Can a Specialist make a Private stand at Parade Rest for him?

A Specialist is a "full-bird PFC" and should be shown the respect
for such a position (not a rank.) Whatever that is! Think of a Specialist as an
enlisted Warrant. He almost is...but....then again....he almost isn't!

If he's mean enough.

I would have to say normally no! But, I did have my squad do it when I was an SPC scout squad leader in the 82nd. All the other squad leaders were SSG so it was just common practice for squad leaders. Before that we were all worker bees.

I think it also can depend on your MOS when I worked maintenance you don't have time for that kind of thing, or when I was a firefighter. I did notice that the office types MOS's and field units and definitely the MPs seem to have that kind of atmosphere. But like most things in life it's either a test to see how much you will take or a learning experience because you may have messed up or seem to them not to have a strong enough military bearing. Either way you should have that conversation with them and see if there is an issue. You either correct what you need to or do what comes natural. I went in on the tail end of the last of the Vietnam area military the first time in 94 , the 2nd time in 03. The military had changed a lot in that time so I can't imagine how it has changed in the last 6 years. So how you should address it is probably not how we would have handled it.

I’ve never stood parade rest for a Specialist as a Private.

I did it when I was a private in 1989, my M.O.S. did not have corporals. You went from a spc.4 to a E-5 mostly after you completed P.L.D.S. I never made my guys do it, if a issue arose that I could not handle I contacted my E-5.

Why? It not like you are you are that high of a rank. You need to lighten up some.

The Specialist would be a real POS if he did that. That private, or someone else, should tell that specialist to go F himself! Tells you what kind of jack-off he's going to be as an NCO.

Yes

Sounds like somebody's "butt hurt".