2 US Army SP5 Specialist 5 Rank Insignia Collar Pins
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E9 |
E8 |
E7 |
E6 |
E5 |
E4 |
Specialist 9 rank insignia ( |
Specialist 8 rank insignia ( |
Specialist 7 rank insignia ( |
Specialist 6 rank insignia ( |
Specialist 5 rank insignia ( |
Specialist 4 rank insignia ( |
SP9 |
SP8 |
SP7 |
SP6 |
SP5 |
SP4 |
On 1 March 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
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".
When the so-called "Super Grades" (E-8 and E-9 ) were introduced in 1958, the Specialist grade titles were changed to Specialist Four through Specialist Seven and the notional grades of Specialist Eight and Specialist Nine were added on top.
Only the lowest Specialist grade survives today, as the higher grades were gradually phased out. Specialist 8 and 9, which had existed only on paper, were eliminated in 1965. 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. While the official abbreviation was changed from "SP4" to "SPC" upon the elimination of the SP5 and SP6 ranks, the SIDPERS database was initially authorized to continue using SP4 until such time as the change could be made at little or no additional expense in conjunction with other system upgrades. The continued use of SP4 on automatically produced documents (transfer orders, leave & earnings statements, unit manning reports, inter alia), hampered the adoption of the new abbreviation (and, to a lesser extent, the absence of "-4" in the non-abbreviated rank) by individual soldiers who naturally viewed the computer produced documents as the final word on what the proper term was.
Today, the rank of Specialist is the typical rank to which Privates First Class 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.
In deference to the original rating of Specialist 4, the modern day rank of Specialist is also sometimes known as "SpecFour." Slang terms for the rank of Specialist include "E-4 Mafia," indicating a reference to the large number of soldiers of E-4 rank who see their roles as performing the "grunt work" in the army. The Mafia reference is derived from some Specialists who are in positions to do favors for other Army specialists, such as supply administration specialists, but sometimes do not show equal generosity to senior enlisted, officers, or privates. The rank of Specialist is sometimes called a "Sham Shield": E-4s are the most experienced of the lower ranks and have usually figured out how to "sham" out of details. A specialist is sometimes ironically called a "full bird private", a play on "full bird colonel." During the Vietnam era, a Specialist 5 would sometimes refer to himself as a "Private E-5" to indicate that his duties and privileges were not different from what they had been when he was a private.
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E-9 |
E-8 |
E-7 |
E-6 |
E-5 |
E-4 |
E-3 |
E-2 |
E-1 | ||||
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Title |
This chart represents the U.S. Army enlisted rank insignia with seniority decreasing left-to-right inside a given pay grade. All ranks of Corporal or Sergeant and higher are considered non-commissioned officers (NCOs).
The rank of Specialist is a soldier of pay grade E-4 who has not yet attained non-commissioned officer status. It is common that a soldier may never be a Corporal and will move directly from Specialist to Sergeant, attaining NCO status immediately.
In each command of company sized units and smaller, there is assigned a senior enlisted who is the monitor and advocate of the Enlisted Personnel to the commanding officer. This position is known as the First Sergeant, though the person carrying that title does not have to be the rank of First Sergeant (it is the highest ranking enlisted person in the company). In a battalion or larger unit, the senior enlisted soldier is a Command Sergeant-Major. The rank of Sergeant-Major is usually carried by one person in a battalion or larger unit, known as the Operations Sergeant-Major.
In terms of command, the rank of a person determines what job and command he/she has within a unit. For most personnel in the Infantry, a Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (M2A2) is commanded by a Staff Sergeant, the gun is manned by a Specialist or Sergeant and the driver is Specialist or below. For the Armor, the Abrams Main Battle Tank (M1A2) is commanded by a Staff Sergeant, the gunner is a Sergeant, the driver is a Specialist and the loader is a Specialist or below.
Formal terms of address specified in Army Regulation 600-20 "Army Command Policy" are "Sergeant Major" for all Sergeant Major ranks, "First Sergeant" for First Sergeants, "Sergeant" for Master Sergeants, Sergeants First Class, Staff Sergeants, and Sergeants. Corporals and Specialists are addressed by their rank. Specialists, Privates First Class, and Privates are usually called by last name only, or by simply "Soldier" although AR 600-20 stipulates that "Specialist" and "Private" are the correct forms of address for these ranks.
