Posted on Nov 28, 2016
What was the purpose of the higher Specialist ranks?
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During the time my grandfather served in the Army, there were many Specialist ranks all the way up to E-9. My question is, what was the purpose of having an E-9 SPC (SP9) back when these ranks were in service. I could use a good history lesson!
Thank you,
SPC O'Hara
Thank you,
SPC O'Hara
SP5
SP6
SPC
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 98
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I think it was more along the lines of combat leaders versus support leaders? Infantry didn't have Spec 5/6, but cooks, medics, mechanics, and other MOS' would. Luckily, the Army kept Spec 4 so most of us could still get promoted fairly quickly. It is much harder to get promoted to E4 in the Marines because it is a flat out Corporal and considered an NCO rank. I believe technically a Sgt had authority over a Spec 6 because he was an NCO and the Spc 6 was not, although the Spc 6 outranked him in E grade. I came in in 1984 and shortly thereafter is when they started eliminating the Spc 5/6. They were instantly promoted to Sgts and SSGs and this made some people mad for a time because typically in order to be a Sgt or SSG, one had to go to a board and make the promotion points according to their MOS and the newly transferred Sgt and SSGS did not. I think it may have been easier for those associated MOS' to get promoted to Spc 5/6, more of an automatic thing, but I am not 100% sure on this because I was in an MOS that did not use the higher Spec ranks.
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In Heidelberg, 1990, I ran across the USARE Bandmaster. Crusty old goat, pretty sure he was a SP9. As I was the Bn. promotions clerk, I thought I was up on many things that "were above my grade", so was caught off guard by this weird rank. Looked it up as soon as I got back to my base.
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SSG Gerald King
Doubt that you ever saw a SP9. The ranks of SP8 & SP9 were ended in 1965. And supposedly no one was ever promoted to either of those ranks. Anyone that would have been promoted to SP8 or SP9 would have been converted to the hard stripes once the rank ended. Also, 1990 is 25 years after the end of those super grades.
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CSM Clifford Fargason
SPC Chris Clifton I agree with SSG Gerald King. The only Specialist rank remaining in 1990 was SPC. It is conceivable that if you ran into a soldier who retired as a Specialist at a military function you may have seen a "weird" rank but not a SP9. See http://www.ncohistory.com/files/shsr.pdf for a good history of the Specialist ranks.
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After making Sp/5, I was always a "hard stipper" but I worked with a number of higher specialist, mostly Sp/6 and Sp/7. These were "technical" ranks, pay grades. They had no leadership authority. They were supposed to be technicians only. I knew of one Sp/8, but I don't think I ever saw a Sp/9.
We were in the computer field. Since my secondary MOS was as a Computer Systems Analyst, I could have been switched to specialist if I had been assigned in my secondary, but that never happened.
I still believe it was a good idea, as some of those positions did not require a "leader," just a highly technical soldier. But that was back when we had a large Army. I guess there is no need for them in today's high-tech, small Army.
We were in the computer field. Since my secondary MOS was as a Computer Systems Analyst, I could have been switched to specialist if I had been assigned in my secondary, but that never happened.
I still believe it was a good idea, as some of those positions did not require a "leader," just a highly technical soldier. But that was back when we had a large Army. I guess there is no need for them in today's high-tech, small Army.
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A lot of good answers here already. I'd add that the upper specialists ranks began to disappear when the army converted to the "up or out" (e.g., QMP) program. Just an observation.
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They were used to distinguish between combat arms and specialties that supported them
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MAJ John Adams
Maybe later on, but while I was in only a few artillerymen made corporal. Everybody else went to SP4. From there, SP5 was still more common than SGT, and that was in combat units.
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