you are signing off, and whose first counseling entries you are writing rather than having the section chief write them for you. The FitRep system under MCO 1610.7 starts at Cpl in practice, though it begins formally at certain billets. What matters at your rank is that you understand what a pro/con mark is and is not. Proficiency marks reflect job performance — how well the Marine does the technical tasks of the MOS. Conduct marks reflect military bearing, personal behavior, and adherence to Marine Corps standards. A 4.5/4.5 pro/con score reflects a Marine who is performing at standard and conducting himself correctly. A 4.2/4.0 score is a signal — to the Marine, to the battery gunny, and to the Cpl board packet reviewer — that something is not meeting the standard. Your job is to assign marks that accurately reflect what you saw, write the monthly counseling entry that explains the marks, and give the Marine a specific path to a better mark next month. Do not inflate to avoid the conversation. Inflation is the first step toward a section chief who cannot write a FitRep the reporting senior can defend. The section-chief candidate qualification path under NAVMC 3500.55 is the technical gate to Sgt. Section-chief candidate qualification requires demonstrating the collective tasks associated with the section chief billet — gun crew briefing, firing data verification, aiming circle setup and collimation, misfire procedure execution, ammunition accountability, and section displacement. Most of these tasks are visible in daily battery operations; the Cpl who is serious about qualifying as section-chief candidate starts asking the section chief to watch him run the tasks — not to evaluate him formally, but to correct the technique before the formal qualification attempt. The Sgt board and the monitor both notice if a Cpl is approaching the Sgt selection window without section-chief candidate qualification on the T&R card. Corporals Course is the PME gate. The slot is competitive because the MEU workup and the FIREX rotation calendar both eat into the available windows. The Cpl who waits for the slot to come to him is the Cpl who sits in zone for an extra cycle while the cutting score moves away from him. Talk to the section chief about the next Corporals Course slot; if the slot drops during a field exercise window, the section chief and the battery gunny find a way to make it work for the Cpl who is section-chief ready — they do not find a way for the Cpl who has not demonstrated he belongs in the section chief seat. The Sgt cutting score is a monthly discipline. Pull the current MARADMIN or the Total Force Retention System (TFRS) data on the 0811 Sgt cutting score before you sit with the battery gunny about your promotion timeline. The composite score draws from proficiency and conduct marks, PFT and CFT scores, rifle qual score, MCMAP belt, and education points. Every variable on that list is within your control over a 12-to-18-month horizon. The Cpl who manages the stack month by month is the Cpl who hits the cutting score in the same cycle as his Corporals Course graduation.
Career Arc
  • 01Cpl pin-on via cutting score under MCO 1400.32 — first-look is the expected outcome for a composite-score-competitive LCpl.
  • 02Crew position senior cannoneer — lead the crew on daily M777A2 operations under the section chief's supervision.
  • 03Corporals Course packet submitted, slot secured — PME gate for Sgt eligibility.
  • 04Section-chief candidate qualification path initiated — individual tasks under NAVMC 3500.55 tracked and demonstrated to section chief.
  • 05First formal counseling entries written on junior cannoneers — pro/con marks assigned monthly, counseling documented.
  • 06MCCRE / CAX evaluation — run the crew-position tasks at the section-level MCCRE evaluation as the Cpl crew leader.
  • 07Sgt cutting score achieved — Corporals Course completed, composite score competitive, section-chief candidate qualification on the T&R card.
Common Screwups
  • ×Inflating pro/con marks to avoid a hard conversation with a junior cannoneer. The section chief knows what the cannoneer is doing; when the inflated mark meets the actual performance, the Cpl's credibility as a crew leader and as a future section chief is the casualty.
  • ×Skipping the Corporals Course packet because 'the slot is probably next quarter.' The slot evaporates; the cutting score does not move. The Cpl who is Corporals Course-complete before the cutting score peaks is promoted; the one who waits gets passed.
  • ×DUI, NJP, or liberty incident. At Cpl, the UCMJ consequence follows the career forever — the Sgt board reads the disciplinary record, the section-chief candidate qualification is pulled, and the composite score impact is compounding. One decision on a Wednesday night.
  • ×Going around the section chief to the battery gunny with a section internal problem. The section chief finds out immediately — the battery gunny will tell him — and the trust that is the foundation of the section chief candidate relationship is gone in one conversation.
  • ×Allowing a known safety deficiency on the gun to be masked during the section chief's inspection. A misfire that occurs because the Cpl saw the deficiency and said nothing is not the section chief's problem — it is the Cpl's UCMJ problem.

