In-game ranks

F

firefox91

Spaceman
I had a question about the rank system in the WC universe? Is there any table laying out the rank structure? I occurred to me while reading End Run that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

The game from the beginning follows what seems to be an Air Force style... 2LT, 1LT, CPT, MAJ, ect. And of course Blair is a Colonel by WC3. But then he is later promoted to a Commodore which is a Navy rank. And his boss was an Admiral, also Navy. In the Milk Run part of End Run, the CPT of the ship (Air Force type rank) has a superior officer on board, a Lt. Commander. (Navy rank) Then they also mention a Gunny (sargent I assume, Marines?) that was in the gun turret of the Sabre that crashed on the deck of the carrier. Huh?

I just can't make any reason to it. Maybe I got some information wrong somewhere, but I am still confused.
 
The Space Force and Space Navy have two distinct rank structures; Blair changed over from one to the other when he got the Commodore promotion. I think the Kilrathi Saga manual has the layout of ranks for both military bodies.
 
Hmmm. That would make sense. I found the rank structure in the book like you said. It confused me even more. They had 2 ensign ranks for the Navy so to even that out they made both the 2LT and 1LT O-3 ranks. To make things worse, there is a little article about Blair getting court marshalled for the destruction of the Tiger's Claw. It said he was a Lt. Commander, not Major. I think I am pretty much convinced that the writers of Wing Commander let the rank stucture go out the window. It doesn't matter, it's still a great story. I am reading my first Wing Commander book and loving every page. Good stuff!
 
Apparently, in the books, it's not uncommon at all for people from either branch to have any job. Colonels commanding ships. Navy Captains flying fighters. Wierd stuff.
 
Navy captains flyving fighters thats ok, since they may have been pilots before they became captains (still its not the right place for a captain) , but colonels commanding ships is worse...
 
Colonels don't usually become ship commanders except under extenuating circumstances. IE the captain is killed or incapacitated and the next senior officer is the CAG for example. (See Blair in WC4 for a similiar example, where he's the highest ranking officer left on the Intrepid.)
As for Navy pilots, the Navy and Marine Corps would probably still hold a few, just a few fighter squadrons for whatever reason. Marine squadrons exist today on carriers in the US and Royal militaries. Navy captains flying fighters would be uncommon, but even then, Air Force colonels today sometimes still fly.
 
Is there an Army in the Confed forces? Shouldn'1 the Navy become the Spacy, or be absorved by the Space Forces? Shouldn't the Marines become Spaceines or something?
 
I've always assumed that in the Wing Commander universe, the Marines and the Army are a single force. It makes sense, as the US Marines are a land attack unit of the US Navy, and traditionally are engaged in beach landings, while the Army is more focused on traditional ground-based assault, with heavier weapons, artillery, etc. Any invasion of a planet would require both characteristics.
 
I had a question about the rank system in the WC universe? Is there any table laying out the rank structure? I occurred to me while reading End Run that it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
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Here's the rank chart from Victory Streak: http://wingcommander.by.ru/VS/Streak08.html

There's no set Marine rank chart, but based on everything we know it's exactly like the modern US military: Enlisted ranks have not been very well fleshed out in the Wing Commander universe. They're rarely mentioned outside of the occasional marine name.

The game from the beginning follows what seems to be an Air Force style... 2LT, 1LT, CPT, MAJ, ect. And of course Blair is a Colonel by WC3. But then he is later promoted to a Commodore which is a Navy rank. And his boss was an Admiral, also Navy. In the Milk Run part of End Run, the CPT of the ship (Air Force type rank) has a superior officer on board, a Lt. Commander. (Navy rank) Then they also mention a Gunny (sargent I assume, Marines?) that was in the gun turret of the Sabre that crashed on the deck of the carrier. Huh?
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Basically there's the Space Force and the Navy. It's kind of confusing, as both groups train pilots - so there are squadrons with naval ranks (like in End Run) and squadrons with Space Force ranks).

(Gunner is an enlisted position - the cantina drunk guy in the TPoF novel talks about how he enlisted as a gunner and worked his way up to earning a comission and training as a pilot.)

Apparently, in the books, it's not uncommon at all for people from either branch to have any job. Colonels commanding ships. Navy Captains flying fighters. Wierd stuff.
Click to expand...

The books generally only feature Naval ranks (the 'original' novels, anyway - End Run, Fleet Action, etc.). You won't ever find a Colonel commanding a ship of the line unless the nominal command staff have been incapacitated for some reason (this happened in the original Secret Missions - Colonel Halcyon commanded the Tiger's Claw).
 
It sort of confused me for a while and then I managed to work it out. Yes navy and flight do have different rank structures unless the fliers are navy boys and girls then the rank structures are entirely the same. Now you yanks appear to use the same rank insignia regardless which one it is.

I guess the authors of the books just prefered the idea of having navy ranks.

Even in todays forces it is not uncommon to get NCO's flying helicopters and such, it is just the way it is.

On a carrier the CAG is as important as the captain and in flight operations has control over the entire ship. Now if the captain was incapacitated during a time of intense flight operations then the logical progression is for the next tactical commander, the CAG to have control over the entire ship for the duration. All other promotions are at the discretion of the forces
 
Important to point out that CAG != Wing Commander. CAG is a Naval position, and is one that could be over multiple Wing Commanders (Midway and Vesuvius, for instance, would have three and four Wing Commanders respectively).
 
Yes climber, the US Military uses the same insignia for all rank branches, so you can tell rank equivalents regardless of what service branch they are in.

Also, I have to admit that the article with "Lieutenant Commander Blair" was strange.
 
No, he's saying that the Midway and Vesuvius have multiple wings, each consisting of multiple squadrons (which, in turn, are divided into multiple wings on a per-mission basis).
 
climber said:
Even in todays forces it is not uncommon to get NCO's flying helicopters and such, it is just the way it is.
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Umm, helicopter pilots in the US military must be officers. Thus the creation of the Warrent Officer being the lowest of the low officer but still an officer.
 
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