First Sergeant 1958 US Army; The Big Picture TV-410 (Patreon)

more at http://quickfound.net/

'Story of a first sergeant on duty in Berlin is told -- This is a personal story told on film about one man -- an Army top-kick -- on duty 100 miles behind the Iron Curtain. First Sergeant Richard B. Gilland, a career non-commissioned officer, is one of the hardcore of NCOs who play an indispensable part in keeping the U.S. Army the greatest fighting team in the world. Filmed in Company C, 6th Infantry Regiment, stationed in Berlin, Germany, Gilland was chosen as one who typifies the ideal first-soldier. He has an outstanding combat record and shows up on film with a clean-cut rugged appearance. Also included is footage on his family and community life to give television viewers a well-rounded look at the "day in the life of a First Sergeant." Gilland, 35-year-old native of Breckenridge, Texas, is a veteran of 17 years in the service. He fought in the European-African-Middle East Theatre in World War II and in Korea. He's been First Sergeant of Company C since April 1956. The television viewer will get a peek at his wife, Faye, and their four daughters: Elizabeth, 9; Donna, 7; Paula Faye, 4; and Susan Joan, 3.'

Originally a public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_sergeant

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Historically, the rank of "first sergeant" has existed in the American Army since 1781, when a fifth sergeant was added to the table of organization for Continental Army infantry regiments. Previously, under the tables of organization approved by the Continental Congress in 1776 and 1779, there were four and three sergeants, respectively, authorized in each company. The sergeants were numbered in order of seniority and the "first sergeant" was simply the senior sergeant in the company, but not a separate rank. In 1833, first sergeant and orderly sergeant became separate pay grades, ranking below sergeants major and quartermaster sergeants but above sergeants. While the sergeant major and quartermaster sergeant already had distinctive staff NCO rank insignia, it was not until 1847 that the first sergeant received the lozenge, or diamond, with the three chevrons of a sergeant as its insignia of rank. (The separate rank of orderly sergeant was combined with first sergeant in 1851.)

In the United States Army, the rank of first sergeant (abbreviated 1SG) is an E-8 paygrade rank above the rank of sergeant first class (SFC), and below the rank of sergeant major (SGM) or command sergeant major (CSM). It is equal in grade to master sergeant (MSG), although the two ranks have different responsibilities. Both ranks are identical with three chevrons up (standard sergeant insignia) and three curved stripes underneath "down" known as "three up and three down", though the first sergeant has the lozenge "diamond" in the middle. A first sergeant is generally senior to a master sergeant in leadership matters, though a master sergeant may have more general military authority such as when in charge of a military police (MP) section. The rank is abbreviated as "1SG" in the Army.

Master sergeants are laterally appointed to first sergeant upon selection by the senior leadership at Department of the Army, while qualified sergeants first class are promoted, depending on available billets and opportunities. A promotable sergeant first class or a master sergeant may be selected for promotion to or appointment as a first sergeant and may assume the duty. Upon reassignment to a non–first sergeant billet, the soldier reverts to his or her original rank of master sergeant, unless promoted to the E-9 rank of SGM or CSM.

CSM is a leadership position that is a higher ranking equivalent of 1SG on a battalion level or higher command, while SGM is an MOS-specific technical equivalent to a MSG on a battalion level or higher command or in certain specialty billets.

The position of first sergeant is the highest US Army NCO rank position that is still in a direct "hands-on" leadership setting...

First sergeants are generally the senior non-commissioned officers of company (battery, troop) sized units, and are unofficially but commonly referred to as "top", "top sergeant", "top soldier", "top kick", "first shirt", due to their seniority and their position at the top of the company's enlisted ranks...