A Day in the Life

  • 0500Wake. Check the section group chat for any overnight alerts. You sent the crew the 5-item next-day brief last night at 1700; verify they received it. PT uniform, head to the battery area.
  • 0530PT formation. The section chief takes accountability through you — you report the crew's count. Your crew knows you are in formation before them; the Cpl who is late to his own crew's PT formation is the subject of the section chief's first counseling.
  • 0545–0700Unit PT. You are not the one setting the section's PT pace — the section chief is. You are the one watching whether your crew is holding it. The cannoneer who falls out is your AAR topic at 0830, not the section chief's.
  • 0700–0830Hygiene, chow, change to utilities. Pre-walk your gun before colors — daily pre-operation check from the TM 9-1025-215-10 sequence, not the head-nod version. Any discrepancy is in the section log before morning formation.
  • 0830Morning formation. Section chief briefs the section. You brief your crew on the specific tasks your crew position owns for the day's event — what the crew's job is, what the standard is, what 'done' looks like. Your crew should not be asking the section chief questions that belong to you.
  • 0900–1130Primary training event — crew-position drills, section occupation and displacement, firing data card brief practice, aiming circle setup, bore-clearing, MCCRE rehearsal lane. As Cpl, you are running the crew's portion of the event and reporting the result to the section chief, not waiting to be told what went wrong.
  • 1130–1300Chow. NCO table is the section chief's table. As a Cpl in a section chief–led section, you eat with the Cpls and the senior LCpls; the section chief eats with the battery's other NCOs. The chow hall organization is the visible chain.
  • 1300–1500Afternoon work block. Continuation of the morning event, maintenance, counseling sessions with your crew members (monthly at minimum), composite score review for yourself (pull the current score from the battery admin office, not by asking the battery gunny). T&R task sign-offs entered in the unit tracking system.
  • 1500–1630Final formation. Section chief gives next day's plan; you give your crew their specific task for tomorrow. Sensitive items checked in — you run the crew count, section chief runs the section count. Any discrepancy is caught here, not at the armory.
  • 1630Liberty call if the battery is on normal schedule. You give the crew the same brief you give them every Friday: standards on liberty, no DUI, call you if something happens.
  • 1700–2100Personal time. Composite score review, Corporals Course coursework if you are enrolled in the distance education prep, MCMAP sustainment with the battery's senior MCMAP instructor, gym. The Cpl who uses personal time to close the gap on the composite score stack is the Cpl who does not need the cutting score to drop to make Sgt.
  • 2100If a Marine in your crew called with a problem — financial, personal, liberty incident — you are the first call, not the section chief. The Cpl who handles it inside the crew first, routes it correctly (MCCS for financial, legal assistance for legal, corpsman for medical), and briefs the section chief by 0630 the next morning is the Cpl the section chief trusts to lead.
  • Field / FIREX rotationClock breaks. Section occupation at night; your crew's position is your sector during the occupation. Fire missions begin on the FDC's timeline. You run the crew brief before every mission, you verify the fuze and charge before every 'READY' call, and you account for every round after the mission closes. The section chief is watching how you manage the crew fatigue on night three — that is the data point the FitRep narrative is built from.

