Standard military term, often abbreviated to 2ic.

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-01-07 12:24:20 GMT)
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Or if one officer is delegating responsibility to more than one subordinate officer or N.C.O., simply 'subordinates'.

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Note added at 13 hrs (2007-01-08 01:09:30 GMT)
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Thanks for the additional info. So only battalion commanders or the higher echelons can give the order for a piece of equipment to be destroyed (we usually say "written off" in the UK military), but they can delegate this responsibility to their respective subordinates/2ic's if justified by the circumstances. BTW, check my CV ;-)

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Note added at 14 hrs (2007-01-08 01:38:17 GMT)
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Incidentally, the way this usually runs is as follows (e.g.): Squaddie breaks item; Corporal gives b****cking to squaddie, reports to Sergeant; Sergeant gives b****cking to squaddie, puts him on charge, reports to Platoon Commander and CQMS (Company Quartermaster Sergeant); CQMS reports u/s item via CSM (Company Sergeant Major), who (via Company 2ic and Company Commander) reports it to QM (Quartermaster, usually with rank of Major) who put his weekly/monthly report of total losses and breakages on the Adjutant's desk. The Adjutant sorts out the paperwork, gets the high blood pressure, has a word with the respective Company Commander over a G&T in the mess and gets the Colonel (actually Lieutenant-Colonel, the commander of the battalion) to sign the chit to write off the offending piece of equipment. It could be a burnt beret, it could be a burnt tank; the paperwork stays the same. Just thought I would add this as background info.