why is the e-4 (corporal) rank in the marine corps has more reponsibilities than one of the same rank.........

Question

in the army (corporal or spec 4)? what im trying to say that why the marine corps stresses the authority of a corporal more than the army does?

Answer 1

Corporal of Marines is a leadership rank. Specialists is a technical rank. Even though they’re the same paygrade, US Army Corporals are above Specialists since it's an NCO rank.

Answer 2

In the Corps, we stressed every rank. If a LCpl(E3) told a PFC(E2) to so something, the order better be followed. I don't know why we do that, but when I was promoted to Cpl, they did thrust a lot more responsibility on you. It is just the way it is I guess. We also really stressed the chain of command. If you went outside the chain of command when there was a problem, we would get pretty ticked. We always wanted to handle a problem at the lowest level possible. The only exception, Sexual Harassment. Luckily, I served in infantry and artillery, and there were no women in those units.

Actually, Corpsmen are not riflemen. They are considered non-combatents. While they carried sidearms, they did so because of the fact most other countries we would have conflicts with would likely not follow the Geneva Convention.

Answer 3

There's a whole different philosophy in the Corps. Every man a rifleman - even the Chaplain's assistant and the medical corpsman. Every man is taught - and every woman who goes through The Crucible, too - in boot camp to take charge and be a leader, whether in combat, the motor pool, or wherever. OTOH, in the other services, that's not the case. The Army actually has two E-4s, one a trained combat leader and one not. The one that's not is a Specialist - sometimes called a "Spec-four" or a "Speedy-four". These are your support personnel - medics, for instance. All these guys and gals have to do is know which end of the rifle the bullet comes out of - when they go to the rifle range they go only once a year, and they fire for "familiarization", not to demonstrate actual proficiency. They are expected to stay in shape, but not in constant readiness for hand-to-hand fighting. Your Marine, on the other hand, does have to maintain a very high level of weapons expertise and battle readiness - 'cause he's the one who's most likely to be First to Fight - just don't tell the Seabees!

Answer 4

To protect the troops during war, any recognizable part of a US military uniform is considered being in uniform. You can see an example of that in the old Steve McQueen movie, THE GREAT ESCAPE. The Germans caught him as he tried to escape and he flips his shirt collar and shows them his rank insignia. Everything else he had on could have been civilian. Because of the rank insignia, he was considered in uniform and he was not murdered like the others who escaped who did not have a recognizable part of a uniform on. They were called spies and shot. What you are proposing is wearing a rank insignia so per the law, you would be "in uniform." If someone wanted to push it, it could be considered falsely claiming to be a Lance Corporal. (About the only one I can imagine would complain about it would be a REAL Marine Lance Corporal.) If they really wanted to push it, you could be arrested. Doing that was also a sign of disrespect by the Vietnam protestors. They did it just because they knew it bugged service people. While that may not be your intent, rest assured some would be very bugged about it. Why not save it, join the Marines and earn it?

Answer 5

Robert R is right. You had to be there. The Marine Corps places a great deal of responsibility down the chain. We were taught to be creative thinkers, and to handle things with minimal supervision. It is kind of just the way it is. A perfect example is while I was in school at NAS Pensacola FL for training as an Avionics (AVIation electrONICS) technician. I had to stand barracks duty twice while I was there. Down in the main lobby, a Sgt, also a student there, was the squadron duty officer (SDO), I was the assistant duty officer, more commonly referred to as "Phone Watch". I had to, well, watch the phone at night while the duty was making rounds, or asleep. We had to get some sleep, because being on duty did not get you out of class the next day. At the time, I was a Private First Class (PFC). At the barracks for the Navy students, that post was held by a 1st and a 2nd Class Petty officer (PO1 & PO2 respectively). Their Group Duty officer, whom they reported to while on duty, would have been an Ensign, Lieutenant, Junior Grade (JG), or a Lieutenant. Our group duty officer would have been most likely a Staff Sergeant or Gunnery Sergeant, maybe a 2nd Lieutenant, depending on the rotation that day. It sounds wierd, but yeah, you had to be there.

Answer 6

The Marine Corps places more responsibility because of their tradition and culture. While a corporal in the Army generally has more "pull" than an SP4, the Army is more centered around the Sargeant. That's why the Marines are the few and the Proud.

Answer 7

A corporal is a junior NCO (non-commission officer) an specialist (sp4) though equal in rank is not an NCO. Commonly, corporals can lead troops (in the infantry for example) and specialists do not.

Answer 8

I'm not sure if I totally accept your statement. I've known Army corporals who have had plenty of responsibility. I suggest that the level of responsibility for any rank varies from command to command or unit to unit.

Answer 9

What are you talking about? E-4 does not have any authority on any military branch..If you are an E-4 in the marine corps and are complaining because you feel that theyre giving you some responsibility, you are definitely not ready to promote.

Answer 10

I don't think that a corporal has any greater responsibility than a corporal in the army. They work for the same employer, the U.S. govt.