Technician fourth grade

Technician fourth grade (abbreviated T/4 or Tec 4) was a rank of the United States Army from 1942 to 1948.[1] The rank was created to recognize enlisted soldiers with special technical skills, but who were not trained as combat leaders.[2][3]

Technician fourth grade
The T/4 insignia of a letter "T" below three chevrons.
The T/4 insignia of a letter "T" below three chevrons.
CountryUnited States
Service branchUnited States Army
AbbreviationT/4 or Tec 4
Rank groupEnlisted
Pay grade4th Grade
Formation26 January 1942
Abolished1 August 1948
Next higher rankTechnician third grade
Next lower rankTechnician fifth grade
Equivalent ranksSergeant

History

The rank of technician fourth grade was authorized on 26 January 1942, per Executive Order No. 9041,[4] and was adopted by the Army effective 1 June 1942.[2] The rank insignia was finalized on 4 September 1942, adding a block "T" below the existing three chevrons.[1][5] Those who held the rank of T/4 were addressed as "sergeant," the same as the corresponding non-commissioned officer at the same pay grade.[6]

Technicians represented a wide variety of soldiers with specialized technical skills, including medics, radio operators and repairmen, mail clerks, mechanics, cooks, musicians, and tank drivers.[7][8][9][10][11] Initially, the three technician ranks held non-commissioned officer status.[2] However, as technicians received no formal NCO leadership training or qualifications, their entrance into the NCO ranks resulted in organizational confusion, dilution of the NCO corps, and lowered morale among senior NCOs.[6] Consequently, the Army revoked NCO status from technicians in November 1943.[6]

The technician ranks were removed from the U.S. Army rank system on 1 August 1948,[2] though the concept was revived with the specialist ranks in 1955.[1][12]

See also

References
  1. "History of Enlisted Ranks". The Institute of Heraldry. United States Department of the Army. Archived from the original on 31 December 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. Hogan, David W.; Fisch, Arnold G.; Wright, Robert K., eds. (2009). The Story of the Noncommissoned Officer Corps. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. pp. 295–296. ISBN 978-0-16-067869-1.
  3. United States Department of War (18 January 1944). War Department Technical Manual TM 20–205: Glossary of United States Army Terms. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. p. 279.
  4. Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States. Vol. 23. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1944. p. 330.
  5. Compilation of War Department General Orders, Bulletins, and Circulars. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. United States of America War Office. 1942. p. 184.
  6. Fisher, Ernest F. (1994). Guardians of the Republic: A History of the Noncommissoned Officer Corps of the U.S. Army. New York: Ballantine. p. 260. ISBN 0-449-90923-9.
  7. "U.S. Army Rifle Company (1942–43)". Battle Order. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  8. "U.S. Army Medium Tank Company (1943–45)". Battle Order. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  9. "Medical Detachment, U.S. Army Armored Inf Bn (1943–45)". Battle Order. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  10. "U.S. Army Parachute Rifle Company (1941–1948)". Battle Order. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  11. "Informational Data on Army Music". Music Educators Journal. September–October 1942. p. 48.
  12. Elder, Daniel K. "Short History of the Specialist Rank" (PDF). The NCO Historical Society. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
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