Why is there such a pronounced difference in how the military treats officers vs enlisted people? This even extends to how they are treated when a POW, as seen in Bridge Over River Kwai.

Question

I *completely* understand that there needs to be a hierarchy, but there seems to be a big discontinuity between these different classifications. When I was in the Navy, I noticed this extended to eating accommodations, and even how ships were built (different hallways for enlisted and officers to walk down). This may have made sense “back in the day”, but why does this separation continue to exist today?

In: 222

Answer 1

You don’t really see it until Colonel rank. I’m an E6 and will talk to the captains and majors as bros. The ass kissing comes when you see the Colonel, as they’re often times, your commander aka CEO.

Other nations though than The States, enlisted are peasants and can’t do anything unless an officer tells them to.