Do people forget the O in NCO is Officer?

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:31:00 -0400

I always read or hear people talking about "officers", but really only mean O1+. They seem to forget the O in NCO. The only difference is whether or not you have a commission. Any NCO can apply for a commission so why have we been trained to think otherwise?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 1 at 2014 6:37 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:37:20 -0400

lol thank you. Every time an NCO says something about officers I always ask them what the acronym NCO stands for. I usually get the stink eye.

Response by SGT Suraj Dave made Apr 1 at 2014 6:40 PM

SGT Suraj Dave — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 18:40:09 -0400

Because its slang. That's why. Kind of like calling e5-e7 sergeant instead of Stagg Sgt or SFC (but this one got adopted officially, obviously).

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Nov 9 at 2014 3:21 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 15:21:30 -0500

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member For me, at least, and likely for everyone else (SGT Suraj Dave?) its mostly about convenience. It is too time consuming to use full formal titles for everyone. Then we would be saying "Enlisted Members" "Non-Commissioned Officers" "Senior or Staff Non Commissioned Officers" "Warrant Officers" "Commissioned or Chief Warrant Officers" "Company Grade Commissioned Officers (That are not Commissioned/Chief Warrant Officers)" "Field Grade Commissioned Officers" and "Flag Grade Commissioned Officers." It's a lot simpler to cut it down, "junior enlisted" "NCOs" "SNCOs" "WOs" and "Officers". If everyone's an officer then no-one's an officer.

The real difference you're probably feeling? The Air force doesn't empower its NCOs quite as early the way other services do, particularly the Marine Corps, where Corporals (E4s) have very real power and very real increased expectations.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 10 at 2014 1:35 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 13:35:12 -0500

The short answer is that there really is a lot more of a difference than what you describe. Much of it has to do with authority. Just because you can apply for a commission doesn't mean that you are no different than an O-5. The other difference is career focus. You, as an NCO, are a technician first and a leader second. An officer is a leader first and a technician second. The difference is the scope of the work one does. I kind of look at it in this light... I worked signals intelligence. My flight commander was an intel officer, but the scope of his knowledge was more broad and encompassed more intelligence disciplines than just signals intelligence.

Response by SA Harold Hansmann made Nov 10 at 2014 2:39 PM

SA Harold Hansmann — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:39:00 -0500

The "O" in NCO is to make the E-1 thru E-3 give you more respect. Bwaaaaaa Haaaaaaaa haaaaaaa

Response by CSM Carlson C. made Feb 2 at 2015 10:58 AM

CSM Carlson C. — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 10:58:03 -0500

Can you clarify the point your trying to make?

Response by A1C Gregory Beckham made Feb 2 at 2015 9:43 PM

A1C Gregory Beckham — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 21:43:06 -0500

Is it the kool-aid I keep hearing about?

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2015 11:13 PM

CSM Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 23:13:03 -0500

All the NCO's I've ever known or dealt with in the Army know they can apply to become an officer and receive a commission - a few do attend OCS or another commissioning program, but most all would rather remain a NCO. They would probably tell you rather proudly they work for a living, or earn their paycheck., but I never would (wink).

In the Army we try to teach and pass on some of the historical information about how and why our military was formed, to include having Officer's, Non-Commissioned Officer's and Enlisted. If you ever have time, I encourage you to Google 'Baron Von Steuben' and the infamous "Blue Book", entitled "Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States".