#majors (army-marines-air force) are O-4

[marisatomay]

just realized that the bidens’ dogs are named major and commander but he got commander after major which means he made the decision to have his younger dog outrank the elder…no wonder they keep biting people

[i-need-entertainment]

Haikyuu!! and what branch of the military they’d be in

*ONCE AGAIN this is just my opinion and what I can see them doing*

~Time to put my NJROTC knowledge to use~

Characters: Akaashi, Washio, Konoha, Kita Shinsuke, Suna Rintaro, Ushijima Wakatoshi, Yahaba Shiguru, Iwaizumi Hajime, Futakuchi Kenji and Daishou Suguru.

Akaashi Keiji: Navy; He’s in the JAG (junior Advocate General) corps

Basically a lawyer but for the Navy.

i don’t really know why, but he just fits in the navy, y’know?

Starts out as an officer since he did ROTC in college, definitely got in through an ROTC scholarship.

He probably retires as a Captain (O-6) or something like that.

Overall, he’s pretty good at his job, works hard and all that stuff and I can kinda see him retiring to be a Senior Naval Science Instructor for a NJROTC at some school.

Washio Tatsuki: Army combat medic

He’s very caring and smart, but also a big beefy guy. So Army Combat Medic really just rounds him out perfectly.

Very hardworking and liked by those around him.

He’s also a very good medic, but also an excellent fighter.

I see him having a very successful career, and he probaby retires as a Warrant Officer 2 or 3. (Ranks inbetween enlisted and officer)

Konoha Akinori: Air Force; pilot

Stereotypical pilot. He’s carefree and lovable, but serious when the situation calls for it.

Hates hot shot pilots, and never hesitates to rOaSt them. Not viciously, but in the ‘playful’ way that even his superiors laugh at.

Has a fairly long career, but I see him retiring fairly young, probably to pursue another interest.

Porbably retires at like a captain (O-3) or Major (O-4).

Kita Shinsuke: Air Force; Physician

He just fits as a physician so well. He’s not a combat medic like Washio, so he doesn’t fight perse, he helps the other service members/their families.

I can see him having a shorter Air force career, and instead retiring and becoming a normal physician after 10 years or so.

When he is in the service however, he is extremely good at what he does and is adored by his superiors.

He has a great work ethic and is very cleanly and dilligent, all of which are good traits for the military.

Probably retires as a Captain (O-3).

Suna Rintaro: Marine Corps; Tank crewman

My sister helped with this one. She pointed out Marines since he’s too dumb for the other branches.

He seems like he’d drive a tank; hence the tank crewman.

Probably joined cause he couldn’t do anything else, and for all the benefits.

I see him only being in until he finds something else/goes to school.

Probably retires as a Corporal (E-4)

Ushijima Wakatoshi: Marine Corps; rifleman then drill sergeant

This is what most people think when they think military.

I just think if he were to join the military, he’d go for the hard core fighting stuff.

Definitely goes for NCO (non-commissioned officer), maybe even drill sergeant later on in his career.

No doubt has an impressive track record/career.

Probably retires as a Master Sergeant (E-8) or Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9).

Yahaba Shiguru: Air Force; security forces

The first thing that came to mind for him was *law enforcement*.

He’s in the airforce, but takes it very seriously. Definitely speaks up when people around him slack off.

I can see him ranking up pretty quickly, definitely well liked by superiors since he’ll do anything lol.

Probably gets to about E-5, then goes to school and becomes an officer. I can see him retiring at Major (O-4).

Iwaizumi Hajime: Army; army ranger

Like Ushijima, I couldn’t think of putting him anywhere else EXCEPT combat.

BUT I went with army for him, specifically Army ranger, think the army’s version of the Navy SEAL’s.

Very good at what he does, and is in E X C E L L E N T  shape.

Makes everyone else in his platoon look bad lol.

Another one who’s well liked by his superiors, he promotes quickly too but stays enlisted.

I see him retiring as a Master Sergeant (E-8) or Sergeant Major (E-9).

Futakuchi Kenji: Navy; Information systems technician 

This man is the bane of every one of his superiors existence.

AND YET none of them can find it in them to hate him, since he still does his job and he does it quite well.

Shamelessly gets drunk at port tho, but at the same time makes sure he’s with trusted buds.

Surprisingly promotes quickly too, and I see him retiring as some sort of superviser, probably as a Chief (E-7).

Somehow ends up getting roped into being a Naval Science instructor for an NJROTC at his kid’s high school.

Daishou Suguru: Navy; navy SEAL

My sister helped with this one too, I asked her what she thought and the first thing that came to mind was “navy seal”. And to be completely honest, I see it.

Definitely wanted to be one as a kid and he just stuck with it as he got older.

He’s very well liked by his superiors and he promotes real quickly....he’s just hated by everyone else.

Not the type to cheat so to say, but he definitely has bended some rules in the past.

‘No sir, I just got a haircut yesterday, the barber must not have done it right’ or ‘sorry sir, I take full responsibility, I should have learned my 8th order when they never taught it to me’ little sweety phrased words that get him outta trouble EVERY TIME.

I see him retiring as a chief (E-7) and becoming a Naval Science Instructor to rival someone he was in a platoon with or something. (*COugh Kuroo...?)

[futurestarfleetcaptain]

Starfleet Enlisted Personnel

So I have headcanons about Starfleet’s enlisted force. But this post is also going to include a lot of explanations for people who may be confused about the differences between officers and enlisted and how it all works. This is gonna be a long post and I am very sorry but I really felt the need to write this.

