Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!know!sdd.hp.com!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!tellab5!laidbak!mcdchg!att!cbnews!military From: cr2r+@andrew.cmu.edu (Christian M. Restifo) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Questions about rank Message-ID: <1990Oct16.010922.11162@cbnews.att.com> Date: 16 Oct 90 01:09:22 GMT References: <1990Oct15.034011.13332@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military-request@att.att.com Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 25 Approved: military@att.att.com From: "Christian M. Restifo" The ratio of officers to men aboard a ship depends mostly on the ship. The last I heard, the overall ratio in the Navy was about 1:10. Concerning duties, officers are the supervisors while enlisted men do the actual work. For example, in a division (say the Weapons Division on a ship), you have the Div-O (Division Officer) who is in charge. He runs the division through his senior enlisted man who is usually a chief. The Div-O oversees the entire operation, the paper work, etc., etc., etc. The senior enlisted handles direct supervision. One of the main differences duty wise is that of OOD. The Officer of the Deck is the commanding officer's duly appointed person responsible for the ship. The OOD is always a qualified officer. Enlisted can't hold positions such as this one. A flag ship is just like any other ship. All that "flag" means is that's the ship the admiral (or whatever) usually rides on. His staff (composed mostly of officers with some senior enlisted) accompanies him and uses the ship as its offices, etc. -Chris Restifo cr2r@andrew.cmu.edu "I have no disclaimer about my opinions because I'm not even sure if I 'opinionated' them at all........"