Soldier reprimanded for misconduct
- Thread starter 57Chevy
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I am a captain and I will not disagree with some of the NCM comments that perhaps a commission is given out a bit too easily.
Don't get me wrong, I am not challenging the decisions of those well above any of us who have made the system the way it is, but accepting things the way they are just because is what causes things like WWI "okay send another battalion over the top then" mentality.
I don't think that the answer is taking the best WOs and making them officers, but perhaps making the split at the Cpl level so you can still identify officers early enough to have Majors in their 30s.
Perhaps something like a competition in the first three-year contract, and offer the officer path to those who excel as soldiers and show phenomenal leadership potential. Don't make it automatic, but still give them the choice (we need outstanding Sgts, too).
The problem you will run into though is the educational requirement. I do not believe that having a degree automatically makes someone better, but higher education does teach people to use their brain in different ways which is directly attributable to being a good leader. If you keep the degree a must, you're going to take a 20-21 year old out of the NCM path and not get that guy directly contributing again for another six years (4 years of school + 2 years of phase training).
The potential flaw with that system is that now you're talking about the absolute youngest possible an officer could be is 27, and that's if someone joined at 17-18, let alone a lot of the guys now who join at 25-30.
The current system may not be perfect, but it is what it is. Is every officer perfect? Probably not, but when they do something wrong the gauntlet always drops harder on them, which is a good thing. We should never be where we were centuries ago when officers thought they were actually better than the troops, and we should also never be at a point where officers can get away with things. Quite a few recent events demonstrate that we might be living in good times and perhaps the system isn't that bad because not too many troops can watch the news and think to themselves that officers can get away with things.
Don't get me wrong, I am not challenging the decisions of those well above any of us who have made the system the way it is, but accepting things the way they are just because is what causes things like WWI "okay send another battalion over the top then" mentality.
I don't think that the answer is taking the best WOs and making them officers, but perhaps making the split at the Cpl level so you can still identify officers early enough to have Majors in their 30s.
Perhaps something like a competition in the first three-year contract, and offer the officer path to those who excel as soldiers and show phenomenal leadership potential. Don't make it automatic, but still give them the choice (we need outstanding Sgts, too).
The problem you will run into though is the educational requirement. I do not believe that having a degree automatically makes someone better, but higher education does teach people to use their brain in different ways which is directly attributable to being a good leader. If you keep the degree a must, you're going to take a 20-21 year old out of the NCM path and not get that guy directly contributing again for another six years (4 years of school + 2 years of phase training).
The potential flaw with that system is that now you're talking about the absolute youngest possible an officer could be is 27, and that's if someone joined at 17-18, let alone a lot of the guys now who join at 25-30.
The current system may not be perfect, but it is what it is. Is every officer perfect? Probably not, but when they do something wrong the gauntlet always drops harder on them, which is a good thing. We should never be where we were centuries ago when officers thought they were actually better than the troops, and we should also never be at a point where officers can get away with things. Quite a few recent events demonstrate that we might be living in good times and perhaps the system isn't that bad because not too many troops can watch the news and think to themselves that officers can get away with things.
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Cut off at the tangent.
Off topic.
Milnet.ca Staff
Off topic.
Milnet.ca Staff
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