military ranks

I assume you are talking about the US forces.

im sorry bish  yes

Isn't there a class among specialists, i.e., Specialist 1st class?

DURR

in the old days it was prvt corp sgt etc..  but the last decade or so  i noticed when a soldier gives his life for us sometimes they refer to he/she by rank  but more often the are called specailists but no rank is given  when did this change and what rank is it

In the US Army, there were ranks Specialist 4 through Specialist 7. It was used for non-leadership and technical MOSs and was referred to as Spec 4, Spec 5, etc. and equated to the NCO rank of Corporal, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, and Sergeant First Class. Back then, all Specialist ranks fell below Corporal in terms of rank authority.

In 1985, all the Specialist ranks were deleted except for Spec 4 (abbreviated as SP4) and converted to their NCO equivalent of Sergeant through Sergeant First Class. Spec 4 then became just "Specialist" (abbreviated as SPC) and is equal in pay to an Army Corporal, but without the NCO duties. SPC/E4 is probably the most common US Army rank now; it's the rank between private first class (E3) and sergeant (E5). The reason why it is the most common is because promotions from E1 to E4 are time based (do so many months of service and you get promoted) and the promotion to E5 is based on time, performance, ability, and needs.

Specialists are still commonly referred to as"Spec 4", but the true title is "Specialist".

Or ShamShield... depending on the unit. :)

Don Stauffer

Isn't there a class among specialists, i.e., Specialist 1st class?

not anymore. With the elimination of the Specialist 5 thru 7 ranks back in the 80's, now there is only the E-4 mafia of Specialists. The Army also still has hard stripe E-4 Corporals, usually in a junior leadership position. The Specialist ranks were similar to the WWII "Technical" grades that were indicated by a "T" on the various rank chevrons.

Why keep only one specialist rank, then, Stik? If the spec gets promoted, doesn't he/she go back to a leadership rank, and not a technical rank?

Yes, the next step up from Specialist is Sergeant. My guess as to why keep Specialist/Spec 4 is that the Army does not want 1000s of Corporals running around for NCO privileges, housing, etc. They only want the ones doing that role to have the rank. There are probably retention/pay/morale reasons as well...

Devil Dawg

Why keep only one specialist rank, then, Stik? If the spec gets promoted, doesn't he/she go back to a leadership rank, and not a technical rank?

Promotion from E1 to E4 comes much faster in the all volunteer Army to increase pay for soldiers. If you enlist as an E1, you will make E2 in six months, E3 in one year and E4 in 18 months total time in service. Privates and privates first class are rare outside of initial training, and it was felt that most soldiers with only 18 months of military service were not ready for the leadership role required of a corporal. And 18 months was the maximum amount of time to make E4.

Many people enlist as an E2 or E3 so they would be an E4 in less than a year or service. And as I pointed out earlier, promotion to E4 is not merit based; it is strictly based on time in service in the previous grade. I know when I was in command, almost monthly we would get one or two waivers to promote a lower ranking soldier without the time in service requirement. So as soon as a new private (E2) or private first class (E3) arrived, they'd almost automatically get promoted to the next higher grade. The next month we'd get more waivers but have limited amounts of E1 through E3 to use them on. It takes only a few months before you have no soldiers under the rank of E4.

The title "specialist" is really a misnomer since the soldier doesn't necessarily have any technical abilities beyond what was taught to any other soldier in their MOS. It's basically a rank above the privates but below the sergeants. The few Spec 4s that show leadership traits and if you have if you have an E5/sergeant slot available, you can get a Spec 4 laterally transferred to the rank of corporal. But usually the rank only remains while they are in that position or until they get promoted to sergeant.

Corporal is probably the rarest rank in the US Army.

Thanks for the explanation, Rob. Sounds like the Army needs to revamp it's rank structure a bit. The Marines are pretty much the same way for E1 to E3 - Time In Service & Time In Grade for promotion to the next rank. Once you make E3 (Lance Corporal), the criteria is much different for promotion to the NCO ranks. Now, in addition to TIS & TIG, you have PFT scores, rifle scores, proficiency & conduct marks, knowledge test, etc. Lots of extras for promotion to a leadership position. At least, that's the way it was when I got out of the Corps 19 years ago. Maybe it's changed now. I do know that many of the Armed Services' boot camps are giving out Stress Cards (well, they were a few years ago, anyways). If you feel stressed, put your thumb on the card and see what color it turns. If it shows you're stressed, your drill instructor has to let you "unstress". I wonder if our enemies will allow us to "unstress" while we're battling them?

I've heard stories about stress cards. but have never seen one nor have I ever talked to a solider who mentioned having one. The Army's specialist rank is basically a placeholder rank; someone who has gone through the initial training beyond what the private E1-E3 ranks but haven't made the requirements to be promoted to Sergeant yet still have reasonable pay as a reward for longevity.

Especially in the smaller "peacetime" Army of pre 9/11 when rank was a bit slower in coming along.

My oldest son went through Parris Island back in 2003. He told me about, and showed me, his stress card. I thought it was a joke at first. Hopefully, those are long gone by now.

What you say about the specialist rank makes sense. I remember back when I was in the Corps, I was so excited about making Corporal so I wouldn't be given any more "crap" work to do - I could hand it down to a lance corporal or PFC. And wouldn't you know it - seemed like everyone in my work center made Corporal at the same time! So, I was STILL doing the crap work! Well, at least until we got some FNGs a little later on who were non-rates. Geez, some of the stuff I remember at times............. Heh! Good times, though. I'll never regret serving my country as a Marine. Nothing like a little military experience to get a person going in the right direction in life.

I agree about military service. I even mentioned it to my 17 yr old while we were visiting the University of Louisville. I told him ROTC was a great way to pay for college and that the 3 years go by very fast.

Got that right! The time in does go by very fast. Both my boys have done their time in the military. My oldest served 9 years in the Corps as an Air Traffic Controller, and now works for the FAA in the same role, and my youngest boy served 5 years in the USAF as a dental tech. He's in dental school now, and his wife is still in the USAF. Doesn't seem like it was too long ago that they both just graduated high school (they're 3 years apart) and joined up.They've told me that it seemed like they were only in for just a few years.

So many times, I've seen & read the annual "college & university" editions of the major US magazines, explaining where the best colleges are, and how to pay for those schools. No where - not once - is the military mentioned as a way of getting college money, PLUS job experience at the same time. The life experience that our military gives is second to none.