No, you're not required to have an NCOER started until you're wearing hard stripes.
I am in JROTC (junior reserved officers in training corps) so I have to know... Private Private first class specialist or a corporal (I am a corporal) sergeant staff sergeant sergeant first class Master sergeant or first sergeant sergeant major command sergeant sergeant of the army
Army sergeant.
There are three ranks within the pay grade of E9 - Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major, and Sergeant Major of the Army. There is only one Sergeant Major of the Army.
0341 is the United States Marine Corps MOS for a mortarman, ranks Private through Sergeant. The US Army equivalent would be 11C (11C1 for Private through Specialist, 11C2 for Sergeant).
There is no such rank as Medic Sergeant Major of the Army. There is a Sergeant Major of the Army and regardless of his specialty, it is just SMA.
Think about it for a minute: Who writes the NCOER for E-5 Sergeant "Bob" in third platoon? Obviously SSgt. "Bill" the platoon Section Chief or SFC "Tom" the Platoon Sergeant. Who writes the NCOER for the unit First Sergeant? The unit commander or XO, or a Sergeant Major at Battalion or Brigade (more approriately the unit CO or XO). The SMOA has a chain of command just as every other soldier in the US Army. He answers to someone. The next link up the chain for the SMOA is Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and he is currently General Peter W. Chiarelli.
There is no Specialist Eighth Class in the US Army or Marines. Most specialist ranks were phased out in the 1980's. Specialist Fourth Class (Spec 4), paygrade E-4 is still awarded in the US Army for some MOS's.
I am in JROTC (junior reserved officers in training corps) so I have to know... Private Private first class specialist or a corporal (I am a corporal) sergeant staff sergeant sergeant first class Master sergeant or first sergeant sergeant major command sergeant sergeant of the army
Anyone in the US Army can lose their rank - in the late 1990s, the Sergeant Major of the Army was demoted. It's not as easy for an SFC to lose their rank as, say, a Specialist or Sergeant, but it can happen.
A Corporal is a noncommissioned officer, whereas a Specialist is not. Unlike other NCO ranks (such as Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, etc.), promotions to Corporal don't have to be DA approved (although they can be), since it's considered a lateral promotion, with no changes made to pay. Thus, one can be promoted laterally from Specialist to Corporal at unit level, or even be "Corporal for a day" if the unit needs an NCO for Charge of Quarters or Staff Duty, after which, they would be "demoted" back to Specialist.
In the US Army, there's two ranks - Specialist, and Corporal. In the US Marines, it's just Corporal. The Specialist rank in the Army is not an NCO rank, whereas Corporal is.
The United States army consists of twelve ranks. They are, in order of rank, Private, Private First Class, Specialist, Corporal, Sergeant. Staff Sergeant, Sergeant First Class, Master Sergeant, First Sergeant, Sergeant Major, Command Sergeant Major, and Sergeant Major of the Army.
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Specialist 5 - it's a discontinued Army rank. A Specialist got the same pay as a Sergeant (also pay grade E5), but was not a noncommissioned officer.
General of the Army, General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Brigadier General, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant First Class, Staff Sergeant, Sergeant, Corporal, Private First Class, Private. Is the list missing specialist?
Army sergeant.
In most armies, it's Sergeant. Some armies are structured a little different, though. For example, the Canadian Forces has a "Master Corporal" rank which is equivalent to a US Army Sergeant, while the French equivalent is "Corporal-Chef", which comes between Corporal and Sergeant.