The History of
Australian Army Ranks
By Liam Edwards-Benson
Lance Corporal is the lowest non commissioned officer ranks in
use by the army. There are disputes about the origin of the term
but the most supported theory is that in the pre-WWI British forces
a cavalry soldier was considered superior to a foot soldier, the
lance then symbolising their traditional weapon. Corporal comes
from the anglicised Latin word caput which means head in
reference to the fact that a Corporal is usually a leader of a
section. A Lance Corporal is usually the second in command (2IC)
of a section (9-12 soldiers) and is responsible for logistics such as ensuring that all soldiers’
equipment is in order. When in the field the 2IC is in command of the machine gun group.
Lance Corporal is the only appointed rank in the military and thus does not require a court
marshal for demotion. Lance Bombardier is the rank given to a member of the artillery corps
instead of Lance Corporal. Lance jack is a common nick name used by both the Australian
and the British military for the rank. A person of this rank is entitled to the compliment of
(addressed as) “corporal”, addressing them as Lance Corporal whether you outrank them or
not is considered disrespectful.
Corporal is the rank immediately superior to Lance Corporal. To be
eligible for the rank of corporal, soldiers must complete six months
of special training to become eligible for promotion. A Corporal is
usually the leader of a section (known as a section commander) and
is responsible for up to 14 people. A Corporal is unofficially referred
to as a Seco though never in written communications or by his
subordinates. A Corporal is entitled to be paid the compliment of
Corporal or Bombardier (artillery). The rank is equivalent to NATO
rank grade OR-4. Corporals rose to prominence after world war one when the focus of the
military went from hundred man company’s to 10 man sections working in tandem to achieve
goals a result of the growing ease of communications and weapon effectiveness, this
occurred at the same time military thinking began to favor stealth and espionage over direct
assaults as casualty rates became unsustainable. An army corporal in the army and air force
is equivalent to leading seamen in the navy. Both Corporals and Lance Corporals are
classed as NCO’s which stands for non-commissioned officers (CO’s receive the Queens
commission).