Specialists... what's their purpose?

Hey all,

First off, I'd like to just say that I thank you all for your service, past or present, and extend those thanks to anyone you know who is still serving.

My question is (and for some time has been) what is the purpose of the rank "Specialist" and why is it only the U.S. Army that has this divide at E-4? I don't understand why everyone advancing out of the rank PFC cannot simply advance to Corporal (regardless of MOS) when sooner or later they have no choice after Specialist to advance directly into Sergeant? I understand that one is an NCO and the other is not, but would their really be a difference in sending promotable people to leadership schools as a PFC and then advancing them directly to Corporal? It seems like no other service has problems with advancing personnel directly into a single E-4 slot, so when I look at the Army's I become a bit perplexed.

This has been explained to me many times, but each time the answers I get are so complicated that I just leave confused all over again. One ex-Army Captain told me that when he was in, Specialists were not considered the brightest in the Army and were therefore shoveled into the Specialist 4 thru 7 (not 8 or 9 since they were never used) ranks and forgotten for awhile. I find that a little too hard to believe.

Thanks again!

Mike

I agree 100% with you michael i just recently got promoted to SPC in march after coming to hood from korea and I think if you are a PFC and you are a squared away soldier, natural born leader then they should just promote to corporal especially when promotion points for certain MOSs are so high or maxed that they stay SPC for 2 to 4 years then within that time they cross promote a SPC to a corporal with no pay advance what so ever I think its dumb. They should promote high speed motivated squared away PFCs to corporal.

As it is done in my unit, CPL is mainly used for an E4 in a leadership position that would usually be an E5, after that person has become promotable but doesn't have the points yet. Most E4 that I know (including myself) are Specialists.

Also with some units they do not even use the CPL rank and have SPC in team leader spots.

I just don't get why they don't give everyone Corporal. The Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Air Force all have ONE rank for their E-4 personnel with no divide whatsoever (not in a long time with the USAF anyways) and I don't understand why a rank with such history behind it has been stuck in the closet to collect dust while everyone fills in this "equal" paygrade rank that doesn't change the fact that sooner or later these men and women will need to advance into an NCO rank.

The rank of Specialist denotes just that...a "Specialist". If you have managed to advance beyond Private First Class, you are then considered to be a Specialist in your Military Occupational Specialty...Why in the world would you want to make every E-4 an NCO? It hasn't worked with E-5...you end up with a lot of Sergeants, but very few actual NCOs...

I am going to have to agree with the 1SG on this one! Not every Soldier is squared away enough to be in a leadership position and therefore, they don the sham shield, or so it's been called and they need that 2-4+ years for maturing. Soldiers that are "awarded" the Corporal rank are pretty much Sergeants, but have yet to officially make the E-5 list established by Department of the Army. They have shown the traits to move up in rank and are therefore laterally promoted to Corporal.

My knowledge of the spc comes from research completed when I first joined. From my knowledge the official purpose of a spc began in the mid to later portions of the Civil War. Members of the Army were trained and expected to be spc of a particular area of combat. These members were the most educated in that area and were givin a special classification relative to NCO's but with a greater scense of understanding and experiance in their area of combat. Cool beans killer.

Way back in 1955, four grades of Specialist were established: Specialist Third Class (E-4), Specialist Second Class (E-5), Specialist First Class (E-6), and Master Specialist (E-7). They were created to reward personnel with higher degrees of experience and technical knowledge. Appointment to either Specialist or Non-Commissioned Officer status was determined by Military Occupational Specialty. Different Military Occupational Specialties had various transition points, for example in the band career field (excluding special bands at D.C. and West Point) a bandsman could not achieve Non-Commissioned Officer status until paygrade E-6 was attained. In some military occupational specialties, a soldier was appointed either a Specialist or Non-Commissioned Officer depending on which particular position or "slot" that he or she was filling in the Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE).

Specialist grades paralleled the corresponding grade of non-commissioned officer (E-4 through E-7) only in terms of pay. The Specialist grades, although they outranked the Enlisted grades (E-1 to E-3), were outranked by all Non-Commissioned Officers (E-4 to E-9) and lacked the authority conferred on them. This is the major differentiation between a Specialist and a "hard striper" (Corporal).

Today, only the lowest Specialist grade survives, as the higher grades were gradually phased out. Specialist 7 was abolished in 1978 and Specialist 5 and 6 in 1985. At that time, the rank of Specialist 4 simply became known as "Specialist," which is how it is referred to today.

Today, the rank of Specialist is the typical rank to which Privates First Class (E-3) are promoted. It is granted far more often than corporal (E-4), which is now reserved as a fast-track rank for personnel who have either passed the leadership development course or have been assigned low-level supervisory or clerical duties.

Personally, I feel this rank is outmoded and should be phased out, at least in the combat arms branches (those soldiers whom hold military occupational specialties that would participate in direct tactical land combat. Examples are Infantry, Combat Engineers, Artillery, Armor, Cavalry, Short Range--SHORAD--Air Defense Artillery and Military Police).

'Nuff said!

Previously, the Specialist ranks were for those Soldiers who had lots of technical abilities and experience, yet lacked (or did not want) the leadership position that goes with becoming an NCO. I think the Army should bring back the higher Specialist ranks, as I know far too many Soldiers who were advanced to the NCO ranks and couldn't lead their way out of a wet paper bag with a flashlight. Cheating at correspondence courses in order to acquire promotion points does not make you an effective leader!

Well said Matthew, way too many stripe wearers - not enough NCOs

I agree with 1SG Hall to but will add that there are SSG's, thru SGM's that should not be or are not qualified to be in the positions they hold as well, not just the SGT's

I don't know about active duty but in the gaurd corporal is usually reserved for combat arms MOS's, primarily infantry. You do not find corporal in ordanance/trans etc branches.

I have to agree with matthew and the army should bring back the higher specialist ranks. I've seen too many people get promoted to the NCO ranks that have no business being in a leadership position. Just because somebody has a ton of points does not automatically make them a "leader". There are ways to scam that system. correspondence courses do not make someone a leader. The army needs to quit with all this "online" courses and go back to hands on training. Especially NCOES courses.