He was talking about sending an email to McChrystal congratulating him on being appointed commander in Afghanistan and ended up with a discussion with McChrystal about how to conduct the war in Afghanistan. McChrystal then convinces him to come back to active duty for one more tour.
I started thinking about what other armies in the world could you conceive of a NCO, even a very senior NCO, giving a commanding general advice about how to run a war?
IIRC, in the old Soviet army, Sergeants were often draftees and work that would be done by NCOs in US Army was often done by junior officers. There were very few long experienced NCOs to rely on.
So I’m wondering what other armies rely as much as the US Army on their NCOs?
The British army has relied heavily on senior NCOs traditionally. This is a carry over from the old days when many officers were often not that experienced, having purchased their commission rather than earning it through experience and promotion. The officers are much better now, but the NCOs are still the ones doing much of the admin work.
It sounds like the army I know. I was a civil service employee for the U.S. Army and it takes an enormous amount of paperwork keeping the army running. Even active duty combat units spend a lot of their time doing paperwork when they aren’t in the field.
What the OP describes is pretty much the difference between professional armies and conscript based ones. Professional armies rely on NCO’s while it is junior officers who take the brunt in conscript based ones such as the Sov army.
IIRC Alessen mentioned its the same in the Israeli army.
Interesting in the Indian and Pakistan army, there is a third position, Junior Commissioned Officers, selected from the ranks of senior NCO’s who provide most of the leadership positions at least from Comp level onwards, usually an officer is backed up by an NCO in pretty much every position.
I think so. When there still was conscription in France, draftees could go up to sargent during their one year military service but were obviously unexperienced.
Some others were selected for officer training (a short training) and became second lieutenant (reserve). Those were handed to professional experienced NCO for the remaining of their service.
Meanwhile, in the professional army, the army relied heavily on NCOs.
The got rid of the draft before I graduated from college, but was it common to have a draftee promoted to sergeant even then?
I remember a friend was telling me that either the Swiss or Finnish air force has aircraft maintenance done by civilians. In the United States, I can imagine civilians being used at the Depot level, but at an airbase?
He also mentioned that the soldiers in the army get paid overtime.
The Spanish army has been professional for a short time, but during the last 60 years during which it was conscripted, Sergeants had to be “career”; Ensigns would be either wet behind the ears, conscripts or both; Lieutenants could be conscripts but whether conscript or career they were considered human beings capable of independent thought (unlike Ensigns). I didn’t do military service, being female, but I’ve always heard it said that the Captain was God (higher officers were God the Father only less commonly seen) and it was the Sergeant who was His prophet. Lieutenants and especially Ensigns were to be listened to (mostly to avoid trips to the brig), but if they had a brain they bloody well listened to the Sergeant.
I think conscript armies are all a mixture of conscript and career, but I don’t know whether there are others where higher NCOs have to be career and lower officers don’t.
Even in conscript based armies, the senior NCO’s will be careerists. The point is that in professional armies the backbone and junior leadership will be based upin NCO’s, the duties that they perform will be done by officers in conscript based armies.
They seem to be pretty rare these days-they are typically long-career guys.
Of course, the most experience WO is still subordinate to the most junior Commissioned Officer-but in practice
I am sure the WO would be listened to first.
The Israeli reliance on junior officers basically has two reasons: the high turnover due to the 3-year conscription period; and the fact that all combat officers are raised from the ranks of the junior NCOs. Most combat troops with the inclination and capability to become professional military go on to Officer’s School.
That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of career NCOs in the Israeli military; it’s just that they’re all in “professional” positions like mechanics, electricians, radio techs, armorers, cooks etc. They’re useful when you need specific skillsets that don’t include combat or leadership abilities.
Tends to ebb and flow. Currently (bear nemo would be more conversant) WO ranks are building up in my field, ammunition logistics. Other branches may differ. The CWO in an ordnance company runs the day-to-day ammo operations/directs the SGTs. The CPT and LTs handle the big picture and administrative tasks.