Military rank

[myrionomos]

We have a new character in a story. The person is a graduate in electrical engineering /computer science from a good university in. Aged about 28 - 30 and an officer, what rank might be anticipated for a highly competent expert person in either army or airforce.

We thought Major/Wing Commander might be possible in British forces but are unsure about the American context.

Thanks for help in advance.

 

[ForestFlame]

We have a new character in a story. The person is a graduate in electrical engineering /computer science from a good university in. Aged about 28 - 30 and an officer, what rank might be anticipated for a highly competent expert person in either army or airforce.

We thought Major/Wing Commander might be possible in British forces but are unsure about the American context.

Thanks for help in advance.

may be a tad young for a Wing Commander. Might be better to have him as one rank lower Squadron Leader maybe. I don't think I have met a Wing Commander of that age range, they are usually older and have been in Service longer to attain the rank. Hope that makes sense? Army tends to promote faster though, so Captain or Major would be relevant in that case.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

MDs come in as Captains. Nurses start as 1st lieutenants.

Engineers often start as Privates.

 

[ElectricBlue]

In Oz (I note your location):

https://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/structure/rank-comparative/

 

[oggbashan]

NATO officer rank equivalents for OF2 and 1:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranks_and_insignia_of_NATO_armies_officers

I would suggest Army Captain or Lieutenant (UK); Captain or First Lieutenant (US)

For Air forces the equivalents would be:

Army Captain/Captain = Flight Lieutenant (UK); Captain (US)

Lieutenant/First Lieutenant = Flying Officer (UK); First Lieutenant (US)

 

[myrionomos]

We didn't ask that question very well. Our character has done 5 years training at say MIT or Imperial and specializes in computer systems controls. So 5 years at Uni + 5 to 7 years service + in the reserves whilst at Uni.

We knew that the equivalent of a Brit Major was a Squadron Leader - Winco as advised is too advanced. But we are very unsure of the American equivalent.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

The status of a college diploma for military utility is situational and conditional. Many engineers are enlisted sad sacks without status working for gay arts majors. When the military has zero slots for engineers, the degree means nothing. The service academies usually fill ther engineer slots. The service academies train engineers.

 

[oggbashan]

You can have a degree and yet not be an officer.

 

[49greg]

You can have a degree and yet not be an officer.

I was one of those. By the time I got my degree, the army was offering a deal - enlist for three years in the infantry, and they'd send you to Germany. The other side of the coin was to be drafted - for two years - be trained as an infantryman, and sent to Viet Nam.

I enlisted.

 

[Handley_Page]

We have a new character in a story. The person is a graduate in electrical engineering /computer science from a good university in. Aged about 28 - 30 and an officer, what rank might be anticipated for a highly competent expert person in either army or airforce.

We thought Major/Wing Commander might be possible in British forces but are unsure about the American context.

Thanks for help in advance.

Not a UK Wing Commander; far too young - unless it is in the case of WW2.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

28 - 30? If he was to be commissioned in the U.S. military on entry, 2nd Lieutenant, maybe 1st. To young to be any higher. If he's good and proves it, he might get promoted faster, but there are years of service and years in grade requirements. Unless it was in time of war. And I don't mean little skirmishes like Iraq or Afghanistan. It would have to be a world war...he might be made a Major...but he would have no command authority.

There are officers without any command authority, they are glorified clerks or adjutants. Most science types are this kind of officer, they have rank but no command authority. They don't give soldiers orders.

 

[R. Richard]

I worked as a civilian contractor at Edwards AFB. I worked for a Butter Bars. An AF enlisted got into an argument with Butter Bars and refused a direct command. They had a hearing and the AF enlisted was slapped on the wrist. He was then assigned to Kotzebue, AK.
There were no more problems.

 

[Weird Harold]

We didn't ask that question very well. Our character has done 5 years training at say MIT or Imperial and specializes in computer systems controls. So 5 years at Uni + 5 to 7 years service + in the reserves whilst at Uni.

