Officer (armed forces)
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An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent contextual qualification, the term typically refers only to a force's commissioned officers, the more senior members who derive their authority from a commission from the head of state.
Numbers
The proportion of officers varies greatly. Commissioned officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel. In 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces,[1] and the senior 13.7% of the French armed forces.[2] In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces,[citation needed] and about 17.2% of the United States armed forces.[3]
Historically armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers (partly because World War One junior officers suffered high casualty rates). In the early 20th century, the Spanish army had the highest proportion of officers of any European army, at 12.5%, which was at that time considered unreasonably high by many Spanish and foreign observers.
Within a nation's armed forces, armies (which are usually larger) tend to have a lower proportion of officers, but a higher total number of officers, while navies and air forces have higher proportions of officers, especially since military aircraft are flown by officers and naval ships and submarines are commanded by officers. For example, 13.9% of British Army personnel and 22.2% of the RAF personnel were officers in 2013, but the British Army had a larger total number of officers.[1]
Commission sources and training
Commissioned officers generally receive training as generalists in
Many militaries typically require
Others, including the Australian Defence Force, the British Armed Forces (HMAF), the Nepali Army, the Pakistan Armed Forces (PAF), the Swiss Armed Forces, the Singapore Armed Forces, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Swedish Armed Forces, and the New Zealand Defence Force, are different in not requiring a university degree for commissioning, although a significant number of officers in these countries are graduates.[4][5]
In the Israel Defense Forces, a university degree is a requirement for an officer to advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel and beyond. The IDF often sponsors the studies for its officers in the rank major, while aircrew and naval officers obtain academic degrees as a part of their training programmes.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, there are three routes of entry for British Armed Forces officers.
The first, and primary route are those who receive their commission directly into the officer grades following completion at their relevant military academy. This is known as a Direct Entry (DE) officer scheme.
In the second method, individuals may gain a commission after first enlisting and serving in the junior ranks, and typically reaching one of the senior non-commissioned officer ranks (which start at sergeant (Sgt), and above), as what are known as Service Entry (SE) officers (and are typically and informally known as "ex-rankers"). Service personnel who complete this process at or above the age of 30 are known as Late Entry (LE) officers. [6][7]
The third route is similar to the second, in that candidates convert from an enlisted rank to a commission; but these are only taken from the highest ranks of SNCOs (warrant officers and equivalents). This route typically involves reduced training requirements in recognition of existing experience. Some examples of this scheme are the RAF's Commissioned Warrant Officer (CWO) course or the Royal Navy's Warrant Officers Commissioning Programme.[8][9]
In the British Army, commissioning for DE officers occurs after a 44-week course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The course comprises of three 14 weeks terms, focussing on militarisation, leadership and exercises respectively.[10][11] Army Reserve officers will attend the Army Reserve Commissioning Course, which consists of four two-week modules (A-D). The first two modules may be undertaken over a year for each module at an Officers' Training Corps; the last two must be undertaken at Sandhurst.
Royal Navy officer candidates must complete a 30-week Initial Navy Training (Officer) (INT(O))course at Britannia Royal Naval College. This comprises of 15 weeks militarisation training, followed by 15 weeks professional training, before the candidate commences marinisation.[12]
Royal Marines officers receive their training in the Command Wing of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines during a 15-month course. The courses consist not only of tactical and combat training, but also of leadership, management, etiquette, and international-affairs training.
Until the Cardwell Reforms of 1871, commissions in the British Army were purchased by officers. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, basis.
United States
Types of officers
Commissioned officers exist in all eight
Commissioned officers are considered commanding officers under presidential authority.[14] A superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior.
NCOs, including U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard petty officers and chief petty officers, in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se (although the word "command" is often used unofficially to describe any use of authority). These enlisted naval personnel with authority are officially referred to as 'officers-in-charge" rather than as "commanding officers".[15]
Commissioning programs
Commissioned officers in the armed forces of the United States come from a variety of accessions sources:
Service academies
- United States Military Academy (USMA) (commissions second lieutenants in the U.S. Army)
- United States Naval Academy (USNA) (commissions both ensigns in the U.S. Navy and second lieutenants in the U.S. Marine Corps)
- United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) (commissions second lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force)
- United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) (commissions ensigns in the U.S. Coast Guard and provides basic officer-training classes for NOAA Corps officer candidates)
- United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) (commissions ensigns in the U.S. Navy Reserve; graduates may apply for active or reserve duty in any of the eight uniformed services of the United States)
Graduates of the United States service academies attend their institutions for no less than four years and, with the exception of the USMMA, are granted active-duty regular commissions immediately upon completion of their training. They make up approximately 20% of the U.S. armed forces officer corps.
Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)
Officers in the U.S. Armed Forces may also be commissioned through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).
- Army ROTC
- Naval ROTC (commissions both ensigns in the U.S. Navy and second lieutenants in the U.S. Marine Corps)
- U.S. Space Force)
The ROTC is composed of small training programs at several hundred American colleges and universities.
