The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

occupational rating of gunner's mate (GM) is a designation given by the

Bureau of Naval Personnel The Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in the United States Department of the Navy is similar to the human resources department of a corporation. The bureau provides administrative leadership and policy planning for the Office of the Chief of Na ...

(BUPERS) to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" school training, or who "strike" for the rating by showing competence in the field of

ordnance Ordnance may refer to: Military and defense * Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. **The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Uni ...

. When "striking" one isn't required to be a seaman, but must belong to one of three undesignated rates: Fireman (FN), Seaman (SN), or Airman (AN). (Striking is no longer authorized in the USCG) It is also possible to cross rate to Gunner's Mate. Cross rating refers to the act of an enlisted sailor "crossing" from their current rating to another rating of their choice, provided their

ASVAB The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a multiple choice test, administered by the United States Military Entrance Processing Command, used to determine qualification for enlistment in the United States Armed Forces. It is ...

scores are high enough and there are open slots for the rate. The Gunner's Mate "A" school is held at Naval Training Center Great Lakes, Illinois and Yorktown, VA for the USCG. In its early years, the school was very hands-on, but it is now primarily conducted through technical educational tools, such as self-study computer-based training (CBT). Training focuses on the operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of naval guns, missile launchers and torpedoes as well as a strong emphasis on basic

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s, guidance and tracking systems, small arms, Naval ammunition classification, and safety. Upon completion of this basic training, enlisted members often continue on to a specialized "C" school, where they learn a particular weapons system. A GM will specialize in a multitude of weapons varieties; arms such as,

shotguns A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-proj ...

, semiautomatic and automatic

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...

s, submachine guns,

machine guns A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ...

s, both portable and large-scale, mounted weapons systems, and various

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entir ...

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

es, and

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

s. As well as this, GMs care for and assist in operating shooting ranges, armories, and the storage and maintenance of arms. On February 26, 2007, the

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

approved the merger of the gunner's mate (GM) and torpedoman's mate (TM) ratings into the GM rating. The move was made to leverage the strengths, knowledge, skills and abilities found in the two ratings to meet current and future strategic mission needs. “The training sailors receive after basic training for their ratings on an apprentice level has been the same for both gunner's and torpedomen's mates,” said Senior Chief Torpedoman's Mate, Sherry Secrease of the

Navy Personnel Command The Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in the United States Department of the Navy is similar to the human resources department of a corporation. The bureau provides administrative leadership and policy planning for the Office of the Chief of Nava ...

. “This makes the merger easier to accomplish.”Torpedoman's Mate and Gunner's Mate Ratings Merge
at navy.mil. The Gunner's Mate rating is primarily surface warfare-based. Closely associated Naval occupational ratings are Fire Controlman (FC),

Aviation Ordnanceman Aviation Ordnanceman (abbreviated as AO) is a United States Navy occupational rating. History Aviation Ordnancemen operate and handle aviation ordnance equipment. They are responsible for the maintenance of guns, bombs, torpedoes, rockets, and ...

(AO), Missile Technician (MT), Mineman (MN). The Gunner's Mate rating is one of the original ratings created as a result of the Naval Armament Act of 1794. The others include Boatswain's Mate (BM),

Quartermasters Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

(QM),

Master-at-Arms A Master-at-Arms (US: MA; UK & some Commonwealth: MAA) may be a naval rating, responsible for law enforcement, regulating duties, security, anti-terrorism/force protection (AT/FP) for/of a country's navy; an army officer responsible for physical ...

(MA), and

Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

(YN). The rating is also among the top five source ratings for enlisted

Naval Special Warfare The United States Naval Special Warfare Command (USNSWC), also known as (NAVSPECWARCOM and WARCOM), is the naval component of United States Special Operations Command, the unified command responsible for overseeing and conducting the nation' ...

candidates.

Notes

External links

GM from Navy Personnel Command (NPC): Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS)

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424082319/http://www.bluejacket.com/usn_ratings_emergency.html , date=2008-04-24
CNRC (Navy Recruiting Command) Fact Sheet for the GM rating
United States Navy ratings