Commentary: The rank structure is holding us back. It’s time for drastic change

PO1 Tony Holland I think the author is onto something here, but he really doesn't go into detail on what the titles and structure of his new hierarchy would actually be. I don't know if I would agree with all of the changes. There are reasons that we have enlisted, Officers, and Warrant Officers. I agree with his examples where things were done efficiently and that still happens today and happened many years ago when individuals got pormoted through the "good old boy" system that hadno business holding onto additional responsibilities. Personally, I think we need to give our leaders at all levels more power to demote, remove, or change individuals from current positions if they lack the leadership, understanding, or skill sets to perform those duties. I think some leaders (Enlisted, Warrant, and Officer) leave individuals in MTOE positions just to keep strength numbers and readiness numbers up, but those individuals aren't qualified to do anything but run, jump, cover, and shoot (and sometimes thats questionable). I've got mixed emotions about the article now that I really think it through. There are some really good things about the current system when you one leader goes down there is a progression of responsibility. I think with what he's proposing you could have a dozen individuals jumping up and saying I'm in charge now and they all end up casualties. Food for thought in my opinion.

Absolutely concur with COL Mikel J. Burroughs, IMHO this article and specifically the title line make for interesting discussion which could potentially bear fruit; however the author himself sums it up quite nicely with the statement "no system is perfect." I'm personally not convinced that the structure is so broken that it requires a complete overhaul--it may require some minor "sight adjustments" that continued candid professional discussion could help to produce realistic options that could be implemented within an existing system that has evolved over many decades. That said, I too am interested in the perspective, thoughts and opinions of our community on this topic. Thank you PO1 Tony Holland for sharing and facilitating the discussion.

On the Army side I do see some of this, but the bigger thing I see is Soldiers that should not be leaders being put in leadership positions because they have been promoted to NCO status. What really needs to come back is the Spec 5 & 6 ranks. Sometimes there are really good mechanics, as an example, that should be allowed to move up but not lead Soldiers. They are great at what they do but just not leaders, they might be able to train younger Soldiers but not be leaders. Also I don't really see the need for most Warrant Officers, senior NCO's can do the same thing.