Those are not stupid questins at all, S.
1-It’s not really obvious. The Master Sergeant is a valuable asset for what he does. The Lieutenant is a valuable asset for what he does. Their jobs, and consequently their missions, are different.
1a-Rank is not equal to worth. One contributes differently than another to the overall mission. The Lieutenant still outranks the Master Sergeant.
1b-The pay charts have a couple of interesting tidbits in them. For a while there, as an E5 over a certain number of years service, I was getting higher base pay than my supervisor who was an E6. He wasn’t too happy about it. Of course, he didn’t want to listen to me tell him that he was getting paid way more than I was due to his receiving Basic Allowance for Quarters, Overseas Housing Allowanc, and Cost of Living Allowance for 4 dependents.
1c-Yes, some of us remain Non-Commissioned or Petty Officers by choice. For some of us, the choice is removed due to certain factors not within our control: billet availability, age requirements, security clearance requirements (some jobs in the military are not open to those with immediate family members who are foreign nationals), etc.
2a-Yes, an Air Force Lieutenant may legally issue an order to the Marine Corps Sergeant; however, that order must be within the Lieutenant’s general military authority. In other words, the Air Force Liuetenant who’s getting assistance from a unit clerk at the local Marine Corps base because he needs to have his military ID card updated may correct the Sergeant if said Sergeant does not display the appropriate military courtesies. What the Lieutenant may not do is tell the Sergeant how to do his job. That’s within the positional authority of the Sergeant’s supervisor.
2b-Yes. The Lieutenant outranks the Sergeant. I, as a Petty Officer First Class outrank the Sergeant also.
This lengthy post brought to you by your friendly retired PN1, USN, Monty.