zlacker

>>amrrs+(OP)
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.

>>LargeW+S2
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?

>>bryanl+r3
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.

>>jltsir+Kj
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.