Is today's Army an officer's Army?

I have noticed that Officers are / seem to be much more involved with things than when I was in the first time.

in the 90's I rarely saw my Officers during the duty day. Orders would be filtered down and the NCO's executed them.

I believe that the Officer side of the house has lost faith in NCO's and therefore in order to protect themselves they have gotten more involved with day to day activities.

Everyone is looking out for their own best interest, especially in this time of a massive draw down.

My experience was that O-grades have all the authority and power the CMS says they can have... ;)

The power of the NCO is geven by the officer. In my unit the officer back us up 100%.

Nothing has changed about who gets the mission accomplished. Officers publish the order and NCO's get the job done by leading subordinate soldiers through the specified task, end of story. Having worked at levels BDE and lower, working environments are different. Things don't go down at the company level like they do on a BDE staff level. But that fact does change anything in reference to what I said in the beginning.

I say the NCOs have always run things.
Have you ever seen a CO have a discussion with one soldier or many without his TOP NCO on hand.
An officer new or seasoned will always rely on the experience of a much much more seasoned NCO.
Officers direct the battles and set the stage. NCOs make it happen.
Remember in most line units there are 5 officers to every 60 some odd soldiers.
1/4 of those are NCOs.

Orders flow from the top. Guidance flows from the middle and closer to the troops.

If the statement is true all I can respond with is: "The Officers will be up the proverbial creek with no paddles when something actually HAS to happen". I have a lot of respect for all officers, even the "butterbars or "90 Day Wonders" but they should listen and watch a LOT for their first 5 years. With an excess of officers, only a certain few will be in command positions....

I realize this is old, but wow, whoever wrote it sure picked the wrong guy to illustrate the point.

As for the statement, hell no, NCOs have not lost anything. Individual NCOs give up there personal power no one userps it. Can Officers restrict some authorities provided by the commanding officer, yup, I have seen the attempt I never witnessed a positive outcome for the Officer. How in the hell do three officers manage a Company-Battery of over 100, that's too damn funny.

In 1981 at Fort Lewis, right before I went to OCS, 2nd Bat had a battalion inspection and the Sargent Major told a Captain that he needed a haircut. The Captain replied that when that star jumps out of his stripes and lands on his shoulder, he can tell him he needed a haircut. That was an 0700 inspection and the Captain was gone by 1400.

another line from that poem:
An' last, a Colour Sergeant, as such to be obeyed,
'E schools 'is men at cricket, 'e tells 'em on parade;
They sees 'I'm quick an' 'andy, uncommon set 'an smart,
An' so 'e talks to orficers which 'ave the Core at 'eart.

Power? What kind of power are you talking about? Senior officers have their own power over their own area of responsibility. Junior officers also have power over their own. And yes, NCOs have power as well.

Junior officers can, should, and do defer to senior NCOs when appropriate. This hasn't changed, from what I've heard.

Yes, it's frustrating when an NCO doesn't seem to have much affect on decision-making - especially when those decision affect unit readiness and cohesion; however, that kind of "power" is cultivated within a given command. If the NCO's mess is strong as a unit, the officers will gladly utilize their expertise and experience when appropriate.