11-16-2011, 05:19 AM
LRRPF52,
As for pushing E-6's into junior officer ranks you have to understand what an officer's job is. The officer is there to be a representative of civilian control of the military.
No 2nd LT right out of college is going to be as good as an E-7 Platoon Sergeant or even an E-6 Squad Leader. He's there to start the killing and stop the killing.
Military action is the most extreme form of taking people's rights without trial. The officers insure that military action doesn't happen without civilian approval. They are also there to insure that the rules of war and rules of engagement are followed, no matter how much they suck.
A Navy LT with a SEAL team said of his team that they were the finest human beings he had ever known, but he had to watch them like a hawk because they would do ANYTHING to accomplish the mission.
Sometimes you can't do anything and the officer has to say no. That's why it's a more severe offense under the UCMJ to disobey the order of a commissioned officer vs the order of an NCO.
In Special Forces they have made a lot of the team leaders Warrant Officers instead of Captains. They can spend years at the A Team level rather than 3 years like a Captain, who then moves on. That might be a good way to do things for regular units too. But you'd still have to have a way or training junior Commissioned Officers.
The officer system is set up as up or out, you don't stay at a particular level. if you don't get promoted, you have to get out. Non-college educated officers don't fare well at ranks above Captain. Congress has decided they want America's officers highly educated. To make it to Lieutenant Colonel something like 85% have a masters degree or higher.
General Petraeus has a PhD in International Relations from Princeton.
After Company command everything becomes logistics and planning for the staff officers, and strategy and operational art for the Commanders. Being good small unit commanders doesn't help there, except that you know how small units work and what they need.
Lieutenants are apprentices who are there to learn what a small unit is capable of and what it's not and to provide a legal basis for orders. Then they move on.
It sucks for the troops because they always have an inexperienced officer in command but the Platoon Sergeant is there to run the Platoon and keep him from doing anything really dumb.
An E-7 Platoon Sergeant may see a dozen Platoon Leaders in his career. Guys retire as E-6's and E-7's all the time. Some guys just love being a Squad Leader and don't want to be a Platoon Sergeant. They can stay there for a career. Officers can't or you end up with an ossified officer corps.
I know a lot of Platoon Sergeants and First Sergeants who are very proud of the fact that one of the LT's they trained grew up to be a general.
RR
As for pushing E-6's into junior officer ranks you have to understand what an officer's job is. The officer is there to be a representative of civilian control of the military.
No 2nd LT right out of college is going to be as good as an E-7 Platoon Sergeant or even an E-6 Squad Leader. He's there to start the killing and stop the killing.
Military action is the most extreme form of taking people's rights without trial. The officers insure that military action doesn't happen without civilian approval. They are also there to insure that the rules of war and rules of engagement are followed, no matter how much they suck.
A Navy LT with a SEAL team said of his team that they were the finest human beings he had ever known, but he had to watch them like a hawk because they would do ANYTHING to accomplish the mission.
Sometimes you can't do anything and the officer has to say no. That's why it's a more severe offense under the UCMJ to disobey the order of a commissioned officer vs the order of an NCO.
In Special Forces they have made a lot of the team leaders Warrant Officers instead of Captains. They can spend years at the A Team level rather than 3 years like a Captain, who then moves on. That might be a good way to do things for regular units too. But you'd still have to have a way or training junior Commissioned Officers.
The officer system is set up as up or out, you don't stay at a particular level. if you don't get promoted, you have to get out. Non-college educated officers don't fare well at ranks above Captain. Congress has decided they want America's officers highly educated. To make it to Lieutenant Colonel something like 85% have a masters degree or higher.
General Petraeus has a PhD in International Relations from Princeton.
After Company command everything becomes logistics and planning for the staff officers, and strategy and operational art for the Commanders. Being good small unit commanders doesn't help there, except that you know how small units work and what they need.
Lieutenants are apprentices who are there to learn what a small unit is capable of and what it's not and to provide a legal basis for orders. Then they move on.
It sucks for the troops because they always have an inexperienced officer in command but the Platoon Sergeant is there to run the Platoon and keep him from doing anything really dumb.
An E-7 Platoon Sergeant may see a dozen Platoon Leaders in his career. Guys retire as E-6's and E-7's all the time. Some guys just love being a Squad Leader and don't want to be a Platoon Sergeant. They can stay there for a career. Officers can't or you end up with an ossified officer corps.
I know a lot of Platoon Sergeants and First Sergeants who are very proud of the fact that one of the LT's they trained grew up to be a general.
RR