Weekly Cadence

Monday is the Cpl's planning day in miniature — within the platoon sergeant's and section chief's plan, you are identifying what your crew needs to accomplish this week to stay ahead of the section's training calendar. The section chief puts out the week at Monday morning formation; you take that tasking and translate it to your crew's specific preparation and execution requirements by 0900. A section chief who has to re-brief your crew on Monday afternoon because you did not translate the task at morning formation will note it. Tuesday through Thursday is the crew training rhythm. You are running the crew's portion of whatever collective event the section has scheduled — occupation and displacement rehearsal, crew-position drills, firing data card brief practice, MCCRE prep lanes. Your job is not to participate in the training; it is to run the crew's portion of the training, observe the result, AAR honestly with the crew, and report the outcome to the section chief before he asks. The section chief who never has to ask 'how did the crew do on the aiming circle drill?' because the Cpl told him before he walked to the gun is the section chief who trusts the Cpl to run the gun independently. Friday is maintenance, composite score review, and counseling cycle close. Monthly pro/con marks for your crew are due at the end of each month; the Friday of the last week of the month is when you sit with each cannoneer in the crew for the five-minute counseling — what the mark is, why, and what the specific improvement path is for next month. The Cpl who completes the monthly counseling cycle clean — all marks assigned, all counseling entries in the section's administrative folder, no open adverse entries — is the Cpl the section chief can sponsor for Corporals Course with a clean administrative package. Field rotations (CAX at Twentynine Palms, FIREX at Lejeune, JWTC at Okinawa) collapse the Friday rhythm entirely — maintenance and administrative work happen in the margins of the field schedule, and the counseling entries that should have been written in garrison are the ones the section chief discovers are missing when the unit comes back.

Key Skills — How to Drill Each

  1. 01
    Brief the gun crew on a firing data card in the five-element sequence — mission type, target data, gunnery data, charge, fuze — from a terrain model or whiteboard the crew can read in the dark.
    Practice the crew briefing sequence dry every time the section chief gives you the data card before a live-fire event. The first time you run it cold in front of the crew, something will be out of order or missing — that is the training event. Ask the section chief to correct you in front of the crew for the first six months; the crew learns the sequence correctly when they hear you get corrected and improve. By month twelve you brief the data card without notes and the crew executes without questions. The section chief's test is whether you brief the card before the fire command, not after.
  2. 02
    Run a PCC/PCI as a real inspection with consequences — M777A2 system checks, fuze lot compliance, powder charge lot segregation, aiming circle setup, spade condition — not a head-nod ritual.
    Print the PCC/PCI checklist from the battery SOP and physically check each item against the actual equipment rather than from memory. The head-nod ritual — a visual sweep that confirms presence without confirming condition — is how the section's most visible safety deficiency gets walked past by the crew leader. The battery gunny knows which Cpls run real inspections and which ones perform them. Ask the section chief to watch your PCC/PCI once a month during the first six months; the things he catches are the things you will catch next month.
  3. 03
    Set up and collimate the M777A2 aiming circle to TM 9-1025-215-10 standards without the section chief rechecking your numbers before a registration mission.
    Aiming circle setup and collimation is the technical task that separates the section-chief candidate from the senior cannoneer. Practice the setup procedure weekly during garrison maintenance periods — it takes 15 minutes to run the setup correctly and the section chief can watch without it being a formal evaluation. The registration mission's accuracy depends on the aiming circle setup; a collimation error that is not caught before the first registration round produces a range or deflection error the FDC has to chase. The section chief who trusts your aiming circle setup is the section chief who lets you run the registration alone.
  4. 04
    Execute section chief duties during a fire mission when the Sgt is at the FDC — data verification, ram confirmation, fuze set check, muzzle velocity correction tracking, safe zone enforcement on the gun line.
    The first time you run the gun without the section chief present will be during a routine fire mission in garrison or during a training event where he steps to the FDC for a check-fire debrief. Before that happens, ask the section chief to walk you through the fire mission debrief sequence — data verification against the FDC's data, how the muzzle velocity correction is applied, what the safe zone enforcement steps are. When you run the gun independently for the first time, brief the crew on the change ('I've got the gun; the section chief is at the FDC') and execute the procedure. The first independent fire mission run will be your section chief candidacy report card.
  5. 05
    Operate battery-net radios — PRC-117G, PRC-152 — and pass a standard artillery fire command format without reading the CEOI out loud.
    The fire command format is in MCWP 3-16.1 and in the unit's radio-telephone operator (RTO) training. Memorize the format before the section chief tests you. Run the radio procedure in the section's garrison comms exercises — where the section chief puts the crew on battery net for a drill transmission. The CEOI stays in the pouch; when you are running the gun in the section chief's absence, the transmission that goes to the FDC needs to be by memory because the situation that requires you to transmit is the situation that does not allow you to read the card.
  6. 06
    Write a counseling entry on a junior cannoneer that describes observed behavior with a specific standard and a specific next step — not a character evaluation.
    Counseling entries in the Marine Corps administrative system are factual records of observed behavior and the standard that was or was not met. 'Lance Corporal [name] failed to complete the daily bore-clearing procedure on [date] in a manner consistent with TM 9-1025-215-10 Chapter 3, Section IV. [Name] was counseled on the correct procedure and will demonstrate proficiency to the section chief by [specific date].' That is a counseling entry. 'Lance Corporal [name] needs to take his responsibilities more seriously' is not. The difference matters when the Marine appeals an adverse administrative action and the counseling file is the chain's defense.

