That was a lot of the calculus.
In the current world, US airlines are co-opted / contracted to transport troops and materiel to / from war zones via the CRAF program.
Airline crews are issued sorta-ranked Geneva Convention ID to, if all goes well, afford them officer level treatment if captured / interned by hostile powers while on a CRAF mission.
You know, I was thinking about this, and it’s actually much more sharp on the military’s part than we’re giving it credit for.
At first I was thinking that these guys were commissioned with the intent of giving them a fancy uniform and a rank as a sort of reward.
Then I realized that these guys are now subject to the UCMJ and being called up, etc. It’s as much a way to keep these guys under their thumb as it is to reward them. Now these guys can’t disregard orders or being called to active duty if need be.
I knew tech feudalism might be coming, I didn’t realize they were being so literal about it 
William Knudsen was an auto executive that was tasked with overseeing war production during WW2.
He was made a 3 star general.
So he could cut though nearly all red tape, civilian or military.