Posted on Aug 25, 2015
How do we make Corporals in the Army relevant?
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If I could wave a magic wand, I would automatically make all promotable Specialists Corporals. If they don't deserve Corporal; stripes, they don't deserve Sergeant's stripes. If they lost their promotable status, they would then revert to Specialist. This would make the enable leadership to promptly identify and place hard charging E-4's in positions of greater responsibility without deference to senior E-4's who are not motivated to go through the promotion board process. Thoughts?
SFC (Join to see) SSG (Join to see) 1SG (Join to see) SGT Ben Keen MAJ Laurie H. SPC Tyler Frampton @
SFC (Join to see) SSG (Join to see) 1SG (Join to see) SGT Ben Keen MAJ Laurie H. SPC Tyler Frampton @
Posted in these groups: 
Promotions
SPC
Promotions SPC
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 31
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I would agree. When I got my first team leader slot my maturity level wasn't there. My leaders tried to develop me, tried to help me grow into a leader and though I had the knowledge, I lacked the skill and maturity, so my platoon sergeant at the time had the foresight to pull me from that position, and put me where I can be an asset. Fast forward to today in the guard component, and that kind of action by leaders won't happen. Army wide a policy needs to be implemented of "put out, or step out" give corporal to e4 team leaders, give them the resources and support to succeed, if they succeed quit wasting time and pin them, if they fail put them where their experience is useful. This trend of promoting people to their level of incompetence hurts the military as a whole.
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CPL is a rank that the Army forgets about SPC(P) should be CPL it would set them apart and give them a little boost to move forward and it could help solve the issue of the dreaded Buck SGT.
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The army should go back to the older rank system. So those who don't want to become NCOs don't have to.
However, leave it available with incentive.
However, leave it available with incentive.
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SSG David Dickson
Always a topic of conversation. Soldier knows their job (technically proficient)but can't lead a formation to save (literally) their or their Soldiers' lives.
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The magic wand is just 4187 signed by the commander. While I generally give the corpral stripes to my e4 in tm ldr positions, I may hold off a little bit to see how he takes charge without relying on the baby nco stripes to get his men to follow him. It helps to back him up ie, enforce parade rest from his team to that leader whether or not he has the stripes. The stripes don't make the leader.
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In the mid 90's 3rd Corp on Fort Hood made everybody that completed PLDC corporals didn't really work the way it should. Soon after I recieved PCS'ed too Korea where i had to take stripes off but then was promoted to E-5 SGT next month. While at Ft Hood the NCO didn't conssidder me as one and neither did the EM. Corporal is a shit rank unless given power by the Company level unit
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SGT Jay Thorne
I agree with you and I did seperate myself from the other E-4, but still need support from higher NCO's. The whole problem was that neither the nco or em respected the rank
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You make them corporals, they waste SGT slots on MTOE, and reduce your chances of getting slotted incoming personnel.
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That position is a double edge sword good and bad. It has the power to command the troops so long as its not abused but no where to go up in rank unless a E5 is promoted or retires leaving the slot vacant. If there is a lazy old trimmer in you way that likes his power position you may only have one option around him is to transfer.
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SSG David Dickson
I know this is generally the case in the USAR and NG, there have to be slots in the unit to promote into. The RA has a bit more leeway as promotions are semi-centralized Army wide (active). A SPC/CPL can be promoted to SGT regardless if his unit has allotments on their TDA. When this happens, decisions have to be made. In my case, as I was coming to the close of my career, my command took me out of the direct leadership role, gave me duties commensurate to my rank, and assigned some hard-charging NCO's to assume the direct leadership roles. Win/win for everyone. I had the expereince of maintaining a mult- million dollar budget on my resume' and our young studs got the squad and platoon leadership positions that helped them progress in their careers.
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What do you do with a "private E4" that due to college, comes out of AIT with E4 rate and barely 6 months TIS? If they happen to make it to secondary zone with 18 months TIS, they typically only have about 10-12 months time outside of training. Do these soldiers, after getting their "p" merit the Corporal Stripes? Does just the fact that they were recommended in the secondary zone justify their leadership potential as a corporal, even though they have only about a year of time to establish themselves as potential leaders?
I am just posing these points as things to consider in this discussion. In general, I agree with most of the poster's assessment about making SPC (p) a CPL
I am just posing these points as things to consider in this discussion. In general, I agree with most of the poster's assessment about making SPC (p) a CPL
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SSG David Dickson
SSG Squires, here is my take on it. ABSOLUTELY YES!
1) They were recommended by their Chain of Command who could and should assess if they are above, at, or below center mass compared with their peers and promote (board) accordingly.
2) Like their peers who must serve minimum 24 months, they have a skill-set and experience base that they bring to the table. While that lambskin can give them a six month advantage, it isn;t guaranteed. They still have to be able to function as a Soldier.
3) Today's Army is a smarter Army. Even when I entered the force in 1995, having a college degree wasn't as much a discriminator as it was prior to that. Especially now that over 95+% of the force has a High School Diploma. How many of us spend untold hours both evenings and during the duty day to attend college classes after we have enlisted? These Soldiers who possess a degree already do not get offered the GI Bill, and have less opportunity or need to pursue a college education while in. That they are able to devote more time to the profession of arms deserves some consideration in the equasion.
4) It isn't about "smarter than you" or "better than you" it's recognizing the sacrifice and effort already put forth by the individual in strengthening one of the three pillars of the Military Education system Seeking Self-Improvement. Hopefully, they have dedicated the past 18 months before being recommended by their chain, to Institutional Learning (any formalized training from WLC to Unit Mail Clerk to Bus Driver training) and Assignments (team leader, Unit Armorer, NBC, Field San team, HAZMAT Response, TASO, etc)
1) They were recommended by their Chain of Command who could and should assess if they are above, at, or below center mass compared with their peers and promote (board) accordingly.
2) Like their peers who must serve minimum 24 months, they have a skill-set and experience base that they bring to the table. While that lambskin can give them a six month advantage, it isn;t guaranteed. They still have to be able to function as a Soldier.
3) Today's Army is a smarter Army. Even when I entered the force in 1995, having a college degree wasn't as much a discriminator as it was prior to that. Especially now that over 95+% of the force has a High School Diploma. How many of us spend untold hours both evenings and during the duty day to attend college classes after we have enlisted? These Soldiers who possess a degree already do not get offered the GI Bill, and have less opportunity or need to pursue a college education while in. That they are able to devote more time to the profession of arms deserves some consideration in the equasion.
4) It isn't about "smarter than you" or "better than you" it's recognizing the sacrifice and effort already put forth by the individual in strengthening one of the three pillars of the Military Education system Seeking Self-Improvement. Hopefully, they have dedicated the past 18 months before being recommended by their chain, to Institutional Learning (any formalized training from WLC to Unit Mail Clerk to Bus Driver training) and Assignments (team leader, Unit Armorer, NBC, Field San team, HAZMAT Response, TASO, etc)
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