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	Lance Corporal

Marine Corps Corporal

E-4 Noncommissioned Officer, U.S. Marine Corps

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Sergeant

Marine Corps Ranks » Corporal Rank • Cpl Pay • Cpl Rank History • Promotion Information

History of the Marine Corps Corporal Rank

A Corporal is a Noncommissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps at DoD paygrade E-4.

"Corporal" comes from the Medieval Italian "capo corporale" ("head of a body"). They were the "head" of a body of Soldiers.

Want to learn more? Read about the Marine Corps' Corporal rank on Military-Ranks.org.

History of the Marine Corps

As far back as the Revolutionary War, Marines were known as Naval Infantry, and were assigned to ships to repel boarders, assault land-based targets, and discipline unruly Sailors. In WWI and WWII, Marines very successfully augmented Army units in war theaters throughout the world, with their most brutal and historic fighting on islands in the Pacific. In contrast with the Army, the Marines were not originally made to be self-sufficient to fight land wars for long periods of time. Doctors, Chaplains, and Medics who deploy with Marines are all Navy Sailors.