Master corporal (MCpl) () is a military rank used by a number of countries.

Canada

In the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

the displayed rank of master corporal is an appointment that can be granted to

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and

air force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

members of the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. Its

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

equivalent is

master sailor Master sailor, formerly Master seaman,. (6.81 megabytes, MB). or ''matelot-chef (matc)'' in French language, French, is a non-commissioned member Military rank, rank of the Royal Canadian Navy, which is between Leading seaman#Canada, sailor first ...

(MS) ( or ). According to the Queen's Regulations and Orders:

# The Chief of the Defence Staff or such officer as he may designate may appoint a corporal as a master corporal. # The rank of a master corporal remains that of corporal. # Master corporals have seniority among themselves in their order of seniority as corporals. # Master corporals have authority and powers of command over all other corporals.

Master corporal, while formally an appointment, is treated as a

non-commissioned member A non-commissioned member (NCM), in the Canadian Armed Forces, is defined in the Queen's Regulations and Orders as: "... any person, other than an officer, who is enrolled in, or who pursuant to law is attached or seconded otherwise than as an offi ...

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, sailor first class (S1)). It is junior to the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

(Sgt) and its equivalent naval rank,

petty officer 2nd class Petty officer second class (PO2) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations. Canada Petty officer, 2nd class, (PO 2), is a Naval non-commissioned member rank of the Canadian Forces. It is senior to the rank of master sailor (for ...

(PO2). Master corporals and master sailors along with corporals and sailors first class make up the cadre of junior non-commissioned officers. The rank insignia of a master corporal is a two-bar chevron, worn point down, surmounted by a maple leaf. Embroidered rank badges are worn in "CF gold" thread on

rifle green Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tin ...

(army) melton, or in silver on 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 "pearl-grey" (silver) thread on air force blue slip-ons on air force shirts, sweaters, and coats;"New Royal Canadian Air Force uniform unveiled." Archived 2014-09-24 at the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

''CTV Ottawa''1 April 2015. and in white (army) or dark blue (air Force) thread on

CADPAT The Canadian Disruptive Pattern (CADPAT; ) is the computer-generated digital camouflage pattern developed for use by the Canadian Armed Forces. Four operational variations of CADPAT have been used by the Canadian Armed Forces: a temperate woodla ...

slip-ons on the operational dress uniform. Insignia for mess uniform is determined by branch or regimental tradition. Master corporals normally

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

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. The nickname is derived from the former equivalent rank of lance corporal (still a rank in use with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets) or "lance jack". This is an informality and is used only within social context and never in formal proceedings. In general, only in closer working or socially comfortable units like rifle regiments or infantry units is this informal term commonly used. Master corporals are also frequently referred to as in Quebec, a reference to the French name of the rank, , which has also caused the term ''chief'' to be used by Quebec anglophone military members.

History

The master corporal appointment came into existence after the

unification of the Canadian Forces The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces. History A white paper was tabled in the Parliame ...

in 1968. A power vacuum was inadvertently created when private soldiers were promoted to the rank of corporal as an incentive for continuing in the Forces at a time when Unification was introduced by Defence Minister

Paul Hellyer Paul Theodore Hellyer (August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian engineer, politician, writer, and commentator. He was the longest serving member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada at the time of his death. Early life Hellyer w ...

, who promoted all privates with requisite time in service to what was originally a leadership rank (corporal) in the army. Eventually, corporals who had passed the "B" phase of their leadership training took to wearing a crown over their chevrons, and this arrangement was eventually formalized by having a maple leaf replace the crown, and the new B' corporals", as they were known, became master corporals.

Responsibilities

The rank, formally an appointment as a senior

, gives the MCpl authority over all privates and corporals. As such, a MCpl is a first-level supervisor who is assessed on his/her ability to manage and develop subordinates. Given the structure of the Canadian

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

, the MCpl is roughly equivalent to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

rank of

, second in command of an infantry section; because MCpls often command sections and occupy various NCO positions, and because trained leadership is retained at a lower level (section) than in other militaries, it is more realistic to equate MCpls with the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

rank of senior corporal and just under sergeant.