Manuals & References — What Chapters Matter

  • TM 9-1025-215-10 — M777/M777A2 Operator's Manual
    Own this manual at Cpl. The section chief quotes it at you on maintenance discrepancies and misfire procedures; at the Cpl level you quote it at your crew. The operator maintenance chapter and the misfire procedure chapter are the ones you will reference most often. Verify the edition on your battery's copy — TM revisions occur, and a section-chief candidate who is working from an outdated edition is caught immediately.
  • MCWP 3-16.1 — Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Fire Support (and the associated FM 3-09 — Cannon Gunnery)
    At Cpl you are running the gun during fire missions. The gunnery procedures that govern the fire mission execution — registration, direct and indirect fire, muzzle velocity corrections, check-fire procedure — are in this reference. The section chief who trusts you with the gun trusts that you have read the gunnery reference; the section chief who finds you improvising a fire mission procedure that is documented in FM 3-09 will not trust you with the gun again that quarter.
  • NAVMC 3500.55 — Field Artillery Training and Readiness Manual (Cpl / section-chief candidate tasks)
    Print the Cpl-level and section-chief-candidate task list and walk it with your section chief. The tasks at Cpl level include crew-position senior cannoneer tasks and section-chief candidate collective tasks. Identify which tasks are open on your card, which ones have observable demonstration criteria, and what the section chief needs to see before he signs them off. Do not wait for the annual T&R review to discover you are missing a core task — make the discovery yourself 90 days before the evaluation cycle.
  • MCO 1610.7 — Performance Evaluation System
    At Cpl you assign pro/con marks monthly and may write formal counseling entries that feed the FitRep process. Read the monthly proficiency and conduct mark criteria, the counseling format, and the relationship between the monthly observation record and the annual FitRep. The good Cpl understands that his monthly mark assignments on his juniors are the foundation the section chief builds the FitRep from — not the other way around. Verify the current revision on Marines.mil.
  • MCRP 3-10A.7 — Fire Support in the Combined Arms Operation
    The Cpl who understands how the howitzer section fits into the combined-arms fire support scheme is the Cpl the section chief trusts with the gun during complex fire missions. MCRP 3-10A.7 explains the relationships between the observer, the FDC, and the gun line — the people on the other end of the radio when you are running the gun independently. Read the section on fire mission processing; it explains the data verification steps the section chief is running from the FDC perspective.
  • MCO 1400.32 — Marine Corps Promotion Manual
    The composite score and cutting score mechanics for Cpl to Sgt promotion. At Cpl you are building the composite score stack that will hit the cutting score for Sgt. Read the chapter on composite score computation — what feeds it, when it updates, and what the board eligibility requirements are. Pull the current MARADMIN / TFRS data on the 0811 Sgt cutting score before every sit-down with the battery gunny. The Cpl who understands the promotion math is the Cpl who hits the cutting score on time rather than a cycle late.

