#military info

[tempesttamers]

We know Javi was in the military and according to the fandom wiki he was in the US Army. I personally can’t remember what he said in the movie, but there really isn’t a whole lot of meteorological roles in the Army as they work closely with the Air Force to get their weather information. Realistically speaking, Javi was likely a USAF Weather Officer.

But what if Javi wasn’t just a Weather Officer, what if he was a Grey Beret?

Grey Berets are Special Operations Weather Technicians(SOWT) of the Air Force Special Operations Command. SOWT’s would typically deploy with Army Special Ops forces because the US Army didn't have people who specialized in weather. They are heavily integrated into the squadron, which could be used to explain why he said he was in the US Army.

Note: I’m not saying he was, but it would make for some really cool fanfics.

Grey Berets are Special Operations Weather Technicians(SOWT) of the Air Force Special Operations Command. They go through a rigorous 2-year training pipeline which includes stuff like US Army Airborne school, Military Freefall school, SERE school, Underwater Egress training, Special Tactics training, and more.

Their primary objective is to collect and interpret meteorological data in hostile or denied environments and provide air and ground forces commanders with timely, accurate intelligence. They provide vital intelligence and deploy with joint air and ground forces in support of direct action, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance, special reconnaissance, austere airfield, and combat search and rescue. (source)

SOWTs are able to analyze the clouds and determine what flight level an A-10 would be able to fly to get below the clouds. They can hear how many times the crickets chirp and be able to tell you when the dogs fog will be rolling in, they use knowledge of sandstorms and bad weather to time their attacks, etc. (source)

[voluptuarian]

I love trying to do historical research, you want an answer to a simple question like "could Jews serve in the British army in the 1880s" and you get back

Jews in the American Revolution

Jews in the American Civil War

Jews in World War I

Jews who fought for Nazi Germany

Thanks, that absolutely covers the time period and country I specifically asked for, couldn't have done it without you

[bruciemilf]

No thoughts. Only gf

[guerillas-of-history]

🟨 Al-Asifah Forces:

Firmness and steadfastness on the combat axes.

As part of the Al-Aqsa Flood Battle.

[pingurusama]

(WIP) Ophelia Winter Smirnova

lord i finally finished this piece of her!! And the details turns out real good, i'm so proud especially the shoes waaaa>_<! She looks like posing for dakimakura lmaooo, i never a fan of drawing fullbody because it took longer time and balance but i enjoyed the process with this one^-^ Ophelia with her signature attire/skin. I never mentioned this but no, of course she doesn't go to mission with that outfit most of the time! (Maybe on summer? lighter work?)

She does have alternate gears, called "Jawbreaker" and "The Vulture".

I will release it alongside with her character bio i've been working! :333 I really hope i can work faster on her but Thesis and Comifuro been punching me on the gut, and i also have to study the gears before finishing the alternates compositions;-; but i had fun learning things!^-^

[clonerightsagenda]

Forget space nobility, the Vorkosigan worldbuilding I have been most charmed by so far is the station that uses algae to convert CO2 back into oxygen and breeds newts in the tanks to keep the algae under control and now they have so many surplus newts to eat that everyone's sick of it, so they sell them to tourists at a markup saying they're frog legs.

[lemon-wedges]

...

[compacflt]

Would you ever consider writing about a different path Ice and Mav could take, one where they choose to leave the Navy and pursue a more open relationship and civilian life? Thinking it would be easier but maybe the sacrifice to their careers brings its own challenges?

(hi, jan 2024 me here, this was an ask that I answered when it was sent in in May 2023 & didn't post because I felt I actually answered it fictionally in the "icedad" one-shot the week after [and you can obviously see how these thoughts affected the writing of other pieces like "tremors & aftershocks"], but I still mostly agree with this take [though it's a little overgeneralizing] & I think it sums up a lot of my final "meta" modern-military-theory thoughts on ice & mav & their relationship, so im posting it now before I post the compacflt masterpoast)

see,… the thing is, i just… can’t see that happening!! i have no idea how to write that!!! Maybe i really do have a lack of imagination. But i can’t see that happening for a number of reasons. So short answer, no.

Long answer (and it’s long):

1. lame reason to start out, but it, uh, it’s canon that ice ends up at O-10 and mav ends up at O-6. not saying that im beholden to canon obviously (my mav ends up at O-7 and my ice ends up alive) but I do base my characterizations of them on the implications of the political struggles of both their careers so… taking away ice’s fourth star is basically starting from square one wrt my characterization of him. which is a lot of work. i could start from the beginning with a top gun 1986 ice who knows he’s gay—that would be a fun AU (i think other people than me have definitely done that better, though—I’m a one-trick pony). So if that’s what you mean then disregard the rest of this post. but if what you mean is a divergence from my existing work (i.e. homophobic/rank-climbing ice&mav) then… yeah, can’t see that happening, for further reasons below.

2. wrt my characterization of him: it’s based on a broad historical overview of armed service officers and the expectations of their careers. in my view, high-ranking officers aren’t after power—or maybe they started their careers wanting power, but somewhere down the line, it just becomes an expectation. if you do everything right and follow all the rules, you are expected by the institution to lead, whether you want to or not. That’s just the pipeline. at some point you start losing agency. which is what I mean when I keep saying ice doesn’t have a choice in advancing his career (besides the meta fact that this is fanfiction and canon demands that he have 4 stars lol)—high ranking military officers are continually and continually groomed for bigger and better positions; and the longer they spend in the military, the harder it is to leave that lifestyle for something else. And with ice’s canonical (and characteristically INTEGRAL, as I mentioned a week or so ago) refusal to rebel against the wishes of the navy as an institution, plus this historical expectation to lead placed upon the shoulders of excelling officers, I really do think ice is destined for four stars & nothing less, even if it gives him chronic depression. It’s his highest priority not because he wants it to be, but because…it just is. that’s how the institutionalized system of advancement in the military works. it just is. it has to be.

3. I mentioned in this post that I can’t ever see a foot in the door with them talking about their relationship unless maverick dies and is resurrected, and I feel the exact same way about them & their retirement plans. There’s a lot that ice and mav don’t talk about: the biggest one is obviously Goose’s death, the foundation of their relationship; but also their love for each other obv, what they did to rooster, AND their careers, which have to end at some point. Them talking about everything is totally inevitable, it was gonna have to happen eventually before they died, and I think one foot in the door MIGHT have been them eventually talking about retirement (someone sent in a prompt asking for this exactly & i am brainstorming it furiously) but before the Navy FORCES them to retire… i think they would studiously avoid talking about it. For a couple reasons: a) what does retiring with each other mean? living in the same house until they die together? hard to do if you’re just good friends. talking about retirement is tantamount to talking about Them. and b) what are they gonna do outside the navy? Ice has a lot of options, as I mentioned in the slider one-shot—general/flag officers are SUPER sought after in leadership/intelligentsia/management positions post service, so maybe if he were offered a crazy cool civilian position somewhere in San Diego in like the 2000s he would quit the navy for it… but what about maverick? I have no idea what a non-navy mav would do. Civilian airline pilot? Hoo boy. I think he’d hate that. I could maybe see emergency helicopter pilot, lol, or race car driver (i just watched days of thunder can you tell?) but none of the above offers the institutionalized honor the navy does (that, as a reminder, he *killed people* to obtain in the first place). I suggested his test piloting expertise would make him an attractive technical advising candidate to A&D companies like Boeing, LockMart, GD, etc. so that might be one option. But it might have been kind of a touchy subject for him before he racked up the expertise he’d need for those high-level civilian positions… the navy was kinda his only option. So they wouldn’t talk about it because it might hurt his feelings.

4. The biggest reason: again… open rebellion like rocking the boat by quitting the navy to be in an open long-term gay relationship, in upper mil brass ranks, and even retired upper mil brass ranks, just… isn’t done. And REALLY wasn’t done in the 2000s, when i think the scenario in this ask is positioned. And it’s not like “oh but whatever who cares about the navy, ice and mav are in love, they deserve to be happy no matter what, they should do what they want, fuck the navy…” no. Ice and Mav care about the navy. Clearly. Canonically. By necessity. The military requires cohesion and on some level repression of individuality & personal expression to FUNCTION, even when you’re retired. Yes, maverick certainly strains against that repression (which is why you Could spin top gun as an anti-military franchise if you were desperate enough), but he rebels through his ACTIONS (stupid plane maneuvers) not through his personal IDENTITY. his personal identity (headstrong overtly masculine white male pilot, whether gay or straight who cares) is NEVER challenged throughout the franchise (i.e. no one really challenges his masculinity specifically) & his personal identity does not POSE a challenge to the navy. Both he and ice in their outward-facing personal identities really fit in quite neatly to the navy’s overarching identity & contribute to the navy’s cohesion in a way that is favorable to both their careers and the establishment. Lack of imagination or not… i can’t see a universe in which Ice and mav would actively WANT to rock the boat and wreck the navy’s cohesion and their reputations for an open relationship and definitively rebellious personal identities, with the obvious caveat being Maverick’s death recontextualizing both their priorities (yes we’re in love AND we’ve finally proven ourselves to be ultra-capable officers regardless of our sexuality so no one has a license to judge us anymore etc.).

And also, they’re not enlisted seamen. Nor are they mediocre officers who have the luxury of fading into obscurity. Things are different when you’re that high in the ranks, and when your job publicly matters more. sorry, but even post DADT (probably until about biden’s election), an open relationship would end their careers. They might not be fired, but they’d never be promoted again. Too much of a liability getting subordinates to still respect them, from the higher-ups’ perspective, especially if there are other qualified candidates who fit the navy’s core identity better. Like—sorry. This is such a jaded oversimplification. But if you rock the boat like that (i.e. break the service’s united front to be individualistic in a way that does not match the service’s overarching identity), from the perspective of your officer peers, you simply are a bad officer. Being an open individual in a job where you are required to fit in and represent your service is not your job. You are not doing your job well. Straight-up. Even if you’re retired. I met US Army 4-star gen. David Petraeus (retired obv) in February—he led the successful-ish surge in iraq and Afghanistan in the mid-2000s—and he’s STILL a laughingstock for his disastrous affair with his biographer a decade ago, even after he retired from AD service. That’s what people remember him for, not the fact that he was one of our only successful commanders in any of our Middle East campaigns.

Something like that might be one of ice and mav’s worst fears—being known for their affair/scandal instead of the institutionalized honor they’ve fought and killed for. That kind of thing just Isn’t Done. It's bad taste. You have to keep it quiet. If you’re an officer representing the service, you have to represent it well & according to the service’s preconceived identity, even in retirement. (see, for another shitty example of "not fitting in" even in retirement, Lt. gen. Mike Flynn [his whole scandal is actually kinda geopolitically relevant to my fic if you squint lol] whom everyone fucking hates)

To summarize: i hope I’m not mischaracterizing your ask when i reframe it like this—would you ever write ice and mav without the institutionalized pressure to advance in rank and conform to institutional norms?

and yes, I would (and will if you ask—it looks like this: ice & mav meet & fall in love & it’s boring and fine. end of story), but I guarantee you someone else already has. I’m all about interrogation of institutional norms here. And i think until maverick dies & comes back from the dead, there is absolutely no *REALISTIC* incentive for ice & mav to leave the navy and/or have an open relationship. Like it’s just not possible. Idk how else to say it.

[the-whispers-of-death]

OC Information: "Stone"

Full Name: Vikram Bharat Mishra

Callsign(s): Stone

Alias(es): Ox (only by certain Marine squads), Doctor Cold, Doctor Feral (only by certain fellow Corpsmen... who have been bitten by him)

Nationality: Second-Generation American (Indian mother, first-generation father)

Affiliations: U.S. Navy, U.S. Fleet Marine Force, Task Force 141 (SAS)

Rank: E-7/Chief Hospital Corpsman (U.S. Navy)

Gender: Male (Trans)

Status: Alive

Birthday: November 29th, 1989 (34 as of 2023)

Build: Burly

Height: 6'8"

Marks: U.S. Navy tattoo on his right arm (three swallows representing each 10,000 nautical miles he's traveled on U.S. naval ships), old battle scars covering him head to toe (mostly knife and bullet wounds)

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Background: Classified

Extra: He wears a muzzle-like mask due to when he bit people during his Seaman days, he can act as an extra sniper for the Task Force, and his medical file has a notation not to give him morphine or any pain medications.

Reblogs are welcomed & appreciated!

[shadeops21]

Content warning for the next forty eight hours:

There will be an inundation of aviation pictures to follow in the coming days.

I am attending the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast and will be taking literal hundreds of pictures of any and every flying machine that I can.

Expect to see these pictures 😁

[wallylinda]

so like. parallax dies because he relit the sun right. and in metereology a sun dog is an optical illusion that forms a bright spot next to one or both sides of the sun. these mock suns form a sort-of halo effect, and signified an oncoming rainbow and/or bad weather. furthermore, the augsburg book of miracles, an illuminated manuscript written to document omens of the christian apocalypse, has a page that scholars believe alludes to this very phenomena, making the sun dog a warning sign to the apocalypse in christian theology. basically what i’m saying is while the meaning of the title parallax is self-evident—defined as: “the effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions”—hal as the green lantern can be likened to a sun dog because the phenomena is witnessed the same to everybody regardless of position because it is in itself an illusion. plus it’s just fucking cool. 

[yessithv]

Colapsando por este hombre 😍🐻🛐💋

[captainsjack]

every time an author mentions ethan’s supposed military background i immediately have to close out of the fic. girl ethan hunt would not touch the us military with a mile long pole. clearly you never sat for hours on you basement floor on cold ass tile straining your neck up to look at the tv & click through all of the characters’ background files on the mi1 dvd special features . u don’t KNOW him

[cthulhusstepmom]

It's a pretty unanimous conclusion that Ghost can't find out about the reptiles, for his own sake, at least until Hugo and Wee Man have found forever homes. Soap isn't stupid, he knows that he won't be able to keep it up forever, he's just asking for a little more time is all. Naturally this leads to some shenanigans.

One day in early summer, Soap's sitting at a rickety picnic table near where he and Ghost go to smoke. It's isolated from the rest of the base and it's pretty solidly established as Ghost's territory so he doesn't have to worry about people. On the table is Peach, the beardie with mbd named in honor of his boy at home, enjoying some natural uvb and dandelion greens. He's arranged a meeting with the people he's found for her next weekend and he's spoiling her nonstop until then. All of a sudden there's a tickling in his hindbrain, the sort of feeling you get when a big cat is just out of sight. It can only mean one thing. Ghost. Panicking only a little bit, Soap frantically does the only thing he can, he shoves Peach up his shirt. What follows is probably the most awkward conversation he's ever had with his Lt. which is a shame because the fair weather has put Ghost in a truly legendary good mood. Soap is a highly trained operative, he's stared his torturers in the face and laughed at them but the pain of razor sharp little bearded dragon claws scrabbling at his chest and catching on totally regulation nipple piercings is enough to make his eyes water.

A few days after Peach goes to her new home he ends up filling the vacancy in the rescue hotel, it never stays empty for very long. This time the poor critter is a baby blue tongue skink rescued from an abandoned apartment building in a warzone. The private that brings him the lizard looks about as nervous as can fucking be, he can't really blame the poor lass what with Ghost looming in the corner like the specter of death itself, deadly silent and exuding enough malice to curdle their breakfast on the table and turn the fish belly up in their tank. Thankfully the box is discreet with a few nondescript airholes cut in the side. The private thanks him stutteringly and flees the rec room like her heels are on fire. Ghost doesn't say anything, simply raises an expectant eyebrow while Gaz and Price studiously drop peas into the fish tank. Soap just shrugs "care package" he says with a cheesy wink. Ghost scoffs and it's seems like it's put to rest, though his Lt. sticks to him like glue for the rest of the day.

The closest he'd come to discovery was late one night. He'd screamed himself awake about a half hour before and, unable to get back to sleep, is just cuddling on his bed with Wee Man. A quiet, almost hesitant knock on his door brings his attention away from the snake. It's so quiet that he almost writes it off as his tired brain playing tricks on him. But then whoever it is knocks again, a little more firmly this time. Quickly, Soap disentangles himself from Wee Man, leaving him to explore the bed, anything he could get into is locked and he's too big to get into any crevices anyway. Cracking the door open he doesn't know what he expects but it sure as hell isn't Ghost, dressed down in loose pajama bottoms and an old ratty hoodie with a soft black balaclava hugging his face. He suddenly becomes very aware of the fact that he's just in boxers.

"Ghost?"

His Lt squints a bit at his name, almost as if he wasn't sure he'd get this far.

"Couldn't sleep, heard you were up..." probably the most tactful way to acknowledge his screams of terror "...can I come in?"

Cold panic flushes through Soap, only made worse by the scaly nose he can feel start to nudge his leg. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Wee Man, social butterfly that he is, is trying to force his head in between the crack in the door and Soap's leg.

"Och I dunno, it's a right fuckin mess in here right now." He hedges trying to gently maneuver a living rope of pure muscle longer than he is tall with just his bare foot. The crestfallen, vulnerable expression on Ghost's covered face makes something in him cry out. His Lt. starts to say something but Johnny doesn't let him finish. "But if ye'll lemme put some pants on I can make ye some of the chamomile tea ye like? We could go to yer room if ya'd like, might be able to see the floor too." He winks, seeing the exact moment Ghost notices his state of undress, the tops of his cheeks going the slightest bit rosy. And maybe it's that time of night where nothing quite feels real but he could swear he sees his Ghost smile a relieved smile.

"I'd like that."

[pingurusama]

I may, or may not just finished the whole completed Ophelia's lore and character information. Should i unleash it? („• ֊ •„)(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

[stopthatfool]

stop-that-fool's ICEMAV timeline for Your jeep. Your Teeth. The coffee that you bought me.

AKA where my icemav's story sticks to canon and where it diverges/changes-- all while trying to make it align with real military/historical events.

Also, thank you @sliderkerner for indulging me and saying that you wanted my timeline posted here!

DISCLAIMER! I am in no way an expert of the US Military. This whole 'timeline' should not be taken as fact or canon regarding TOP GUN. I am making this for my own understanding of my icemav story and to help myself and anyone reading keep track of the timeline. This is just for fun and mostly for me.

Quick note about the time off US Military members get. According to this website, people accumulate leave-- 2.5 days per month of work. I don't think that either Mav or Ice are eager to take time off. I can only see them wanting to take time off to visit Carole and Bradley (as Val Kilmer stated, I also believe that Ice does not have the ideal family). That's why a lot of their work seems back-to-back/never ending.

1986-

-The movie stays the same (Goose dies, intense amounts of sexual tension between Ice and Mav, "You can be my wingman anytime" etc., etc.)

-The FIRST change in canon is when Mav states that he's going to try teaching at TOP GUN. In TGM, Mav said he barely lasted one class. Within my story, Mav lasts until 1988.

Between '87 and '88-

-Ice comes to teach at TOP GUN (entirely for the purpose of his career/'resume' for working his way up for promotions etc., etc.)

-While Ice is there (for around 2 TOP GUN classes) that is when Ice and Mav start getting involved romantically.

-But Ice hates teaching. He leaves mid '88 and joins the Iran-Iraq War aboard USS Enterprise.

Late 1988-

-Mav completes one last TOP GUN class after Ice leaves and follows Ice to the USS Enterprise (a happy accident that they were stationed on the same ship). This then allows them to continue their 'involvement' and allow them to fly together again ("Bullshit, you can be mine" blah blah blah).

1990-

-The Gulf War. According to Fandom Wiki both Mav and Ice have the Kuwait Liberation Medal-- meaning they both fought in the Gulf War around this time. (Btw they are no longer on the USS Enterprise as she was no longer involved in the Gulf War past 1989 (I think))

-In my TOP GUN universe, Mav gets another 'kill' during the Gulf War (I have no idea if any naval aviators did this in 1990 (Mav didn't do this canonically) but it happens within the stop-that-fool fanfic universe). Merlin is also Mav's RIO throughout the the Gulf War.

1991-

-BUT Ice has the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) while Mav does not. Mav has the Southwest Asia Service Medal. So, for my story this time in between 1991-92 is when Mav pisses someone off and is moved squadrons/carriers to somewhere in Southwest Asia.

