Private / Specialist
From 1920 to 1942 there was a rank designated "Private / Specialist" (or simply "Specialist") that was graded in 6 Classes (the lowest being 6th Class and the highest being 1st Class). They were considered the equal of a Private First Class (PFC) but drew additional Specialist pay in relationship to the specialist level possessed on top of their base PFC (Grade Six) pay. The classes only indicated experience, not seniority, and a Private / Specialist did not outrank a PFC.
Officially, Specialists wore the single chevron of a Private First Class, because no special insignia was authorized to indicate their rank. Unofficially, a Private/ Specialist could be authorized, at his commander's discretion, to wear one to six additional arcs (1 arc for 6th Class and a maximum of 6 arcs for 1st Class) under their rank chevron to denote specialty level.
Read more about this topic: Specialist (rank)
Famous quotes containing the words private and/or specialist:
“If private men are obliged to perform the offices of government, to protect the weak and dispense justice, then the government becomes only a hired man, or clerk, to perform menial or indifferent services.”
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“He was no specialist except in the relation of things.... He took most of his materials at second hand.... But no matter who mined the gold, the image and superscription are his.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)