{"id":40603,"date":"2019-11-26T22:04:36","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T22:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:25:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:25:04","slug":"first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/","title":{"rendered":"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first batch of graduates of key <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/01\/30\/army-plans-to-roll-out-new-master-gunner-badge-for-qualified-soldiers\/\" target=_blank>Army fires schools <\/a>are now wearing one of the Army\u2019s newest badges to display their master gunner skills. Many more can now apply to receive theirs, retroactively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nine soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia, recently earned the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armyupress.army.mil\/Journals\/NCO-Journal\/Archives\/2019\/June\/Master-Gunner-Identification-Badge\/\" target=_blank>Master Gunner Identification Badge<\/a>, according to an Army video news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The badge was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2019\/10\/18\/the-team-that-is-transforming-army-fires-leads-the-services-priorities\/\" target=\"_blank\">first approved<\/a> by the Army\u2019s acting assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs in January 2018. It is retroactive to October 1975, according to the original Miper message 19-144.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/05\/15\/army-master-gunner-grads-are-getting-a-uniform-badge\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"279\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg.jpg?w=279\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Army master gunner grads are getting a uniform badge<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The new badge is approved as of May 8 and retroactive to Oct. 1, 1975.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the recipients, Staff Sgt. Kenneth Bowman, with the 1st Battalion of the 81st Artillery Regiment, said in the video that his love of training soldiers drove him to improve his expertise in his job as a master gunner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to get awarded this badge in front of my peers, friends, family, my chain of command. A lot of people come to let me know they\u2019re proud of me and my accomplishment,\u201d Bowman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the process began in 2018, it wasn\u2019t until May 2019 that the badge\u2019s approval was finalized. The delay to awarding the badge was built into the May message, when officials ordered that division commanders may approve awards of the MGIB \u201cup to six months from the release date of this message.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, retroactive requests for current members must be submitted through the commandant of the corresponding school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MGIB is confined to the enlisted soldiers who have the A7, A8, J3, K7, K8, R8 or T4 ASIs in their records, while warrant officers require the H8. The badge must be awarded by the authority who puts on the qualification course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The authorities are the U.S. Army Field Artillery, Armor, Air Defense Artillery or Infantry Schools or the Aviation Center of Excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those courses include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Field Artillery Master Gunner Course<\/li><li>Master Gunnery-M1\/M1A1 Tank Course<\/li><li>Infantry Fighting Vehicle Master Gunner Course<\/li><li>Avenger Master Gunner Course<\/li><li>M1A2 SEP Master Gunner Course<\/li><li>Stryker Master Gunner Course<\/li><li>Patriot Master Gunner Course<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An Army memo released in 2018 outlined what it takes to be a master gunner, that includes a \u201chigh level of technical competence and a detailed understanding of a projectile producing system that [aids] a command in planning, resourcing, training and executing a gunnery program designed to enhance the combat effectiveness and lethality of a maneuver force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The badge includes a laurel wreath to represent the maneuver force, inside the wreath a sabre highlights the Armor branch, while the Springfield M1 rifle represents the Infantry and the crossed cannons mark the field Artillery branch and the missile at the center is for the Air Defense Artillery branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after the May announcement. Sgt. 1st Class Aaron M. Smith authored a historical piece in the NCO Journal published by Army University Press on the background of the master gunner and the new badge identifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Smith noted that Samuel Sharpe was appointed the master gunner in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first such gunner in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHis duties were to \u2018deliver powder and ammunition to select towns, recover weapons from militia members, receive payment from those who lost weapons, and provide periodic reports to government officials to guide the purchase of firearms, powder, and shot,\u2019\u201d Smith wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That job played a role for the next nearly 400 years. During the Vietnam War, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Creighton Abrams ordered the Armor School to study ways to improve proficiency and readiness in the Armor branch. Commanders responded that they needed expert knowledge on the weapons systems to develop property training and employment of those systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, the role of a direct advisor program was established. The Armor Master Gunner Course\u2019s first class graduated 15 non-commissioned officers in December 1975. In 1981, the first Bradley Master Gunner Course was designed at Fort Benning to improve mechanized infantry tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2004, the Air Defense Artillery branch put out the Patriot Master Gunner Course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That was borne from observations on the initial stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Sgt. Maj. Robert S. Rodgers, a Patriot Master Gunner, wrote in the January-February edition of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/apps.dtic.mil\/dtic\/tr\/fulltext\/u2\/a495943.pdf\" target=_blank>Fires<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe complex and highly fluid Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) battlefield, with its crowded airspace and high risk of ground-to-air fratricide, illuminated the requirement for increased Patriot system and tactical expertise as well as greater situational awareness,\u201d Rodgers wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The badge is retroactive to 1975 for graduates of certain Army schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":78200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,23,92,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3366],"class_list":["post-40603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MBPJIWJ3INCFXHODBMW4LTNX7M","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The badge is retroactive to 1975 for graduates of certain Army schools.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The badge is retroactive to 1975 for graduates of certain Army schools.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-26T22:04:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T03:25:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd South\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-11-26T22:04:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T03:25:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 731,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Left Column\",\n\t                \"News\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Your Army\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge - Army Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-11-26T22:04:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T03:25:04+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The badge is retroactive to 1975 for graduates of certain Army schools.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/2019\\\/11\\\/26\\\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"News\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"news\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Your Army\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/news\\\/your-army\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"your-army\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 4,\n\t                    \"name\": \"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge - Army Times","description":"The badge is retroactive to 1975 for graduates of certain Army schools.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge","og_description":"The badge is retroactive to 1975 for graduates of certain Army schools.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2019-11-26T22:04:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T03:25:04+00:00","author":"Todd South","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd South","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge","datePublished":"2019-11-26T22:04:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T03:25:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/"},"wordCount":731,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Home","Left Column","News","Newsletters","Your Army"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/","name":"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg","datePublished":"2019-11-26T22:04:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T03:25:04+00:00","description":"The badge is retroactive to 1975 for graduates of certain Army schools.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2019\/11\/26\/first-soldiers-pin-on-the-master-gunner-identification-badge\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/","ad_zone":"news"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your Army","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/","ad_zone":"your-army"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"First soldiers pin on the Master Gunner Identification Badge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/mastergunnerbadge.jpg_ab3a92.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40603"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40609,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40603\/revisions\/40609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40603"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=40603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}