in the military, what are NCO’s, how do they differ from normal officers, and why do some countries not have many of them?

Question

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!

In: 790

Answer 1

Officers handle the big-picture red-tape stuff and issue orders, while NCOs relay the orders to the troops, supervise, adapt, and accomplish the task in accordance with the commander’s intent.

NCOs are generally much more experienced than officers at ground-level, and are familiar with possible undesirable outcomes for a given plan.

At a company level, it is the unwritten job of the senior NCOs to tell the much more junior officers why their plan is stupid (behind closed doors), and help them amend it in a way that still achieves the intent of the order. The junior NCOs take the finalized plan and direct their men to execute it.