In some cases, informal titles are used. "Top" is commonly used by NCOs as an informal address to First Sergeants, or anyone serving as a Company 1st Sergeant. In Field Artillery, a Platoon Sergeant (usually an E-7) is referred to as "Smoke", and squad leaders (usually an E-6) are called "Chief" (some squad leaders discourage this, as "Chief" is also a common term of address for Warrant Officers). In some smaller units, with more tight-knit squads, soldiers might call their squad leader "Boss", or a similar respectful term. A habit that has all but died out, is a Platoon Sergeant in any unit other than Artillery, is affectionately called "Platoon Daddy", in casual conversation or in jest (but never in any official communication of any type). Specialists are sometimes jokingly referred to as "Command Private Major", "Full-Bird Private", or "PV4". In training units (Basic Combat Training and AIT), trainees are called "Warrior", as they have not yet earned the title of "Soldier". Special titles, such as "Drill Sergeant" are specific to certain jobs, and should not be confused for actual rank. The term "Sarge" is never used, as it is improper, and an insult to a soldier with the rank of Sergeant and above.[citation needed]
Other services differ, such as the Marines, who address each other by full rank. (ie: "Yes, Staff Sergeant!" or "Quit walking on the grass, Lance Corporal!")
The military history of the
The beginning of the
In the early years of the British colonization of North America, military action in the colonies that would become United States were the result of conflicts with Native Americans, such as in the Pequot War of 1637, King Philip's War in 1675, and the Yamasee War in 1715. Slave uprisings such as the Stono Rebellion in 1739, and inter-colonial conflicts, such as the Pennis Wars and the activities of the Green Mountain Boys, were also a part of the colonial military experience.
Beginning in 1689, the colonies also frequently became involved in a series of wars between Great Britain and France for control of North America, the most important of which were Queen Anne's War, in which the British annexed French Acadia, and the final French and Indian War (1754–1763). This final war was to give thousands of colonists, including George Washington, military experience which they put to use during the American Revolution.
Detail from Washington and his Generals at
Ongoing political tensions between Great Britain and thirteen colonies became a crisis in 1774 when the British placed the province of Massachusetts under martial law. While shooting began at Lexington and Concord in 1775, the Continental Congress appointed George Washington as commander-in-chief of the newly created Continental Army, which was augmented throughout the war by colonial militia. General Washington was not the greatest battlefield tactician, but his overall strategy proved to be sound: keep the army intact, wear down British resolve, and avoid decisive battles except to exploit enemy mistakes.
The British, for their part, lacked both a unified command and a clear strategy for winning. With the use of the Royal Navy, the British were able to capture coastal cities, but control of the countryside eluded them. A British invasion from Canada in 1777 ended with the disastrous surrender of a British army at Saratoga. With the addition in 1777 of General von Steuben, of Prussian origin, the training and discipline of the Continental Army began to vastly improve. France and Spain then entered the war against
A shift in focus to the southern American states resulted in a string of victories for the British, but guerrilla warfare and the tenacity of General Nathanael Greene's army prevented the British from making strategic headway. A French naval victory in the Chesapeake led to the surrender of a British army at Yorktown in 1781, resulting in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognized the independence of the
Since many Americans of the revolutionary generation had strong distrust of permanent (or “standing”) armies, the Continental Army was quickly disbanded after the Revolution. General Washington, who throughout the war deferred to elected officials, averted a potential crisis and submitted his resignation as commander-in-chief to Congress after the war, establishing a tradition of civil control of the
Following the [American] Revolution, the
In the Treaty of Paris after the Revolution, the British had ceded the lands between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River to the
When revolutionary France declared war on Great Britain in 1793, the United States sought to remain neutral, but the Jay Treaty, which was favorable to Great Britain, angered the French government, which viewed it as a violation of the 1778 Treaty of Alliance. French privateers began to seize
"We have met the enemy and they are ours." Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory on Lake Erie in 1813 was an important turning point in the War of 1812. (Painting by William H. Powell, 1865)
In 1801, the
By far the largest military action in which the
With the independence of the
The Texas Revolution was a war fought from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836 between Mexico and the breakaway province of Texas. In February 1836, Santa Anna led his army into
In 1857
Dead soldiers lie where they fell at Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation after this battle.
Sectional tensions had long existed between the states located north of the Mason-Dixon Line and those south of it, primarily centered on the "peculiar institution" of slavery and the ability of states to overrule the decisions of the national government. During the 1840s and 1850s, conflicts between the two sides became progressively more violent. After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 (who southerners thought would work to end slavery) states in the South seceded from the
The American Civil War caught both sides unprepared. Both the
The American Civil War is sometimes called the "first modern war" due to the use of mass conscription, military railroads, trench warfare, submarines, ironclads, aerial reconnaissance, modern cartridge firearms, rifles, and machine guns. It introduced the modern world to the horrors of total war.