First off, I know some people say that Gene Roddenberry wanted Starfleet to be completely made up of commissioned officers with no enlisted ranks, but I couldn’t seem to find a source for that. (If you have a source, you’re welcome to provide me with one). Also like.... yeomen are enlisted and they were in TOS so like??? Even if that was his original intention, it seems to have been abandoned pretty early on. Besides that, enlisted personnel are referenced in the other series as well, including, most famously, Chief O’Brien. So. Anyway clearly there are enlisted members of Starfleet, they just don’t play a big role in the shows (other than O’Brien). Which means lots of room for headcanons!! So here we go.

Okay, so like. I have a lot of first-hand experience and knowledge about how ranks in the military work and Starfleet is the Federation’s acting military* and their ranks are based on the United States Navy so I’m gonna try to explain Navy ranks as I go, so just bear with me. (Also it should be noted that a lot of my experience with the military is with the Air Force and my Navy knowledge is mostly second-hand so I’m not like an Expert™️.) (Also also we’re not gonna get into warrant officers because warrant officers confuse me and there doesn’t seem to be any mention of them in the shows or on Memory Alpha.)

Okay so the first thing you need to know about military ranks is that officers ALWAYS outrank enlisted. Even a brand new officer fresh out of the academy outranks an enlisted member with 20 years experience. It’s just The Way That It Is. Now, a good officer will defer to the experienced enlisted and listen to their advice/allow them to take the lead, but the officer still calls the shots. Also there is this thing in the military called a “paygrade” which... probably doesn’t apply in Starfleet since they don’t get paid, but I’m going to reference them here since it makes it easier to see who outranks who and what-not.

So the enlisted paygrades are E-1 through E-9 and the officer paygrades are O-1 through O-10 (E for enlisted, O for officer). Each paygrade corresponds with a rank and each branch of the military has the same paygrades (albeit with different corresponding ranks) so as to make it easy to figure out who outranks who when interacting with other branches (again, usually not relevant in Starfleet since there are no other branches but it helps when they work with other organizations like the Bajoran Militia). So like, a chief petty officer in the Navy and a master sergeant in the Air Force are both E-7s, so they’re the same rank and get paid the same. But a captain in the Navy is an O-6 and a captain in the Air Force is an O-3 so a Navy captain outranks an Air Force captain and gets paid more, if that makes sense. The Bajoran Militia’s ranks bore a lot of similarity to the US Army and Marines, so if we’re going to use that as a reference, Major Kira was an O-4. Sisko was an O-5 as a commander and an O-6 as a captain, so he outranked her. Anyway the Navy ranks/paygrades are as follows:

Enlisted

E-1 Seaman Recruit

E-2 Seaman Apprentice

E-3 Seaman

E-4 Petty Officer 3rd Class

E-5 Petty Officer 2nd Class

E-6 Petty Officer 1st Class

E-7 Chief Petty Officer

E-8 Senior Chief Petty Officer

E-9 Master Chief Petty Officer

Officers

O-1 Ensign

O-2 Lieutenant Junior Grade

O-3 Lieutenant

O-4 Lieutenant Commander

O-5 Commander

O-6 Captain

O-7 Rear Admiral Lower Half

O-8 Rear Admiral Upper Half (or just Rear Admiral)

O-9 Vice Admiral

O-10 Admiral

There’s also one higher than that known as Fleet Admiral, but that only gets awarded in wartime when necessary and hasn’t been awarded since WWII (at least in the Navy, idk about the other branches equivalents). Also O-7 through O-10 are all addressed as “Admiral” so not everyone who gets called Admiral on Star Trek is an O-10. Also in Starfleet “Seaman” is replaced with “Crewman”. So E-1 through E-3 in Starfleet would be Crewman Recruit, Crewman Apprentice, and Crewman, respectively.

Also, the enlisted are split up into 3 tiers: junior enlisted (E-1 to E-3), non-commisioned officers/NCOs (E-4 to E-6), and senior non-commisioned officers/senior NCOs/SNCOs (E-7 to E-9). Chief O’Brien is an E-8 (Senior Chief Petty Officer) which means he’s a SNCO and therefore high enough ranking to run a department even though he’s not a commissioned officer.

Now on to the headcanons!

So, considering we don’t see much of them in the shows, my main headcanon is there aren’t many enlisted on starships. I think most of them are posted on starbases/space stations or at Starfleet Command doing clerical work and what-not for the admirals. I think only a few enlisted get assigned to starships and they make up the majority of the security with a handful in engineering. And back when they used to have yeoman obviously some of those were assigned to starships too.

Another reason I don’t think we see many of them is that the shows focus heavily on the captains and their senior staff who are all officers. So something I’d like to see is a Star Trek show from the perspective of the enlisted, particularly the junior enlisted. What are their duties? What are all the unseen tasks they do that are critical to running a starship/space station? What are their thoughts on the officers, particularly the captain? What about the SNCOs? I NEED IT.

One of my headcanons is also that the ratio of officers to enlisted is different in Starfleet than in the current US military. I think the enlisted still outnumber the officers but by far less than they do now.

Also it should be noted that Chief O’Brien’s general attitude/grumpiness/exasperation is an Enlisted Mood™️. Enlisted people are just Like That.

Anyway this turned out way longer than I expected it to but feel free to add your thoughts!!

*I know Starfleet is not a military organization and their primary mission is exploration and discovery, but they are the Federation’s defense force and - when necessary - fight wars. So they act as the Federation’s military in that respect. Just like, in a defensive rather than offensive capacity.

