Sergeant First Class

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Sergeant First Class insignia

Sergeant First Class (SFC) is the seventh enlisted rank in the U.S. Army, just above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant, and is the first grade at which a non-commissioned officer is considered a senior non-commissioned officer.

In a United States Army platoon, the position of platoon sergeant is normally held by a Sergeant First Class. The platoon sergeant is the primary assistant and advisor to the platoon leader, a First Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant. When necessary, the platoon sergeant acts as the platoon leader in his or her absence. Unless the platoon leader has extensive prior experience as an enlisted member before being commissioned as a lieutenant, it is likely that the platoon sergeant will have a greater wealth of military experience due to the disparity in military service length between a new lieutenant and a Sergeant First Class; service experience, however, is not a prerequisite for commissioning and command. On occasion, when a platoon's Sergeant First Class is not available for assignment, a responsible Staff Sergeant will be appointed to perform the duties of the absent Sergeant First Class.

[edit] External links

U.S. Army Enlisted Rank Insignia - Criteria, Background, and Images

[edit] See also

	E-1	E-2	E-3	E-4	E-5	E-6	E-7	E-8	E-9
U.S. military enlisted ranks
Air Force:	AB	Amn	A1C	SrA	SSgt	TSgt	MSgt	SMSgt	CMSgt - CCM - CMSAF
Army:	PV1	PV2	PFC	SPC - CPL	SGT	SSG	SFC	MSG - 1SG	SGM - CSM - SMA
Marine Corps:	Pvt	PFC	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt	GySgt	MSgt - 1stSgt	MGySgt - SgtMaj - SgtMajMarCor
Navy:	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMDCM - FORCM - FLTCM - MCPON
Coast Guard:	SR	SA	SN	PO3	PO2	PO1	CPO	SCPO	MCPO - CMCPO - MCPOCG