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

To draw a parallel to a school environment: the principal / headmaster is the commanding officer (“general”), the school leadership team are middle ranks (“major” to “colonel”), the classroom teacher is responsible for the class (a “lieutenant” or “captain”). These roles require specific education, as a commissioned officer requires.

But the students in the class also have their own ranks. While the students (the “privates”) make up the majority of the numbers, the class may have designated class captain (the “sergeant”). That’s the NCO. They don’t have the college education that the staff have, but they have responsibilities given to them and their rank.

In a military setting, you need a chain of command. The commissioned officers give the directions, the NCOs make it happen with their unit. A captain doesn’t tell every single soldier in every single platoon what to do. They give orders to the NCOs, who then tell what each squad member what to do. Likewise, the private can’t tell people what to do. He doesn’t get to decide that they need an artillery strike at these coordinates. That request has to go through the platoon leader, who must then seek permission from the next level who is authorised to assign the mission to the artillery team.

The reason why a strong NCO class is vital is because they are the what makes military units function. You can have a lot of skilled generals, but if you don’t have any good NCOs, your top-tier tactics will faceplant because your men don’t know where to point their guns or what to do when they get shot at.

Historically, a “commission” was given to (or bought by) men of the upper class who wanted the prestige of organising a unit. They, themselves, might have little to no military experience, but it was their role to provide the funds and supplies, so they “owned” that unit (and historically, many notable units were named after their commissioned officer). The non-commissioned officers were the career soldiers who did the training and leading in battle.