What does non-commissioned mean? Do these officers go through officer academy like ordinary officers? And why do some analysts say that having a strong NCO class is essential to a well-functioning army (i.e. what can they do that a normal officer can’t?)
Thanks in advance!
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You need to start by understanding the legal distinction between the two largest groups of military members:
Commissioned Officers are **Professional Soldiers**, meaning that they can quit. They are **Responsible**, meaning they are granted privileged use of both human beings and government property. They are also **Accountable**, meaning the failure of their assigned tasking, or the misuse or misplacement of their responsible resources, can result in criminal charges.
Enlisted are in **Service**, meaning that are bound by law, and can only be released with legal assent. They are **Not Responsible** for either men or equipment, even the equipment they *physically hold* and the people *they functionally manage* are the responsibility of the first Commissioned Officer in the chain of command. They are also broadly **Unaccountable** for their actions. Gross criminal conduct will still be prosecuted, but the same simple failure or negligence that would land a Commissioned Officer in prison will result in some form of non-judicial punishment for an Enlisted.
Nestled within this same group, with all of these same restrictions, are Non-Commissioned Officers. They are still in legal bondage, still can’t sign for gear or approve a promotion, and still can’t be thrown in jail for sucking at their jobs. But they are given elevated rank over other enlisted, de facto management of small groups of men or singular pieces of equipment, and are practically, though not *legally*, trusted by the government to accomplish specific tasks.
One way to think of it is that COs are the intellect, NCOs are the common sense.
CO are trained from the start in the science of war. How many infantry it takes to storm a hill also held by infantry, how much food will last their unit, how much ammo they need. Howamy trucks that’ll fill up.
NCO will be there to point out things like, food expires ammo doesn’t…so order more than you think.
Boots are more important than shirts.
Do not order the orange chicken mre.
Buying oranges will help with unit discipline…
Load the trucks with the food on top and by the doors…or vice versa..
Things that only becomes apparent after having served for a long time.
Other posts have covered the differences of NCOs and Officers very well. As regards to why the NCO role is important is an emphasis on small unit leaders (espcially in U.S. military doctrine.) An NCO can be in charge of a fireteam (4 people) up to a full squad (about 12 people). Typically a commissioned officer is in charge of a platoon. NCOs can recieve orders from their commissioned officer and lead the troops under them. This is more efficient than one officer issuing orders to every individual segement of their platoons.
This is also important when it comes to flexibility. NCOs have a certain amount of flexibility in excuting their orders in case something goes wrong ( and stuff always goes wrong in combat.) An NCO can give orders to the people under him instead of waiting for orders from the officer above him. This was a large issue in early militaries that there weren’t any small unit leaders to direct small groups of troops so unit cohesion could far apart easily.
The 5 year old explaination: imagine you’re running a company (officer). You could handle every micro decision, but that’s a waste of your time. So, you have your managers (NCOs) handle smaller groups of people. You can now focus on the macro decisions of your company instead of the day-to-day things like filing papers.
To answer the unanswered questions:
> why do some countries not have many of them?
Which countries did you have in mind? Most armed forces need a fair quantity of NCOs to operate, and so it’s pretty rare for there to be massive variation in NCO numbers. What might be the case though is that some armies don’t consider Warrant Officers to be NCOs and so that will reduce the numbers a bit.
A Warrant Officer is a senior NCO who receives a Warrant, or appointment, into a senior position. So a Sargent Major would usually be a Warrant Officer, although in armies like the UK Sargent Major is a job title (ie a posting) not a rank, and the rank they hold is Warrant Officer first or second class.
> Do these officers go through officer academy like ordinary officers?
No NCOs generally don’t go through Officer training
> why do some analysts say that having a strong NCO class is essential to a well-functioning arm
NCOs are where the experience in an armed force resides and overseas the management of day to day warfighting.
Back in the day, rich kids could buy their rank (commission), regardless of their skill or experience. Now the equivalent of that is going to a service academy college like West Point in the States.
The other (non-commissioned) way to become an officer is to enlist as a regular soldier and work your way up, through skill and effort, and be promoted to officer. These officers are not as polished, but tend to have the respect of the infantrymen, since they have done all the shit they are now commanding their subordinates to do, rather than waltzing into the battlefield fresh from high society or a college classroom and bossing around guys that have been fighting.
It’s like the owners kids coming in and immediately becoming a boss of the factory vs a long time employee getting promoted and put in charge having earned the respect of the other workers.
From the era of professional militaries (think: assholes with flintlock rifles lined up in neat rows shooting at another neat row of guys in uniforms with a different, bright color), a “commissioned officer” was awarded a warrant from the governing authority to lead a certain amount of troops (Lieutenant commanded, say, 20; a Captain 100; Colonel 500; etc). This was a legal capacity granted by the sovereign for the commissioned officer to raise (possibly) and lead those troops in battle with permission from the government.
A Non-Commissioned Officer did/does not possess a warrant. They have authority over those who are below them, but are always below a commissioned officer in rank and military structure. That is the key difference; it is based upon feudal class structures: the lowest commission is higher than the highest non-commission.
Officers are “up or out.” Like officers basically either get promoted or their careers are basically dead end. However, there’s a need for long-term staff who stay in a position to keep experience there. That’s where the NCOs come in. They are not commissioned, and are expected to stay in one place for a long time. It’s common for the NCOs to have more experience in a post more than a new officer. You can have a brand new lieutenant from West Point leading a platoon but he can rely upon the NCOs with combat experience to help him make decisions.
Let’s say you got an officer in charge if a platoon, and a platoon sergeant who is also in charge of the platoon.
The officer tells the platoon **what** to do. The PS helps to ensure/enforce that the task is done.
So i guess you can say that if an officer and an NCO are in charge of the same group of people, NCO micromanages more.
In simple terms, officers are upper management, NCOs are foremen and front line supervisors
Officers give the orders, NCOs make sure they are carried out.
While it’s possible to have a “green to gold” or former enlisted officer, most officers are put in leadership positions straight out of service academy or OCS.
NCOs have the hands on experience, they are senior enlisted. They also have the respect of the junior enlisted soldiers. Many NCOs have fought on several tours and earned their respect the hard way.
Officers lean on the NCO for advice but also to carry out their orders. They have a symbiotic relationship and always act as one voice in front of the junior enlisted. An officer that loses the confidence of their NCOs has lost control of his unit. While the officer technically outranks all enlisted, the junior enlisted which makes up the bulk of the military typically respect the NCOs above all and will follow them over any officer.
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