What is the difference between a Specialist and a Corporal in the Army? Inquiring Marine minds want to know.

Pay is same..cpl.. Has nco responsibilities..and spc.don't.mbesides that honestly there isn't any difference

The difference between a Specialist and a corporal in the Army. Some will say none! lol.. A Corporal to me is a statement rank. It says "I am almost ready to be a SGT, I just have to prove myself a little more". So, they make you a Corporal and the only major difference is you somewhat have the limited powers of a SGT. No more pay than a specialist, but you get to supervise more, you are in charge more, responsible more. You are a Bishop, a knight, or a castle for you chess players. You are just as powerful as that queen if positioned right with support.

a specialist is an E-4 rank with no command position, like a private E-4. A Corporal is an E-4 who is considered in the chain of command and is an NCO. A specialist is not an NCO.

CPL is a Non-Com, SP4 is not. I was promoted to CPL due to my position while working for the S-3 at battalion headquarters. I was the Tasking NCO for the battalion. In my opinion, it is a way for the Army to tell you who you can be friends with. LOL, because I was married to a SP4 who was in one of the companies in our battalion.

The answers here don't seem like they know the difference between a Specialist and a Corporal. Both ranks are the same pay grade, E-4, however, the Specialist is just that in his job (MOS). The Corporal is in a leadership position. The Corporal takes charge in any leadership position over the Specialist. The Specialist is specialized in his job only. When it comes to the job, the Corporal has to listen to the Specialist. Hope this helps in the difference of the two.

Plain and simple a corporal pushes troops and other function of an NCO. A specialist is one who serves.in a position where the knowledge and function of the specific job require intimate kniwledge. I was a specialist within Air Defense Artillery (IHAWK) MOS 24C Improved HAWK Firing Section Mechanic responsible for 2 Radars, 6 missile launchers, two tracked missile loader transporters, and 36 Missles. Everything from electeucal/electronics to electromechanical and hydralics. My job was to keep the functioning which usually require long night and even days of fixing problems so that the battery could be able to engage and fire upon low to medium high speed air craft during a conflict within 20 minutes or less. My job was technical whereas a corporal is more of a squad leader type just under the section chief or platoon Sargent. A corporal couldn't do my job but I could and have done his. It wasn't uncommon for there to be an AJ (Acting Jack) who had the rank and title (Sgt, Ssg section chief) but realistically was still a Speck and was paid as such. Had all the rights responsibilities and headaches but not the pay or promotion. Usually they either didn't have the points or wasn't even on the list. They filled a slot on the unit board. Corporal couldnt.because the section chief was the go to guy when a problem with the equipment was beyond another's capability

Wait...Marines have minds? GRIN. kidding, of course, Dad was a Marine.

Ladies and gentlemen. have not beat this subject to death yet? We have numerous answers, all correct to some degree! Can we please change the subject?

Corporal is supposed to be a leadership position,, but I've also seen the stripes go to drivers

To brow a phrase from my old CSM, a Specialist (SPC today, SP4 When I wore the insignia), is a Corproal without portfolio. A Corporal is the lowest level of the NCO Corps while a Specialist is the highest rank of the enlisted ranks. Yes they receive the same pay. However, the Corproal has precedence over any Specialist.

The Specialist ranks are a holdover from the technical grades used in WWII (e.g. SSG stripes with a "T" in them). For decades Congress limited the number of NCO billets, so technician, and then Sepxialsit grades were created to offer a path for promotion and pay. However, an NCO always out ranks a Specialsit.

if memory serves by 1977 Congress relaxed the NCO restriction allowing the Army to convert the Seocialsit ranks to NCO grades. At the time a debate over the status of E-4s began. The end result was the SP4 (now just Specialsit) continued as a grade, with Corproal becoming largely a local command option.

When I enlisted the Army still has soldiers wearing SP7 insignia. They were converted to SFC in 1978, leaving SP4, SP5 and SP6 as the authorized Specialist grades in the US Army until 1985.

As a young soldier I worked with many SP4, SP5 and SP6, the first NCO in my chain was an SFC. In my Branch all Specialsits wxcept SP4 were converted to "hard stripe" NCOs by 1979. I do not recall seeing anyone wearing SP5 or SP6 after 1981.

When I was still serving, the promotion certificates for Specialist and Corporal were different and the Corproal also received the NCO Creed, whereas the Sepxialst did not.

The three links below give additional info on this:


http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Catalog/HeraldryMulti.aspx?CategoryId=9168


http://www.ncohistory.com/documents/shsr.pdf


http://www.army.mil/article/18109/