Soviet-era armies could select conscripts judged politically reliable but unsuitable for officer training and send them to schools that produced NCOs quickly. Formal promotion did not supply the practical experience associated with a professional sergeant corps. The resulting sergeants could be almost as inexperienced as the newest privates they were expected to lead. Rank structure alone therefore says little about the institutional knowledge available within a unit.
Notable Point · 2:33:43-2:34:21
Why Soviet sergeant rank did not guarantee experience
An officer-ratio discussion contrasts professional sergeant experience with a Soviet system that rapidly turned politically reliable conscripts into NCOs.