The Coast Guard has no ROTC program, but does have a Direct Commission Selected School Program for military colleges such as The Citadel and VMI.[18]
Army ROTC graduates of the United States' four junior military colleges can also be commissioned in the U.S. Army with only a two-year associate degree through its Early Commissioning Program, conditioned on subsequently completing a four-year bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year institution within a defined time.
Federal officer candidate schools
College-graduate candidates (initial or prior-service) may also be commissioned in the U.S. uniformed services via an officer candidate school, officer training school, or other programs:
- Army OCS
- Navy OCS
- Marine Corps OCS
- Air Force Officer Training School (OTS)
- Coast Guard OCS[19]
- USPHS Officer Basic Course (OBC)[20]
- NOAA Corps Basic Officer Training Class (BOTC)[21]
Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class (PLC)
A smaller number of Marine Corps officers may be commissioned via the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) program during summers while attending college. PLC is a sub-element of Marine Corps OCS and college and university students enrolled in PLC undergo military training at Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in two segments: the first of six weeks between their sophomore and junior year and the second of seven weeks between their junior and senior year. There is no routine military training during the academic year for PLC students as is the case for ROTC cadets and midshipmen, but PLC students are routinely visited and their physical fitness periodically tested by Marine Corps officer-selection officers (OSOs) from the nearest Marine Corps officer-recruiting activity. PLC students are placed in one of three general tracks: PLC-Air for prospective marine
National Guard OCS
In addition to the ROTC,
Other commissioning programs
In the United States Armed Forces, enlisted military personnel without a four-year university degree at the bachelor's level can, under certain circumstances, also be commissioned in the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard limited duty officer (LDO) program. Officers in this category constitute less than 2% of all officers in those services.
Another category in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are warrant officers / chief warrant officers (WO/CWO). These are specialist officers who do not require a bachelor's degree and are exclusively selected from experienced mid- to senior-level enlisted ranks (e.g., E-5 with eight years' time in service for the Marine Corps, E-7 and above for Navy and Coast Guard). The rank of warrant officer (WO1, also known as W-1) is an appointed rank by warrant from the respective branch secretary until promotion to chief warrant officer (CWO2, also known as W-2) by presidential commission, and holders are entitled to the same customs and courtesies as commissioned officers. Their difference from line and staff corps officers is their focus as single specialty/military occupational field subject-matter experts, though under certain circumstances they can fill command positions.
The Air Force has discontinued its warrant-officer program and has no LDO program. Similarly, the Space Force was created with no warrant-officer or LDO programs; both services require all commissioned officers to possess a bachelor's degree prior to commissioning.
The U.S Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and NOAA Corps have no warrant officers or enlisted personnel, and all personnel must enter those services via commissioning.
Direct commission
During the U.S. participation in World War II (1941–1945), civilians with expertise in industrial management also received direct commissions to stand up materiel production for the U.S. armed forces.
Discontinued U.S. officer-commissioning programs
Although significantly represented in the retired senior commissioned officer ranks of the U.S. Navy, a much smaller cohort of current active-duty and active-reserve officers (all of the latter being captains or flag officers as of 2017) were commissioned via the Navy since discontinued Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) program for college graduates. The AOCS focused on producing line officers for
The AOCS also included the embedded aviation reserve officer candidate (AVROC) and naval aviation cadet (NAVCAD) programs. AVROC was composed of college students who would attend officer training in two segments similar to Marine Corps PLC, but would do so between their junior and senior years and again following college graduation, receiving their commission upon completion of the second segment. The NAVCAD program operated from 1935 through 1968 and again from 1986 through 1993. NAVCADs were enlisted or civilian personnel who had completed two years of college, but lacked bachelor's degrees. NAVCADs would complete the entire AOCS program, but would not be commissioned until completion of flight training and receiving their wings. After their initial operational tour, they could be assigned to a college or university full-time for no more than two years in order to complete their bachelor's degree. AVROC and NAVCAD were discontinued when AOCS was merged into OCS in the mid-1990s.
Similar to NAVCAD was the marine aviation cadet (MarCad) program, created in July 1959 to access enlisted marines and civilians with at least two years of college. Many, but not all, MarCads attended enlisted "boot camp" at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island or Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, as well as the School of Infantry, before entering naval flight-training. MarCads would then complete their entire flight-training syllabus as cadets. Graduates were designated naval aviators and commissioned as 2nd lieutenants on active duty in the Marine Corps Reserve. They would then report to the Basic School (TBS) at Marine Corps Base Quantico prior to reporting to a replacement air group (RAG)/fleet replacement squadron (FRS) and then to operational fleet marine force (FMF) squadrons. Like their NAVCAD graduate counterparts, officers commissioned via MarCad had the option to augment to the regular Marine Corps following four to six years of commissioned service. The MarCad program closed to new applicants in 1967 and the last trainee graduated in 1968.
Another discontinued commissioning program was the Air Force's
Commonwealth of Nations
In countries whose ranking systems are based upon the models of the
In Commonwealth nations, commissioned officers are given
Non-commissioned members rise from the lowest ranks in most nations. Education standards for non-commissioned members are typically lower than for officers (with the exception of specialized military and highly-technical trades; such as aircraft, weapons or electronics engineers). Enlisted members only receive leadership training after promotion to positions of responsibility, or as a prerequisite for such. In the past (and in some countries today but to a lesser extent), non-commissioned members were almost exclusively conscripts, whereas officers were volunteers.