Standards — How to Hit Each

  • Corporals Course graduate — PME gate for Sgt eligibility, section-chief candidacy, and the composite score that drives the cutting score.
    Corporals Course is delivered at Marine Corps regional NCO academies and at some installations in-residence. The in-residence variant is the standard; distance education exists but is not the equivalent. Talk to the battery gunny 90 days out from the next Corporals Course slate — the slot is competitive in a deployed or workup regiment. Have the packet ready before the slot is announced: composite score current, pro/con marks at standard, no open adverse entries, section chief's recommendation in writing. The Cpl who is packet-ready when the slot drops gets the slot; the one who starts the packet after the drop does not.
  • Section-chief candidate qualification signed by the battery commander or his designee.
    Section-chief candidate qualification is a formal performance evaluation, not a paper review. The battery commander or his designated evaluator observes you running the gun section through a fire mission sequence — data verification, crew brief, fire mission execution, post-mission accountability. Schedule the formal qualification attempt after the section chief has observed you running the task set informally at least three times and told you the performance is qualification-ready. One failed qualification attempt is a training event; two failed attempts in the same cycle is a section-chief candidacy flag.
  • Green Belt MCMAP minimum at Cpl; Brown Belt is what the battery gunny notes on the FitRep.
    Green Belt is the standard for Cpl eligibility at Corporals Course in most regiments — verify the current requirement with the battery's MCMAP instructor. Brown Belt is the standard the battery gunny notes on the FitRep as a differentiator. Schedule the Brown Belt tape test through the unit's senior MCMAP instructor at least 60 days before Corporals Course; having Brown Belt in hand at Corporals Course arrival puts you ahead of the Cpls who are showing up at Green Belt minimum.
  • 1st-Class PFT and CFT — your crew does not respect a section chief candidate who falls out of the gun line.
    At Cpl the fitness standard is inseparable from the crew leader credibility standard. The cannoneer who sees his Cpl score a 2nd-Class PFT is the cannoneer who decides whether to work as hard as the Cpl is asking him to work. 1st-Class PFT and CFT is not the ceiling — it is the floor for the crew leader who expects 1st-Class from his crew. Train the CFT events specifically (ammunition can lifts, maneuver under fire, 880-meter run) as much as the PFT events; the CFT is the gun-line fitness evaluation.
  • Composite score tracked monthly against the current MARADMIN / TFRS 0811 Sgt cutting score.
    Composite score under MCO 1400.32 draws from pro/con marks, PFT/CFT, rifle qual, MCMAP belt, and education points. Each variable has a specific update cycle — pro/con marks monthly, PFT/CFT semi-annually, rifle qual annually, MCMAP belt at tape test. Know your current composite score before every monthly counseling session with your section chief. The Cpl who walks in knowing his score and knowing which variable is the gap is the Cpl who gets promoted before the section chief has to push him.

Technical Mistakes — Concrete Consequences

  • Verifying a fuze setting verbally without pulling the round back out for a visual check.
    The verbal fuze confirmation — 'Fuze time, 27 seconds, confirmed' — without a physical pull and visual check is how an incorrectly set fuze goes downrange. The fire mission result is either a safe-and-dud (round that did not effect the target) or a premature detonation in a trajectory that did not match the intended effect. Both outcomes generate a mishap investigation, the Cpl crew leader is the proximate cause in the investigation narrative, and the section chief's and Cpl's names both appear in the findings. Five seconds of visual confirmation prevents the investigation.
  • Coasting on the Cpl chevron — composite score drifting, Corporals Course packet in 'probably next quarter' status, T&R tasks open for a second evaluation cycle.
    The composite score that is not managed monthly becomes the composite score that is 20 points short of the cutting score in the same cycle as the section chief's recommendation letter. The Cpl who waits to be pushed into the Corporals Course slot is the Cpl whose packet the section chief cannot sponsor with confidence. The cutting score does not move for individual Marines; the Marines who hit it consistently are the ones who managed the stack consciously from the day they pinned Cpl.
  • Mishandling a sensitive item — aiming circle, gun serial number placard, battery radio, NVG — even once during a section accountability formation.
    The first time a sensitive item goes missing during your accountability check, the battery gunny has your name. The 1stSgt has it by the end of the day. The section chief loses his recommendation credibility with the battery gunny if a Cpl under his supervision runs a failed sensitive-items check without catching it first during a self-inspection. Pre-walk every sensitive-items accountability check Sunday afternoon before the Monday morning formation; sign off on every serial number before the platoon sergeant asks.
  • Performing the daily pre-operation check as a visual sweep rather than a physical function-check with the TM 9-1025-215-10 sequence.
    The maintenance deficiency that is caught by the section chief's inspection rather than your pre-operation check is the deficiency that goes in the section's deadline report with your name as the responsible Cpl who did not catch it. In an artillery section, the difference between a found deficiency and an operational failure can be the difference between a training-event delay and a fire-mission abort. The battery gunny's read of which Cpls run real pre-operation checks and which ones run theater is accurate — he has been watching for 15 years.
  • Skipping the counseling entry because the conversation went well and the Marine seemed to understand.
    The verbal counseling that went well is invisible in the administrative record. When the same behavior recurs in three months and the battery gunny asks what you did the first time, the answer 'I talked to him' is not supported by documentation and the section chief cannot defend you. The page-11 entry is the administrative record that supports the next corrective action, the Cpl's monthly marks, and the section chief's FitRep narrative. Five minutes of documentation is a year of administrative defense.

