I dunno whats sooo unparalleled on Major's recon and arty, compared to an aura buff and 3 arty, but whatever...
One of the OH artillery officer abilities requires existing indirect fire assets to be in range so if you dont have any, it's a useless ability.
The mortar barrage is weaker than the major arty especially with vet. Both are easily dodgeable but the majors is better vs structures which cant move.
Recon is extremely powerful in this game, a non doc recon pass is incredibly good.
Major has forward retreat ability.
Major costs less to repurchase should you lose it and gains shared exp meaning vetting him up again isnt too hard.
Though the major does fare worse in direct combat, this can be offset somewhat by kitting him with weapons-in particular the 30cal LMG or zooks.
Finally vet 3 sprint makes him great for capping.
I'd say decoy smoke vs smoke barrage have similar utility but the smoke barrage is slightly more powerful.
I dont ever recall the passive aura for the sturmofficer being considered OP. In fact the problem with the sturmofficer was that nobody good ever picked it since it was a volatile unit(caused mass retreats to yourself) and the aura he provided didnt make up for his own lack of firepower compared to just getting a squad of obers instead.
The artillery officer aura fits into a similar category except that it only lasts a measly 20seconds with a tiny radius and costs you munitions instead of being passive.
I am not saying the artillery field officer is bad, in fact I really really like using the unit and I think it is criminally underrated but there is definitely no comparison to the Major's utility especially given that its non doc.