Requirements

The general requirements for appointment to master corporal include a Qualification Level 5 course (known as a journeyman course in some trades), a primary

leadership Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

qualification course (PLQ), and a time in the rank of corporal for a minimum of two years. For

combat arms Combat arms (or fighting arms in non-American parlance) are troops within national armed forces who participate in direct tactical ground combat. In general, they are units that carry or employ weapons, such as infantry, cavalry, and artillery ...

trades (except for the infantry), the Army Junior Leadership Course (AJLC) is also required. However, certain trades have their own particular qualifications in addition to the above. For example,

combines the Qualification Level 5B course, Qualification Level 6A, and Junior Leader's course in a single Infantry Section Commander's Course. In addition, to be appointed to master corporal an infantry soldier must have successfully completed a machine gunner's specialization course. Master corporals often serve as training non-commissioned officers for the purposes of training new soldiers and airpersons. They are often a new recruit's first taste of military life.

French speaking nations

France

Other nations

File:02.AlgA-CPL.svg,

(

Algerian Land Forces The Algerian Land Forces (, ) are the Army, land forces of the Algerian People's National Army. The forces' equipment is mostly supplied by Russia and China. The forces include two armoured and two mechanised divisions, one of which is the 8th ...

) File:Belgium-Army-OR-4a.svg,

(

Belgian Land Component The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component i ...

) File:Benin Army OR-4.svg,
( Benin Army) File:blank.svg,
( Burkina Faso Ground Forces) File:Blank.svg,

( Burundi Army) File:Cameroon-Army-OR-4.svg,
( Cameroon Ground Forces) File:03.CAGF-MCPL.svg,
( Central African Ground Forces) File:Comoros-Army-OR-4.svg,
( Comorian Army) File:03-ROCongo Army-MCPL.svg,
( Congolese Ground Forces) File:Djibouti-Army-OR-4.svg,
(

Djiboutian Army The Djiboutian National Army is the largest branch of the Djibouti Armed Forces and is based in the Djiboutian capital of Djibouti. Djibouti has upgraded its Ground Forces with advanced additions from domestic engineering and modifications. It mu ...

) File:03.GLF-CPL.svg,
(

Gabonese Army The Armed Forces of Gabon (), officially the Gabonese Defense and Security Forces (), is the national professional military of Gabon, divided into the Army, Air Force, Navy, and a National Gendarmerie, consisting of about 5,000 personnel. The arme ...

) File:blank.svg,
( Guinea Ground Forces) File:Ivory_Coast-Army-OR-4.svg,
( Ivory Coast Ground Forces) File:03.Madagascar Air Force-MCPL.svg,
( Madagascar Ground Forces) File:03.Mali Army-MCPL.svg,
(

Malian Army The Malian Armed Forces (, FAMa) consists of the Army (), Republic of Mali Air Force (), and National Guard. They number some 7,000 and are under the control of the Minister of Armed Forces and Veterans. The Library of Congress as of January 200 ...

) File:04-Moroccan Army-MCPL.svg,
(

Royal Moroccan Army The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 t ...

) File:blank.svg,
(

Niger Army The Niger Armed Forces (, FAN) includes military armed force service branches (#Niger Army, Niger Army and #Niger Air Force, Niger Air Force), paramilitary services branches (Gendarmerie Nationale (Niger), National Gendarmerie of Niger and Nati ...

) File:Senegal-Army-OR-4.svg,
( Senegalese Army) File:blank.svg,
( Togolese Army) File:Grade Marine tunisienne E3.png,

(

Tunisian Army The Tunisian Land Army (, ) is the ground component of the Tunisian Armed Forces . The Land Forces Command is located in Bizerte. The TAF itself was created on June 30, 1956. The Land Army is the largest service branch within the Tunisian Armed ...

)

Indonesia

In the Indonesian Military, the rank "Master Corporal" is known as ''Kopral Kepala'' (Kopka). In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, "Corporal" has three levels, which are: Second Corporal, First Corporal, and Master Corporal.

References

{{reflist Military appointments of Canada Military ranks of Canada