Isn't there already a system in place for that sort of thing. I know a couple civilian experts who worked as consultants in iraq (think like water treatment plant engineers) who were given "effective" officer ranks to smooth out interactions with the military members they worked with directly, clarify who they could and couldn't tell what to do. But they didn't wear uniforms, weren't saluted, weren't considered members of the military for most purposes, are not counted as veterans, etc.

If it were simply that, this is a problem the military has run into before and has solutions to it. This is something else: at best weird propaganda at worst I don't really know.