US Military?

Question

In the US Military does a, lets say like a Private in the Army have to do what an officer in the Navy? I mean do the brances like interwine, Like a Lt. in the Army giving orders to a private in the Corps or whatever situation?

If not, what about the Marines and Navy? Offically, the Marines are part of the Navy so does an enlisted in the Marines have to follow orders from an officer in the Navy?

Answer 1

You have to give proper military respect no matter what branch. You cant just blow off an officer of any branch unless he is telling you to do something illegal or immoral.

Answer 2

Spades of Columbia, and Satan Said Dance are wrong in this matter, but Olde Salt hit it on the nail head.
All enlisted personal must follow the lawful orders of all Warrant Officers and Officers no matter what branches are in question.
But for day to day operations, an officer is not going to another branch's base and walk around giving orders. On the other hand, say a Marine Private was walking thru the PX parking lot and threw trash on the ground and say an Air Force Captain saw him do it, the Captain would be well within his legal authority to order the Private to pick up the trash and reprimand him for littering. If the Private blew him off, the Private can be brought up on charges of disrespect and failure to follow an order.

Answer 3

My husband was active duty army for 7 years. Any enlisted personnel has to follow the orders of any officer in any branch of the military, so long as that officer is in his chain of command. You see, there is a difference between branch chain of command and operational chain of command. For example, there may be an intelligence operation involving all of the branches of the military. If a Navy colonel has a lot of enlisted men working on this operation under him, say an Army specialist is one of them, this Army specialist must follow the Navy colonel's orders. This Army specialist must also follow the orders of his Army chain of command. If the two command conflict, he would go through his Army chain of command for resolution. The winner would be the highest ranking officer, or the one with the closest connections to the head of the Joint Chief of Staffs.

Answer 4

An officer is an officer is an officer. You have to salute and follow orders from any officer of any branch. That also goes with higher ranking enlisted personnel from other branches, barring the salute of course.

Thats not to say that a Navy officer can't be dumber than a bag of hammers when it comes to the treatment of other enlisted personnel.

I spent time at MCAS Cherry Point during my tenure with the USMC. One day while on the Parade Grounds I observed a fresh Navy Ensign (Lowest officer rank) walking across the grounds get passed up by an air force Airmen 1st Class, whom was visiting our base for training with a C-130 squadron. The Airman was in a hurry, and failed to salute the Ensign. The Ensign in turn stopped the Airman, and ordered him to salute 100 times, so that he may never forget to salute an officer again.

About that time a USMC Colonel walked out of Base HQ and observed this whole mess, and addressed the situation. He agreed with the punishment, but told the Ensign that he would have to return EACH salute, in accordance with proper military procedure.

The red-faced and much embarrassed Ensign probably never messed with another enlisted person again.

Answer 5

Technically, YES... the enlisted oath states... "I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

It's all a matter of DOES the officer have a REASON to be giving an enlisted man orders... IS that officer within the enlisted-man's "chain of command" DO those two individuals, as you put it, "intertwine".

A simple example might be if a Marine Officer is walking along the pier and sees a messy sailor... he CAN order said sailor to square himself away. Or, the Marine Officer might look quickly for the details Chief or senior Petty Officer and "suggest" that the sailor be "instructed" to correct his/her appearance.

The Commanding Officer of any SHIP will have posted orders / procedures for any embarked Marines to follow... and they WILL be followed. The CO will COORDINATE however with the Marine's Commanding Officer.

On the USS Kitty Hawk, as Quarter-deck watch officer I might give orders to a Marine on security-duty in port... because THAT Marine was under my command for THAT WATCH.

The key thing is courtesy and respect up and down the chain of command and betwixt the pay-grades

Answer 6

As for Marines, I'd lean towards yes. I remember being on ship a few times over seas and YES we did have to follow order IF given from a Navy Officer. I would think if an order is given there must be something for the officer to have given it. So overall I'd say yes, BUT Hey I could be wrong.

Answer 7

A JUNIOR person (enlisted or officer) must follow a LEGAL order from anyone senior to him/her, regardless of the branch the two are in. There have been instances where 2 different (or 3) branches are assigned together and work for a common goal, in which the SENIOR person is in charge, regardless of the branches involved.

Answer 8

Basically... no. As an enlistee you are taught to respect the officers of the different branches but you don't take orders from them nor can they reprimand you. Say, for instance, you were rude to a Naval officer, he couldn't put you at attention or jump your sh*t. He would however go to your commanding officer and you would probably get your pee-pee stepped on.

Answer 9

You respect the rank regardless of what branch it is. If someone from another branch higher rank than I were to give me an order, I'll do it, if I were told they were in charge. Otherwise you can kiss it.

Answer 10

Orders are orders no matter what branch. If you are of a lower class rank, when in doubt, respect the rank and take it up with the company commander, he/she will take care of it.