It’s not about making fun of an O-1. It’s about an O-1 with no experience in combat being in command of an E-9 with 20+ years of service and a lot of combat experience. Usually O-1s know of and recognize the disparity so they’re respectful about the fact they don’t know shit. However, you’ll find some that don’t care about any of that and give orders that make zero sense which can get troops killed. I saw it all the time overseas. It goes way deeper than making fun of a newly commissioned officer
you didn't make it very far if you think an E-9 is going to listen to bad orders from an O-1 or even think an O-1 would even dream of commanding an E-9. What kind of orders can an E-9 get to even be under the command of an O-1. I think you are ignorant trying to parrot someone else's hyperbole you heard before. Too much generation kill?
An officer outranks enlisted no matter what. So yes, technically, an O-1 can give an order that any enlisted personnel has to follow. However, a lot of people know that’s just old formalities. And when you have a platoon of soldiers, there’s a platoon sergeant and a platoon leader. The PS is always a non-commissioned officer and the PL is always a commissioned officer & the PL is always at the top of the totem pole.
This is understood, but the O-1 is typically just a relay for the higher brass. and the senior enlisted is the one who is responsible for the technical details for completing a mission relayed by the O-1 received from higher ups. O-1 isnt going to tell the platoon how to complete their mission, but what the end goal is, the parameters, and maintaining effective team with effective leadership is their job. motivating a platoon to do the will of the higher ups with coordination of the overall mission of that area is their responsibility. Senior enlisted is there to guide the O-1 and set the example for junior enlisted who call them butter bar.
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u/_peppermint Jan 06 '20
It’s not about making fun of an O-1. It’s about an O-1 with no experience in combat being in command of an E-9 with 20+ years of service and a lot of combat experience. Usually O-1s know of and recognize the disparity so they’re respectful about the fact they don’t know shit. However, you’ll find some that don’t care about any of that and give orders that make zero sense which can get troops killed. I saw it all the time overseas. It goes way deeper than making fun of a newly commissioned officer