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)
Starting in 1920, U.S. Navy marksmanship ribbons replaced the Navy Sharpshooter's Badge. There are two types of U.S. Navy marksmanship ribbons, one for the service rifle ( ) and one for the service pistol ( ). Each can be embellished with a marksmanship device to denote the shooter's qualification level. A silver "E" Device ( ) is awarded to those who qualify as an expert (the highest qualification level) while a bronze "S" Device ( ) is awarded to those who qualify as a sharpshooter (second highest qualification). If no marksmanship device is displayed, the shooter qualified as a marksman (lowest qualification level). For an unknown period of time, a bronze "E" Device was awarded to those who initially qualified as expert; after three consecutive expert qualifications, the device turned to silver with a permanent award status. Starting in 1969, the and were introduced and are awarded to Sailors who qualify as expert along with the appropriate U.S. Navy marksmanship ribbon with silver "E" Device.