TeslaCoil
04-19-2006, 01:37 AM
Introduction
Attention! For all you recruits who are aspired to make or join a military thread, be it historic, modern, or sci-fi, this guide is to help you to know your place and responsibility in the military chain of command. You heard right, recruits, I said "sci-fi". Because as some of you should know before coming to boot camp, modern military ranking system and chain of command is also applied in sci-fi works. Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Aliens, you name it, Privates, they all use modern military chain of command. I'm sure that a lot of you have heard of words like "Colonel", "General", "Corporal", "PFC", "Sergeants", and "Lieutenants", but I can be sure that some of you don't know what being any of these fully means. There are even cases where I'd seen some people mixing up military ranks. Well, I will gladly show you all, Privates, what modern military rankings are, and what is the chain of command. Pay attention, soldiers, because learning to follow the chain of command means a successful military career, and being able to stay alive on today's battlefield. Semper Fi, and prepare to learn the lesson of a lifetime, recruits.
Enlisted Ranks & Non-Commissioned Officers
In the typical modern military chain of command, the enlisted ranks are normally ranging from Privates to Private First Class, though some armed forces also have this range extended to Lance Corporal. A step above the enlisted ranks are the non-commissioned officers, or NCOs. NCOs are men and women who holds some kind of authority below the level of commissioned officers in the chain of command. NCOs typically takes commands of small groups, such as squads, sections, and platoons to the max. Though NCOs typically ranges from Corporal to *Sergeants, in some armed forces, the Lance Corporal is included in this range as well. NCOs play a very integral role in today's military forces. This is especially in the ever-shifting nature of irregular warfare which challenged our armed forces today, where squads and platoon makes a much bigger impact than an entire division against an elusive enemy like the Iraqi insurgents. Enlisted Ranks and NCOs are the backbone and foundation of military forces. Without them, there will be NO military at all.
*It must be note that in some armed forces Warrant Officers are considered NCOs, but in the US military, Warrant Officers are commissioned officers.
Private: Obviously, the lowest rank in the ground forces of a military. The Private is where everyone starts off in the chain of command on their first day of boot camp. In the US military, Privates are divided into two sub-classes, PV1 and PV2. PV1 are recruit-level Privates, whereas PV2 are those who completed their basic training and became full-fledged soldiers. Similarly, in the British Army, Private Juniors are recruits whereas Privates are full-fledged soldiers. Note that in the United States Marine Corps, there is no such thing as a PV1 and PV2 Privates, a USMC Private is a recruit. The Private's responsibility is simple, to follow the orders of NCOs and commissioned officers that commands them. These, along with Private First Class, serve as the common combat troops of the ground forces.
Airmen: The air force equivalent of the army/marine Privates. The Airmen's responsbilities are to adjust to military life and learning to be proficient at their specialty as part of the air force. As with the ground forces Privates, in certain militaries, the airmen are divided into two more more sub-classes. In the USAF, Airmen are divided into Airmen Basic and Airmen. Airmen Basic's responsibility is similar to Airmen, except they duty is primarily adjusting to military life. At the end of the 6 months period of initial recruitment, Airmen Basic are recommended for promotion to Airmen, which shifts less focus on adjusting to military life. Unlike ground forces Privates, Airmen, in general, still have a long way to go before seeing combat action. In science fiction, this rank is generally called Cadet.
Seamen: The naval equivalent of the army/marine Privates and air force Airmen, the Seamen are the lowest rank in the naval chain of command. Seamen typically served as sailors of warships, though some are also serving as part of the warship's security squads. Sometimes, US Navy Seamen are also part of Navy SEAL teams. Other than that, Seaman's typical responsibilites are adjusting to life in the navy and be trained on their trades as sailors, though those who join the US Navy SEALs are also recieve intense combat training. Some even recieved engineer training as part of the Seebees. Seamen are divided into subclasses that are equivalents of Privates (Seamen Recruit and Seamen Apprentice) and Private First Class (Seamen). Seamen are typically less likely to see combat action than their ground force counterparts (barring Navy SEALs), but are more likely to see combat than their air force counterparts. In science fiction, this rank is called Spaceman (particularly so in Star Wars), obviously because navies use starships and travel in space rather than sea. Spacemen are more likely to see combat than their reality counterparts, for obvious reasons. Other than that, however, Spacemen still have the same duties. In some sci-fi works, however, Spacemen are non-existant as ships are crewed entirely by a computer nexus.
Private First Class: One step above the Privates in the ground forces' chain of command, the Private First Class typically stands below a Corporal. But other than having seniority and superior experience over Privates, PFCs typically share the same duties. In the US Marine Corps, PFCs are full-fledged Marines, the equivalent of fully-trained Privates in other armed forces. In the US Army, Privates are automatically promoted to PFCs typically after serving a year and a 1/4 of service, though this can be shortened by half with a waiver.
Airmen First Class: One step above the Airmen and one step below Senior Airmen, the Airmen First Class is considered to have fully adjusted to military life (especially as part of the air force). Their duty focus entirely on job skills. Sometimes, they might be able to be trained for combat as part of USAF's special operation forces. Airmen with special skills typically move up to this rank earlier (ie, mechanics, those with computer skills).
