Specialist
Specialist ( SPC ) is the highest military Team service degree in the US Army . The salary corresponds to the rank of corporal . However, it is characterized by special qualifications or technical skills that are outside the corporal's area of responsibility. In return, a corporal places more value on its leadership quality in combat, which explains why a specialist is below the corporal in the chain of command. The Specialist has the NATO rank code OR-4, is one rank above Private First Class and one rank below the Sergeant and is roughly comparable to a corporal of the German Armed Forces or a platoon commander in the Austrian Armed Forces.
During the Second World War the rank of Technician was known and was abolished in 1948; the concept was reintroduced in 1955 under the name Specialist. Until 1985 the number of sub-ranks within the Specialist fluctuated. In the end, only Specialist Four remained , who was then renamed again to a simple Specialist .