A Basic History Lesson Regarding How the US Military Rank System Came to Be.


The military ranking system that is used today in the US military is quite similar to what was used way back in 1775, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. At the time, the British Army and Navy ranks were adopted almost as is, and used for their own purposes. The naming conventions, however, date back to several centuries ago. Most of the terms come from Old English words, such as the word Marine, which was derived from the word ?marinus? ? something related to the sea. The world Solider has even older origins; it finds its roots in the word ?solidus?, a Roman term, which was, at the time, defined as a coin to pay military personnel.


The word Private derives from the Latin word ?privus?, which originally referred to a person, but then the definition later morphed into a person who did not hold an office. Dating back to the sixteenth century, this term wasn?t used before because there were no ranking systems in place at the time. Lords that were fighting with each other previously would just enlist their subjects to fight for them, but without a structure in place as formalized as it is, now.

The Chevron is a French word that directly translated to mean roof, or rafter (describing the shape of the two lines that connect at the top of the ?V?). This insignia has been used since the twelfth century. It adorned only the shields of knights, barons and kings, mostly likely to join the pieces together in an artistic manner. French soldiers started using the Chevron on their shirt sleeves to designate the time they had served in their Army, and British solders started in the early 1800?s to do the same, but were used to display rank instead. Sergeants were asked to wear three Chevrons, whereas Corporals wore two, with the points facing downwards so as not to confuse the insignia with the French usage for term of service.


The term Corporal comes from Italian fifteenth century armies, originally known as a ?capo de squadra?, and then changed to ?caporale? around the sixteen century. The French started using the term around the same time, pronouncing it in different ways, but usually the now-used Corporal, probably because of the similarity of the Latin term ?corpus?.


The word Sergeant has an interesting history that dates back to the medieval ages. From the word ?serviens? in Latin, to mean servant, the people adorned with this name were of the lower class who had to fight just to survive. Because he didn?t have the title of knight (or the equipment, because of funding issues), he would learn quickly the rules of war, and many times would have a group of serfs he took charge of, and trained.


The Petty Officer can find the roots of his rank in the French word, ?petit?, which means small. Over time, the word also came to mean subordinate, minor or secondary. In medieval England, almost every space where groups of villagers lived had a ?petite?, ?pety? or ?petty person who acted as a subordinate and aide to other, higher ranking officials.

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