Why does the military have officers?

Question

Imagine this:

I want to be the President of a massive corporation. I sign up as a clerk, and 20 years of hard work and hardened experience later I end up the Vice President. One day I am called before the board of directors to discuss my promotion to President. The board begins to congratulate me on my extensive accomplishments and usefulness to the company over the years...

...then promptly dismiss me and elect some snot-nosed kid they had been preemptively breeding in a four year corporate crash course.

Every time I pass the kid I must refer to him as Sir.

Everything the kid says I must do.

Everywhere the kid sends me I must go.

Make sense? Didn't think so.

------------------------------------------------------

An "officer" is "one who is able to command". Enlisted members of the military are able to "take charge or control" but never "command". E-3s can order E-2s, but greenie O-1s can knock around war hardened E-5s! When asked what the purpose of officers are, a certain Lieutenant JG responded:

"Officers are the brains, while everyone else's the muscle"

But MCPO's and SGM's have offices right next to their commissioned counterparts! Right there in the Pentagon! In fact, most of those men haven't been in field service in nearly a decade!!

So if ENLISTED members can be both commanders and strategic resource personnel (Remember = Pentagon), why do we still need COMMISSIONED officers who get twice the pay for working half the job? In other words, why do we have a split "caste" chain of command based on acquired RANK rather than applicable EXPERIENCE?

All you Academy hats: this is your opportunity to show me up!

Answer 1

There is a vast difference between the duties and skill sets for NCOs and Officers. Officers function more as management and are typically removed from day-to-day operations. NCOs tend to get 'troop time' and actually run things. In fact most senior NCOs turned down the chance to become an officer sometime during their career.



And I thought the same way you did until the time I was a platoon sergeant without an officer. I wound up having to do the officer's job as well as my own - and I discovered just how much BS the officers shielded us from.



Tghe function of an NCO and the function of an officer are fundamentaly different. Both are trained to focus on different things and things tend to get royally screwed up when NCOs and officers try to do each other's jobs.



And a CSM is a rather special job - this person typically has no real set job description and serves more as an advisory and mentorship role.

.

Answer 2

This is a time honored controversy that many have asked. Since you asked it and apparently have no idea how the military works...I'll bite.



I joined the Army as a Private. I worked my way up to the rank of SGT(P) before I applied for a scholarship which would eventually lead to a commission as an officer. I busted my tail while I was an enlisted man and spent a lot of dedicated time training and mentoring my troops. I didn't see officers much while I was in garrison and didn't really appreciate what they did because I had my own duties and responsibilities that needed to be seen to.



Fast forward a few years and now I'm a commissioned officer. A platoon leader in fact. I am in command of this platoon and am responsible for its success and failure. I guide the training while my NCOs conduct it. Much of the administrative tasks that need to be attended to fall on my desk so that the NCOs in my platoon can train the troops without unecessary BS. I shield my platoon from arbitrary crap that comes from higher so we can stay mission focused. I plan and organize operations that are given to ME the PL by my commander. I facilitate the beans, bullets, and time so my platoon can train for war unimpeded. I take input from my NCOs and especially my platoon sgt, but ultimately, the decisions rest squarely on my shoulders. This goes for combat as well. I am paid more because there will be a time where I have to make a decision that will result in some of my soldiers getting killed or wounded. That is MY responsibility, I give the command, and they obey. I have to make this decision so that our mission is accomplished as quickly and effectively as possible, thus saving more lives in the long run. It is a system that is designed to keep men fighting and focused when all other means of order fail. All the things we do on a daily basis, keeping the BS away from the soldiers, checking to make sure training is being done to standard, planning and facilitating operations pays off in spades when the sh*t hits the fan. That is the officers responsibilty. The NCOs kick the soldiers in the butt and make sure the soldiers ARE trained and are the rock and back bone of any organization. The officers make sure that they have the means and equipment to do this. When the chips are down, the officers make the decision, the NCOs enforce it. When it fails, the officer is relieved, when it succeeds, a good officer will pass the credit onto the men that did the work. It's neither easy or black and white.



Senior enlisted personnel are situated as right hand men to commanders FOR their experience. They play devils advocate and keep the commnader appraised of the day to day operations within the organization. They are there to advise and assist their commanders, and when the commander makes a decision one way or another, they enforce that decision. This is absolutely essential to have a unified command and a successful organization. Without this layout, the organization would crumble. The corporate and military world are two different beasts and the stakes for the military are much higher. It's a proven method that has worked since there have been professional militaries. Leave the speculation to the amateurs, leave the action to the professionals.

