Becoming an officer in the military

[Icerigger]

What about the so called battlefield commission or promotion? I don’t know if this really exists outside of fiction but is there a possibility of an enlisted being directly prompted to an office rank without college or OTC programs. In extreme conditions or situations does the military have this option even if it would be rarely used?

[Snnipe_70E]

@robby

To amplify what Bluffcityguy said, line officers transfer to staff corps all the time. When this is approved, their designator is changed, and they start wearing staff corps insignia instead of line officer insignia.

In many cases, the approval is accompanied by a reduction in rank. This is not intended to penalize the transferee, but to give them a chance to “catch-up” to their new peers and be more competitive during promotion selection in the new community. (Promotion boards are community-specific.)

A brand-new JAG or MSC (Medical Service Corps) officer with the rank of Lieutenant Commander (O-4) is not very competitive with other O-4’s who have been in the community for 6+ years. So they will sometimes reduce them in rank by one or two grades, allowing them to advance back to their old ranks after a few years and to gain experience in the new community. (The lower the rank, the less competitive the promotion board).

I’ve seen this happen twice. In one case, I knew a line officer Navy Lieutenant (O-3) who transferred to MSC, and was reduced in rank to Lieutenant, Junior Grade (O-2). After a year or two, he was promoted back to LT.

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OK I can see where this makes sence. When going to the maritime academy in the late 60’s the Navy Chief in our Naval Science classes told it different. But the Navy adapts to changes.

[Bluffcityguy]

@Icerigger

What about the so called battlefield commission or promotion? I don’t know if this really exists outside of fiction but is there a possibility of an enlisted being directly prompted to an office rank without college or OTC programs. In extreme conditions or situations does the military have this option even if it would be rarely used?

The LDO programs mentioned upthread would provide for senior-enlisted-to-officer promotions in the Navy, and those programs are in place in peacetime. I don’t know about Army/USAF/USMC, but I’d be surprised if they didn’t have similar programs (the Wikipedia article on Navy LDOs (Limited duty officer - Wikipedia ) suggests that the USMC has LDOs too).

I don’t know about “battlefield” promotions, but obviously those would be a wartime phenomenon. ISTR that the legendary WW II hero Audie Murphy received a battlefield commission, so they apparently do exist outside the realm of fiction.

Cheers,

bcg

[Bijou_Drains]

Col. David Hackworth is a famous example of getting a wartime commission, he got his in Korea.