In certain Commonwealth nations, commissioned officers are made
Warrant officers
In some branches of many armed forces, there exists a third grade of officer known as a warrant officer. In the armed forces of the United States, warrant officers are initially appointed by the Secretary of the service and then commissioned by the President of the United States upon promotion to chief warrant officer. In many other countries (as in the armed forces of the Commonwealth nations), warrant officers often fill the role of very senior non-commissioned officers. Their position is affirmed by
In the U.S. military, a warrant officer is a technically-focused subject matter expert, such as helicopter pilot or information technology specialist. There are no warrant officers in the
Non-commissioned officers
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted member of the armed forces holding a position of some degree of authority who has (usually) obtained it by advancement from within the non-commissioned ranks. Officers who are non-commissioned usually receive management and leadership training, but their function is to serve as supervisors within their area of trade specialty. Senior NCOs serve as advisers and leaders from the duty section level to the highest levels of the armed forces establishment, while lower NCO grades are not yet considered management specialists. The duties of an NCO can vary greatly in scope, so that an NCO in one country may hold almost no authority, while others such as the United States and the United Kingdom consider their NCOs to be "the backbone of the military" due to carrying out the orders of those officers appointed over them.[25]
In most maritime forces (navies and coast guards), the NCO ranks are called petty officers and chief petty officers while enlisted ranks prior to attaining NCO/petty officer status typically known as seaman, airman, fireman, or some derivation thereof. In most traditional infantry, marine and air forces, the NCO ranks are known as corporals and sergeants, with non-NCO enlisted ranks referred to as privates and airmen.
However, some countries use the term commission to describe the promotion of enlisted soldiers, especially in countries with mandatory service in the armed forces. These countries refer to their NCOs as professional soldiers, rather than as officers.
Officer ranks and accommodation
Officers in nearly every country of the world are segregated from the enlisted soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen in many facets of military life. Facilities accommodating needs such as messing (i.e.,
Officers do not routinely perform physical labor; they typically supervise enlisted personnel doing so, either directly or via non-commissioned officers. Commissioned officers will and do perform physical labor when operationally required to do so, e.g., in combat. However, it would be very unusual for an officer to perform physical labor in garrison, at home station or in homeport. Article 49 of the Third Geneva Convention stipulates that even as prisoners of war, commissioned officers cannot be compelled to work, and NCOs can only be given supervisory work.
See also
- Brevet (military)
- Exchange officer
- Foreign Service Officer
- List of comparative military ranks
- Mustang (military officer)
- Officer (disambiguation)
- Roving commission
- STA-21
- Staff officer
References
- ^ a b "UK Armed Forces Annual Personnel Report" (PDF). Ministry of Defence. 1 April 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
- ^ "Défense : Jean-Yves Le Drian supprime 580 postes d'officiers de l'armée française en 2013". La Tribune. 4 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "2012 Demographics Report" (PDF). Militaryonesource.mil. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "How to join the ADF". www.adfcareers.gov.au. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Regular Officer". British Army Jobs. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "The Promotions and Appointments Warrant" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "British Army Late Entry (LE) Commissioning Process - Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute". bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "RAF Commissioned Warrant Officers (CWO) - Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute". bootcampmilitaryfitnessinstitute.com. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Training Officer Temporary Memorandum" (PDF). Minewarfare and Clearance Diving Officers' Association. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Officer Training". Army. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Training to be an officer". Army jobs. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Initial Navy Training (Officer)". Royal Navy. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Officer Training". RAF. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "10 U.S.C. § 101". US Congress. 5 January 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "United States Coast Guard Regulations 1992" (PDF). Defense.gov. U.S. Coast Guard. p. Chapter 4, Part 1, The Officer In Charge (OIC). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ "Population Representation 2004 – Active Component Officers". Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Leatherneck: Citadel "Double Dogs"" (PDF). Citadelsanantonio.org. Marine Corps Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
- ^ "Direct Commission Selected School (DCSS) Program". Gocoastguard.com/. U. S. Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ "Officer Candidate School (OCS)". Gocoastguard.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Career Development Training at USPHS Commissioned Corps". Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Basic Officer Training | Office of Marine and Aviation Operations". Omao.noaa.gov. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "DAOD 7000-0, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations". Canada.ca. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Powers of officers to take affidavits and declarations" (PDF). Gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
- ^ "Who can witness your statutory declaration". Attorney-General's Department. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ NCOs are 'backbone' of the Army, US Army Public Affairs Office, Fort Monmouth, NJ, 15 April 2009, archived from the original on 17 October 2012, retrieved 4 May 2009
- ^ Fraternization Policy Update Reflects Current Operational Tempo, US Navy Chief of Naval Personnel Diversity Directorate, 26 May 2007
External links
- U.S. DoD Officer Rank Insignia Archived 11 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine