A non-commissioned officer (sometimes spelled noncommissioned officer, abbreviated to NCO or non-com (US)), called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission. Non-commissioned officers, in the English-speaking world, usually obtain their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks.
The NCO corps usually includes all grades of corporal and sergeant; in some countries, warrant officers also carry out the duties of NCOs. The naval equivalent includes some or all grades of petty officer, although not all navies class their petty officers as NCOs. There are different classes of non-commissioned officer, including junior non-commissioned officers (JNCO) and senior (or staff) non-commissioned officers (SNCO).
Read more about Non-commissioned Officer: Function, Related Abbreviations
Famous quotes containing the word officer:
“When Prince William [later King William IV] was at Cork in 1787, an old officer ... dined with him, and happened to say he had been forty years in the service. The Prince with a sneer asked what he had learnt in those forty years. The old gentleman justly offended, said, “Sir, I have learnt, when I am no longer fit to fight, to make as good a retreat as I can” —and walked out of the room.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)