Too Many Officers in the Military

[erpowers]

I read an article from a few years ago and it claimed that there were too many officers in the military. First, is that claim true? Has anything been done to reduce the officer corp of the military? Third, would it save money if the military reduced the number of officers and put the money toward recruiting enlisted personnel.

It costs much less to pay the salaries of enlisted personnel than officer personnel. It seems the government could save money by attempting to bring the military more into balance in terms of personnel.

[leftofthedial]

1. they should put some officers in charge of that.

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. I'm pretty sure that the military maintains a specific ratio of commissioned vs enlisted. n/t

[Statistical]

3. I don't think so....

currently there is a shortage of officers (at least in Army).

Lots of National Guard officers have been recruited for full time "Regular Army" positions.

A couple years ago it was virtually impossible for an officer in NG to switch to Active Duty.

[Extend a Hand]

4. I read they were having trouble keeping officers

a few years back during the heat of the iraq war. I don't know which is true or if the situation has just changed.

[lapfog_1]

5. It's actually a very good idea to retain a high ratio

of trained officers to enlisted in peace time. Should we ever have another large scale war (and a draft) like WWII, the
trained professional officers will be needed to lead the mostly untrained draftees.

Of course, having another WWII (that plays out with large scale army battles) is unlikely. But then again, you never
know.

[flamin lib]

6. I'm not sure, but I think the officer overload is in the General ranks.

Captains and Majors are leaving because of the Bush hardships. Once you rise to the rank of General it's hard to walk away from all the perks and pay when you no longer have to get your hands dirty.

Not to paint with too broad a brush because people of that caliber (punny?) are necessary, I'm just not sure we need as many as we have wandering around the Pentagon and other office buildings.