The scope of the Civil War was as great as many of those in Europe, and the
After the Civil War, Manifest Destiny expansion began in earnest. The Transcontinental Railroad and other trade routes linking
The Spanish-American War took place in 1898, and resulted in the United States of America gaining control over the former Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific, most notably Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
The Philippine-American War was between the armed forces of the United States and the Philippines from 1899 through 1913.
This conflict is also known as the "Philippine Insurrection." This name was historically the most commonly used in the
The Banana Wars is a term used to describe
Most notable of these conflicts was when U.S. forces occupied the Mexican city of Veracruz for over six months in 1914, in response to the April 9, 1914 "Tampico Affair," which involved the brief arrest of U.S. sailors by soldiers of the regime of Mexican President Victoriano Huerta. The incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations with the
In response to the Tampico Affair, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson ordered the Navy to occupy
The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising against Western commercial, religious, and political influence in China during the final years of the 19th century. The
The so-called Polar Bear Expedition was the involvement of U.S. troops, during the tail end of World War I and the Russian Revolution, in fighting the Bolsheviks in Arkhangelsk, Russia in 1918 and 1919.
After the costly US involvement in the First World War, isolationism grew in the U.S. Congress refused membership in the League of Nations, and in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia, the gradually more restrictive Neutrality Acts were passed, which were intended to prevent the U.S. from supporting either side in a war. The size of the
During the interwar period the
The loss of 8 battleships and 2000 sailors and airmen at Pearl Harbor forced the
Despite the crippling effects of the Great Depression, the United States was able to mobilize quickly, eventually becoming the dominant military power in most theaters of the war (excepting only eastern Europe and mainland China), and the industrial might of the US economy is widely cited as a major factor in the Allies' eventual victory in the war. Early in the war, the US military was perceived by some observers to be too "green" and untested to be of much use other than cannon fodder against experienced German and Japanese troops (especially as their first major action against German forces resulted in the Kasserine disaster), but the US eventually acquitted itself well and established a modern military tradition. Strategic and tactical lessons learned by the US, such as the importance of air superiority and the dominance of the aircraft carrier in naval actions, continue to guide US military doctrine more than 60 years later.
World War II holds a special place in the American psyche as the country's greatest triumph, and the soldiers of World War II are frequently referred to as "the greatest generation" for their sacrifices in the name of liberty. Over 16 million served (about 13% of the population), and over 400,000 were killed during the war; only the American Civil War saw more Americans killed. The
During and following the Second World War, the
Following the Second World War, the
The National Security Act of 1947, meeting the need for a military reorganization to complement the U.S. superpower role, combined and replaced the former Department of the Navy and War Department with a single cabinet-level Department of Defense. The act also created the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Air Force.
The Korean War was a conflict between the United States and its United Nations allies and the communist powers of the Soviet Union (also a UN member nation) and the People's Republic of China (which later also gained UN membership). The principal combatants were North and
The war started badly for the
The Lebanon crisis of 1958 was a political and religious conflict between the pro-Western government of President Camille Chamoun and Sunni Muslims who supported joining the United Arab Republic. A Muslim rebellion and the toppling of a pro-Western government in
The Bay of Pigs Invasion (also known in Cuba as Playa Girón after the beach in the Bay of Pigs where the landing took place) was a CIA-planned and funded landing by armed Cuban exiles in southwest Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro in 1961. The Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations had made the judgment that Castro's nationalization of key Cuban export industries and the subsequent shift toward the Soviet Union could not be tolerated, and thus moved to overthrow him. However, the invasion failed proving to be an international embarrassment for the Kennedy administration. The failed invasion became both a symbol and example of 'groupthink' and poor decision making. Although not an operation by
The invasion was not reinforced by US military forces, in accord with the original CIA contingency plans. Newly elected President Kennedy refused to commit
Outgoing President Eisenhower had warned American citizens to beware of the military-industrial complex. In his Farewell Address to the Nation on January 17, 1961, President Eisenhower described the Cold War and stated:
"We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose and insidious in method..." and he warned about what he saw as unjustified government spending proposals and continued by stating,
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together."
In the penultimate draft of the address, Eisenhower initially used the term military-industrial-congressional complex, and thus indicated the essential role that the United States Congress plays in the propagation of the military industry. But, it is said, that the president chose to strike the word congressional in order to placate members of the legislative branch of the federal government.
