Mouwrangen Private 1st class rank (set) (Sleeve chevrons Private 1st class rank (set))

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, or for those who have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts or have been awarded the Girl Scout Gold Award in the Girl Scouts of the USA. Private first class (E-3), equivalent to NATO grade OR-3, is designated by a single chevron and a rocker stripe 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.^[3] Advancement from private first class is typically to specialist, although occasionally it may be to corporal.

The rank of private first class has existed since 1866 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" 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 for private first class was changed to its current form, consisting of a single chevron with one rocker