1817 Chevrons (points down) officially denoted rank in the U.S. military for the first time when cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY, wore them on their sleeves. From West Point, chevrons spread to the Army and Marine Corps.

1902 Army and Marine Corps enlisted personnel switched to the present points up configuration. A board of officers decided that enlisted grades should be numbered in reversed order; "Grade 1" denoting the top NCO grade and running downward.

1941 World War II, the Army adopted technician grades. Technicians of a given grade earned the same pay and wore the same insignia as equivalent noncommissioned officers except for a small "T" centered under the chevrons. Technicians, despite the stripes, had no command authority over troops.

1948 An officers board changed the reverse numerical enlisted grades system back to its original order.

1950's the Technician Ranks were discontinued.

1968 The Technical Ranks evolved into the Specialist Ranks, often called "bird umbrellas," pay grades E-4 (SP/4) to E-7 (SP/7), the E stands for enlisted. Although of the same pay grade as Noncommissioned Officers, Specialist ranks had no command authority over troops.

1985 All Specialist ranks except Grade 4 were discontinued. The last vestige today survives plainly as "Specialist," (SPC) pay grade E-4.