"Then again, a good, freshly minted officer actually LISTENS to his or hers sergeants and other experienced troops."

Good point ..... in this day and age you think that would be part of an officer's training .... also the understanding that the expected duty of sergeant is to mentor the fresh 2nd LT.

I recall reading somewhere that the current conflict in Iraq is a sergeant's war ... meaning more control had been given to the noncoms at the platoon level. But it appears then that many of the sergeants themselves are young and experienced.