WAS - BN FMA: Some questions and thoughts

Hello,

> From: Michael Brown <mwbrown@veriomail.com>

<snip>

> 4. Commissioned Officers/Warrant Officers/Non-Commissioned Officers:

> officers are typically technical specialists (senior mechanics, MP,

In the US services.

In Commonwealth forces (well, in the Canadian and, I believe, UK forces
anyway...) Warrent Officers are different than this. I don't know about the
Australian and New Zealand armies, though I expect they follow a similar
pattern.

While the US has NCO's in "command/leadership" positions, up to Command
Master Chief Uber Petty Sergeant First Class of the Army (ok, I'm kidding...)
and then a *separate* group of people who are Warrents and have a specialized
trade (like army helo pilots), in the Canadian and UK armies, the Warrent
Officers *are* the senior NCO's.

The Canadian army only has one "sergeant" rank, and that is Sergeant.
S/he
would be a section (squad) leader, normally (or equivalent function in a
non-infantry unit).  The senior NCO in a platoon is a Warrent Officer
(WOIII), the senior NCO in a company is a Master Warrent Officer (WOII), and
the senior NCO in a battalion is a Chief Warrent Officer (WOI). People who
have senior technical qualifications don't have a separate rank system
- which makes for some interesting situations, where you have extremely
highly qualified technical specialists who have not taken any
command/leadership courses getting stuck at a relatively low rank.  I've
seen a couple of Corporals who looked like they were in their '40's.

Unfortunately, the same doesn't seem to hold true in the Officer ranks. There
are a *lot* of officers who are technical specialists of one type or another
who have limited leadership training and couldn't lead their way out of a
paper bag, with a flashlight. They usually get as far as "Captain" and then
stick there (I believe once you're an officer, you can make Captain just by
being in long enough, but to get past it you have to have more serious
leadership quals). Even still, a Captain has lot of legal authority, and a 2nd
Lieutenant outranks an RSM... (well, sort
of...)

> Sorry to ramble...

Heh

No worries.

Lots of us have been known to ramble on a bit, every now and then...;)

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