Career Decisions at This Rank

  • Corporals Course timing — in-residence at the NCO academy versus distance education via CDET
    In-residence Corporals Course is materially better than distance education for two reasons: the rigor is higher and the network of Cpls from across the regiment you meet at the academy is your professional peer group for the next decade. Distance education exists as an option when the deployment schedule makes in-residence impossible, but it is not the preferred outcome and the section chief who sponsors you for in-residence rather than defaulting to CDET is doing you a career favor. The MEU workup and FIREX rotation calendar will eat every easy window; the Cpl who flags the calendar conflict early and works with the section chief and the battery gunny to carve out the in-residence slot is the Cpl who gets it. The Cpl who waits for the window to open cleanly gets the distance education option.
  • Section-chief candidate qualification timing — attempt before Corporals Course or after
    Section-chief candidate qualification before Corporals Course puts a differentiator on the composite score and the T&R card that the cutting score system rewards. Most Cpls attempt the qualification in the middle of the Cpl zone — after enough gun time to demonstrate proficiency but before Corporals Course removes them from the section for two to three weeks. The section chief controls the timing recommendation; the good Cpl asks for the informal run-through at month six and the formal attempt at month nine. Attempting qualification before the technique is stable results in a failed attempt that goes in the T&R tracking record; attempt it when the section chief says the performance is qualification-ready.
  • Reenlistment in Zone A versus ETS at Cpl
    The first reenlistment decision at Cpl typically falls in the Zone A window — roughly 17-36 months. The 0811 SRB and bonus amounts are in the current MARADMIN; the career planner conversation should happen 12 months before the EAS date, not 60 days before. The honest math: Cpls who are composite-score-competitive, Corporals Course-complete, and section-chief-candidate-qualified have a fundamentally different reenlistment conversation than Cpls who are working through performance shortfalls. The battery gunny's reenlistment recommendation travels with the Marine's record; a battery gunny who tells the career planner 'that Cpl is your next section chief' is a different instrument than the one who says 'good Marine, your call.' Know which conversation you are walking into before you sit down.
  • Schools and B-billets at Cpl — Recon screening, Recruiter School, scout-sniper course eligibility
    The lateral move and B-billet pipeline is technically open at Cpl for some options — Reconnaissance screening (the Basic Reconnaissance Course at Coronado takes Cpls who meet the physical and selection standards), and recruiter school enrollment. The honest read at Cpl: these decisions are more consequential at Sgt, when the career arc is clearer and the section chief candidacy trajectory has been established. A Cpl who leaves for a lateral pipeline before section-chief candidacy qualification is a Cpl who leaves the section chief short a crew leader and gives up the section chief trajectory. The exception is a Cpl who has genuine Recon or MARSOC aspiration — those pipelines have age and physical peak windows that do not always align with the Sgt promotion timeline.