[ad1thi]

the significance of james rhodes

or why he doesn’t deserve to be slept on an essay by me

--

based on the recent james rhodes appreciation, but ultimately influenced by this post

--

i told y’all i would write an essay right??

--

Under the hierarchy established by the United States Military Forces, applicable to the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force, the rank of Colonel is the most senior field grade military officer rank. It classifies as an O-6 pay grade, and is one of the most respected military roles, requiring a minimum of 22 years of service (in which 3 must be a Lieutenant Colonel) in order to qualify for promotion. 

In it’s most crude terms, a Colonel of ANY military divison (Air Force, Army or Marine Corps) is automatically the highest ranking field officer. 

Colonels are also famously responsible major significant changes in both wartime and peacetime, and go onto to be some of the most decorated military servants. Notable examples of Colonels include: President Roosevelt, Colonel Jack Jacobs, Colonel Aldrin and Colonel McSally 

Directly superseding the rank of Colonel is the rank of Brigadier General, an O-7 rank of generals who’re chosen from a suggested list given to POTUS and then, the Senate. 

Simply put, the rank of Colonel is one of the most significant roles in the US military.

In this essay I will discuss how the implication of this rank on the character James Rhodes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and why his military ranking is significantly more important than that of more celebrated military affiliated characters such as Captain Steve Rogers, Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes and Pararescue Samuel Wilson

This essay in no way aims to diminish said characters, or pit these characters against James Rhodes, but to simply highlight the apparent disparity in the representation of their respective rankings and importance, both within canon and fanon

James Rhodes is first introduced to us in the pivotal origin film Iron Man 1, where he is addressed as a Lt.Col. This means that, cumulatively, James Rhodes has already served for a minimum of 15 years. He is an alumni of MIT (where he famously met and befriended protagonist Tony Stark), and also the official military liaison between the USAF and Stark Industries. It can be reasonably assumed that Rhodes joined the military straight out of MIT, meaning that his entire adult life, or a significant part of it, has been the USAF. 

This is important because there is a proven difference between civilian reasoning and military reasoning, and evidence that continued exposure to military professionalism changes the way one thinks, making civilian life extremely harrowing on a person built for military.  In one of his very first scenes, during the infamous i will be shutting down all weapons production press conference, Rhodes is visibly uncomfortable and upset by the decision made by his bestfriend.

Unless Tony, who is a civilian and to whom any death is significant, James is more likely accustomed to casualties over the years of his service and therefore is not likely to have been affected by the deaths of the soldiers in the way Tony was. The clearest example of this is that while Rhodes extensively searched for Tony, there seemed to be no significant desire to exact vengeance for the death of the foot soldiers like Tony so clearly shows throughout the film. From the time of the kidnapping to the penultimate end of the film, Tony Stark, a civilian, is bent on fixing his wrongs and making up for the deaths caused, while James is torn between following protocol and watching out for his hair-brained bestfriend. 

This is a very important distinction because it is worth considering how the movie may have played out differently had James been in the cave instead of Tony. One of the defining moments in Tony’s life is Yinsen’s sacrifice. However, given his military background, it is hard to argue that James would’ve made the same decisions Tony made (shutting down weapons production, building Iron Man and using it to destroy illegal weapon shipments). The more likely outcome is that James would’ve reported the infraction to his immediate superior, and taken steps to stop the illegal weapons trade; but one is hard-pressed to see a scenario where James shuts down weapons production. 

In fact, within the entire film, the only scene in which James breaks protocol is when Tony identifies himself as the UFO that the Air Force is currently gunning down. 

Right from the origin film, James Rhodes is established a significant character with his own opinions, thought processes and reasoning, and is not simply a side character or the protagonist’s yes man. 

--

This of course doesn’t mean that james is the military’s yes man

James Rhodes is a black colonel in the USAF. He has fought various prejudices and discrimination to reach where he is.

In Iron Man 2, James Rhodes is introduced, and has with him, a comprehensive study on the pros and cons of the Iron Man armour (and the pros and cons of it being in Tony’s hand)

Select paragraphs demonstrate the weaknesses of the Iron Man armour and the man who wields it, but James is visibly upset about this unilateral pinpointing of his study as opposed to a comprehensive study, something he make abundantly clear

Unlike most military, James also doesn’t hackle Tony and demand that he mass produce the suits for military consumption (though he does try to reason with Tony, its clear that he won’t push the issue) and only requisitions one after the birthday party incident; in which James is shown to be increasingly worried about Tony’s mental state and tries on multiple occasions to show support before ultimately making the decision that Tony cannot be trusted with the suit.

James in a later scene is also seen to be arguing with his superior officer about allowing anyone but him pilot the suit, and also about allowing Justin Hammer modify it in any way. He is overly critical of the weapons presented by Hammer, which could be attributed to his time at MIT or his continued exposure to tech mogul Tony Stark.  

In Iron Man 3, we see that James Rhodes has since been promoted to Colonel (potentially, in part, due to his efforts in Iron Man 2); meaning he has now served a minimum of 22 years. The armour that he requisitioned from Tony has been rebranded and given a new paint job (which can possibly by interpreted as the military’s way of recreating the iconic Captan America persona); and James is conducting various solo missions that compliment Tony’s initial purpose of the armour. 

It is important to note that despite the existence of the Avengers, headlined by non other than WW2 legend Steve Rogers, James’ allegiance is still towards the US Military. Despite all its faults, James very clearly believes in what the US Military stands for. James is also extremely protective towards the proprietary amour, whether because of the advantage it presents to the USAF or out of respect to his bestfriend’s intellect is unclear, but the sentiment is the same- James, like Tony, doesn’t trust the Iron Man armour in the hands of another (this is also seen in IM2, when he insists on being the sole pilot).

James then makes a cameo in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where he is seen joining the team, possibly replacing Tony Stark (who, after the events of the film, chooses to retire)

Here is where things get muddled up

Steve Rogers, while being an extremely shrewd and talented strategist, has cumulatively accrued 4 years of service in the US Army, and is an 0-3 ranked Captain. His rank is extremely inferior to James’ Colonel- and has also not been an active member of the military for a significant amount of time.

Granted, he was frozen for most of that, but the fact remains that after his brief stint as an Avenger, he then joins SHIELD as a quasi-spy, and doesn’t return to the military. Steve’s rank as leader of the Avengers in the 2012 film made sense since, among the 6 of them, he was the only one with any military experience and quite frankly, any experience as a soldier in a warzone.

But Steve is ignorant to many real time tensions, the politics and power plays between various military decisions and simply hasn’t been around the current military structure long enough to justify his rank as leader, and is especially not of the correct rank to give order to Colonel James Rhodes

In an extremely real life scenario, the Avengers are a specialised branch of military. It genuinely does not matter that they aren’t officially affiliated to the military, and that they operate outside the purview of any official special forces; as far as any other country is concerned- the Avengers are an extremely violate nuclear warhead about to blow.

The politics and diplomacy involved in negotiating Avenger-intervention is something that reasonably, only Tony Stark or James Rhodes, and possibly, Natasha Romanoff, could handle. The distinct lack of regard for sovereignty and single-minded focus on one’s narrow goals that Steve inherited in WW2 is perfectly shown in the Lagos incident.

During WW2, there was mass carnage, and Europe as a whole was a battlefield. The world’s biggest powers were at war, and things like borders scarcely mattered. Soldiers in WW2 were highly unlikely to know when they were crossing the border from France to Germany, or Germany to Belgium, and even if they did, it didn’t matter. It was a time of war. Sovereignty wasn’t really on anyone’s mind. 

But the world has drastically changed since WW2.

National sovereignty is one of the most sacred things in the global community, and as harsh as it is, multiple countries use national sovereignty and diplomatic immunity to escape with various human rights infractions. 

With the current politic climate, and especially, the military and political power that the United States wields, there is no circumstance in which it would be okay for Steve Rogers to take a team of extremely skilled and sometimes, meta- humans; wearing a suit with the american flag; and exact his version of justice.

Collateral damage is simply not okay.

As stated earlier, for better or for worse, the Avengers are viewed as an extension of the already expansive US military power. For them to completely ignore international borders and treaties and operate in Lagos, especially given that certain members of the team (wendy bitchimoff) have powers of untold proportions and no true grasp over them.

In contrast, it is in the personal opinion of the author that had James been leading the Avengers, he would’ve navigated the diplomatic waters much more smoothly, possibly arranged action in tandem with Nigeria instead of just showing up in Lagos, and the entire incident would’ve been much smoother.

It is also important to note that the Avengers were in Lagos at full force not on official Avengers business, but rather, following a personal investigation by Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. In a more realistic scenario, the Avengers would’ve liaised with Nigerian officials and not have been in Lagos at all.

While there is sufficient consideration given to the fact that Brock Rumlow was a HYDRA agent and targeting a biological weapon, he and his team were ultimately, human, and the force of the full Avengers rota seems excessive (and likely the reason there were so many collateral casualties and damages)

The final and probably the most important part of James’ arc; is his stance on the Accords. 

Again, it must be emphasised, that he is a military career man.

Order and hierarchy and assignments passed down the chain of command is a concept that makes the most sense to him.

He is extremely used to joining units, reporting to a supervising officer, walking into the line of fire simply because he was told to do so. The Accords, in its most simplest terms, was aiming at developing a chain of command for the Avengers.

This is extremely important because there is a popular stance that James simply followed the Accords because he was Tony’s yes man. But if one looks at James through the entire of the marvel cinematic universe; his character has never once shied away from stating what he believed was right; and is usually the most level headed and diplomatic character.

Thus, it is extremely confusing that the mcu as a whole tends to largely ignore his authoritative status (except for Tony, who regularly defers to James, but that can be attributed to their friendship) and it is quite honestly criminal that various directors and producers have overlooked the potential of this character; and also blatantly ignored the very existent hierarchy that exists within career military men and women.

As any active or retired military personnel will tell you, within the US Military Forces, rank is everything. It was cute when STeve was 5 foot nothing and disregarded orders, but after 10 years and 23 or so films, one would hope he’d show some character development. 

In conclusion, Colonel James Rhodes is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in terms of his military prowess, his intellect, his ability to navigate the War Machine armour, the connections he’s developed during the course of his career, the loyalty he’s inspired in his cadets, and his sheer presence

and he does not deserve to be slept on

--

thank you for reading hope you enjoyed!!

[bailesu]

Just a few more Traveller characters

Man, this is addictive.

This is using https://devilghost.com/software/travellercharacter/

Merchant undefined Diego Zhang    B856A4    Age 22 1 term                        Cr1,000

Skills: Steward-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Merchants. Enlistment accepted. Denied reenlistment after first term.

Born to a poor grav-truck-driving family, Diego worked super hard in school to compensate for not being too bright.  Frequent playground brawls led him to develop his body.  Unfortunately, it also made him too used to solving things with his fists and his brief service in the merchant marine ended with him punching out too many people who didn’t like their dinner (he was assigned to waiter duty and given logistical training.)

