[chipsa]

The point of commissioning them isn’t for them to take command of a line infantry battalion. It’s to have them have authority to do stuff that requires a Lt col, but is not actually commanding. It’s like how we commissioned a whole bunch of people in WWII to do admin jobs.

[austin-cheney]

I get that. I am a signal officer. Those guys will be signal officers. I have a pretty solid idea of what their level of actual responsibility is. The point is they need some expertise to exercise that level of responsibility. Otherwise they are tiny advisors masquerading as people with real legal authority.

[runlaszlorun]

Signal Corps shout out. Been out a long while though.

[1oooqooq]

why are you trying so hard to not directly assume the latter?

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

They don’t seem to be. I read their comments as directly calling out that they are “tiny advisors masquerading as people with real legal authority”, strictly because they do not have the requisite experience to be anything else.

[giraffe_lady]

Isn't there already a system in place for that sort of thing. I know a couple civilian experts who worked as consultants in iraq (think like water treatment plant engineers) who were given "effective" officer ranks to smooth out interactions with the military members they worked with directly, clarify who they could and couldn't tell what to do. But they didn't wear uniforms, weren't saluted, weren't considered members of the military for most purposes, are not counted as veterans, etc.

If it were simply that, this is a problem the military has run into before and has solutions to it. This is something else: at best weird propaganda at worst I don't really know.

[ganoushoreilly]

Not necessarily the same thing, in addition to their rank there are legal authorities conveyed as Officers. Title 10 & 50 for example.