SSDF Ranks, Contracts, Paygrades

The SSDF uses the same rank system for all its branches. The contracts and paygrades of the SSDF however are not always bound to certain ranks.

Volunteer (VLN)
This is the lowest possible rank of the SSDF forces. This is the rank all SSDF Soldiers typically have prior to completing their basic training and also for a few months after.

Volunteer Class 1 (VC1)
Soldiers who reached the rank of Volunteer Class 1 have successfully made their first experiences after their basic training and might already have completed additional training courses. A promotion to Volunteer Class 1 is often considered the moment in which a Soldier has proofed that he does deserve to belong to the SSDF. Typically while a SSDF Soldier has this rank his future career path within the SSDF is decided during this time. Regardless if a Soldier stays with the enlisted personnel or moves on to take on bigger challenges within the SSDF he has a lot of demanding training courses ahead of him.

Soldier Class 3 (SC3)
Soldiers who reached this rank are considered experienced and have completed at least some additional training courses. The path of a career of a soldier with this rank has usually already been decided at this point and he will either begin with leadership training courses soon or he will move on to specialize for a certain role in the enlisted ranks.

Soldier Class 2 (SC2)
Soldiers who reached this rank are experienced and have completed at least one full training course for a role specialization. Their knowledge and skills are of high value for the SSDF and they´re sometimes used to assist a training instructor who leads training courses for his specific role. When they reach this rank most soldiers will have spent years in the SSDF already and more challenging specialization opportunities will open up for them.

Soldier Class 1 (SC1)
Soldiers who reached this rank have completed further specialization training to either specialize for an additional role or to even improve their specialization for the role they were trained for before. At this point soldiers once again have more than one path to choose from. They can continue to specialize to eventually become a well paid Specialist Class 2 and later a Specialist Class 1 or they could move up to the NCO branch for administrative tasks or to take on leadership responsibility for their specific specialization.

Specialist Class 2 (SP2)
Soldiers who reached this rank are highly experienced and specialized and more or less about to reach the peak of their career in the SSDF. Soldiers with this rank have usually decided to stay as enlisted personnel for the rest of their career and are not far from being considered experts in their specific role or field.

Specialist Class 1 (SP1)
Soldiers who reached this rank are at the peak of their career. They are true experts for their roles or specialized fields. Their huge amount of experience and knowledge makes them ideal advisors for commanders. They´re ones that are chosen when something has be done 100 % right with little space for mistakes to be made.

Corporal (CPL)
This rank is equal to Specialist Class 2 and Specialist Class 1 but gives the soldier more authority. They´re typically used as Team Leaders, Instructors or as Assistant Section Leaders or Team Leaders. They´re still considered enlisted personnel. Corporal is the only enlisted rank that naturally comes with authority over other soldiers.