Army Major Brom Yang    B66595    Age 26 2 terms                        Cr32,000

Skills: Dagger-1, Electronics-1, Grav Vehicle-1, Rifle-2, SMG-2

Benefits: High Passage

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as Lieutenant. Promoted to Captain. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Promoted to Major. Chose not to reenlist after second term.

Brom leaped out of the womb and did a little dance, then studied hard in school and entered the military, which rewarded his skill service with rapid promotion.  Eventually, however, the ‘near death’ to ‘reward’ level got too high and he decided it was time to seek other opportunities.  He didn’t last long enough for a pension and actually won his high passage in a lottery.  His main job was grav-vehicle sniper, shooting things while tooling around in a grav vehicle.  Electronics is his hobby and Dagger was his compensation for having only middling-low strength.  

Merchant 4th Officer David Yamazaki    768865    Age 30 3 terms                        Cr42,000

Skills: Tracked Vehicle-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Merchants. Enlistment accepted. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Commissioned during second term of service as 4th Officer. Voluntarily reenlisted for third term. Chose not to reenlist after third term.

Born the son of a barber and a hair stylist, he was okay at everything.  His straight Cs let him finish his education without shame or honor and he went into the merchant marine hoping to get rich.  Instead, they just had him drive trucks on muddy planets for twelve years and he got fed up and quit.

Merchant 3rd Officer William Saar    ABB8AA    Age 34 4 terms                        Cr7,000

Skills: Electronics-1, Laser Rifle-2, Mechianical-1, Medical-1, Streetwise-1

Benefits: Laser Rifle, Low Passage

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Merchants. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as 4th Officer. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Voluntarily reenlisted for third term. Promoted to 3rd Officer. Voluntarily reenlisted for fourth term. Denied reenlistment after fourth term.

Born to a wealthy family, William was an athlete of supreme quality, but his family got sick of him drinking, partying and making a mess and forced him to get a job.  He got serious and developed an array of skills in various duties, from fixing things to shooting things.  Eventually, though, he slept with a superior’s wife and got thrown out.  He has vast potential, but it is likely he won’t ever fully bring it to bear.  After four terms of service, he barely saved anything, because he’s prone to spend it all on women and booze and booze for his friends.  

(Holy moley, look at those stats!!!!)

Scout Logan Kim    9A9755    Age 22 1 term                        Cr30,000

Skills: Navigation-1, Pilot-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Scouts. Enlistment accepted. Denied reenlistment after first term.

Some people join the scouts because nothing else will take them.  He joined the scouts because it meant HOTSHOT PILOTING TIME.  And no more eating pickled cabbage six times a week in his family’s restaurant.  Unfortunately, he watched Top Gun too many times and got fired for being too much of a hot shot.

Army Lieutenant Peng Pérez    25688A    Age 22 1 term                        Cr25,000

Skills: Mechanical-2, Rifle-1, SMG-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as Lieutenant. Denied reenlistment after first term.

Peng aspired to be in the army but did not aspire to the degree of exercise needed to be a decent soldier; her family bought her way in, but her physical bunging bought her way out.  She excelled with guns despite being on the clumsy side and they tried to train her as a mechanic, where her pathetic flimsy muscles wouldn’t matter.  In the end, too many accidents and the army wouldn’t even take a bribe to keep her.  Her family set her up well to go on, though.

Army Captain Rin Saar    496458    Age 22 1 term                        Cr15,000

Skills: Rifle-2, SMG-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as Lieutenant. Promoted to Captain. Denied reenlistment after first term.

Rin was your basic unfocused teenager from a middle-class family.  She flunked out of school and went into the army, where they trained her to shoot people.  She was good enough at that to get promoted twice, but she wasn’t any good at *leading* troops, so she ended up being fired after only one term!  Now she’s looking for someone to tell her what to shoot and how much.

Merchant 3rd Officer Cai Reyes    784767    Age 30 3 terms                        Cr65,000

Skills: Jack-o-T-1, Large Watercraft-2, Vacc Suit-1

Benefits: Low Passage

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Merchants. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as 4th Officer. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Voluntarily reenlisted for third term. Promoted to 3rd Officer. Chose not to reenlist after third term.

Cal came from a family of insurance salesmen and never learned a good work ethic.  He stumbled through school and went into business to make money; they stuck him on a waterworld with no atmosphere, where everyone lived in domed cities.  He didn’t do badly, but promotion was slow and he got tired of wearing a vacc suit constantly, so he quit.  He can do a little of everything now.  

Army Lt Colonel Philip Wilson    2766B8    Age 30 3 terms                        Cr50,000

Skills: ATV-1, Air/Raft-1, Cutlass-1, Electronics-1, Rifle-2, SMG-2, Tactics-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as Lieutenant. Promoted to Captain. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Promoted to Major. Voluntarily reenlisted for third term. Promoted to Lt Colonel. Denied reenlistment after third term.

Phil was called ‘Skeleton Man’ as a kid because he has barely any flesh on his bones.  He looks like a concentration camp survivor.  He studied very hard at a military academy and got a commission right off the bat and quick promotion.  His hard work let him rise through the ranks, commanding successful assault missions despite being physically puny.  However, he might have been caught embezzling and they couldn’t prove it, but he has an awfully hefty bank account...  

Army Trooper Olivia Wood    3B6766    Age 22 1 term                        Cr2,000

Skills: Rifle-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Denied reenlistment after first term.

