non-commissioned officer

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Noun edit

non-commissioned officer (plural non-commissioned officers)

  1. A person of authority in the military who has not received a commission (a direct conveyance of authority from the sovereign government); as such they can have charge or control but not command in the most technical use of the word.
    A platoon sergeant may only be a non-commissioned officer but he's the one his men look to when the bullets start flying.

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