in the Marine Corps, even the lowest NCO, a corporal, has alot of authority even to the point that lower......

Question

ranking marines have to address him by his title and then his last name. Corporals in the Marine Corps alot of times have command at the squad and at times at the platoon level. is this true for the other services? do E-4's in the other branches at times are responsible for a unit even at the platoon level or equivalent? also in the other services, must lower ranking enlisted address an E-4 by his/her title?

Answer 1

You are suppossed to call everyone by their rank and last name.

Most people who are friends, don't do that, unless outsiders are around.

Every service has E-4's in postions of leadership.

In the Air Force, I have addressed some E-7's by their first name, but only after having worked with them for a couple of years and never around other people.

Alot of it depends on who is around.

On our teams, everyone would address everyone by first name.

Unless other people were around or the brass, then you would address the team leader by rank and last name.

Answer 2

To properly address a Marine senior to you, is no more than military etiquette. The rank of corporal is a junior NCO, and the bearer of this rank is to be addressed as such, by his subordinates.

Other services are not as formal as the Marine Corps, but then, the other services do not maintain as high a disciplinary standard as the Marine Corps.

In combat situations particularly, when senior NCO'S have been incapacitaed, corporals have been known to assume command of a platoon. Remember, the next forward rank for a corporal, is that of sergeant so he better be ready to jump in when needed.

Answer 3

The level of "command" depends more on the needs of the particular unit than branch of service. When I was in the army, we often had an E5 or sometimes and E6 as a platoon Sgt, only once did I have an E7 which is the common rank of a platoon Sgt. Most of the time our squad leaders were E4s. In combat and combat support units such as Infantry and armor, you are more likely to see corporals whereas in service support such as admin or trans, you would see specialists even if they were squad leaders.
Technically everyone has to address anyone of higher rank by that rank and last name. In reality this doesnt happen in places where people become friends, particularly below E4. We used to get yelled at by this E6 in my unit because everyone called each other by their first name and that is a no no.

Answer 4

I served in the Corps and NEVER!! seen a E-4 in command of a platoon !! In combat a E-4 could be in command, if the senior NCO's and/or Officers were wounded or away and the E-4 was ranking NCO at the time! Squad leader max. otherwise. Proper military courtesy requires rank before name; Seaman Williams, L/Cpl. Ross, etc. Even Officers will address an enlisted man by his rank before name!

Answer 5

It's true in all the services, but the degree of formality differs among the services, with the Marines being most serious, and the Air Force the least.
As an extreme example, I occasionally ran into some of the E-4's and E-5's in town, and while not fraternizing, I'd introduce my wife, buy a round of beers, and visit for a minute. This was acceptable for an Air Force field grade, but I can't imagine even a butterbar Marine doing the same. Things may have changed since my day, though.

Answer 6

This is also true in the Army.

In the Army you have two E4 ranks, Corporal and Specialist. Corporal is reserved for combat leaders and is the first of NCO ranks. It is very common that you may have an E4 Corporal in charge of a fire-team or even squad at times. As an NCO, lower enlisted must stand at parade rest for him and address him by his rank and name.

The Specialist on the other hand is an E4 who is not typically in a leadership position. That said, I have seen Specialist who lead fire teams and squads and are just waiting for the paperwork to catch up. Still, privates have to address them by their proper title as well.

One of the great things about the military is that it is one of the few aspects of life where authority can be earned through merit.

Answer 7

It is situational in the Navy. As the NCOIC, I was big on rank structure, chain of command and respect. Above all others, my primary job (from where I was sitting) was to get my people advanced (promoted). Often times, I did it by showing them how far responsibility and privilege can go. Give a little, gain a lot.

Answer 8

On a submarine, it was a bit more relaxed. Most times, most people called E-6 and below by first name, or just last name. This even happened with E-7s and above, but not as often.

Answer 9

THE MARINES ARE MORE AGGRESSIVE THIER TRAINING FOR NCO STARTS AT E-3 LANCE CORPORAL, UNLIKE THE ARMY A E-4 IS A SPEACIALIST A NON-NCO BUT THE CATCH IS THE ARMY ALSO HAVES A E-4 CORPORAL BUT NOT AS IMPORTANT AS A E-4 MARINE. THE MARINE CORPS LEADERSHIP IS THE HIGHEST DICIPLINE BRANCH OF THE U.S CAUSE OF ITS HISTORY. YES THE MARINE E-4 DOES TAKE CHARGE IF THE PLATOON SARGEANT IS NOT PRESENT AND ALL LOWER RANKING HAVE TO ADDRESS THE CORPORAL BY HIS RANK AND LAST NAME. IN THE NAVY NO YOU GO BY 3RD CLASS ,ARMY SPEACIALIST AND AIRFORCE SENIOR AIRMAN.

Answer 10

I my Navy unit E6 and below used first names .