Olivia joined the military to escape from her otherwise destiny of marrying some dockworker.  Unfortunately, while she was good at shooting things... she wasn’t much good at anything else, and she smarted off to her officers too much, so they threw her to the curb after one term.

Army Trooper Nicolas Chu    4896AA    Age 26 2 terms                        Cr20,000

Skills: Rifle-3

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Denied reenlistment after second term.

Nicholas got the best possible education from his wealthy family with a private tutor, but he dreamed of heroic adventure in the military.  Instead, he ended up on garrison duty with nothing to do but obsessively shoot imaginary hordes of Aslan in the simulators.  Then a financial crisis led to cutting the garrison and he ended up laid off.  He could lean on his family but he wants to make his own way and maybe actually shoot at a real target with his mad skills.  His credits come from winning sharp-shooting contests.

Sophia Gazi    572796    Age 34 4 terms                        Cr70,000

Skills: Brawling-2, Electronics-1, Gambling-1

Benefits: SMG

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Navy. Enlistment denied. Drafted into other. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Voluntarily reenlisted for third term. Voluntarily reenlisted for fourth term. Denied reenlistment after fourth term.

Sophia was born the daughter of a vacuum suit cleanser salesman and wanted more.  The Navy, however, rejected her, despite her good grades, because she collapsed from exhaustion during the physical testing.  She ended up as a waitress, good enough at that despite punching out grabby men that she made a living until she got old enough her boss decided to fire her and get someone younger.  Then she punched him out.  A combination of living spartanly and winning at craps has given her a huge nest egg and a machine gun she won in a card game.  Her electronics skills are from her dad, who did it as a hobby, and so does she.

Merchant 4th Officer Santino Das    42968A    Age 22 1 term                        Cr10,000

Skills: Steward-1, Submersible-1

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Merchants. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as 4th Officer. Denied reenlistment after first term.

Decently educated by his wealthy family, Santino set out to make more money and ended up in the logistics branch, assigned to a passenger liner submarine.  He worked hard, earning a promotion but is clumsy and dropped hot coffee on the wrong crotch and got fired.

Army Major Haruto Klein    6A93BA    Age 26 2 terms                        Cr30,000

Skills: ATV-1, Halberd-2, Rifle-2, SMG-2

Benefits: Rifle

Service History: Attempted to enlist in Army. Enlistment accepted. Commissioned during first term of service as Lieutenant. Promoted to Captain. Voluntarily reenlisted for second term. Promoted to Major. Denied reenlistment after second term.

His family educated him very well despite him being an amazing moron, but he didn’t want to just be a cog in the family machine.  He joined the army and his family ensured he was assigned to a ceremonial unit where he couldn’t actually do anything useful, then the unit was shut down and they ensured he got fired.  He’s not on speaking terms with them, though they still want him to come home.  

[charliedoyleloves]

Well. Here he is. The new F/O I hinted to a little while ago.

The Tag will be “otp: sweet strategy”. tagging @insertofalord​ who listens to the ridiculous number of OP AUs I have and tries to force me to not make them so angsty in the middle. it will never work, but at least there will always be a happy ending

To start this up, considering it was an Arranged Marriage, I’ve done up the Wedding Questions for him! This does exist in an Au, which is tentatively named the “Sweet AU”.

During the time skip, I work with a should be Queen reclaim her throne from the World Government. As I work as the tactician and commander of her army and gain a reputation. During this time, Charlotte Linlin decides that she will help us if she marries a child of her into the royal family. The Queen is not excited about the idea until she remembered a technicality. Being that I’m the Royal Commander, I need to be recognized as a member of her family. So dubbing me her cousin, she put me as the member to be married. The idea being that both members on the throne should be from “our” country, to indicate our independence.

In order to try to keep myself out of a marriage, I pick the strongest Marine Base that I could and told the Charlotte family that only whoever could take over the base could be my spouse. If no one does it within a year, she becomes an ally without a marriage. While the rest of his siblings failed, Katakuri went when they started to make snide remarks that even he couldn’t do it.

However, my cousin notes that not marrying into her family will make Linlin see us as a threat.

Questions and Answers beneath the cut!

Proposal

1.) Who proposes? Technically, it’s me. In a round about way. Someone in his family was going to marry me no matter what, but he was the one who completed the challenge I set for my hand. When he completed it, we were engaged. Because it’s him meeting my standards, his mother is insistent that it means that I proposed. This is a social tactic, knowing that it would make it more awkward for me to go against the marriage. Not that I would, considering my word is my gold. I said I would marry any who met my challenge, so I will. 2.) Where do they propose? Upon taking the Marine Stronghold that I decided to be the challenge, I keep my word. I accept that I’m to be married to Katakuri. So, it ends up being right on the top of the stronghold. Our men are around us, and his are cheering for the moment when I say it. 3.) How do they propose? Is it romantic, or casual? The way I propose is Official. It’s me resigning myself to the fact that I need to be his wife to keep my men down there safe. I tried to look happy about it, but stoic was the best way I could do it. Specifically, I realized that this entire thing was going to be a performance. So I played it up, for his men and his mother. 4.) Were you/they surprised by the proposal? Neither of us are surprised. When he was planning his raid on the base, he realized why I chose this one. The only thing that has ever gotten in and out of this base was air. He knew, both because of logic and his observation haki, that his plan would succeed when he asked for my help. 5.) What does the ring look like?

