Young Young Officer's

[1911CoLt45]

Hello

Can any one comment on the youngest officer they have scene in a position in the Cf.  I have a friend who is a mere 18 and he seems to be determined one way or another to join any part of the Cf doing anything as an officer in the rotp of reserve officer scheme entry plans.  Being that age ,would a unit more then likely say you are to young to have this postion, please join the ncm's simply due to the fact that the senior ncm might feel that a person of that age is in no mental state to be commanding at a level as an officer?

 

[FDO]

The youngest officer I have SEEN is 16. Minimum age to enrol in the Reserves. An officer at that age is under training and not put in command of anything including him/herself. They are usually assigned to a unit and placed under the tender care of a Senior NCO. When they are trained and learn how to lead then they are put in a position of command.

As a Senior NCO regardless of the age of an officer I am bound by the NDA to obey a lawful command from him/her. If it doesn't make sense or is not a good idea I will "recommend" a different path.

 

[PMedMoe]

Young Young Officer's* what?  Sword?  Horse?  Uniform?

Seriously, who cares how young an officer is?  If your friend wants to join the CF, good for him.  He will go through loads of school and training before he's ever really "in charge" of anything.

*An apostrophe indicates possessive

 

[Loachman]

Please spell, punctuate, and capitalize properly.

Clear communication is stressed both in the CF and here.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Hello

Can any one comment on the youngest officer they have scene in a position in the CF.  I have a friend who is a mere 18 and he seems to be determined one way or another to join any part of the Cf doing anything as an officer in the rotp of reserve officer scheme entry plans.  Being that age ,would a unit more then likely say you are to young to have this postion, please join the ncm's simply due to the fact that the senior ncm might feel that a person of that age is in no mental state to be commanding at a level as an officer?

In the days before ROTP became the usual entry plan and university degrees required for all officers, it was not unusual for an officer applicant to start Basic Officer Training during the fall after graduation from High School.  In the Infantry, this could be followed by all officer Phase training courses in sequence and graduation as a new Platoon Commander about 16 months after graduating High School.  Some of my peers were 19 year old platoon commanders, and no-one worried about them being "too young".

 

[daftandbarmy]

I was commissioned at 18, after completing Phase II Inf. We had a guy in my platoon who was 17. He did OK.

I frequently worked with (when I was a smelly old multi-tour veteran Coy 2IC at 25 years of age) troop commanders in the Royal Marines who were between 18 and 24 or so. I know that one of them is a Brigadier, and three are LCols right now - all in the mid-40s.

I can't think of too many who weren't good leaders, or who couldn't do their jobs, despite the scormn I heaped on them at the time  ;D

The system works!

 

[1911CoLt45]

Cheers guys for the posts, good stories.