Lance Corporal

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Lance Corporal is a military rank used by some elements of the United States and United Kingdom Armed Forces, police, and other uniformed organizations. In the RAF it does not exist, the lowest NCO rank is Corporal (Not including Junior Corporal in the CCF.) It ranks above Private and below Corporal, although its specific status beyond that differs between the forces that use it. In the Commonwealth, Lance Corporal was an appointment rather than a rank, though it has gained the status of a rank in some nations since the end of the Second World War. It is equivalent to the NATO Rank Grade OR-3.

1 History
2 Australia
3 Canada
4 India and Pakistan
5 Singapore
6 United Kingdom
7 United States
8 See also
9 Footnotes

[edit] History

The presumed origin of the rank of Lance Corporal derives from an amalgamation of corporal with the now-archaic lancepesade, formerly a non-commissioned officer of the lowest rank. This in turn derives from the Italian lancia spezzata, which literally means "broken lance" or "broken spear", but which was used to denote a seasoned soldier, as the broken spear was a metaphor for combat experience, where such an occurrence was very likely. Interestingly enough, broken lances were more associated with chivalric cavalry lance tactics and jousting than with common (foot) soldiery.

Another possible origin of Lance Corporal, although far less established and somewhat lost in history, is that the term may have originated in the Middle Ages as a title for corporals who had lost their horses on a battlefield and would join an infantry company for the duration of the conflict. Such men were known as "Corporals of Lance" instead of "Corporals of Horse"^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Australia

Lance Corporal is the lowest of the non-commissioned officer ranks in the Australian Army, falling between Private and Corporal. It is the only appointed rank, and thus demotion is easier than with other ranks. It is also the only rank for which a soldier does not have to pass a specified series of tests. A Lance Corporal is usually the second in command of a Section (2IC), and is in control of the gun group in an infantry section. The same rank within artillery units is known as Lance-Bombardier. There is no equivalent rank within the Royal Australian Air Force or Royal Australian Navy.

During World War I, the rank of 2nd Corporal (equivalent to Lance Corporal) was used in Engineer units, particularly Railway units. This rank, however, is no longer used.^[1]

A common nickname for a Lance Corporal is a "Lance Jack".

[edit] Canada

The Canadian Forces abolished the appointment of Lance Corporal on their creation as a unified force in 1968. The rank of Trained Private equates to OR-3 and wears the single chevron, but has no command authority. In terms of actual authority, the current appointment of Master Corporal equates most directly to the pre-Unification appointment of Lance Corporal as in both cases, this appointment was granted to soldier second-in-command of an infantry section, for example.

[edit] India and Pakistan

The equivalent to Lance-Corporal in the British Indian Army was Acting Lance-Daffadar in cavalry regiments and Lance-Naik in other units. These ranks are still used in the Indian Army and Pakistan Army.

[edit] Singapore

The rank of Lance-Corporal (LCP) in the Singapore Armed Forces ranks between Private First Class (PFC) and Corporal (CPL).

Like the rank of Corporal, it is not considered a Specialist rank, and the Lance-Corporal has absolutely no command authority by virtue of his rank. However, Lance-Corporals who are appointed second-in-command of a section (military unit) do have the authority to command the rest of the section. National Servicemen in such appointments are usually promoted to this rank in the middle of their two-year enlistment.

A Lance-Corporal wears rank insignia of a single point down chevron with an arc above it (similar to an upside down US Army PFC rank badge).

[edit] United Kingdom

Lance-Corporal (L/Cpl or LCpl) is the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer in the British Army and Royal Marines, between Private and Corporal. The badge of rank is a 1-bar chevron worn on both sleeves, or on an epaulette on the front of the Combat Soldier 95 dress standard (although Lance-Corporals in the Foot Guards and The Queen's Royal Hussars wear 2-bar chevrons and in the Household Cavalry a 2-bar chevron surmounted by the crown). The Royal Artillery uses the term Lance-Bombardier instead. The designation "Chosen Man", used during the Napoleonic Wars, was a precursor to the rank. A common nickname for a Lance-Corporal is "lance jack".

Until 1961, Lance-Corporal was only an appointment rather than a rank, given to privates who were acting NCOs, and could be taken away by the soldier's commanding officer (whereas a full Corporal could only be demoted by court martial). The Royal Engineers and Army Ordnance Corps also used the similar rank of Second Corporal, which was a substantive rank (also wearing one chevron), until 1920. Until 1920, Bombardiers in the Royal Artillery were equivalent to Second Corporals and Acting Bombardiers were equivalent to Lance-Corporals (both wearing one chevron).

In the infantry, a Lance-Corporal usually serves as second-in-command of a section and commander of its delta fire team. It is also a rank commonly held by specialists such as clerks, drivers, signallers, machine-gunners, and mortarmen.

There is no equivalent Royal Air Force rank except in the RAF sections of Combined Cadet Forces seen in some British Schools. The CCF rank of Cadet Junior Corporal (also bearing one chevron) is used in order that NCOs can be ranked on parity with the Cadet Lance-Corporals in the Army Sections.

	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5/OR-6	OR-7	OR-8	OR-9
British Ratings and Other Ranks
Royal Navy:		ORD - AB		LH	PO	CPO	WO2	WO1
Royal Marines:		MNE	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	CSgt	WO2	WO1
Army:	Pte	Pte	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt / CSgt	WO2	WO1
Royal Air Force:	AC	LAC - SAC - Jnr Tech		Cpl	Sgt	Chf Tech - FS		WO / MAcr

[edit] United States

In the U.S. Marine Corps, Lance Corporal (LCpl) is the third lowest enlisted rank, just above Private First Class and below Corporal. It is not a non-commissioned officer rank. The Marines are the only component of the U.S. Armed Forces to have Lance Corporals. Unlike other branches of the U.S. military that remove modifiers in a less formal environment, a Lance Corporal is not referred to as a Corporal, but as a Lance, when abbreviated. Because of their non-NCO status, Lance Corporals and below are most commonly addressed by last name and not rank.

	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9
U.S. military enlisted ranks
Air Force:	AB	Amn	A1C	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt	SMSgt	CMSgt - CCM - CMSAF
Army:	PV1	PV2	PFC	SPC - CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG - 1SG	SGM - CSM - SMA
Marine Corps:	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt - 1stSgt	MGySgt - SgtMaj - SgtMajMarCor
Navy:	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMCPO - MCPON
Coast Guard:	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMCPO - MCPOCG