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7316E1-E3
Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) Operator
E-1 to E-3 (Junior Enlisted) · Marines
HEADS UP
You are the lowest-ranking person in a unit that flies robots into denied airspace and reports what it sees. Your job is 90% logistics and maintenance and 10% flying — and that 10% is absolutely worth the other 90%. Don't let the garrison tedium make you forget that when the battalion commander needs eyes on a treeline at 0200, it's your GCS that lights up his display.
The Honest MOS Read
As a PFC or LCpl SUAS operator, the honest reality is that you spend the majority of your working days doing things that have nothing to do with flying. Battery conditioning, inventory counts, shipping and receiving damaged airframes back to depot, building pre-flight checklists that never change, and sitting through safety briefs delivered by someone who has never touched a Raven. The actual stick time happens during field exercises, MEU workup events, and real-world deployments — and when it happens, it matters enormously.
The 7316 MOS is young and still finding its institutional footing inside a Corps that spent 200 years worshipping the rifleman. That means two things: first, you will be fighting for relevance with some NCOs who still think drones are a distraction from real Marine business. Second, you are in a MOS that has actual growth trajectory — UAS is not going away, near-peer competition is accelerating it, and every battalion is learning how badly they needed organic ISR once they've had it.
At E1-E3 your primary job is to be a solid operator technician. You need to know your assigned system — most likely the RQ-11B Raven, Puma AE, or WASP IV — at the component level, not just the operator level. Know what the telemetry numbers mean, not just whether the green light is on. Know the RF environment around your operating area and what a jammed link looks like versus a software fault. Adversaries in every peer and near-peer conflict are now fielding active jamming, direction-finding gear, and kinetic counter-UAS — the time when you could fly a Raven without thinking about who might be listening for it is over.
The civilian drone market is real and it translates directly from what you're doing. FAA Part 107 certification is straightforward for anyone who has operated military SUAS, and the commercial inspection, agriculture, public safety, and survey industries are actively hiring people who can fly reliably and read the airspace. Do not wait until EAS to look at this. Part 107 study material costs nothing and the cert exam fee is minimal. Your GS employment options in the DoD space are also worth tracking — the government is hiring civilian SUAS operators and instructors faster than it can train them.
Career Arc
Boot camp → School of Infantry → MOS school pipeline; SUAS formal school at Fort Eisenhower (Army-run; Marines attend) covers ground station operation, mission planning, emergency procedures, and basic maintenance First fleet assignment: typically MEF-level reconnaissance unit, aviation ground support element, or direct assignment to infantry battalion reconnaissance platoon PFC: operator under supervision, responsible for battery management, airframe inspection, and GCS prep LCPL: primary operator on assigned system; begin building independent mission planning proficiency; expected to run full pre-flight/post-flight independently Competitive for CPL below zone: meritorious promotion boards reward operators who have logged real flight hours in field/operational environments — garrison reps alone do not get you there FAA Part 107 certification: pursue this now, not at EAS — it costs almost nothing and signals civilian-market readiness while demonstrating initiative to command
Common Screwups
Flying outside your authorized airspace or above your altitude limit without a NOTAM and JTAC coordination — one unauthorized flight near a restricted area can result in NJP, loss of quals, and a permanent entry in your service record Treating battery maintenance as a lower priority than it is — field-degraded lithium polymer cells are the most common cause of abort missions; a bad battery log is a reflection on you personally Getting a DUI or NJP in your first enlistment; the 7316 community is small enough that every incident gets known, and adverse pages will shadow you to every promotion board Posting any imagery — even generic training footage — to social media without explicit command approval; OPSEC violations from drone footage are serious and the administrative consequences are immediate Treating the MOS as a tech job that exempts you from Marine Corps fundamentals — commanders who see SUAS Marines lagging on PFT scores, rifle quals, or field hygiene will question whether the whole capability is worth the footprint
A Day in the Life
0530: PT formation — PFT/CFT prep cycle; 7316s are not exempt from the battalion standard 0700: Morning chow and personal hygiene 0800: Morning formation, accountability, first sergeant's word 0830: Equipment maintenance: battery conditioning checks, airframe inspection for any transit damage, GCS software status verification 1000: Training event (on field day/exercise) OR working party/detail (garrison weeks) — garrison weeks have more of the latter than anyone advertises 1130: Noon chow 1300: Mission planning drill or classroom training; unit SUAS section may run tabletop mission packages as a routine training evolution 1430: Range or flight operations when scheduled; garrison weeks this time slot fills with admin, NCO check-ins, or additional working parties 1600: End-of-day equipment checks: battery log update, airframe log entries, any maintenance discrepancy write-ups 1700: Evening formation, plan of the day for tomorrow 1800: Evening chow; barracks for junior Marines in first enlistment 2000: Personal time — Part 107 study, physical training supplement, or PT recovery
Weekly Cadence
Garrison weeks for a junior 7316 follow the battalion rhythm more than the SUAS section rhythm. Monday through Wednesday lean toward maintenance, working parties, and administrative requirements. The SUAS section gets meaningful training time when it has scheduled range access or a field evolution on the calendar — otherwise you're filling the battalion's need for bodies on working parties, SNCO driver duty, and post/base support tasks.
