Master Corporal

Master Corporal (MCpl) (French: caporal-chef or cplc), in the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Army Cadets is an appointment of the rank of Corporal in the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Airforce. Its Naval equivalent is Master Seaman (MS) (French: matelot-chef or matc).

According to the Queen's Regulations and Orders:

(1) The Chief of the Defence Staff or such officer as he may designate may appoint a corporal as a master corporal.
(2) The rank of a master corporal remains that of corporal.
(3) Master corporals have seniority among themselves in their order of seniority as corporals.
(4) Master corporals have authority and powers of command over all other corporals." — QR&O 3.08

Master Corporal, while formally an appointment, is treated as a de facto non-commissioned member rank, and is often described as such, even in official documents.

As mentioned above, the Master Corporal is senior to the Corporal (and its Naval counterpart, Leading Seaman). It is junior to the rank of Sergeant (Sgt) and its equivalent naval rank, Petty Officer 2nd Class (PO2). Master Corporals and Master Seamen together with Corporals and Leading Seamen make up the cadre of junior non-commissioned officers.

The rank insignia of a Master Corporal is a 2-bar chevron, worn point down, surmounted by a maple leaf. Embroidered rank badges are worn in "CF gold" thread on rifle green (Army) or Air Force blue (Air Force) melton, stitched to the upper sleeves of the Service Dress jacket; as miniature gold metal and rifle-green enamel badges on the collars of the Army dress shirt and Army outerwear jackets; in "old-gold" thread on Air Force blue slip-ons on Air Force shirts, sweaters, and coats; and in tan (Army) or dark blue (Air Force) thread on CADPAT slip-ons on the Operational Dress uniform. Insignia for mess kit is determined by branch or regimental tradition.

Master Corporals normally mess and billet with the Junior Ranks. Within most Canadian Army units, Master Corporals are commonly nicknamed "Master Jack" or "Jack" by both superiors and subordinates. This is an informality and is only used within social context and never in formal proceedings. Only in closer working or socially comfortable units like rifle regiments or infantry units in general is this informal term commonly used.