In the United States armed forces, the term line officer or officer of the line refers to a Navy, Marine, Air Force or Coast Guard officer who exercises general command authority and is eligible for operational command positions, as opposed to officers who normally exercise authority within in a specialty.. The equivalent Army term is "competitive category".
Officers who are not line officers are those whose primary duties are in non-combat specialties including chaplains, attorneys, supply and civil engineering officers and medical, medical service, dental and nurse officers. The distinction between line and non-line officers often blur; line officers may be assigned non-combat roles, and non-line officers are often assigned to tasks normally performed by line officers. Also, non-line officers at the squadron or Group level (and higher) are also issued "G-Series" orders which gives them the same relative power of 'line officers' of equivalent rank. A line officer may even hold authority over a non-line officer of higher rank by the nature of their job, but is otherwise expected to observe normal customs and courtesies outside that role.
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