After the failed invasion attempt, President Kennedy negotiated with Cuban President Castro and paid $53 million in foods and medicines as ransom for release of the 1,113 surviving exile combatants.[citation needed] President Kennedy also issued a number of Executive Orders curtailing the relatively unbridled power of the CIA.
President Kennedy had appointed his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, to the cabinet post of U.S. Attorney General (AG). They had many enemies, both at home and abroad. President Kennedy was assassinated, and he was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. AG Robert Kennedy was also later assassinated during his campaign for the U.S. Presidency.
On April 28, 1965, 400 Marines were landed in
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (see Secret War) and in the strategic bombing (see Operation Rolling Thunder) of North Vietnam. In Vietnam, the conflict is known as the "American War." Although a small
Fighting on one side was a coalition of forces including the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam or the "RVN"), the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Participation by the South Korean military was financed by the United States, but Australia and New Zealand fully funded their own involvement. Other countries normally allied with the United States in the Cold War, including the United Kingdom and Canada, refused to participate in the coalition, although a few of their citizens volunteered to join the U.S. forces. The U.S. and its allies fought against the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) as well as the National Liberation Front (NLF, also known as Viet communists Viet Cong), or "VC", a guerrilla force within South Vietnam. The NVA received substantial military and economic aid from the Soviet Union, turning
The
Even today, "Vietnam" is a politically divisive subject in the
Following the Iranian revolution and the resulting Iran hostage crisis, President Carter in April of 1980, gave the order to launch Operation Eagle Claw, which attempted to rescue the hostages using a combination of special forces and helicopter evacuation. Operational problems forced commanders to abort the mission, and 8 servicemen were killed in a helicopter accident in the Iranian desert. The failure was attributed to inappropriate equipment, incomplete and unrealistic planning, and the lack of joint service training. Despite its size, the mission had significant effects on
In October, 1983, alarmed by a violent power struggle in Grenada, the
In 1983 fighting between Palestinian refugees and Lebanese factions reignited that nation's long-running civil war. A UN agreement brought an international force of peacekeepers to occupy
On December 20, 1989 the United States invaded Panama, mainly from U.S. bases within the then-Canal Zone, to oust dictator and international drug trafficker Manuel Noriega. In 1977, both nations had signed a treaty giving the Panama Canal to Panama by 1999, but the
The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. The lead up to the war began with the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 which was met with immediate economic sanctions by the United Nations against
Before the war, many observers believed the
However, the battle was one-sided almost from the beginning. The reasons for this are the subject of continuing study by military strategists and academics. There is general agreement that
After just 100 hours of ground combat, and with all of
Following the Gulf War, in order to protect minority populations, the
Additionally, following the discovery of an aborted assassination plot aimed at former President George H.W. Bush, Navy ships bombed Iraqi intelligence facilities with cruise missiles in June 1993.
During the war in
The War on Terrorism is a global effort by the governments of several countries (primarily the United States and its principal allies) to neutralize international terrorist groups (primarily radical Islamist terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda) and ensure that rogue nations no longer support terrorist activities. It has been adopted as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the
The invasion of Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom -
In January 2002, the U.S. sent more than 1,200 troops (later raised to 2,000) to assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines in combating terrorist groups linked to al-Qaida, such as Abu Sayyaf, under Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines. Operations are taking place mostly in the Sulu Archipelago, where terrorists and other groups are active. The majority of troops provide logistics, however a sizable portion are Special Forces troops that are training and assisting in combat operations against the terrorist groups.
In June 2003, a United Nations justice tribunal issued a warrant for the arrest of the Liberian president, Charles Taylor, charging him with war crimes. The pressure on
Meanwhile, the African states, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), under the leadership of Nigeria, sent troops to Liberia with the assistance of $10 million from the US. On August 6, a 32 member
On August 11,
M1 Abrams tank patrols a
After the lengthy Iraq disarmament crisis culminated with an American demand that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein leave Iraq, which was refused, a coalition led by the United States and the United Kingdom fought the Iraqi army in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Approximately 250,000 United States troops, with support from 45,000 British, 2,000 Australian and 200 Polish combat forces, entered Iraq primarily through their staging area in Kuwait. (Turkey had refused to permit its territory to be used for an invasion from the north.) Coalition forces also supported Iraqi Kurdish militia, estimated to number upwards of 50,000. After approximately three weeks of fighting, Hussein and the Ba'ath Party were forcibly removed, followed by an extended period of military occupation.