Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Revised and simplified EarthForce ranks (pt 3 I suppose)

Without editing previous posts (and it still makes sense for
EarthForce to have seven sections) I thought I'd provide
a final analysis of ranks based on those actually mentioned
and with some ranks added to maintain consistency between
sections.

To maintain consistency with ranks mentioned I've 'introduced'
a 'Starfighter' corps or Air Force, the head of which I
am assuming has the title of 'Admiral' and the rank of 'General'
(i.e. Four Star). So, Officer ranks for:

Navy=
Captain-2
Commander-3
Lt.Commander-5
Lieutenant-8
Lt (junior grade)-9
Ensign-10

Security and Marines=
Colonel-1
[Lt. Colonel]-2
Major-6
[Lt. Major]-7
1st Lieutenant-9
[2nd Lieutenant]-10

[]indicates ranks that are not explicitly mentioned in-show
Numbers after each rank indicate probable position in the
chain-of-command.

Air Force=
Colonel
Captain
(assuming Elizabeth Lochley is in the Air Force and not Navy thus
explaining her promotion to Colonel in 'The Lost Tales'
ditto Major Ed Ryan)
Major
Wing Commander
Squadron Leader
[Pilot Officer]
Fighter Pilot
About half the Starfury Pilots shown in Babylon 5 wear
Navy-style Officers' uniforms while the rest appear to
wear similar uniforms to non-commissioned officers in the Marines.
Presumably not all pilots are full officers.

It is possible that the senior three Air Force ranks
(below General?) are the same as those for Marines/Security
while the lowest three ranks correspond to those in the Navy
i.e.
Colonel
Lt.Colonel
Major
Lieutenant
Lt (junior grade)
Ensign;
while the non-commissioned ranks are as follows:
Chief Warrant Officer-4
[Warrant Officer (class one)]
[Warrant Officer (class two)]
Sergeant-Major
Gunnery Sergeant
Sergeant
[Chief Petty Officer]
and cover all sections

Enlisted ranks are given as Private First Class,
Private and Crewman. Technicians are either
unranked or have the rank of Crewman (and
probably at 1st and 2nd class at that).The
rank of 'Crewman' is only given in "Crusade",
and that described a xeno-archaeologist.

Finally, a list of ranks actually described
in Babylon 5 and Crusade. Presumably some may
simply be titles but an order can still be given
as the ranks are all equivalent or staggered:

Five Star General, Admiral,
Lieutenant-General, Major-General,
Colonel, Captain,
Commander,
Chief Warrant Officer,Lt.Commander, Major,
Wing Commander, Full Lieutenant,
Squadron Leader, Lieutenant
Lt (junior grade), Ensign,
Fighter Pilot, Sergeant-Major,
Gunnery Sergeant,Sergeant,
Private First Class, Private,
Crewman, Cadet
[Unranked and Recruit]

(bold=all sections, italics=air force)

Ranks conspicuous by their absence are:
Group Captain, Corporal and any grade of Petty Officer.
It is also unclear whether the rank of 'Colonel' applies
to all sections(i.e. below Major-General) as the specific rank
of 'Brigadier-General' is never mentioned. Although there are
no 'Brigadier-General's in usual Air Forces!