Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a
military rank held by junior
enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces.
French speaking countries
In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) is used.
Poland
In Poland, the rank is called ().
Singapore
Introduced in 1983, the
honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...
rank is awarded to hardworking conscript citizen-soldiers who performed well in their National Service term. Private First Class (PFC) wear a rank insignia of a single chevron pointing down.
The Private First Class (PFC) rank is rarely awarded nowadays by the
Singapore Armed Forces. All private enlistees can be promoted directly to
Lance Corporal (LCP) should they meet the minimum qualifying requirements, conduct appraisal and work performance.
United States
United States Army
In the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
, recruits usually enter service as a
private in pay grade E-1. Private (E-2), designated by a single chevron, is typically an automatic promotion after six months of service. Private first class (E-3), equivalent to
NATO grade OR-3, is designated by a single chevron with one arc or "rocker," and is more common among soldiers who have served in the U.S. Army for one year or more. Soldiers who have achieved an
associate degree or its equivalent are entitled to enter the Army at this pay grade. Advancement from private first class is to
specialist
Specialist may refer to:
Occupations
* Specialist (rank), a military rank
** Specialist (Singapore)
* Specialist (arena football)
* Specialist degree, in academia
* Specialty (medicine)
* Designated market maker, in the American stock market
* ...
(E-4); advancement to
corporal (also at the E-4 pay grade) requires that the soldier also complete the
Basic Leader Course (BLC), the first course of study in a
US Army noncommissioned officer's professional development course.
[Harm Venhuizen (7 Jun 2021) All soldiers must now serve as corporals before promotion to sergeant]
/ref> Thus, in order to qualify for leadership posts such as team leader, the soldier must have first served as a corporal; a team leader is nominally a sergeant (E-5).
The rank of private first class has existed since 1846 and, prior to 1919, its insignia consisted of the branch of service insignia without any arcs or chevrons. The Secretary of War approved "an arc of one bar" (i.e., a "rocker") under the branch of service or trade insignia for privates first class on 22 July 1919. From August 5, 1920, to May 28, 1968, the rank insignia for private first class was a single chevron, per War Department Circular No. 303. On May 28, 1968, the insignia was changed to its current form, consisting of a single chevron with one arc.
United States Marine Corps
In the United States Marine Corps, the rank of private first class is the second lowest, just under lance corporal and just above Private, equivalent to NATO grade OR-2, being pay grade E-2. It was established on June 3, 1916, to match the already existing Army rank, primarily because US Marine units were "often called upon to serve" with US Army organizations, such as in the American Expeditionary Force that served in Europe during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
(e.g. 4th Marine Brigade of the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division). At the time the two ranks were directly equivalent. However, the USMC rank of PFC is one grade lower (E-2) than the similarly titled US Army rank.
Gallery
File:Benin Army OR-2.svg,
( Benin Army)
( Burkina Faso Ground Forces)
)
( Burundi Army)
( Cameroon Ground Forces)
File:01.CAGF-PFC.svg,
( Central African Ground Forces)
File:Chad-Army-OR-2.svg,
( Chadian Ground Forces)
File:Comoros-Army-OR-2.svg,
( Comorian Army)
File:01.DRC-PFC.svg,
( Land Forces of the DR Congo)
File:01-ROCongo Army-PFC.svg,
( Congolese Ground Forces)
( Djiboutian Army)
File:01.GLF-PFC.svg,
( Gabonese Army)
File:Haiti-Army-OR-2.svg,
( Guatemalan Army)
( Guinea Ground Forces)
File:Guinea-Bissau-Army-OR-2.svg,
( Army of Guinea-Bissau)
File:Ivory_Coast-Army-OR-2.svg,
( Ivory Coast Ground Forces)
( Liberian Ground Forces)
( Malian Army)
( Mexican Army)
( Royal Moroccan Army)
(Mozambican Army
The Mozambique Defence Armed Forces ( pt, Forças Armadas de Defesa de Moçambique) or FADM are the national armed forces of Mozambique. They include the General Staff of the Armed Forces and three branches of service: Army, Air Force and Nav ...
)
File:01-Nicaragua Army-PVT.svg,
( Nicaraguan Army)
( Niger Army)
( Philippine Army)
( Senegalese Army)
File:Army-SGP-OR-2.svg, Private first class
(Singapore Army
The Singapore Army is the land service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). The largest of the four branches of the SAF, the Singapore Army traces its origins to the 1st Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment (1 SIR), which was formed i ...
)
( Suriname Army)
File:blank.svg,
( Togolese Army)
)
( Tunisian Army)
(United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
)
( )
( )
See also
* Comparative military ranks
* Gefreiter
* U.S. Army enlisted rank insignia
The chart below shows the current enlisted rank insignia of the United States Army, with seniority, and pay grade, increasing from right to left. The enlisted ranks of corporal (E-4) and higher are considered non-commissioned officers (NCOs). The ...
* U.S. Marine Corps enlisted rank insignia
* U.S. uniformed services pay grades
* United States military pay
References
{{US enlisted ranks
Military ranks of Singapore
Military ranks of the United States Army
Military ranks of the United States Marine Corps
United States military enlisted ranks