Culture of the United States Marine Corps
Two styles of swords are worn by Marines. The Marine Corps officers' sword is a Mameluke Sword, similar to the Persian shamshir presented to Lt. Presley O'Bannon after the Battle of Derna during the First Barbary War. After its adoption in 1825 and initial distribution in 1826, Mameluke Swords have been worn by Marine officers ever since, except during the period 1859–1875, when they were required to wear the Army's Model 1850-foot officers' sword. Upon returning to the traditional sword, many officers gave their Army swords to their senior noncommissioned officer, creating the basis for the NCO sword. Generally, Marines are the only branch where enlisted members regularly carry a sword (the Army authorizes platoon and first sergeants to carry a Model 1840 sword during some ceremonies, while the Chief of Naval Operations authorized Chief Petty Officers and above to carry an optional ceremonial cutlass with dress uniforms in 2010).
Marksmanship badges (United States)
In 1884, the United States Secretary of War authorized the establishment of the "distinguished class" of marksman. In 1887, the Secretary authorized the first Distinguished Marksman Badge to recognize the shooters who achieved this distinguished class of marksman with the rifle, carbine, revolver, or any combination of the three. This continued until the establishment of the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge in 1903 and the Distinguished Rifleman Badge in 1959. However, the Distinguished Marksman Badge is still awarded to distinguished rifle shooters of the sea services (U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard). These two badges were the U.S. armed forces' highest awards for rifle and pistol marksmanship until 1962 when the CMP established the Distinguished International Shooter Badge. In 2001, the Junior Distinguished Badge was established for junior air rifle competitors while the CMP's newest distinguished program, the .22 Rimfire Pistol Distinguished Badge (authorized in 2015), has been established for adult and junior shooters alike. Today, the Distinguished International Shooter Badge is the highest award for marksmanship within the U.S. followed by the Distinguished Rifleman/Marksman Badge, the Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge, the .22 Rimfire Pistol Distinguished Badge, and the Junior Distinguished Badge.