How the Seat Varies by Unit Type

  • Active component artillery regiment — 10th Marines (Lejeune), 11th Marines (Pendleton)
    The standard Cpl 0811 assignment. Section chief candidate path is well-established, Corporals Course slots are available through the regimental S-3 training schedule, and the MEU workup cycle provides the MCCRE evaluation events that drive the section chief candidate's qualification opportunities. The section chief at this type of unit is typically a Sgt with direct MEU or FIREX rotation experience. The battery gunny has seen Cpls come through the section chief candidate pipeline dozens of times and his read is fast — the composite score and the T&R card are not a mystery to him.
  • 12th Marines — forward deployed, Okinawa
    The unaccompanied tour assignment for Cpls on Okinawa compresses the garrison social dynamics and amplifies the professional development opportunity. Camp Hansen and Camp Schwab have JWTC access, Korea and Japan partner training rotations, and the Indo-Pacific exercise schedule that puts Cpls on a gun line next to Korean Marine Cpls. The Corporals Course slot on Okinawa routes through the regional NCO academy; the slot timeline may differ from CONUS-based regiments — verify with the battery gunny. The liberty environment off-base requires specific conduct guidance from the section chief; SOFA violations on Okinawa are career-terminating faster than a CONUS liberty incident.
  • Reserve component artillery battalion
    Reserve Cpls face a compressed qualification opportunity timeline. Monthly drill weekends and annual training (AT) provide the touchpoints for T&R task completion and MCCRE evaluation, but the total annual hours are a fraction of active-component equivalents. Section-chief candidate qualification in a reserve battalion may require additional active-duty training (ADT) orders to complete the task set to the battery commander's standard. The composite score clock runs on reserve-duty points; verify the reserve composite score computation formula with the battery gunny before assuming the active-component calculation applies.
  • FIREX / CAX rotation at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms as crew leader
    The Cpl who goes to MCAGCC Twentynine Palms as the crew leader on an MCCRE evaluation lane is the Cpl who gets the definitive section chief candidate data point for the battery gunny's FitRep input. The MAGTFTC evaluators at Twentynine Palms are evaluating the section chief — the Sgt — but the crew leader's performance on the evaluated lane is visible in the debrief. A Cpl who runs the crew cleanly through the MCCRE lane while the section chief is at the FDC brief is the Cpl the battery gunny names when the next section chief slot opens.

What Good Looks Like at This Rank

The good Cpl section chief candidate is the crew leader the section chief puts on the gun when the hardest fire mission in the schedule runs — the one with the compressed time window, the complex fuze setting, and the FDC calling for corrections mid-mission. The section chief does not stand over the gun when the good Cpl is running it. He is at the FDC because he trusts the Cpl's data verification, the Cpl's crew brief, and the Cpl's 'READY' call. That trust is earned through six to twelve months of running the gun correctly when the section chief was watching, so that when the section chief steps away, the gun performs the same way. His crew's T&R tasks are signed off, not because the section chief told him to get them done, but because the Cpl walked the task list with each cannoneer at the start of the evaluation cycle, identified which tasks were open, and ran the demonstration drills during maintenance periods. His pro/con marks on his crew are accurate — 4.5/4.5 for the cannoneer who is performing, 4.2/4.0 for the cannoneer who is not, with a counseling entry that explains the mark and gives a specific improvement path. The section chief who reviews the Cpl's monthly counseling entries does not have to rewrite them; they are factual, specific, and actionable. The battery gunny's read on Cpl section chief candidates is formed by the MCCRE evaluation lanes and the FIREX rotations. The Cpl who runs his crew through the MCCRE prep rehearsals before the section chief schedules the formal rehearsal is the Cpl whose crew is ready on evaluation day. The Cpl who has never read the TM misfire procedure chapter and has to flip through the manual during a misfire simulation is the Cpl whose name the battery gunny notes without writing it down. The section chief candidacy qualification is the formal gate; the battery gunny's informal gate is whether he would give this Cpl the gun during a complex fire mission with the section chief unavailable. The good Cpl answers that question the right way before the gate opens.

