Is the old enlisted/officer paygrade system outdated, considering the more educated service members under an All Volunteer Force?

I at one time when I was a PO3 thought I knew better than the Officers. It is the job of the senior enlisted to guide and help train the young officers and guide the Jr. enlisted. A chain of command works and is required. Would a PO3 be able to make the decision of sending his friends into harms way? I doubt it. The military is no place for group decisions.

So the oath that was taken and contract that was signed, what of that?
The "paygrade" system is pretty academic, compensation for job assignment.
As for the pay grade system also represents the basic chain of command system. I'm not clear as to what the young petty officers point is, or what his/her motivation is, does he feel he needs more $ for his position or does is it he feels unappreciated for what he may (or may not know)?
I tend to agree with the 1st SSgts comment, that the PO3 is not fully understanding his place with the team (chain of command). Or what his contribution is toward meeting the unit he's assigned tos mission. (Bad grammar I know).

The issue you bring up, if I understand correctly,is that since we are an AVF and better educated than militaries many years ago, then the rank structure used is outdated and must be changed. I respectfully disagree.

The rank structure used by the military is duplicated in many civilian organizations. With the exception of only the lowest ranks (E1-E4), the rank structure is an application of supervision responsibility and span of control. Span of control is generally acknowledged as an individual ability to manage/supervise 2-5 people. An E5 is given a fire team, 4 Soldiers, an E6 is given 2 fire teams, an E7 is given 3-5 squads and so on. As for the Officer / Enlisted delineation of duties and responsibilities, the civilian world calls it white collar/blue collar. Additionally, Officers have certain authorities given them that are required in order to fulfill responsibilities with the various positions they are expected to be able to perform. i.e.,.. administer Non-judicial judgement, commit U.S. government funds for mission accomplishment .

If you are alluding to incentive pay for those individuals that have completed educational classes or degrees than what may be required for a specific rank or duty position, again, I respectfully disagree. Those individuals are “rewarded” normally through the board selections for promotions. The additional education achievements are “separators “ from the rest of the pack when two or more individuals records are so similar.

What exactly are you whining about?

As long as the commissioned officer cohort exists, nothing beneficial will change for the other two.

I'm going to play devils advocate mostly because I'm bored and I'm medically retired.

We've seen all the arguments about how you get free barracks, and food, and healthcare from the E6 and up crew. But let's really break it down.

First the Barracks, I get they are run by a contractor company, and it's easy to do room inspections and blame lower enlisted for being dirty as to why we find things like mold in the barracks. But the barracks share a common HVAC system, guess where the mold comes from? It's not dirty soldiers, it's a dirty HVAC system that cost too much to replace and get right.

Let's talk about the average size of a barracks room and the amount of BAH they lose to a 8x10 room with a connected common area and 1 bathroom. If you're in an area where BAH is 1000.00 for without dependents for E1-E4 and the average cost of a single bedroom apartment is 850.00 you cant sit there and wonder why lower enlisted act like children.

And since we are on the topic of maturity and acting right, and there is a large group of people here who see 095s, how many times have you seen senior enlisted and officers on there for serious things?

There is a level of good old boys that goes on, and not a single one of you can deny that.

This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard

I had two Uncles' that went career Navy. One retired as a LtCmdr. John H. Straub. He worked for Admiral Rickover and was one of the officers involved with the nuclear power plant installation on the USS Enterprise. Original designation CVAN-65 then changed to CVN-65. My Uncle Joseph Straub retired as a Master Chief. I'm not entirely sure what he did but he said "if I told you, I'd have to kill you". I'm not sure if he is kidding or not. My Uncle John was a "Mustang", he served during WW2 and always told us, if your going to go career become an officer. My kid brother John E Straub went career in the USAF, retired as an E-6. Security Policeman. Last 5 or 6 years attached to the 89th Wing at Andrews, fliying security on Special Air Missions, (Congressional Junckets) Sometimes Air Force 2 and I think once or twice on Air Force One. I was the first Straub to not go into the Navy. The day I enlisted, the only recruiter open was USAF. There was snow in New Haven, CT that day and the other recruiters didn't show up. I remember the recruiter saying "do you want 14 weeks freezing you butt of in Great Lakes?, 12 Weeks suffering in the swamp at Paris Island", 14 Weeks with a bunch of crazy people at Fort Dix? Or 6 weeks in sunny San Antonio, Lackland Air Force Base. It didn't dawn on me at the time, Feb 69 that I wouldn't be going in until Jun/Jul so freezing wasn't a probability in Great Lakes, nor did occur to me that the temperature in July - August in San Antonio TX rivaled that of the Sun. But I digress, The difference is, if you want more pay and are eligible, go Officer, if you just want to serve and have a more constant influence, in my opinion, go enlisted and become a senior NCO. You would have more of an impact on your subordinates on a daily basis.

Your argument bis flawed. Here's why:

You're correct in that officers were historically aristocrats, while enlisted men were typically serfs or lower class. However, we no longer have those social institutions. Anyone can seek a commission if they qualify, regardless of who their parents were. Even those who can't afford college could enlist for four years and have their college mostly paid for. If you don't want to meet the requirements for officership, then don't complain. My parents went to trade school and were lower middle class for most of my growing up. I certainly didn't come from royalty.

The enlisted members are honored for their intelligence; however, the military will always need to have a clear division in ranking system for the purpose of clarity in chain of command. It's not so much about education as it is about responsibility.