- Reaction score
- 2,141
- Points
- 1,190
So, after reading the thread where a Sgt claimed only officers' pensions are indexed, I decided I wanted to ask about something that's made me curious.
Bottom Line Up Front: Is there a difference in the way that NCMs regard officers between the CA, RCAF, and RCN, specifically with regard to junior officers?
The long version: A junior enlisted member of the US army commented on a facebook post I saw (about what I can't even remember), but his comment read simply "Why do we even have Officers"? His follow on discussion revealed that this wasn't the usual (but not too common) question about whether we needed two distinct "cadres" instead of just having Snr NCMs become officers; rather, he really didn't see any benefit/need for officers at all.
So it got me thinking about my own experience in the CAF. While not at all common, I've have seen this opinion shared within the CAF as well. The thing is, while I have heard this type of opinion expressed within the CAF, I've primarily heard it form those in the Army. I've heard it said (not literally word for word) that infantry platoons really belong to the WO, who babysits and string-pulls the next-to-useless junior officer. I've heard it said that the troops judge a platoon commander's tour not by how effective he was at leading the platoon and achieving the mission, but by how many "good ideas" they dont't have and by how little damage they managed to do.
I have heard it in the Navy too, but it's not the same. I've had friends who are/were sailors who jokingly referred to me as a "paper pusher", but this was more in jest that an actual assessment of my role on the ship.
Is this something others have seen as well, or am I allowing all the war movies and TV \I've watched to cloud my perception of what it's really like in the Army in general, and the infantry especially? Or is the relationship between officers and NCMs aboard an HMC ship fundamentally that different from the army?
This is all anecdotal and I can't give you any specific examples other than the one I provided above, but I am certain I have encountered these types of questions/situations throughout my career.
Or am I way out to lunch?
(I have no real experience with the RCAF in this matter)
Bottom Line Up Front: Is there a difference in the way that NCMs regard officers between the CA, RCAF, and RCN, specifically with regard to junior officers?
The long version: A junior enlisted member of the US army commented on a facebook post I saw (about what I can't even remember), but his comment read simply "Why do we even have Officers"? His follow on discussion revealed that this wasn't the usual (but not too common) question about whether we needed two distinct "cadres" instead of just having Snr NCMs become officers; rather, he really didn't see any benefit/need for officers at all.
So it got me thinking about my own experience in the CAF. While not at all common, I've have seen this opinion shared within the CAF as well. The thing is, while I have heard this type of opinion expressed within the CAF, I've primarily heard it form those in the Army. I've heard it said (not literally word for word) that infantry platoons really belong to the WO, who babysits and string-pulls the next-to-useless junior officer. I've heard it said that the troops judge a platoon commander's tour not by how effective he was at leading the platoon and achieving the mission, but by how many "good ideas" they dont't have and by how little damage they managed to do.
I have heard it in the Navy too, but it's not the same. I've had friends who are/were sailors who jokingly referred to me as a "paper pusher", but this was more in jest that an actual assessment of my role on the ship.
Is this something others have seen as well, or am I allowing all the war movies and TV \I've watched to cloud my perception of what it's really like in the Army in general, and the infantry especially? Or is the relationship between officers and NCMs aboard an HMC ship fundamentally that different from the army?
This is all anecdotal and I can't give you any specific examples other than the one I provided above, but I am certain I have encountered these types of questions/situations throughout my career.
Or am I way out to lunch?
(I have no real experience with the RCAF in this matter)