I joined the Army Air Corps in 1975 as an Airtrooper, (private soldier) bowser driver, after 3 yrs I became a Corporal Observer/Airgunner, (co-pilot in effect, front left seat, dual controls etc), 3 yrs after that I completed a 12 month pilots course, and quailfied as a Sergeant pilot.
6 years later I left the Army Air Corps, because of the habit of making officers senior pilots and flight commanders, not on abillity or experiance, but purely on the basis "rank".
When I subsequently started flying with a civil helicopter company, I started as a 2nd officer, then 1st officer, senior 1st officer, Captain. My point is, dispite the use in the civil aviation world of the word "officer", is that all aviators, in all services, should be in the job they are in, because of abillity, not because of perceived "rank".
So why not have all aviators in the milliary use the civil system
