http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_(rank)#United_States

According to the this, Private carries no insignia on his shoulder. Just E-2 and above.

I'm surprised this thread is this long, I never expected it to get this big.

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LCpl. Kris "Kochrane" Booker - U.S.S. Alamo -Michigan Chapter

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." - Aristotle

And chevrons were only worn on the left arm correct?

I believe so. I rewatched Aliens over again and out of the bdu's and flightsuits I only saw the chevron on the left arm.

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LCpl. Kris "Kochrane" Booker - U.S.S. Alamo -Michigan Chapter

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." - Aristotle

To add to confusion : What is known as the PFC these days for Army ranks was "Lance Corporal" for a short time in the mid-60s as well.

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"The worth and value of a man is in his heart and his will; there lies his real honor. Valor is the strength, not of legs and arms, but of heart and soul..." -Michel de Montaigne

NECROPOST!!!
(Just under a year old so it's ok ).

Two quick questions -

1) it's hard to tell from screen caps but are the chevrons Apone / Hudson / Dietrich are wearing looks to be gold on black? Or is it on Khaki?

2) How do we know that Hudson's chevron is a


Rather than a


given we can only see the top of the chevron ... ?

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Cpl Aron "septic" Williams
A10/TQ0.0.82146E1

1- I believe black and gold is correct

2- Well we know Hudson is a 'PFC', and both are PFC stripes (top Army and bottom Marine). Since Apone, Ferro, and Dietrich sported Army-only versions their respective ranks it is probably safe to say go with the 'Army PFC' version

But really who can say? Need more screen caps!

I would guess that they just made up their own rank insignia for the film, using existing US Army stripes.

From what I gather:

Private = no stripe
Private First Class = one stripe (US Army PV2)
Corporal = two stripes (US Army Corporal)

Then we skip a few grades to Apone, who is wearing five stripes (US Army Sergeant First Class)

About Hudson - given his attitude and the fact that he's "short" (meaning he is near the end of his enlistment), I wonder if maybe he got busted at some point and had his rank reduced.

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