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I think it has something to do with tradition. After Cromwell, the established British army had officers who bought their rank through outright money purchase or a combination of that and all that aristocrastic ponce stuff. The upper class were the officers, and a gentleman who commanded 100 men "should at least be a major". The Brits were and seem to still be enamoured by the classics and I believe they see company command as a role for a centurion (in Brit eyes a major).
I see an earlier comment about the Prussians and the US Army - maybe something to do with Von Clauswitz. I think the US rank system comes straight from the British army during the revolution and has nothing to do with American admiration for the Prussian rank system. The US army seems to have maintained the logical way to go about this. 2nd LT - platoon leader, 1st LT company XO, next rank is captain for company actual.
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