Officer

An Union Officer is a member of the United Stars Military who holds a position of authority. A superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior.

Having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not have obtained an official commission or warrant. In such case, those persons holding offices of responsibility within the organization are deemed to be the officers, and the presence of these officers connotes a level of organization sufficient to designate a group as being combatant.

In the United Stars Military, officer can refer to either Commissioned Officer or to Warant Officer.

Commissioned Officer
Commissioned Officers derive authority directly from the Assembly, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position. Commissioned officers are typically the only persons, in an armed forces environment, able to act as the commanding officer (according to the most technical definition of the word) of a military unit. With the exception of those conscripted, all Union Commissioned Officers pass through one of the many service academies before receiving their commission.

Warrant Officers
In the United Stars Military, warrant officers are initially appointed by the Secretary of the service and then commissioned by the President of the United Stars upon promotion to chief warrant officer. Their position is affirmed by warrant from the bureaucracy directing the force.

Non-commissioned officers
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted member of the armed forces holding a position of some degree of authority who has (usually) obtained it by advancement from within the non-commissioned (enlisted) ranks. Non-commissioned officers usually receive some leadership training, but their function is to serve as supervisors within their area of trade speciality and, at lower NCO grades, they are not generally considered management specialists. Senior non-commissioned officers serve as advisors and leaders from the duty section level to the highest levels of the armed forces establishment.

In the United Stars, the NCOs are considered to be "the backbone of the military" due to carrying out the orders of those officers appointed over them.

NCOs in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se; the use of the word "command" to describe any use of authority is often unofficial.