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.

>>ethbr1+eM
Lack of social status was historically the key. The guys who knew how to operate the ship had some critical expertise, but because they lacked the social status of nobility (or a college graduate), they were made warrant officers instead of proper officers.

Roles that historically required higher education – doctors, lawyers, and chaplains – are typically commissioned officers. Air forces similarly have commissioned officers doing the actual fighting. While they are not in management positions, their status and responsibilities are comparable to commissioned officers in other branches. In some cultures, the same extends to special forces.