Hi all im pretty new, Im thinking about joining the army. but to the question.

What is the difference between a non-commissioned officer and a commisoned officer? one was promoted to his position and the other went through a place like west point?

A Commissioned Officer has his/her power by Executive Authority. His/Her power comes from the United States President.

A Non-Commsioned Officer's power come from the authority of the United States Congress, the Department and Secretary of the Army/Air Force/Navy.

The NCO is considered the backbone of the Army. We train everyone, to include officers. We are the leaders on the ground, and command smaller echelons of units. We are also the experts in our designated fields. Technically and tactically proficient. There's mor eto it, but this is more of a textbook answer.

oh, ok thanks

one you salute and the other you don't.....

More is expected of officers in certain ways because they are expected to be of a higher degree of restraint, judgment, discretion, etc.

Of course, this is definitely not the case all of the time, and it is those same things that make a good NCO as well.

So both have to be competent, so personality differences would determine which role a person would be happier filling. Blue collar versus white collar in a way; the NCO might be the expert foreman on the floor, hands on kind of guy, or maybe the master mechanic. Whereas the competent officer would be the division manager, not necessarily hands on but with an eye towards the larger picture. Or he may be the engineer that relies on the master mechanic to get his design right.

The NCO's work for a living, Officers DON'T!!!

oh I think I c now, thanks all!