Comment by LargeWu
3 months ago
Just jumping right in as a Lt Col? Is there a lot of precedent for that? I know that the armed forces have worked with a lot of scientists before, like in the Manhattan Project, but my understanding is that most of them remained civilians.
And from the wsj link:
> They will have more flexibility than the average reservist to work remotely and asynchronously, and will be spared basic training.
No officer basic training course to teach them how to be an army officer?
They are privileged consultants playing dress up.
There is a long history of direct commission officers <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_commission_officer> in the military.
Isn't this the sort of thing that warrant officers were created for? Why wouldn't they give him a high warrant officer rank rather than a commissioned rank?
If you bring in people from other organizations, you usually give them titles that reflect their actual roles.
Warrant officers are a leftover from an era when you had to be nobility to become a commissioned officer. Today a lieutenant is just a kid with a college degree, and a lieutenant colonel is someone who did an MBA and was promoted into middle management.
Warrant officers were a realization that you didn't want the only promotion path to be into management (commissioned officers) -- deep skill specialization is critical too.
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Manhattan Project scientists were civilians. Doctors were often drafted as captains, I'm led to understand (via MAS*H).
Yes, I believe some folks who joined the Defense Digital Service received similar rank.
Who?