(Continued)
Attention! For all you recruits who are aspired to make or join a military thread, be it historic, modern, or sci-fi, this guide is to help you to know your place and responsibility in the military chain of command. You heard right, recruits, I said "sci-fi". Because as some of you should know before coming to boot camp, modern military ranking system and chain of command is also applied in sci-fi works. Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Aliens, you name it, Privates, they all use modern military chain of command. I'm sure that a lot of you have heard of words like "Colonel", "General", "Corporal", "PFC", "Sergeants", and "Lieutenants", but I can be sure that some of you don't know what being any of these fully means. There are even cases where I'd seen some people mixing up military ranks. Well, I will gladly show you all, Privates, what modern military rankings are, and what is the chain of command. Pay attention, soldiers, because learning to follow the chain of command means a successful military career, and being able to stay alive on today's battlefield. Semper Fi, and prepare to learn the lesson of a lifetime, recruits.
Enlisted Ranks & Non-Commissioned Officers
In the typical modern military chain of command, the enlisted ranks are normally ranging from Privates to Private First Class, though some armed forces also have this range extended to Lance Corporal. A step above the enlisted ranks are the non-commissioned officers, or NCOs. NCOs are men and women who holds some kind of authority below the level of commissioned officers in the chain of command. NCOs typically takes commands of small groups, such as squads, sections, and platoons to the max. Though NCOs typically ranges from Corporal to *Sergeants, in some armed forces, the Lance Corporal is included in this range as well. NCOs play a very integral role in today's military forces. This is especially in the ever-shifting nature of irregular warfare which challenged our armed forces today, where squads and platoon makes a much bigger impact than an entire division against an elusive enemy like the Iraqi insurgents. Enlisted Ranks and NCOs are the backbone and foundation of military forces. Without them, there will be NO military at all.
*It must be note that in some armed forces Warrant Officers are considered NCOs, but in the US military, Warrant Officers are commissioned officers.
Private: Obviously, the lowest rank in the ground forces of a military. The Private is where everyone starts off in the chain of command on their first day of boot camp. In the US military, Privates are divided into two sub-classes, PV1 and PV2. PV1 are recruit-level Privates, whereas PV2 are those who completed their basic training and became full-fledged soldiers. Similarly, in the British Army, Private Juniors are recruits whereas Privates are full-fledged soldiers. Note that in the United States Marine Corps, there is no such thing as a PV1 and PV2 Privates, a USMC Private is a recruit. The Private's responsibility is simple, to follow the orders of NCOs and commissioned officers that commands them. These, along with Private First Class, serve as the common combat troops of the ground forces.
Airmen: The air force equivalent of the army/marine Privates. The Airmen's responsbilities are to adjust to military life and learning to be proficient at their specialty as part of the air force. As with the ground forces Privates, in certain militaries, the airmen are divided into two more more sub-classes. In the USAF, Airmen are divided into Airmen Basic and Airmen. Airmen Basic's responsibility is similar to Airmen, except they duty is primarily adjusting to military life. At the end of the 6 months period of initial recruitment, Airmen Basic are recommended for promotion to Airmen, which shifts less focus on adjusting to military life. Unlike ground forces Privates, Airmen, in general, still have a long way to go before seeing combat action. In science fiction, this rank is generally called Cadet.
Seamen: The naval equivalent of the army/marine Privates and air force Airmen, the Seamen are the lowest rank in the naval chain of command. Seamen typically served as sailors of warships, though some are also serving as part of the warship's security squads. Sometimes, US Navy Seamen are also part of Navy SEAL teams. Other than that, Seaman's typical responsibilites are adjusting to life in the navy and be trained on their trades as sailors, though those who join the US Navy SEALs are also recieve intense combat training. Some even recieved engineer training as part of the Seebees. Seamen are divided into subclasses that are equivalents of Privates (Seamen Recruit and Seamen Apprentice) and Private First Class (Seamen). Seamen are typically less likely to see combat action than their ground force counterparts (barring Navy SEALs), but are more likely to see combat than their air force counterparts. In science fiction, this rank is called Spaceman (particularly so in Star Wars), obviously because navies use starships and travel in space rather than sea. Spacemen are more likely to see combat than their reality counterparts, for obvious reasons. Other than that, however, Spacemen still have the same duties. In some sci-fi works, however, Spacemen are non-existant as ships are crewed entirely by a computer nexus.
Private First Class: One step above the Privates in the ground forces' chain of command, the Private First Class typically stands below a Corporal. But other than having seniority and superior experience over Privates, PFCs typically share the same duties. In the US Marine Corps, PFCs are full-fledged Marines, the equivalent of fully-trained Privates in other armed forces. In the US Army, Privates are automatically promoted to PFCs typically after serving a year and a 1/4 of service, though this can be shortened by half with a waiver.
Airmen First Class: One step above the Airmen and one step below Senior Airmen, the Airmen First Class is considered to have fully adjusted to military life (especially as part of the air force). Their duty focus entirely on job skills. Sometimes, they might be able to be trained for combat as part of USAF's special operation forces. Airmen with special skills typically move up to this rank earlier (ie, mechanics, those with computer skills).
(Continued)