We knew that the equivalent of a Brit Major was a Squadron Leader - Winco as advised is too advanced. But we are very unsure of the American equivalent.

Ogg;s link shows the rank structure for the US -- among all the other NATO forces. US is at the bottom of the chart.

Your character would likely have been in ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) for his five years of college. He would have skipped a rank and been commissioned as a First Lt. (O-2), and promoted to Capt. (O-3) after two or three years. He would be on the cusp of promotion to Major (O-4). Whether he had been promoted would depend on a lot of factors, including whether you choose Air Force, Army, or Marines (all of which have the same officer rank structure in the US.) USAF promotes the slowest and Marines the fastest, but the USAF has the highest percentage of officers.

You're pretty safe with either Captain or Major with the age and education range specified.

 

[sr71plt]

We have a new character in a story. The person is a graduate in electrical engineering /computer science from a good university in. Aged about 28 - 30 and an officer, what rank might be anticipated for a highly competent expert person in either army or airforce.

We thought Major/Wing Commander might be possible in British forces but are unsure about the American context.

Thanks for help in advance.

I wasn't in the service, but I grew up as an Army brat and am a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. In today's world I'd make the character you describe an Army captain.

 

[ChloeTzang]

We have a new character in a story. The person is a graduate in electrical engineering /computer science from a good university in. Aged about 28 - 30 and an officer, what rank might be anticipated for a highly competent expert person in either army or airforce.

We thought Major/Wing Commander might be possible in British forces but are unsure about the American context.

Thanks for help in advance.

Ran that one by my partner (ex USMC, Captain when he left) and his take was probably a Captain. Two years to get from 2nd to 1st Lt and then at least another two years to make Captain. Factor in age at graduation, officer training and your character being in his late twenties and that's where he'd be. Captain to Major in the Marines is 9 to 11 years in service and 3 in grade which would push your character into his 30's. So says my in-house expert anyhow.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

My grand son just graduated college with an engineering degree. I advised him to join the army and be an Airborne officer. Sky diving is his hobby. He's an athlete as well as smart.

The problem: He's 20 this weekend. He graduated high school with a 2 year college diploma, too. So did his sister.

The army doesn't want 20 year old officers, and offered him OTC after one year as enlisted in the National Guard.

 

[jaF0]

We have a new character in a story. The person is a graduate in electrical engineering /computer science from a good university in. Aged about 28 - 30

Give your character a real job. One that doesn't involve death and destruction.

 

[myrionomos]

Thank you for all the responses. Getting a fact like this wrong can put readers off very quickly so we have made a couple of decisions:-

He will become She - Captain - 28 and American rather than Brit.

Not revealing main plot but sub-plot will involve her working on a joint services project with a snotty Brit guy who has comparative rank advantage to her comparative smarts advantage.

Once again thanks for the advice.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Thank you for all the responses. Getting a fact like this wrong can put readers off very quickly so we have made a couple of decisions:-

He will become She - Captain - 28 and American rather than Brit.

Not revealing main plot but sub-plot will involve her working on a joint services project with a snotty Brit guy who has comparative rank advantage to her comparative smarts advantage.

Once again thanks for the advice.

Look forward to reading it when you're done. Maybe post a link here when it's up. I love stories with some kind of military setting.

 

[Voboy]

I'm late to this party, but among many less-accurate responses here you went with the correct one. I was a 2LT at 22, 1LT by 24, CPT by 26 and would not have expected to be a major until perhaps 34 at the earliest. In the US Army, your degree is largely immaterial, and promotion to CPT is generally pretty automatic at the four-year mark, even with prior enlisted service.

Officers in the Corps of Engineers, however, are usually structural or mechanical engineers, but remember that many CofE folks in the Army blow things up rather than building them.

Caution, though: a captain as junior as yours would be EXTREMELY unlikely to be managing any sort of sensitive joint project. That's the kind of thing that majors often do. She'd likely be cooling her heels at an engineer battalion, awaiting company command.