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private first class

n., pl., privates first class.

(Abbr. PFC) A noncommissioned rank in the U.S. Army that is above private and below corporal or in the U.S. Marine Corps that is above private and below lance corporal.
One who holds this rank.

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The second enlisted rank in the Marine Corps is designated by a single chevron on each sleeve. The pay grade is E-2 and is equivalent to an Army private (the Army has two ranks of privates) who also wears a single chevron. In the Air Force an airman wears an inverted single stripe with a star in a circle which covers the point of the chevron. Navy and Coast Guard seaman apprentices wear two slashes in a box on the left sleeve only.

In the United States armed forces, Private First Class (PFC) is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.

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Singapore

The rank of Private First Class (PFC) in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private (PTE) and Lance-Corporal (LCP). It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term. Privates First Class wear a rank insignia consisting of a single chevron pointing down.

United States Army

In the United States Army, recruits usually enter the Army as 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), designated by a single chevron and a rocker stripe is more common among soldiers who have served in the U.S. Army for 1 year or more. Soldiers with prior Military training such as JROTC, Sea Scouting or similar program, or who have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts or have achieved an Associate Degree or its equivalent are entitled to enter the Army at this pay grade. Advancement from PFC is typically to Specialist, although occasionally it may be to Corporal.

United States Marine Corps

Private First Class insignia (U.S. 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 in 1917 to match the newly created Army rank, although it is actually one grade lower.^[1]

References

^ Estimates submitted by the Secretary of the Navy, 1918: hearings before Committee on Naval Affairs, House of Representatives, Sixty-fifth Congress, on estimates submitted by the Secretary of the Navy, 1918, p. 240

External links

U.S. Army Enlisted Rank Insignia - Criteria, Background, and Images

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