Battlefield Promotions

[Raellus]

After the TDM, the number of academy and ROTC grads and "90 Day Wonders" making their way to Europe would slow to a relative trickle. Meanwhile, casualties amongst junior officers already in theater would be pretty high. There simply wouldn't be adequate numbers of new officers to keep up with losses. The difference, then, would need to be made up of soldiers who'd received battlefield commisions, no?

How would this work? At what level (Division, Brigade/Regiment, Battalion, Company) would the decision be made? Would a seniority system develop? -i.e. the unit's senior NCO would receive the officership, the next highest ranking NCO would take the senior NCO's slot, etc.

I'm just wondering what percentage of lieutenants in 2000 would be academy/ROTC/OCS grads and what percentage would be former NCOs and enlisted.

[jester]

However,

There would also be a severe reduction in troops to look which would reduce the high number of officers needed.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by jester

However, There would also be a severe reduction in troops to look which would reduce the high number of officers needed.

True. So would an NCO be in charge of a c.2000 platoon (which would likely be seriously understrength)?

Since pretty much most units of any size would be operating at around 1/3 of(or less) than its authorized strength, would that eliminate the need for 1/3 of the regular complement of officers? Or would units be top-heavy?

[Legbreaker]

It depends a lot on the nationality involved I would think.

Soviet style armies for example place very little authority with NCOs leaving most of the more technical and administrative tasks up to Officers (so I believe). Pushing NCOs up to fill these roles may not be a particularly good idea since they're likely to need almost as much training as a civilian trainee.

In many western militaries (speaking specifically about the British model here), NCOs are the backbone of the army - without them nothing can happen. It's relatively common even without a war going on for Sergeants and Warrant Officers to receive a direct commission (Corporals still need training). While not an everyday occurance, I've personally seen it happen on several occasions when either the officer pool got a bit low, or as a way to hold on to highly experienced and valuable SNCOs.

As Jester has pointed out, the number of enlisted soliders is also likely to reduce, thereby reducing the need for some many officers. However, historically, the proportional casualty rate for Officers and junior NCOs (the senior NCOs usually being employed in plattoon, Company and Battalion HQs rather than on the front line) has been higher than for enlisted. This is most commonly due to the risks a commander must take to remain in control of the situation - they have to put their heads up out of cover to see what's going on.

[Webstral]

Speaking structly for the US Army, I see team leaders and squad leaders being made second lieutenants. As has been mentioned, platoon sergeants are simply too valuable to be turned into officers. By the same token, a senior NCO is more-or-less set in his ways. He can learn new tricks, but he is unlikely to adapt to the officer's way of viewing the world. A promising team leader or squad leader understands the way the Army works and has a good grasp of his personal soldering skills. He also is not so senor that he can't make the leap from the NCO mentality to the officer mentality. This matters.

USAEUR will push the authority to bestow battlefield commissions down to whatever level SACEUR feels is necessary. I'd guess battalion commanders would receive the authority. Perhaps company commanders would have the authhority to grant a warrant, although this authority might be retained at the battalion level, too.

Webstral

[Adm.Lee]

My WW2 & VN War reading leads me to think that platoon-leader slots will probably be left empty or handed over to the platoon sergeants as a matter of course. By 2000, commissions will probably be only done for "important" jobs. A staff spot or company CO would seem appropriate to me.