Master Corporal

Appointment, not a rankA corporal or sailor 1st class may be appointed master corporal; their rank remains that of corporal. It carries authority over other corporals, and its own pay increment, which is why it has a page here.

What the rank does

Master corporal is an appointment, not a rank: a corporal appointed to it remains a corporal. It carries command of a section, roughly eight to ten soldiers, and its own pay increment, which is why it appears separately here. The authority comes from the appointment rather than from a promotion.

Getting past this rank

Prepares for supervisory work in your own element and occupation. PLQ is the gate most careers meet first.

The whole framework, both streams

The same rank in each element