In the U.S. Army and in the British Army Air Corps, commissioned officers lead and command the unit on the ground and in air and fly in the gunner's seat in the Apache. Professional pilots (Warrant Officers and Sergeants) fly the airplanes. When you let the officer do jobs that they do not have the experience to do, you get soldiers killed. The best example is LTC Ralph Hayles who decided to fight his Apache rather than command his battalion.