Field weeks are where the job makes sense. Pre-exercise prep means getting every airframe and battery to 100% readiness, mission planning packages built, and GCS configurations verified. During the exercise, you're running sorties in support of maneuver elements and the schedule is driven by the tactical situation, not the clock. The first time you hand a company commander real-time sensor footage of an opposing force position and watch the S3 reroute a patrol based on what your aircraft found — that's the week that makes the garrison weeks make sense.
What Good Looks Like at This Rank
The best junior 7316s are operators who treat every training flight like it's real and every real flight like their CO is watching the sensor feed. They know their battery account cold, their aircraft system past the checklist level, and they can brief a mission package without being prompted. They are physically competitive — nobody respects a drone operator who can't pass a PFT — and they are earning their Part 107 on their own time because they understand that the exit ramp from this MOS leads somewhere valuable if they invest in it now.
The operators who rise quickly are the ones who make themselves useful to the S2. They don't just collect imagery — they brief it. They learn the intelligence reporting format, they know what a vehicle identifier is, and when they land they have a product ready before the debriefing officer asks. That reputation spreads fast in small units, and it gets you the flight hours that matter for promotion and career development.
Preview — The Next Rank
At LCpl you're expected to run pre-flight and post-flight independently. At Corporal, the expectation shifts to mission leadership — you're responsible for the readiness of the GCS and aircraft assigned to your section, not just your own. The promotion board will look at your PFT/CFT scores, your rifle qual, your conduct record, and whether your chain of command has trusted you with additional duties. The operators who get meritorious CPL are the ones who have been flying in front of leadership at exercises and delivering clean mission products.
Start thinking now about whether you want to stay in the SUAS lane long-term or cross-train. The 7316 has a relatively narrow senior NCO career path compared to large MOSes — there are fewer billets, so competition is stiffer. The operators who build a reputation as indispensable intelligence producers rather than just aircraft launchers are the ones who have options at the six-year mark.
FAQ
7316 E1-E3 — Frequently Asked Questions
Q01What does a E1-E3 7316 (Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) Operator) actually do?
Operate Group 1 UAS — the RQ-11 Raven, Puma, or equivalent small reconnaissance systems — under supervision.
Q02What's the most important thing to know as a E1-E3 7316?
You are the lowest-ranking person in a unit that flies robots into denied airspace and reports what it sees.
Q03What mistakes get E1-E3 7316 soldiers fired or relieved?
Flying outside your authorized airspace or above your altitude limit without a NOTAM and JTAC coordination — one unauthorized flight near a restricted area can result in NJP, loss of quals, and a permanent entry in your service record Treating battery maintenance as a lower priority than it is — field-degraded lithium polymer cells are the most common cause of abort missions; a bad battery log is a reflection on you personally Getting a DUI or NJP in your first enlistment;…
Q04What's next after E1-E3 for a 7316 (Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) Operator) in the Marines?
At LCpl you're expected to run pre-flight and post-flight independently.
Q05What manuals and regulations does a E1-E3 7316 need to know cold?
MCWP 3-42.1 (MAGTF Unmanned Aircraft Systems), individual system TM for assigned UAS type, unit SOP for SUAS employment, applicable SIGACTS and ROE for AOR
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Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards