Private first class

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Private first class (French: Soldat de 1^ère classe; Spanish: Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in many armed forces.

In France and other French speaking countries, the rank Soldat de première classe (lit. 'soldier of the first class'; transl. private first class) is used.

In Poland, the rank is called Starszy szeregowy (transl. Senior private).^[1]

Introduced in 1983, the honorific rank is awarded to hardworking conscript citizen-soldiers who performed well in their National Service term. Private First Class (PFC) wear a rank insignia of a single chevron pointing down.^[2]

The Private First Class (PFC) rank is rarely awarded nowadays by the Singapore Armed Forces. All private enlistees can be promoted directly to Lance Corporal (LCP) should they meet the minimum qualifying requirements, conduct appraisal and work performance.^[3]

In the United States Army, recruits usually enter service as a 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), equivalent to NATO grade OR-3, is designated by a single chevron with one arc or "rocker," and is more common among soldiers who have served in the U.S. Army for one year or more. Soldiers who have achieved an associate degree or its equivalent are entitled to enter the Army at this pay grade.^[4] Advancement from private first class is to specialist (E-4); advancement to corporal (also at the E-4 pay grade) requires that the soldier also complete the Basic Leader Course (BLC), the first course of study in a US Army noncommissioned officer's professional development course.^[5] Thus, in order to qualify for leadership posts such as team leader, the soldier must have first served as a corporal; a team leader is nominally a sergeant (E-5).

The rank of private first class has existed since 1846^[6] and, prior to 1919, its insignia consisted of the branch of service insignia without any arcs or chevrons. The Secretary of War approved "an arc of one bar" (i.e., a "rocker") under the branch of service or trade insignia for privates first class on 22 July 1919. From August 5, 1920, to May 28, 1968, the rank insignia for private first class was a single chevron, per War Department Circular No. 303. On May 28, 1968, the insignia was changed to its current form, consisting of a single chevron with one arc.^[7]

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 on June 3, 1916, to match the already existing Army rank, primarily because US Marine units were "often called upon to serve" with US Army organizations, such as in the American Expeditionary Force that served in Europe during World War I (e.g. 4th Marine Brigade of the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division). At the time the two ranks were directly equivalent. However, the USMC rank of PFC is one grade lower (E-2) than the similarly titled US Army rank.^[8]

• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Benin Army)^[9]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Burkina Faso Ground Forces)^[10][11]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Kirundi: Umusoda wo mu murwi wa mbere)
  (Burundi Army)^[12]
• 
  Soldat première
  (Cameroon Ground Forces)
• 
  Soldat première
  (Central African Ground Forces)
• 
  Soldat première
  (Chadian Ground Forces)
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Comorian Army)
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Land Forces of the DR Congo)
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Congolese Ground Forces)^[13]
• 
  Soldat première
  (Djiboutian Army)
• 
  Soldat première
  (Gabonese Army)
• 
  Soldado de primera
  (Guatemalan Army)^[14]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Guinea Ground Forces)
• 
  Primeiro-soldado
  (Army of Guinea-Bissau)
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Ivory Coast Ground Forces)^[15]
• 
  Private first class
  (Liberian Ground Forces)^[16]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Malian Army)^[17]
• 
  Soldado de primera
  (Mexican Army)^[18]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Royal Moroccan Army)^[19]
• 
  Primeiro soldado
  (Mozambican Army)
• 
  Soldado de primera
  (Nicaraguan Army)^[20]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Niger Army)^[21]
• 
  Private first class
  (Philippine Army)^[22]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Senegalese Army)
• 
  Private first class
  (Singapore Army)^[23]
• 
  Soldaat der 1e klasse
  (Suriname Army)
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Togolese Army)^[24]
• 
  Soldat de 1^ère classe
  (Arabic: جندي أول, romanized: Jundiun awwal)
  (Tunisian Army)^[25]
• 
  Private first class
  (United States Army)^[26]

• Comparative military ranks
• Gefreiter
• U.S. Army enlisted rank insignia
• U.S. Marine Corps enlisted rank insignia
• U.S. uniformed services pay grades
• United States military pay