Tweet of the Day: Emotional Wound Entry
You heard about the Officer and a Gentleman, the type of military officer that if not exactly coming from the upper classes, has at least a degree of university education which tends to put him or her at least a cut above the rest. But not this doesn’t apply to the officer that got their commission after coming Up Through the Ranks. This trope is a good way of introducing a down to Earth character that serves as a reasonable authority figure. This is an officer that knows what the ranks (enlisted soldiers) go through, they know where they come from and how they view the military. They can also clue in their fellow junior officers on how to deal difficult situations since they have the experience that the newly minted officer does not.
It is also a way of keeping an existing character around. Making a senior NCO (Non-Commission Officer) a full fledged officer gives them a lease on life.
Neither Here nor There.... 