Military service

[Sakkura]

uh.. you dont want them to have some common sense and life experience? should an 18 year old punk kid lead a bunch of other 18 year old punk kids? WTF dude.. thats a recipe for disaster.. (not that the idea of a 22 year old punk kid with a degree leading them is much better).

The 18-year old will still have to go through the military education which takes a few years, and I'm pretty sure a 22-year old with a military education is preferable over a 22-year old with some random bachelor's degree that has nothing to do with tactics or leadership.

[Centurion Crastinus]

In addition to school, I had to go to 12 weeks of Officer Candidates School in Quantico, VA. After I commission I have to go to The Basic School for six months. The Basic School is where you qualify with all Marine Corps weapons, learn how to call in artillary, and lead infantry units, regardless if you end up in a non combat type of unit. For the guys that get selected for infantry, they then go off to infantry school for a number of months before finally being assigned to an infantry platoon. I would say that qualifies these young officers to lead a rifle platoon.

[Zaknafien]

Nah.. most 2nd lieutenants don't know much obviously.. (I was one at some point too), and those who dont know they dont know anything are the worst.. they need to rely on their platoon sergeants for the first year or so.

[Centurion Crastinus]

Also, if someone gets commissioned through the reserve officer training corps, then they have four years of military classes that they must take in order to even be commissioned. Also, the officers that have gone to a military academy (West Point, Anapolis, or the Air Force Academy) will live in a military environement while going to school. The same goes for officers that have gone to one of the five military colleges in the U.S. like The Citadel, Texas A&M, VMI, Norwich, and Virginia Tech.

[Centurion Crastinus]

Zak, I do agree on your point. Any Lieutenant who doesn't take pointers from his platoon sergeant is doomed to failure. However the points that I am trying to get across is that a newly commissioned Lieutenant isn't completely oblivious to what is going on around him. I am just trying to say that the new lieutenant isn't randomly plucked from a graduated class of seniors at a random school, given some butter bars, and told to go lead a platoon on an attack at a fortified position.

[Sakkura]

Zak, I do agree on your point. Any Lieutenant who doesn't take pointers from his platoon sergeant is doomed to failure. However the points that I am trying to get across is that a newly commissioned Lieutenant isn't completely oblivious to what is going on around him. I am just trying to say that the new lieutenant isn't randomly plucked from a graduated class of seniors at a random school, given some butter bars, and told to go lead a platoon on an attack at a fortified position.

O rly? Ah nuts, I guess we shouldn't go to war with the US anyway then. I guess we'll just invade Sweden instead.

Anyway, it takes over a year just to become a sergeant here. Danish NCO's and officers all get a temporary promotion whenever they're serving internationally, probably to balance the difference in qualifications.

[Zaknafien]

hm, it takes about 3 years to become a sergeant in the US. 4 years minimum for staff sergeant.

[Sakkura]

hm, it takes about 3 years to become a sergeant in the US. 4 years minimum for staff sergeant.

It takes longer to become a sergeant than an officer?