Alright, took a look at the stats on this thing.. and they do not look good:
GDI Officer:
Damage: 6.5
ROF: 14
6.5 x 14 = 91 DPS
Range: 75
Spray Angle: 1.1
Elite Cadre:
Damage: 9
ROF: 11.5
9 x 11.5 = 103.5 DPS
Range: 75
Spray Angle: 0.35
Summary:
Not only does the Elite Cadre do more damage, but it also has superior accuracy, which means more bullets will hit. The officer has absolutely nothing going for it-not even range-except for clip size, which doesn't matter when you are dead.
In addition, the Elite Cadre serves an anti-vehicle role which it really shouldn't since they have a Rocket Soldier, which makes it far superior to the Officer, which only serves an anti-air role (useless in most maps).
NOTE: I apologize for the slight condescending tone of the original post here, I've had a very bad few weeks.