Officer vs Enlisted
The system of enlistment comes from the old practice where people got their names enlisted aboard a ship, to serve for a fixed period of time. Such people were assigned duties on ports and ships. Simply including the names of persons in a list was enlistment that continues in the present form of enlisted personnel. Warrant officers were people extremely skilled in one trade or another who were given Royal warrants and served at the pleasure of the King or Queen. These men could also be given commissions by the Kings that spelt the roles and responsibilities give to these officers.
The decision to join Armed Forces is full of pride and honor. One can join the Army, the Navy, or the Air Force either as enlisted men or as officers. In general, there are three categories of ranks in Armed Forces namely enlisted personnel, Commissioned Officers, and Warrant Officers. Young people often remain confused between officers and enlisted as they are not aware of the differences of roles and responsibilities between the two. Let us find out if there are any differences between the enlisted and the officers.
Enlisted
Enlisting is an easy way of joining the armed forces where a young person needs to go to the local recruiter and understand his options. After enlisting, there is a basic training, and there is also a prospective technical training. To be enlisted, one does not need a college level degree. Being enlisted is no guaranty to becoming an officer in armed forces though you have to pass the training program successfully.
In any case, enlisted young men become the backbone of the armed forces as after successful completion of training they are ready to take on all kinds of jobs in the armed forces. They progress through a system of enlisted ranks (9 in number) whereby they become seniors to assume bigger responsibilities and ready to give commands to their subordinates. To become enlisted, all one requires is to have a high school diploma. However, many enlisted men today have associate and even bachelor level degrees when enlisting.
Officers
One can aspire to be inducted as an officer in armed forces. The minimum requirement to be inducted as a commissioned officer in the armed forces is a bachelor level degree. The rank and pay of an officer is higher than that of enlisted personnel, but they are also entrusted with more and higher responsibilities. Officers receive special training to start as supervisors in armed forces. They are trained to give commands to enlisted men. Officers receive specialized training to become leaders and motivators of men under their charge.
What is the difference between Officer and Enlisted?
• Warrant officers and commissioned officers can be dismissed today by an order of the President while enlisted men have a fixed tenure.
• Advancement in ranks in enlisted personnel is totally transparent while officers still do not have complete control over their advancement.
• The pay and perks of an officer are higher than that of an enlisted man with an equivalent experience.
• To be an officer, one must have at least a bachelor’s degree while one can be enlisted with a high school diploma.
• Only officers can become pilots and enlisted man can never become a pilot.
• Officers always start with the rank of a 2nd Lieutenant.