{"id":331,"date":"2018-01-02T15:32:54","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T15:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncohistoricalsociety.com\/?p=331"},"modified":"2018-01-02T15:32:54","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T15:32:54","slug":"short-history-specialist-rank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncohistoricalsociety.com\/?p=331","title":{"rendered":"Short History of the Specialist Rank"},"content":{"rendered":"

Short History of the Specialist Rank<\/h1>\n

\nBy CSM (Ret.) Dan Elder<\/h4>\n

When Washington assumed the role as Commander in Chief of\u00a0the fledgling Continental Army in 1775, it had adopted the British model of organization. There were basically four\u00a0enlisted grades, sergeants, corporal, musicians and\u00a0privates. The musicians were fifers and drummers, who of\u00a0course directed the linear movements of the Army. If the\u00a0sergeants, corporals, and privates were the combatants, it\u00a0could be a stretch to argue that those musicians were the\u00a0Army\u2019s first \u201cspecialist.\u201d Though no special rank
\ninsignia signified enlisted soldiers of that era,\u00a0Washington directed that sergeants and corporals would wear\u00a0epaulets sewn on their right shoulder, red for sergeants\u00a0and green for corporals.<\/p>\n

War for Independence<\/h3>\n

During the winter of 1776-1777, Washington ordered the\u00a0establishment of three artillery regiments. In the Army\u2019s\u00a01967 comprehensive Enlisted Grade Structure Study noted,\u00a0\u201cArtillerymen were recognized as specialists from the start\u00a0and were given higher pay than Infantryman.\u201d It also noted\u00a0a need for other \u201cspecialists\u201d in the enlisted ranks to\u00a0perform certain technical skills for the artillery. During\u00a0this period service and support tasks were typically\u00a0performed by civilians or detailed enlisted soldiers from
\nthe line. When Gen Washington ordered the formation of\u00a0three artillery regiments, he directed one regiment to be\u00a0\u201cartificers<\/a>\u201d to be employed in performing \u201cessential\u00a0specialist services\u201d for the other two. These men were to\u00a0be later known as \u201cenlisted men of Ordnance<\/a>\u201d instead of\u00a0artillerymen. The artificers included carpenters,\u00a0blacksmiths, wheelwrights, turners, tinmen, harness makers\u00a0and farriers.<\/p>\n

In 1777 the Congress noted the need for a \u201cslightly\u00a0different organization\u201d in providing a regiment of Cavalry.\u00a0The regimental staff was organized with a saddler and a\u00a0trumpet-major, and each company had a trumpeter and a\u00a0farrier.\u00a0The famous \u201cBlue Book\u201d by MG Freidrich von Steuben,\u00a0published in 1779, listed duties of many of the critical\u00a0positions within the company and regiment, and included\u00a0specific details on the \u201cQuartermaster\u201d sergeant. His\u00a0duties included the \u201cregimental baggage\u201d and wagons on the\u00a0march.\u00a0When the Army was reduced after the war and the artillery\u00a0regiments were disbanded, artificers were incorporated into\u00a0the line where they were needed. Artificers were\u00a0\u201caccorded pay higher than that of sergeant majors and\u00a0quartermaster sergeants.\u201d<\/p>\n

War of 1812<\/h3>\n

During the War of 1812, the enlisted grades had remained the\u00a0same since the Revolution. Besides the troops of the line,\u00a0there were \u201cgroups of specialists\u201d in fields such as\u00a0medical, engineer, ordnance and quartermaster. For the\u00a0first time, special insignia and uniforms were authorized\u00a0for the specialists, who were formed into a Corps under the\u00a0Quartermaster. Specialists normally received higher pay\u00a0than their counterparts in the standard organization.\u00a0In 1821 Gen. Winfield Scott introduced the first general
\nregulation and established appointments for enlisted\u00a0soldiers and noncoms, and included a new system of
\n\u201cdistinguishing the various grades\u201d of NCOs and\u00a0specialists. This insignia replaced collar epaulets with
\nchevrons on the sleeves of the coat. In 1832 the Army\u00a0established four specialist grades in the Ordnance
\ndepartment\u2014-master workman, armorers, carriage makers and\u00a0blacksmith, and laborers. Ordnance sergeants received\u00a0higher pay and were allowed special insignia.<\/p>\n

Civil War<\/h3>\n

During the Civil War, a trend developed that was to fit the\u00a0various specialists into the standard rank structure while\u00a0preserving the special pay and allowances required, to draw\u00a0men with these specialty skills. Thus, the pay scale was\u00a0inflated and by War\u2019s end in 1865, there were 29 enlisted\u00a0categories, yet only eight types of insignia of grade, of\u00a0which six were for NCOs of the line, the remaining two were\u00a0hospital steward and pioneer.<\/p>\n

By the time the Army entered the War with Spain in 1898,\u00a0the rank structure remained as it had been in the Civil\u00a0War, though the pay scales were reduced in 1871. However,\u00a0it was during this period that \u201cspecialist\u2019s insignia\u201d were\u00a0added. The stripes resembled the \u201cpoint-down\u201d chevrons of\u00a0the Civil War, but included a symbol denoting the\u00a0specialties, such as a bugle for musicians, a key and quill\u00a0for quartermaster and a saddlers knife for the saddler\u00a0sergeant.<\/p>\n

