A2. Rank

In the California Cadet Corps and in the U.S. Military services, rank determines who gets to tell whom what to do. The higher one's rank the more authority and responsibility they have.  California Cadet Corps Cadets ranks fall into a few categories: Entry Level Cadets, Sergeants, Senior Sergeants, Warrant Officers, Company Grade Officers, and Field Grade Officers.  Each category outranks the group category before it. Working your way up through the different ranks will give you new lessons on leadership as you get a completely different “look” at each level.

Brief History of Rank

The California Cadet Corps has adapted its rank from the US Army.  The US Army has adapted most of its rank insignia from the British. Before the Revolutionary War, Americans drilled with militia outfits based on the British tradition. Thus, the Continental Army had privates, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, colonels, and generals.
During the Revolutionary War, in 1780, regulations prescribed two stars for major generals and one star for brigadiers worn on shoulder boards, or epaulets. The use of most English ranks carried on even after the United States won the war. The Army and Marine Corps used similar ranks, especially after 1840.  Congress gave Second lieutenants their "butter bars" in 1917. Colonels received the eagle in 1832. From 1836, majors and lieutenant colonels were denoted by oak leaf; captains by double silver bars -- "railroad tracks"; and first lieutenants, single silver bars.

Chevrons are V-shaped stripes whose use in the military go back to at least the 12th century. It was a badge of honor and used in heraldry. The British and French used chevrons -- from the French word for "roof" -- to signify the length of service. Chevrons officially denoted rank in the U.S. military for the first time in 1817, when cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., wore them on their sleeves. From West Point, chevrons spread to the Army and Marine Corps. The difference then was chevrons were worn points down until 1902 when Army and Marine Corps enlisted personnel switched to the present ‘points up’ configuration. Chevrons may also be called “bars”.

Warrant officers went through several iterations before the services arrived at today's configuration. The Army and Marines did not have warrants until the 20th century. Rank insignia for warrants last changed with the addition of chief warrant officer 5.

Fun Facts about Rank

•"Lieutenant" comes from the French "lieu" meaning "place" (where we get the term “in lieu of”) and "tenant" meaning "holding." Literally, lieutenants are placeholders. The British originally corrupted the French pronunciation, pronouncing the word, "lieuftenant," while Americans (probably because of French settler influence) maintained the original pronunciation.

•While majors outrank lieutenants, lieutenant generals outrank major generals. This comes from British tradition: Generals were appointed for campaigns and often called "captain generals." Their assistants were, naturally, "lieutenant generals." At the same time, the chief administrative officer was the "sergeant major general." Somewhere along the way, "sergeant" was dropped.

•Gold is worth more than silver, but silver outranks gold. This is because the Army decreed in 1832 that infantry colonels would wear gold eagles on an epaulet of silver and all other colonels would wear silver eagles on gold. When majors and lieutenant colonels received the leaves, this tradition could not continue. So, silver leaves represented lieutenant colonels and gold, majors. The case of lieutenants is different: First lieutenants had been wearing silver bars for 80 years before second lieutenants had any bars at all.

•Colonel is pronounced "kernal" because the British adopted the French spelling "colonel" but Spanish pronunciation "coronel" and then corrupted the pronunciation.

•While rank insignia is important, sometimes it isn't smart to wear them. When the rifled musket made its appearance in the Civil War, sharpshooters looked for officers. Officers soon learned to take off their rank insignia as they approached the battle line.

Adapted from:
Powers, R. (2016, October 14). The History of American Military Rank. Retrieved from The Balance: https://www.thebalance.com/military-rank-history-3354123