3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to all. Almost everyone's contribution was correct from some angle. It turns out that there are two slightly different ranking hierarchies, British and US of course. <sp> The British ranking starts with private, then lance corporal. The corresponding US ranks are private, then private first class. I gleaned from the rest of the text that the person was a جندي before becoming جندي أول, hence the ranks seem to map the US system. <sp> Because I had to award the points to someone, I chose the answer that was an exact match, but the earlier answers have certainly directed my research in the right direction, so they deserve no less merit, even when they get no kudos (no pun intended:) <sp> Alaa"