Originally Posted by
heights good
i have never understood the obsession with ranks.
It is just a name.
Have a read of the 'Using Rank on Retirement' thread, it's very enlightening lol
Pay level in Civvy Street doesn't always equate to the size of an organisation, it tends to be a blend of experience, knowledge, performance (especially if bonuses are involved) and available budget.
If you were to start building the Armed Forces now from ground up, I very much doubt that it would look anything like it does. There are vast areas which are just not economical. For example, why 3 separate Command Structures? No civilian organisation would have separate Corporate structures; however, no organisation would want to have divisions which are completing against each other for output (although it happens a lot with big Corporations which have gone through many mergers).
One corporate (Strategic/Command) structure, separate divisional structures for differing outputs. Minimise the number of staff who do not have a direct effect on output. It's all pretty simple management principles.