It was chosen by him, made by his home’s finest jewelers. It was as much away to show his countries skill as it was to make the engagement official. 6.) Planning on a long engagement or a short one? Short engagement. Lowkey, the wedding was being planned before we were officially engaged. This is because of Linlin’s confidence in Katakuri, and his assuring her that his plan would work.

Wedding Planning

1.) Is there a theme for the wedding, or a color scheme? I suppose the closest theme is “Sweet Fairytale”. It’s not so much by my choice, but rather the choice of his home. He’s a Minister in the government, and very well known and respected by his people. (And Feared). The wedding was much more for them than it was us. The both of us would prefer to have a small ceremony and paperwork to make it official. The color scheme became Pink, Magenta, Silver and Royal Purple became the color scheme. It was a combination of his personal colors, my color (grey) and his position.

Like this.

2.) Who does most of the planning? Or do you share the workload equally? There are official wedding planners in Linlin’s employ. They handled the planning while we were taking the fort and returned to his home. 3.) What are the two of you going to wear? I have no sort of control over what I wear. Instead, it’s designed by Linlin’s people. However, upon hearing that I didn’t want a white dress, they went crazy. It’s still a princess style cut, but much more crazy. Almost cupcake like.

Katakuri does end up wearing a suit, though he forgoes the tie for his scarf. 4.) What does the cake look like? Or are you going with a dessert other than a traditional wedding cake? Being that this is a Charlotte family wedding, the cake is extreme. Like, It's big as fuck so Big Mom Linlin can hopefully get full from eating it. Even if for a bit. It was pink as hell, with a lot of sweet decorations to top it off. There was a solid Desert Buffet, during which Katakuri pocketed most of the donuts. Unfortunatly, most of it was too sweet for my taste, so I only took a bit of the donuts and some of the bit of dark chocolate there. 5.) Is it going to be a big or small wedding? Who’s on the guest list? It was a big ass wedding, considering Katakuris family makes it nearly seventy people on their own. While the ceremony itself was just his family, plus my Cousin, her girlfriend, and a few of my higher ranked soldiers. The reception, however, was wild. Both of our armies. The people of Whole Cake Islands. The extended Big Mom Pirates. It was basically a national event, as one of the Sweets Commanders married a technical “Princess" and commander. The reception happened in a city square, where people have traveled to wish us luck in our relationship. 6.) Who have you chosen for best man? Maid of honor? Other bridesmaids/groomsmen? Oven and Daifuku were his best men, supporting their elder triplet. While he wanted to be fair to his other siblings, the other two Sweet Commanders were also his Groomsman and woman out of respect of the military feel of it. On my end, my cousin acts as my Matron of Honor, and the commanders of the army and navy who work under me are my brides men. They both showed up in uniform, while she showed up in a simple gown.

The Big Day

1.) Who’s walking you/them down the aisle? Being in what is technically enemy territory, it’s a member of his won family who walks me down the aisle. However, the one who gives me away is my “cousin”.this is less about her being my family and more about the political implications of the marriage. She is literally giving me to the Charlotte’s for the safety of our people. 2.) Do either of you get emotional when you see each other at the altar? No. While to the people of Totto Land it looked like a picture perfect wedding, it was very emotionless. My cousin cried, out of relief that it was finally done, and a few of Katakuri's siblings did as well. But the both of us knew why we were there. This was a political marriage, not one made from emotions. 3.) Does anyone in attendance object to the marriage? If so, what happens? No, despite my trying to get someone to come to do so. Katakuri swore that if I could get someone who loved me true and marry me in his place, he would step down. However, since I failed in that requirement. 4.) Did you write personalized vows? Can we hear/read them? No. Our vows were the… cookie cutter ones from Totto Land. They are standard Christian styled vows said in front if a priest. 5.) How do(es) the best man/maid of honor speech(es) go? Funny? Serious? Sweet? The speeches are respectful and serious. All the humor and fun is outside the banquet hall, where the people are. In there, however, it takes a bit for the party to ramp up. However, its still just Katakuri’s family who get hype. He, myself, and my “family” are all a little dour because of what the marriage means for each of us. 6.) How’s the first dance? Fun, romantic? It’s awkward as hell. Tho, I do try to make it less so there is the major problem that I am only up to his knee. He ends up having to scoop me into his arms, me sitting on the crook of one while his other hand basically engulfed my hand. It ended up just being an awkward swaying.

Post Wedding/Married Life

1.) When's the honeymoon? Where are you going for it? While we go on an official honeymoon on his ship, it’s a very relaxed affair. We’re trying to get an idea as to how our relationship will work. We keep to his private quarters, with the crew given instructions to leave us be unless entirely needed. The trip is going  from Whole Cake Island to his home, though the long way around so it takes about a week. 2.) Get any good gifts from your guests? Mostly just sweets and stuff made from sweets. The people of Totto Land are obsessive with the stuff. As well, I get a few pieces of furniture like vanities, with a piece of soul so it’s alive. It’s… disconcerting… 3.) What’s it like waking up married the next morning? It’s awkward. While we are in the same room, he refused to sleep on his bed the first night. Instead, he slept in a large armchair with his trident by his side. Being that he’s over three times my height, I have a separate bed beside his where I slept. Being used to sleeping with soldiers and crew mates, there’s no trouble for me to go to sleep. He seemed worried that I was going to kill him in his sleep. It takes a while for him to get comfortable around me. 4.) Is being married an adjustment, or does it feel completely natural? It’s an adjustment. He’s the one who needs to adjust more, despite being the one who expected to marry soon anyway. While I’m used to living in close proximity to people, he isn’t. Even when he was younger, he had his own space because of his appearance. 5.) Were you living together before you got married? Or even before you got engaged? We were not living together. All of my (very few) things were moved onto his ship during the reception. I am dwarfed by his presence in my new home, even when he’s not there. It does not help to make me more comfortable around him or his family. 6.) Will you make a scrapbook of your wedding/life together to look back on one day?We do not have to. An official one was made by the wedding planners. We have a large one (a little too small for his comfort and much too big for mine) which is ours to keep, and his mother has one as well. There is an edited one for public viewing in the Totto Land Records Building, if people want to look at it, alongside the rest of his family’s edited wedding albums.