-Both of them, according to these medals, participated in Operation Desert Storm. (Mav also could have participated in Operation Desert Shield due to his Southwest Asia Service Medal.)

-Throughout 1991 they are able to see each other a couple times, but the fact that Mav keeps pissing people off makes it difficult. This is also because Navy deployments on average last between 6-7 months (according to a quick Google search) and for the sake of the story, their deployments and time off in between rarely overlap.

1992-

-This difficulty continues into 1992 where it all comes to a head on Dec. 31st 1992 (Ice's birthday! (Ice does not have a 'canon' birthday, but Dec. 31st is Val Kilmer's and I thought that bday also made sense for Ice)). Que the car scene in ch.4 and the aftermath the next morning.

-Throughout '92, Mav was in Iraq participating in the Iraqi no-fly zones. (I think. I find this UN mandate difficult to understand, especially whether or not the US Navy was involved or not.)

1993-

-Mav and Ice do not see each other in person at all in '93. But as said in ch.4 they-- "...talk about nothing on the phone. Ice never picks him up from the airport again."

-The US Navy also provided air cover for cargo planes that were bringing relief supplies during the Bosnian War. This is where Mav was placed in '93 (pissed off some captain or higher up or something).

-Ice and Mav don't see each other (in person) until '94.

The UNITED NATIONS MEDAL- In the TOP GUN fandom wiki page, both Ice and Mav are listed to have a United Nations Medal. What it does not state, and what I cannot find anywhere online, is what conflict they were a part specifically of for them to receive this medal. There are multiple options throughout the 1990's and 2000's that could have led to this award. BUT for the sake of my story, I will only be considering/applying conflicts that took place between 1994-98.

Between 1994 and '96-

-I think Ice received the UNPROFOR United Nations Medal for his service during the Yugoslav Wars. This is where he was between 1994-95. As I stated in ch.3 he was stationed somewhere in Europe after he and Mav 'break up' (I can't figure out what United Nations Medal Mav could have received-- it's difficult to figure out US Navy specific peacekeeping missions he could been involved in besides UNPROFOR.))

1997-

-It's around this year that Mav uses some of his accumulated vacation days to spend a longer period with Carole and Bradley. Ice is still stationed in Europe (workaholic).

1998-

-After Mav's time off, he's deployed again to Iraq.

As I mentioned in a previous post, not a lot of things happen in early to mid 1998 in regards to military conflicts, BUT Operation Desert Fox happens in December of 1998. I think the military would need to have people around before the operation before completing something of that scale. AKA that's why Mav is there in June.

-Then on an undisclosed date in early June, Mav crashes as stated in ch.1 (“You dodged some crazy bastards up there, then hit a bird. The plane crashed into the ground, and you ejected and landed on some rocks...").

-Mav is transferred to a hospital in California as he needs special surgery for his shattered knee cap.

-Ice has been in California for a couple days when Mav gets there because his paternal grandfather is dying (another happy accident that his grandfather is in the same hospital as Mav (god i love plot armour)). Ice had previously been permanently stationed somewhere in Europe (to get away from his family, Mav, and to work up to a promotion).

-Carole dies a couple days after Mav is released from the hospital. Bradley is now under Mav's legal guardianship. They move into military provided family housing on the Lemoore Naval Air Station with Mav teaching at the SFWSPAC (Strike Fighter Weapons School Pacific) once his injuries heal.

-Ice then reveals that he has requested to be stationed in California with Mav (the request was approved, Ice is now near both his family AND Mav... he's so silly).

-On June 21st 1998, Mav, Ice and Bradley drive out to West California to the beach cottage Mav rented (courtesy of Viper) with the plans of celebrating Bradley's birthday on June 27th (finally someone with a canon bday thank u Bradley).

Anyway, that's all we got so far! I would just like to say again that I am in no way claiming that this is accurate or canon. I also can't guarantee that I understand all of the wars, conflicts, operations, and details of the US military that I stated previously. So if I got something wrong; any of the language I used, details of the wars and conflicts stated, I apologize! Very deeply. From the depths of my soul.