Recently a social media post has caused controversy within the military and veteran sphere, namely that enlisted troops should not be made officers. Few things could be further from the truth.
The essence the argument was that “the military should stop giving commissions to any enlisted” making it akin to “merchants marrying into the aristocracy” as well as implying that unit cohesion is degraded by commissioning prior enlisted. The elitist argument against Mustangs, prior enlisted who become officers, is untrue on multiple levels.
First, the military does not give commissions to just “any enlisted” but rather a long process, in effect a second enlistment only with many more requirements as well as a physical, is required along with an interview. Not everyone is selected. Second, then the officer candidate actually has to graduate from the fun experience known as Officer Candidate School (OCS), as few direct commissions are given and those awarded are overwhelmingly for specialty branches.
The overwhelming number of Mustangs after already attending basic training, have had the pleasure of their physical fitness needs shaped up by OCS. This gives the prior enlisted troop the experience of having to go through a basic training type of experience twice. Many officer candidates do not graduate from OCS, as the attrition rate in the grueling up to 18-month National Guard program attests to.
Prior enlisted serving as officers strengthens the officer corps in that such troops, especially with Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and senior NCO experience, are very likely to speak truth to power and provide moral courage in situations where others may feel intimidated. Mustangs are also used to dealing with senior leaders in a way many ROTC commissioned lieutenants are not. Further, the argument regarding unit cohesion holds little weight as Mustangs are generally transferred from their old unit upon commissioning.
Some of America’s finest officers started out in the enlisted ranks, some with considerable enlisted experience. Jimmy Stewart, of actor fame, rose from Private to full Colonel in World War II and later retired as a Brigadier General in the USAF Reserve. Audie Murphy, who was initially deemed too small and young for the military, lied about his age to enlist and became the most decorated soldier in World War II while being awarded a battlefield commission.
Murphy, in a role reversal with Stewart who was already actor before World War II, became an actor after the war and retired as a Major from the Army Reserve. He is remembered as a fine officer as well as enlisted man through the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club. Dick Winters enlisted in the Army and later went to OCS, there after going on to be the central character in Band of Brothers. His friend Carwood Lipton was the First Sergeant of Easy Company before gaining a battlefield commission.
Chesty Puller, the most decorated Marine in history with five Navy Crosses and a Distinguished Service Cross from the Army (both the second highest awards for valor America has), started off as enlisted, went to the NCO Academy, then OCS before being reverted to enlisted status after the end of World War I. Chesty served five years in is second go around as an enlisted man before again commissioning in 1924. Chesty was the epitome of a fair officer. Once, when an enlisted man was being forced to salute 100 times as punishment for failing to salute a Second Lieutenant. Puller allowed the punishment to go through but also made the Second Lieutenant return every salute. Puller was tough but fair to enlisted and officer alike and his further exploits need no explanation, as every Marine knows Chesty.
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. There are great officers who were never enlisted, great enlisted troops who never saw a day of college, vice versa and everything in between. However, it is hard to find an officer with considerable enlisted experience that was not a good officer, with the more enlisted experience the better. Further, an officer who was enlisted is very likely to endure hardships with their troops, having endured many of those same hardships during the enlisted years.
To have America’s officers sourced only through the college pipeline is not only elitist but also dishonest to the needs of the military. Enlisted, and Mustangs, keep the officer corps in check just as the officer corps keeps the enlisted mission focused with planning for and leading said troops. The balance epitomized by Chesty and other Mustangs reeks true.
The enlisted and officer ranks are different, yet interdependent. The lack of a strong NCO corps is seen in post-Soviet states when an officer is killed and the lower enlisted are then directionless, as the Russians have found out in Ukraine. This speaks to the strength of the American enlisted corps. Why would we not want solid NCO’s as Mustangs?
Individuals such as Basil Plumley were born to be a Sergeant Major and had no interest in becoming officers. Non-Commissioned Officers such as these are the backbone of the Armed Services. However, if these hard chargers want to, essentially, go through basic training all over again to lead troops so be it. These individuals are definite assets as officer. Knowing this, more Mustangs like Chesty, wherever he is, should be commissioned.
*Views expressed in this article are those of the author and not any government agency.