[angeloeguizabal]

Comprehending Military Ranks

Military positions can appear to be muddled. In the event that you converse with a veteran or active duty service member, you will frequently hear them notice rank, rate, or review. The review is simply your paid grade. Rank and paid grade go together; yet don't constantly mean a similar thing. For instance, in the Army, grade E-4 can have two positions: expert and corporal. Same grade, yet the corporal outrank the authority. Notwithstanding branch, the grade will be the equivalent; E-1 to E-9 for enrolled positions, W-1 to W-5 for warrant officers, and O-1 to O-10 for officers.

Rank is somewhat more muddled than grade, as there are in some cases a few positions for every two or three ranks per pay grade. For instance, as an E-8 you can be an ace sergeant or a first sergeant. The first sergeant is determined by your situation in the hierarchy of leadership. In the event that you are an organization first sergeant, you will have the position of the first sergeant; on the off chance that you are accountable for the motor pool, you will be a master sergeant.

A "senior enrolled advisor" is an E-9. There is just a single sergeant major of the Army, one sergeant major of the Marine Corps, one boss ace sergeant of the Air Force, one ace master sergeant officer of the Navy, and one ace chief petty officer of the Coast Guard. Officers are generally college-educated and commissioned by authority of the president. Officer ranks are pretty straightforward. For example, second lieutenants in the Army and Marine Corps are generally platoon leaders, first lieutenants often hold the position of an executive officer at the company level, and captains are company commanders.

Major is, for the most part, a staff position and lieutenant colonel is a battalion commander, whereas a full bird colonel would be a brigade commander. Brigadier general is again a staff position, while major general would be a division commander. Lieutenant generals and generals are lofty positions and can serve in a variety of roles.

The last time a five star rank was given was amid World War II, and the last man elevated to five star general was Omar Bradley. He was elevated to that rank when he moved onto the Joint Chiefs of Staff with the goal that he would not be outranked by his subordinate, General Douglas MacArthur.

-Angelo Eguizabal

[cesium-sheep]

weird to see that [list] of “rank title crime” names going around, deliberately intended as a rough hierarchy and claiming to be vaguely in order of rank, which is all very well and fine and all that but all I can think about is no, no, no, you’ve pulled together assorted sometimes commensurate ranks from like 4 different military branches and definitely not in order, this is not a sound and contiguous hierarchy at all you fools

no actually I was writing this out in the tags but fuck it this is interesting. some of this I still knew off the top of my head for the army navy and marines, but I don’t know shit about the airforce and wanted to double-check my information about the others. I did not even bother looking at the coastguard.

notes for comprehension: E is enlistedmen, W is warrant officer, and O is officer proper. (warrant officers lay in a sort of weird nonbinary zone in the hierarchy where they’re technically in between E and O but basically just do their own thing due to their role, but an O teeechnically outranks an E regardless of number.) the higher the number the higher the pay grade, therefore the higher the rank. (probably where the phrase “above my pay grade” comes from if I had to guess)

private, airman, and seaman are all synonymous E1-E3 ranks from different branches (each one covers all three for the army, airforce, and navy respectively. it looks like it technically goes up to E4 in the airforce.) (fun fact, I was an E1 private even though I should have been an E4 specialist cuz my recruiters fucked up the paperwork for my college graduation.)

lance corporal is also an E3, in the marines

corporal is an E4 in both the marines and the army, and then petty officer is anywhere from E4 to E6 in the navy. (fun fact, my wife was a petty officer)

sergeant is a flat E5 in both the army and the marines, but a sergeant major takes us all the way up to E9, skipping E7 and E8 from any branch

then we go back down to technical sergeant, an E6 in the airforce apparently.

then you’ve got your lone warrant officer (W1-W5) this at least is in the right place in between the Es and the Os (apparently the airforce doesn’t have warrant officers?)

an ensign is an O1 in the navy, where it belongs. but then we take a massive bounding leap all the way to lieutenant general, an army/marine O9 (also known as a 3-star general)

we then drop back down to a captain, which is an O3 in the army and marines (and air force) but an O6 in the navy. (the commanding officer I just had a bad dream about was an O3 captain)

a major is an O4, where he belongs unless the captain was a navy captain, then we skip over O5 for another O6 rank, the colonel.

then we have brigadier general, an O7 or one-star general. followed by vice admiral, a navy O9, skipping back over O8 again. then the O10 admiral, and finally a general without further specification, presumably meant to indicate an O10 5-star general.

so basically your hierarchy goes (E1-E3) < (E1-E4) < (E1-E3) < E3 < E4 < (E4-E6) < E5 < E9 < E6 < (W1-W5) < O1 < O9 < O3/O6 < O4 < O6 < O7 < O9 < O10 < O10 which is. a shitshow. you want an O9 to take orders from an O6 who takes orders from an O4? you’ve got no intermediary authority between the E6 and the E9? no O2, O5, or O8? all this weird lateral or even uphill authority? that’s not gonna fuckin fly lol