It ain't that weird in practice. Step into my new world of 2 seat fighters (was always single seat before). My skipper (CO/CC, whatever you want to call it) is a WSO, former RIO. We fly all the time together, one might even say we are quasi crewed together. I'm a senior O-3/(O-4 select), he is a senior O-5, so maybe not quite as much pay grade difference as your example, but I am still quite definitely junior to him and he is my boss's boss. I will always be the aircraft commander, and I will also always be the only one who can release ordnance from the aircraft. I'll also generally be the instructor (not for him, but for the junior guys in our flight). Never had a problem with that arrangement, and I think the military does a good job overall, in a multi-place aircraft, of checking rank at the door.......we make decisions together as a crew, and while I trust his experience and judgement, if he was for some bizarre reason, trying to talk me into a bad decision, I wouldn't hesitate to go ICS off and do what I need to do.....we can talk about it safely on the ground, and I know that is what he would expect me to do as well, as the "man"......not that such a thing would ever happen, but the designation of aircraft commander is not subject to rank.