Quote:
Originally Posted by nondescript handle
(Warning: pet peeve ahead, proceed with caution...)
We don't make doctors by promoting the best nurses, we don't make engineers by promoting the best mechanics, we don't make judges by promoting the best paralegals.
The reason there is a split between the career paths of NCOs and commissioned officers isn't just mindless tradition.
NCOs and officers have different roles and need different skill sets and training. An NCO isn't just "an officer, but less so" and an officer isn't just "an NCO, but better."
Yes, you can close e.g. the pay and "respect" gap that exists in many militaries between NCOs and officers, and you can make officer candidates spend time "in the ranks" (and some militaries actually do those things), but there will be some split between NCO-types and officer-types.
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As a possibility, it might seem that there are places where more divisions, rather than fewer, could make sense. Physicians, chaplains, etc, have officer ranks, but their role really isn't the same.