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

A corporal is a half sergeant. When they need a sergeant to cover they willuse of corporal

I was both a Specialist and then laterally appointed as they say to the rank of Corporal when I was the first person in a brand new detachment and ended up acting in the position of the Detachment NCOIC (E-7). Due to time and grade ect... over the other junior Soldiers at the time and the tremendous workload and level of responsibility I was given. A former Drill Sergeant of mine that happened to be a Detachment NCOIC in an adjacent unit informed my Commander that I deserved the rank of Corporal and that I had proven to him and others I was more than capable of becoming a damn good NCO. I appreciated that but Corporal was the worst rank so to speak in that you were technically considered and NCO for pulling Staff Duty NCO, Sergeant of the Guard or any other duty requiring an NCO "BUT" it seemed that when it came to most schools, training slots or other special opportunities or details that my Brigade & Battalion would basically say only NCOs (meaning E-5 and above) but you can pull all the shit details as an NCO no problem. I found that most Soldier's experience with Corporals in general were negative and many Specialists held an underlying grudge against you for being an NCO but still an E-4 so basically some didn't like being told what to do. I made the best of the rank and learned alot from other NCOs, unfortunately I found not all Corporals or NCOs are created equal and I did my best to be all I could be for my Service, Soldier's and Myself.

A specialist is the senior junior enlisted person who leads the privates in daily tasks. A Corporal is a laterally promoted Specialist, with the same responsibilities, except they are considered a junior NCO, and the other Specialists fall under their leadership, if no higher NCO is available. The moral of the story is more responsibility with no extra pay.

I’ll first explain how the Specialist rank should be, and then I’ll explain how it really is. The Specialist should literally be a specialist and an expert in his or her MOS and skill level 1 tasks. Also they demonstrate leadership abilities of a Team Leader and a good grasp and knowledge of skill level 2 and higher tasks. Also the Specialist should be able assist the Team Leaders and Squad Leader by mentoring, teaching and inspiring the ranks below him or her. A Specialist I feel should be the backbone of the lower enlisted ranks, should be a rank of honor and respect.

A Corporal was a Specialist who demonstrates the leadership qualities to be promoted to E5. A Corporal is one of the hardest ranks to be, they are officially an NCO but do not get paid any higher than a Specialist, they are not necessarily in it for the money but the commitment and love of the job. They are honored and bestowed with more responsibility since they are an NCO, one of the most under appreciated ranks in the Army, I feel.

This is my opinion and I had over 26 years experience in the Army: Now, how the Specialist rank really is in the Army, it is true that they do have experience in the team and squad but are often promoted just because they have time and rank as an E3. A lot of people consider it a sham shield instead of treating it as promotion due to merit and knowledge of their MOS. Prime example as a recruit you can come into Army as a Specialist if you have a bachelors degree, no prior knowledge in Army tactics or their MOS just a bachelors degree will get you in as a Specialist. That is a complete failure on the Army treating rank as a incentive and enticement to get people to join, instead of a reward for excellent work, superior knowledge and leadership abilities. Now this is not true with everyone in the Army, there are a lot of people who deserve the rank but from what I experienced, there is a lot who are promoted either too early or don’t demonstrate the ability to be a Specialist. The Army shouldn’t be worried about promoting people fast but promoting people who are ready for that rank and truly deserve it and that goes for all ranks.

The Army has two billets for their E-4 Rank: Specialist and Corporal. Like the Marine Corps, Corporals are junior NCOs. However, the Corporal rank is normally reserved for the Combat Arms MOS. Specialist, on the other hand, are not NCOs. As someone else on here already mentioned, it is the worse rank to have in the Army. This is true for two reasons. The first reason being that, unlike the Marine Corps, Corporal's in the Army do not get the same mentoring from their senior NCOs as do their counter parts in the Marine Corps. Where as the Marine Corps grooms their Corporals to be the future backbones of the Corps, the senior NCOs in the Army tend to treat their Corporals as whipping boys/girls. Army Corporals just don't get the support they need to grow as a leader. If you don't know what I am talking about. Go and disrespect a Corporal in the Marine Corps. Once s/he is done with you, you will then have your hide chewed even more from some motivated E-5. Corporals in the Army do not enjoy this same support. This creates the second reason for Corporal being the worst rank in the Army. The other lower enlisted, especially the specialist, have no respect for the Corporal rank because they know that the Corporal does not have the support of the senior enlisted.

A Marine Corporal is authorized to give orders, an Army SPC is not. An Army CPL on the other hand has similar authority.

CPL's eat chow alone because NCO's and junior enlisted don't want them.

A Corporal is a Sergeant without the pay, privileges and respect in the Army.

Meanwhile in the Corps a Corporal is a respected part of the chain, while still being the low man on the totem pole. This can have it's own benefits when working with the Marines of course.

First off, going from SPC to CPL is absolutely a PROMOTION with a formation & a Promotion Warrant. There are regs regarding the promotion & a commander can't just promote any SPC whenever they feel like it. A CPL can't be demoted down to SPC any easier than a SGT can. There are pay grades & there are ranks. Rank is the important one. A CPL outranks a SPC just like a 1SG outranks a MSG or a CSM outranks SGM or a Sgt. Maj. outranks a Mst. Gy Sgt. Based on the regs set forth by the Army, they are primarily seen in the Infantry & in other combat arms fields to a lesser extent. They are rarely if ever seen in support units.

During Vietnam, (I was in from 1966-1987) only Combat Arms had Corporals. Most of them were ATL's for a Squad. There were E-4 Specialists but they were Line Doggies. When they rotated into an ATL spot they threw on Corporal Stripes. Thats all I know about this..... it was confusing back then too.