Update: Answered in the comments much more thoroughly and succinctly than I can summarize, so head below for some great answers.
She’s apparently the warrant officer, which I’ve seen hypothetical explanations state is the XO, the second in command, but she explicitly states that she is the third officer at the end of the movie, and throughout The movie she is the pilot and she checks the electrician’s work and volunteers to go fight the alien first, and also states that she is in command while the others were off the ship.
So was Kane second in command?
And what is a warrant officer?
Thank you
BTW if there is a crazy Aliens expert, I have a few tiny questions that only a crazy fan who literally read everything ever written and watched every interview about the movie might be able to answer.
In the American military a warrant officer is a subject matter expert in their career field. They are supposed to be advisors to commanders on the best tactics, techniques, and procedures at most levels, all the way down to the company level in army aviation. They are in most fields of the military like maintenance, personnel, property, aviation, special forces, etc.
Warrant officers in the American military are commissioned officers, so in some instances they can be used as an XO or detachment commander. They usually have limited Uniformed Code of Military Justice(UCMJ) authority, but are just as capable of running a unit as a captain or a major.
In the case of Ridley, rank and position aren’t the same thing. Ridley is a warrant officer in the aviation branch, but the third ranking officer after the commander and XO or first officer.
Warrant officers are supposed to be those people with knowledge that is an inch wide but a mile deep about a certain subject, but they are almost always very capable people and sometimes take on more roles. US Army aviation is the worst about this. They use flight warrants as catch all officers and will use them as supply officers, NBC officers, unit movement officers, or really any other job there isn’t an enlisted person qualified to do the job.
Most of my experience is US Army aviation, so feel free to take it all with that in mind.
That helps a lot with the context of my question, so I really appreciate it.
That definitely fits in with her cinematic role of doing everything and checking over everything that everybody else does, as well as offering advice to the captain regularly on his plans and orders.
So what about the XO?
I would expect them to question the captain on their orders more than the third officer.
Then again, Kane seems to agree with everything that Dallas suggests, so maybe he’s just a yes man and that’s why Ripley is so forward with her suggestions.
Warrant officers are notoriously blunt and voices of reason in a command group. They are the realists that usually tell the commander how it is, as opposed to what they think people want to hear since they usually know the most in the room about whatever it is they specialize in. In everything but army aviation there is usually only one or two warrant officers in a battalion of hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers. They usually only answer to the highest ranking person at the table. Aviation warrant officers are more prevalent in terms of numbers but usually no less opinionated and while overruled very often will gladly tell their commanders how something probably won’t work out like it’s planned and then sit back and watch everything burn like they said it would.
In my own personal experience, XOs don’t usually grow a spine unless they were outstanding platoon leaders OR after they have been in command of a whole unit.
Adding on to this, TECHNICALLY speaking the freshest butter bar (lowest ranking commissioned) outranks the highest warrant. However, just as it would be foolish for a lieutenant to try and pull rank on their grizzled platoon sergeant, it would be foolish for an officer to dismiss the advice of a warrant for all of the reasons stated above.
Also, I find the biggest distinction between warrants and other officers is their attitude on command, which I think fits very well with discussing Ripley’s role on the ship. The warrants I have worked with typically have little to no interest in being in charge of other people, outside of a small team of folks dedicated to a common mission (e.g. a vehicle maintenance shop, supply warehouse crew, etc). If they wanted to be supervisors, they either would have remained NCOs or commissioned as lieutenants rather than warrants. So, Ripley being put in a position where she is responsible for others is probably both not in her wheelhouse, and actually antithetical to her desires. That’s always gone a long way for me as for as explaining her prickliness early on (especially relating to Yafet Kotto and Harry Dean Stanton’s blue collar “enlisted man” characters).
Thanks, that’s making a whole lot of sense in context of the movie.
So you would agree that it’s odd for them to have a warrant officer with a crew of seven?
Or do crews always have a captain, the executive officer and then the warrant officer regardless of the size of the crew?
Not 100% of course, but in general.
As far as I know all manned aircraft pilots in the US military are commissioned or warrant officers. I think it makes complete sense that you would want a pilot that was specifically trained for whatever missions you were going on. Someone whose sole focus is on flying but can adapt in a pinch and has management skills to offload some of the work from the commander and XO.
In a normal aviation company there are two platoons of pilots and almost all of those are warrant officers and a platoon leader who really just manages the other pilots.
Rad, thanks. That really helps, I couldn’t understand her role very clearly since she did so much, but with your explanation and context, it all makes perfect sense.
Have a good one
You are quite welcome! I hope you have a lovely one as well.