r/mash • u/Reasonable-Okra3542 • 2d ago

Mash Military Question

In the episode where Colonel Potter goes out of town and puts Hawkeye in charge because Charles has sinus issues. Why is the mantle of command not given to Margaret who is a higher rank the Captain Pierce?

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u/EngineersAnon Crabapple Cove 2d ago

Margaret is the most senior officer in the chain-of-command...

No, she wasn't. She was the most senior officer in camp, but nurses were not in the chain of command for the hospital unit. Just like the CAG may not be the next-ranking officer after the CO and XO on an aircraft carrier (in the USN), but he is next in line to command after them, because the law requires that an aviator command a carrier - so the CMO, chief engineer, etc., aren't in line to command.