Platoon Sergeant Major (PSM) was an appointment in the British Army in the short-lived rank of Warrant Officer Class III (WOIII), created in 1938. The platoon sergeant major, and his cavalry counterpart, the troop sergeant major, were part of an experiment in giving experienced NCOs command of units formerly reserved for commissioned officers (platoons and troops). The experiment was not considered a success, and no promotions were made to the rank after 1940: most existing WOIIIs were commissioned as lieutenants.
Famous quotes containing the words sergeant and/or major:
“It’s fear of being afraid that frightens me more than anything else.”
—Jerome Cady, U.S. screenwriter, and Lewis Milestone. Sergeant Clinton (Farley Granger)
“No culture on earth outside of mid-century suburban America has ever deployed one woman per child without simultaneously assigning her such major productive activities as weaving, farming, gathering, temple maintenance, and tent-building. The reason is that full-time, one-on-one child-raising is not good for women or children.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)