My thinking has been moving in that direction for quite a long time -- 40 years? The Marine Corps has a tradition of having Lts take platoons and not enlisted. Seems the ONLY difference between a 2dLt and a StaffNCO taking a platoon is about 6 years experience. That and a SgtMajor with 23 years +/- and a 2-3 star general, the difference is about 200 conferences and meetings. There is NO freakin' reason a senior enlisted with that much experience ought be shut out of the system. The army is no better and the words I hear from the navy is the Chiefs run the boats, but the admirals give the laying on of hands. Excuse me, but it ought be the other way around. Chiefs run the freakin' navy and allow admirals to sit in those fancy assed chairs.
NO EXCUSE for Marine Officers to be so snotty with enlisted. From E-1 up they have begun a long climb and they need to be nourished along or they'll leave; the kind of O they have will be the major reason they stay or go.
There is no reason, either, for a Sgt Major, hell, even a First Sargeant to be left out of highest level conferences and meetings with the general officers. It's a shame to let someone like 1st Sgt Pat Tracey leave the MC after 22 years and go teach school to a bunch of ass wipes when he could just as easily be a Bn Cdr as an E-8 or 9. The guy has the training, experience, and the natural authority and he'd do his job very well.
I don't know if it would have made any difference, but E-5 can just as efficiently run a "staff" office -- S-1, S-2, etc. -- as wasting some O-4 in that chair. The schools the Os attend for some of those staff positions would let a kindergardner have an A for finger painting. They are boredom and ennui led with people who have no talent for teaching or leading. I was left alone in the S-1 of a MAG for days at a time and the only questions asked by others were, "When's the major coming back? We have a golf (poker, party, whatever) on Friday." I assigned young aviators to squadrons and my Cpl would type up the orders and I would sign them like a doctor and put scrawly maj USMC at the end. No one EVER questioned them.
Reminds me of the time a police officer came to me (I was a civilian retired senior volunteer with silver bars as staff) and asked if I would sign a "detention order" for a DUI in his car. I scrawled my name and put down, for the badge, 711.
He took it, they locked the bozo up, and no one ever questioned it.
Back to NCOs. They have lots more experience at E-4 and above than any O-2 and most O-3s. They could easily be appointed to staff and let run the joint.
No reason why not.Maybe due to that old time theory, college and connections make the officer -- from the old Brit "good ole boy networking." If you didn't go to Eton, then you weren't qualified to lead troops.
Well, who ever said that Psych major going through PLC was any hoot and holler better than the E-4 who just came out of combat and had time, experience, and training behind him.
Just another of my half-baked fucking opinions no one gives a shit about.

Rockers and Stripes

I've often thought of the relationship between enlisted and officers, but recently it's become clear there is a problem in the military. When I graduated from high school I went to college for a year, clearly not ready for higher education. After some thinking of what to do, I enlisted in the Marine Corps. Good choice. I love my Marines and the Marine Corps. I don't agree with a lot of decisions made, but I'll stick with my Marines no matter where or what they do. In any case, the problem of the services, all of them, is they seem to think a college education means the person has something special to offer. I'm sure it's the ability to learn and and apply that learning. However, when I was in boot camp I was asked if I would like to go into aviation, but upon learning I had visual accuity in the damn near blind range, the offer was withdrawn. Nothing special about me with the exception of my test scores. Later, invited to OCS/PLC, the same results, the offer was withdrawn "upon further review." I spent years in the Corps and was discharged after 6+ years with a rocker and an education to be admired.
The idea came to me recently when I learned the Coast Guard has assigned many BM1s as OICs of stations. Those men are E-7 or above.
The military obviously faces new challenges every day, but leadership ought not be one.
A college degree is important stuff. A bachelor's degree in almost any field is a basic qualification for any potential member of the military to enter to OCS/PLC.
Having a degee Is, as I said, important, but if you think that little yellow bar is some sort of honorary "I got smarts" on the collar, then it's there for the wrong reason. The basic's classes teach How to, but not HOW to. They teach leadership, but often it's the bar or the leaf or the eagle which stands out, not the man behind those symbols.
I know many with rockers instead of flashy little pins who have Master's Degrees in warfare and warrior and leadership abilities far beyond many with stars on their shoulders.
Those warriors ought be given leadership positions and decision making positions which are now given to some who don't deserve them or have never earned the positions.
I associate with former enlisted men whose careers are/were cut short because of lack of confidence in the officers over them. These men left a hole in the military which could have been well served to retain them for their post-graduate expertise.
Military has, from the beginning, relied on rockers and stripes to lead in battle, but the decisions at the rear -- they called that REMF in VN -- were often highly overrated.
My suggestions are not new, but they are mine and I'm convinced a rocker indicates a degree of experience not likely to be recovered when that person is discharged or retires earlier than necessary due to lack of support by those who ought to know better.
Just my personal fucking opinion.
K?
OooRah!
Semper Fi!