Tonight a somewhat annoying thing actually occurred, I was referred to as an “Officer” in regard to my time around [SAS]. The rank I last held was “Warrant Officer Class One (WO1)”, but this is not a commissioned officer.
I was never a commissioned officer in [SAS], and generally sought to avoid becoming one!
In [SAS], there are six rank groups: GCHQ, SAW, NCO, Trooper, Recruit, and Veteran. Only people inside formally GCHQ constitute the officers. Other wise everyone above Trp would constitute an officer. That’s because of the terminology (CO versus WO versus NCO). Troopers used to be Privates. Veteran, well the morons in GCHQ could never decide whether it was to be treated administratively like a rank or a status. Recruit isn’t really a rank but is treated like it was in that regard.
In real militaries, they generally follow either of two models: one in which warrant officers are classified independent of the Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) and Commissioned Officer (CO) ranks. This is the American system, at least it is what are army in the United States has been using for a long time. [SAS] WO1 is not comparable to the U.S. WO1 or CWO* ranks. CWOs tend to hold a commission rather than a warrant now. The other system is one in which Warrant Officers are classified as part of the NCO corps. Otherwise WOs are absent.
[SAS] generally models itself after the British army in most ranking issues, and NTFs undisclosed ranking system appears to mimic the American system for Enlisted/Commissioned from what I’ve seen of it. In regards to WO1s in [SAS], it more a thing of it’s own creation.
The WO1 rank in [SAS] is classified as part of the “Special Assignments Wing (SAW)” created along side it, and generally replaced the (S)NCO rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt) for someone being given a long term “Desk job”. WO1 is not an NCO rank and it is is not a CO rank in [SAS]. It created a distinction between the training and technical work for senior members, it also moved the desk jobs to a higher spot on the mighty page, but that’s only because GCHQ made me “Fix” the glitch that placed me at the very bottom of The Mighty page 8=). I found that fitting actually, to be listed last.
In terms of [SAS]:
If you have a COMMAND related responsibility within the clan as a Non Commissioned Officer, you hold a rank with “Sergeant” in the name. Other wise you are in GCHQ and hold a Commissioned Officers rank to match.
If you have a TECHNICAL related responsibility, you are in the Special Assignments Wing (SAW). When I left that meant WO1 and in effect, a trooper whose job is to make sure site backups happen rather than play RvS all day. Thus seperating the weight of an SNCOs authority from the administrative tasks of an [SAS] SSgt, which held both.
As an SAS_WO1_name, you follow orders from GCHQ. That is it.
There is not an overlap between the two jobs, unless someone isn’t doing THEIR job.
The relationship between WO1 and RSM in [SAS], is similar to that between SPC and CPL in the U.S. Army. Same pay grade, different level of responsibility. However an army SPC has much more “Authority” over bossing the Privates around than a WO1 has over any rank in [SAS], comparatively speaking. The RSM gets all the authority and the WO1 gets all the paper work in [SAS].
As RSM, I had to do the jobs of three ranks: I fulfilled the responsibilities of a WO1 (technical matters), an RSM (managing trainers), and several CPLs (field trainers) worth of work. Basically I was the 2nd most overworked member in the clans entire history. The last one because of a smattering of inactive or lazy gits causing a major shortage in man power until more were groomed, and the first one because of a shortage of people willing to WORK behind the scenes on the website to make sure there was a website for everyone to use for free. All that on top of “Assignments” thrown my way that had to get done in the middle of all that. I had a similar level of being overworked when I was a CPL, as did my peers; that was due to our Sgts, for the same reasons. When the whole WO1 thing came up, WIZ kept me briefed and Rouge was sent to deliver the formal message. I was moved to the WO1 rank to focus on web maintenance (you have no idea how much I ****ing hate that websites internals!!!) that no one else would touch, and Valroe was promoted to RSM, where he did basically half of what his rank required.
As WO1 while I was above most of the clan on the roster, all the command authority was vested purely in the hands of the RSM and GCHQ. If it was a website problem, you talk to the WO1, if it was a training schedule you talked to the Sergeant Majors. If it was a clan problem, you talked to the Major.
That was the whole idea. Spidey01 gets to focus on the website instead of spinning three wheels at the same time. Valroe gets his chance to be groomed for upper management. I enjoyed having time to “Play” games again. When it didn’t work that way, someone didn’t do their clan job. You know how I am about abusively multitasking when things need doing.
In point of fact, it was precisely that arrangement or divestment of WO1/RSM that eventually lead to my resignation becoming necessary. If you want to see something that makes what the [SAS] Major did to NTFs officers on their way out of [SAS] look like a very tame side show: become a WO1 and be ready to issue an order to the ranks below you, because your officers won’t get off their fat asses and do what’s required of their ranks according to the clans formal rules ;).
End Of File.