US Army Sharpshooter Badge

A Marksmanship Badge is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces or a U.S. Civilian badge which is presented to personnel upon successful completion of a weapons qualification course (known as Marksmanship Qualification Badges) or high placement in an official marksmanship competition (known as Marksmanship Competition Badges). The U.S. Military's and Civilian Marksmanship Program's (CMP) Marksmanship Qualification Badges are awarded in three grades (highest to lowest): Expert, Sharpshooter, and Marksman while their Marksmanship Competition Badges are typically awarded in gold, silver, and bronze. The National Rifle Association's (NRA) Marksmanship Qualification Badges are awarded in five or six grades (highest to lowest): Distinguished Expert, Expert, Sharpshooter, Marksman First-Class (Winchester/NRA Marksmanship Qualification Program only), Marksman, and Pro-Marksman. The NRA's Marksmanship Competition Badges are only awarded at one level (gold) with the exception of their Law Enforcement Distinguished Program which awards a Silver Excellence-in-Competition Badge before earning one of the Law Enforcement Distinguished Pistol Badges.

Today, the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps are the only military services that issue Marksmanship Qualification Badges. However, Marksmanship Medals and/orMarksmanship Ribbons are issued by the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States Air Force for weapons qualifications. All of the U.S. Armed Forces awarded Marksmanship Competition Badges to service members who succeed in official CMP sanctioned competitions. The U.S. Army issues Marksmanship Qualification Badges for a variety of weapons while the U.S. Marine Corps only issues Marksmanship Qualification Badges for rifle and pistol. For U.S. Civilians, the CMP issues Army Marksmanship Qualification Badges as well as its own air rifle badges while the NRA issues Marksmanship Qualification Badges for different types of rifles, pistols, and shotguns. For Marksmanship Competition Badges, the U.S. Armed Forces award rifle and pistol competition badges and the CMP awards air rifle, rifle, and pistol badges to U.S. Civilians while the NRA awards badges for smallbore rifle and a variety of pistols to U.S. Civilians and U.S. Law Enforcement.