World War I<\/h3>\n

During the early portions of the 20th Century, there was\u00a0a noticeable uncontrolled proliferation of enlisted grades.\u00a0\u00a0By May 1908 the Army had 52 different ranks and titles and\u00a0by 1916 there were 60. Of the different ranks, over 13%\u00a0were specialists from the technical, administrative,\u00a0scientific craftsmen and laborer fields.\u00a0At the end of the first World War, Congress set out to\u00a0improve the enlisted grade structure. In June 1920 it\u00a0prescribed seven standard grades in which all enlisted men\u00a0would be grouped and established a large number of\u00a0specialist positions in lower grades that carried\u00a0additional pay without additional rank. However, there\u00a0continued to be difficulty in identifying noncommissioned\u00a0officers who were leaders and those who were senior\u00a0specialists. This caused concern among the combat NCOs of
\nthe infantry and other arms. Also, in some cases, privates\u00a0with specialties could earn more than certain regular\u00a0noncommissioned officers. This new structure remained in\u00a0effect until the beginning of WWII.<\/p>\n

World War II<\/h3>\n

As the Army expanded for WWII a need for enlisted soldiers\u00a0with specialized technical skills was apparent, mostly\u00a0noted in the Army Air Corps. To simply the system,\u00a0technicians were picked from various grades and given\u00a0chevrons marked with a \u201cT\u201d in addition to their stripes. A\u00a0technician ranked immediately below a noncom of the same\u00a0rank, but ahead of a lesser noncom and technicians did not\u00a0serve in a command role. The increase of technicians caused\u00a0an inflation of the NCO ranks of WWII. This lasted until\u00a01948, when the Army dropped the \u201cT\u201d designation and they\u00a0were appointed an NCO in the same grade. To recognize
\ncombat leader NCOs from technicians, the stripes were of\u00a0different colors or backgrounds. The transition caused a\u00a0lopsided structure between the number of privates and NCOs.\u00a0Coupled with the top-heavy force and the reduced moral of\u00a0the combat NCOs, who had earned their stripes over many\u00a0years, caused a perceived loss of prestige.<\/p>\n

Korea<\/h3>\n

In 1951 all enlisted insignia were standardized to one\u00a0color, further demoralizing combat leaders. The Army
\nentered the Korean War with NCOs making up over 32% of the\u00a0enlisted force. In 1953 a committee was formed to address\u00a0the perceived decline in attractiveness of military\u00a0service. It recognized that the military must \u201cadopt\u00a0policies to restore the prestige of noncommissioned\u00a0officers\u201d that would place a \u201cpremium on leadership and\u00a0command abilities.\u201d The committee also recommended that\u00a0methods be developed to distinguish between command and\u00a0technical responsibilities. The Army developed a program to\u00a0separate specialists from NCOs, which gave birth to our\u00a0current specialist system we now know. This program, which\u00a0went in to effect 1 July 1955, grouped NCO grades E-4 to E7,\u00a0which had a corresponding specialist position that\u00a0mirrored it. These new specialists would wear distinctive\u00a0insignia which is partially still in effect for the\u00a0Specialist (E-4\/SPC) of today. Noncoms had special\u00a0considerations not afforded to specialists. These\u00a0considerations were not to reduce specialists privileges,\u00a0but augment privileges and prestige of NCOs. Leadership was\u00a0the NCOs primary roles and so noted. Specialists received\u00a0pay commensurate with his ability.<\/p>\n

Military Pay Bill of 1958 through Today<\/h3>\n

In 1958 the DoD added two additional pay grades to give\u00a0enlisted soldiers more opportunities to progress to a full\u00a0career with additional opportunities for promotion. This\u00a0included an addition of two specialist ranks at E-8 and E-9\u00a0and proficiency pay was incorporated into the pay scales.\u00a0In 1968 when the Army added the rank of Command Sergeant\u00a0Major, the specialist ranks at E-8 and E-9 were abolished\u00a0without anyone ever being promoted to those levels. In 1978\u00a0the specialist rank at E-7 was discontinued and in 1985,\u00a0the specialist ranks at E-5 and E-6 were discontinued.\u00a0Today\u2019s current rank structure only includes one specialist rank, that at pay grade E-4<\/a>. The Specialist is in the normal career\u00a0progression for enlisted soldiers in between the career\u00a0path of going from an apprentice enlisted soldier to the\u00a0journeymen role associated with noncommissioned officers.\u00a0Today there is no current method to identify senior enlisted\u00a0specialists from those NCOs in a leadership position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was (and is today) difficulty in identifying noncommissioned\u00a0officers who were leaders and those who were senior\u00a0specialists. This caused concern among the combat NCOs of
\nthe infantry and other arms. Also, in some cases, privates\u00a0with specialties could earn more than certain regular\u00a0noncommissioned officers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[10,9,8,11],"class_list":["post-331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-specialist","tag-spc","tag-spec-8","tag-spec-9","tag-technical-sergeant"],"yoast_head":"\nShort History of the Specialist Rank - NCO Historical Society<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There was (and is today) difficulty in identifying noncommissioned\u00a0officers who were leaders and those who were senior\u00a0specialists. This caused concern among the combat NCOs of the infantry and other arms. 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