Answer 3

Does The Army Need Officers

Answer 4

My ex-husband isn't Academy, he is Mustang. He started as an E-1 and is now an O-6 selectee, he'll put his bird on sometime soon. I challenge you to ask him why he should get paid so much and do only HALF THE WORK! Before you see it coming, you'll be knocked on your butt. He worked damn hard as an enlisted man alongside of officers that worked just as hard as he did. He is now an officer and while he may assign his men to carry out jobs, there isn't one job that he wouldn't jump right in alongside of them to get it done if they needed him.



A greenie O-1 that knocks around a war hardened E-5, will find himself in much the same position. Knocked on his keester! (Even if just in the virtual sense.) A good O-1 knows to respect, listen, encourage input from his senior enlisted members. They are tools to be used to advance his brains and knowledge, making that O-1 a better O-2 and eventually commanding officer.



An Ensign on my sons ship, my son is a Seaman E-3, asked him "What's the difference between an Ensign and a Seaman Apprentice?" ... The Seaman Apprentice has been promoted once. That is an Ensign who knows how to appreciate even a small amount of knowledge from an enlisted man.

Answer 5

An officer has a college education and a commission.

Answer 6

Your scenario is flawed. A major corporation would not hire a recent college graduate to be president. Even if they did, it is entirely up to the board of directors, since it is their corporation to do with as they wish.



You can also apply for a commission. It's not a caste system if you are allowed upward mobility. Officers don't work half the job. They do all the job that is required of them. Just as enlisted members do.

Answer 7

Actually the way officers are managed is much closer to the way companies use management.



They start at lower levels and move up, they don't need to know everything that the technical people under them know they need to know how to manage them.



If you want to be an officer become one, worked for me.

Answer 8

Because officers are trained to make decisions even when things get tough, which is also why we have war games. To train officers and enlisted men in actual battle like scenarios so they will know partially what will happen and hopefully not lose it.

Answer 9

In general, officers are the high stage military folks, rather than the low degree navy persons. You generally want a school degree to be a (commissioned) officer, and officers get extra training. Peculiarly it will get type of complicated. It is poorly outlined. The definitions overlap. At the backside you have got men and women who are not Officers of any style. That entails Privates within the navy and Marines, Airmen in the Air force, and Seamen in the Navy. Then above them you've Non Commissioned Officers (aka Noncoms or NCOs). That involves Corporals and Sergeants within the army and Marines (simply Sergeants in the Air force). Within the Navy they may be referred to as Petty Officers. Be aware that there are multiple exceptional ranks of Sergeants (like employees Sergeant vs. Sergeant firstclass), however I won't get into variations like those, considering that they're all Non Commissioned Officers, so it isn't important for this dialogue. And at the high you might have Commissioned Officers. In the army, Marines, and Air drive that involves Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, Colonels, and Generals. Within the Navy they are called Ensigns, Lieutenants, Commanders, Captains, and Admirals. Observe that in some nations, the Air force ranks have one-of-a-kind names. In between you might have Warrant Officers. The low stage Warrant Officers shouldn't have a fee, and the excessive stage Warrant Officers do have a commission. But quite a few instances humans say Officers or Commissioned Officers, and they're best regarding Lieutenant by way of common, they usually do not mean to include Non Commissioned Officers or any of the Warrant Officers. The term Enlisted manner the bottom degree navy people, who are not any kind of officer, plus the Non Commissioned Officers (however now not any of the Warrant Officers). If anyone is in the military, that you would be able to seek advice from them as a Soldier, despite whether or not or now not they are an officer. If they are in the Navy, you could refer to them as a Sailor. If they're in the Marines, which you could seek advice from them as a Marine. And if they may be within the Air drive, that you would be able to seek advice from them as an Airman (which can be variety of confusing, considering the fact that the bottom level contributors of the Air force are also called Airman).

Answer 10

Officers plan the attack. They are responsible for making things happen in order

NCO's execute their orders and make the plan happen.



----------



are you even in the military? If not, why are you arguing with those who are?

Answer 11

Well now to be perfectly honest with you , the NCO's need someone to always be underfoot and full of shi*.

Answer 12

national defense

Answer 13

It's cooler to be an officer, no question about it. So, work your butt off to be an officer.

Answer 14

way it is done