Preview — The Next Rank

Sgt means the gun section is yours. Not the crew position — the gun section. Six to eight Marines, one M777A2, and the FDC sending fire missions on your answer. The Cpl's accountability was crew-deep; the Sgt's accountability is section-deep. Every round that goes downrange from that gun is on the section chief's record, and you are the section chief. The technical transition from Cpl crew leader to Sgt section chief is real but manageable if you have done the section-chief candidate qualification work. The administrative transition is less intuitive. Writing FitReps under MCO 1610.7 is fundamentally different from writing pro/con marks. The FitRep Section A narrative — observed behavior, action-result-impact, no inflation the reporting senior cannot defend — is a document that the battery commander, the battalion CO, and the SSgt selection board will read years from now. The section chief who cannot write a FitRep Section A is the section chief whose Cpls are not competitive for Sgt promotion. Start drafting Section A language for your Cpls in your counseling notes now, before you pin Sgt — the habit of writing in observed-behavior, action-result-impact language is what makes the FitRep writing easy at Sgt. The SSgt selection board is the career hurdle that the Sgt section chief is building toward from the day he pins Sgt. The Sgt-to-SSgt promotion runs through the Marine Corps's centralized selection board for SNCO ranks — not the cutting score system you used to get to Sgt. The board reads FitReps, composite scores, awards, PME, and conduct. The Sgt who understands that every FitRep cycle, every Corporals Course slot he sponsors, and every MCCRE evaluation outcome is board-read material is the Sgt who is competitive when the SSgt board meets.
FAQ

0811 E4 — Frequently Asked Questions

Q01What does a E4 0811 (Field Artillery Cannoneer) actually do?
You own a crew position as the senior cannoneer or the section chief's right hand on an M777A2 or, in reserve components, an M198 — four to eight Marines depending on the section's manning, and you are responsible for their training, their gear, their conduct on liberty, and their qualification status on every position on the gun.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E4 0811?
The Cpl chevron means it the first time you pin it in this Corps.
Q03What does a typical day look like for a E4 0811?
Time-blocked day at the E4 0811 rank tier: 0500 Wake. Check the section group chat for any overnight alerts. You sent the crew the 5-item next-day brief last night at 1700; verify they received it. PT uniform, head to the battery area, 0530 PT formation. The section chief takes accountability through you — you report the crew's count. Your crew knows you are in formation before them; the Cpl who is late to his own crew's PT formation is the subject of the section chief's first counseling, 0545–0700 Unit PT. You are not the one setting the section's PT pace — the section chief is.…
Q04What mistakes get E4 0811 soldiers fired or relieved?
Inflating pro/con marks to avoid a hard conversation with a junior cannoneer. The section chief knows what the cannoneer is doing; when the inflated mark meets the actual performance, the Cpl's credibility as a crew leader and as a future section chief is the casualty; Skipping the Corporals Course packet because 'the slot is probably next quarter.' The slot evaporates; the cutting score does not move. The Cpl who is Corporals Course-complete before the cutting score peaks is promoted;…
Q05What career decisions matter most at the E4 0811 rank tier?
Corporals Course timing — in-residence at the NCO academy versus distance education via CDET — In-residence Corporals Course is materially better than distance education for two reasons: the rigor is higher and the network of Cpls from across the regiment you meet at the academy is your professional peer group for the next decade. Distance education exists as an option when the deployment schedule makes in-residence impossible, but it is not the preferred outcome and the section chief who sponsors you for in-residence rather than defaulting to CDET is doing you a career favor.…
Q06What's next after E4 for a 0811 (Field Artillery Cannoneer) in the Marines?
Sgt means the gun section is yours.
Q07What manuals and regulations does a E4 0811 need to know cold?
TM 9-1025-215-10 — M777/M777A2 Operator's Manual (own this; the section chief quotes it back to you on every maintenance discrepancy).; MCWP 3-16.1 / FM 3-09 — Artillery Cannon Gunnery (the gunnery procedures reference you run against during registration and every check-fire).; NAVMC 3500.55 — Field Artillery T&R (chapter on Cpl / section-chief-candidate collective tasks).

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Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards