Hierarchy

[Oran Jsorra]

Been doing a lot of geeking up on the Alliance military, and on SpecForce in particular in preparation for a rewrite of the Dorn Force wiki page. One of the things that struck me though is that... well... we have a few Army and SpecForce characters about the place now, and we have a fair few pilots and what not, but we haven't really pegged own a hierarchy.

The sort of thing I'm talking about - we have a few Generals, a few Colonels, and so forth, but as far as I know we don't have a clear idea of how they slot together, who their respective bosses are, or anything like that. There's the fact that the Rebels make things confusing, too; we're all familiar with SpecForce, but there's a separate "Army" as well, and all sorts of other confusion factors.

As Anal OCD Research Man (yeah - I overslept and turned up late the day they were handing out superhero powers), I'll happily volunteer to try and tease apart all the jumbled stuff to create something that works for Fans - the characters we've got, the settings, etc. However, I don't want to be all pushy and irritating; y'all happy for me to bugger about and researcherize something, or shall I just go make a cake instead?

(No, you cannot have any of my cake.)

[Dasquian Belargic]

I can lend a hand with this, when it comes to some parts of the Alliance.

I always had the impression that most of the branches and departments were fairly autonomous, so you can tell the brass from the grunts by their ranks alone. Intel is slightly different, since there isn't really a rigid rank structure at play for them, but they are still part of the military sooooo.

Yup. I guess catch me on AIM later about this?

[Captain Untouchable]

I shall catch you indeed. *preps the net* >D

[Reshmar]

Throw them in a bag and shake them up then see which on you pull out.

[John Glayde]

Here's a sort of simplistic, in a nutshell, "idiots guide" / FAQ sort of thing of the details I've consolodated. If there is anything that seems wrong, seems off, or anything like that, please, please, please comment: I'll happily change anything that needs it.

Part 1 - Alliance to Restore the Republic

The Alliance to Restore the Republic was founded with the signing of the Corellian Treaty, in 2 BBY (6 BE). The signatories were Alderaan, Chandrila, and Corellia.

In 4 BE, the planet of Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star. At a similar time, Dac (Mon Calamari) gained independence from the Empire, and eventually threw their support behind the Rebel Alliance.

A year later, the Rebel Alliance recieved information that the Empire was planning an attack on Ithor. A mission was launched to rescue any Ithorians who wished to evacuate the planet. The same year, an attack on Chandrila was thwarted by members of Rogue Squadron.

In the years following the Battle of Endor, missions were launched to liberate both Sullust and Bothawui.


What Does This Mean?

The peoples of Corellia and Ithor are in exile, because their homeworld remains under Imperial control. The people of Alderaan are in exile because some idget blew it up.

Dac, Sullust and Bothawui - and their surrounding Sectors - are considered Rebel territory. Dac and Sullust feature extensive shipyards; the Bothans also have shipyards on Mandel.

Chandrila is no longer under Imperial control. However, the sector in which it is located is, making Rebel movements through the region difficult.


Alliance High Council

Every one of the seven members of the Rebel Alliance has a seat on the Alliance High Council. This organisation serves as the governing body for the Alliance, determining policy and protocol, and overseeing both the political and military aspirations of the Rebellion. The Council is led by a Chairman; currently Mon Razien.

Not all matters require the consultation of the entire Council. To facilitate a more swift process of decision-making - particularly on military matters - a number of Committees were established to provide oversight, including the Military Oversight Committee and the Intelligence Oversight Committee. These Committees consisted of less than the full Council, selected based on who would provide a most beneficial input to the decision-making process. Other committees dealt with non-military aspects of the Alliance, such as Trade & Commerce.

[Captain Untouchable]

A smidge more information - comments / criticisms / etc please!

Part 2 - Alliance Military

The Alliance Military is divided into two main organisational groups: the Alliance Navy and the Alliance Army. These units combined are led by the Alliance High Command: a group of eight Admirals and five Generals who command the Fleets and Battalions that make up those branches.

High Command is supervised by the Military Oversight Committee, which currently consists of three members of the Alliance Council: representing Mon Calamari, Bothawui, and Corellia. The Chairman of this Oversight Committee serves as the defacto Chief of Staff for the High Command. However, he still answers to the Chief of State, who also holds the appointment of Commander-in-Chief of the Alliance Military.

The military is also supported by two clandestine agencies: Alliance Intelligence and Alliance Special Operations (SpecOps). These are overseen by a separate Intelligence Oversight Committee, featuring the Alderaanian, Chandrilan, and Bothan representatives to the Alliance Council.


Alliance Navy

The Alliance Navy is made up of five Fleets, each led by an Admiral who sits on the High Command. The First Fleet is deployed on operations in The Core, close to Chandrila. The Second Fleet is stationed at Sullust, as part of the Sector's defense forces. The Third Fleet is on operations around the northern arm of the Hyian Way. The Fourth Fleet is headquartered at Mon Calamari. The Fifth Fleet originally consisted of Reserves, but has been stationed at Bothawui since it's liberation.

Fleets are further subdivided into Task Forces: large, self-contained formations of ships that operate independent of the existing Naval structure. These are commanded by a Vice Admiral. Smaller than a Task Force is a Task Group, which is either considered either a subdivision of a Fleet formation, or an independent mid-sized combat unit; typically commanded by a Commodore. The smallest formations - referred to a Task Unit, Squadron or Battle Line - generally consist of only a few ships: often small patrol formations, or to meet special mission objectives; they are commanded by a Line Captain.

In addition to it's Fleets, the Alliance Navy includes its own Fleet Intelligence branch (which focuses on tactical and intelligence analysis), and the Starfighter Corps, both commanded by an Admiral. It also includes a branch called the Operations & Supply Command, which provides logistical support to the entire Rebellion.


Alliance Army

The Alliance Army is broken into five Corps, each commanded by a General who serves on the Alliance High Command.

The Sector Forces Corps provides personnel for a variety of reasons: on liberated worlds they serve as a home guard in preparation for an attack; on occupied worlds meanwhile they serve as insurgents, supporting and augmenting local rebel groups to bring about a successful regime change. Alliance Support Services meanwhile provides personnel and equipment for the operations of Rebel bases and facilities, as well as performing research and development.

The Mobile Infantry Corps consists mainly of basic infantry soldiers trained primarily for surface combat, augmented by lighter reconnaissance troops, specialists who operate armored and mechanised support equipment, as well as basic air support. They are nominally considered to be the equivalent of Imperial Stormtroopers and Scout Troopers, and are usually formed into Order of Battle units, of varying size. The Navy Security Corps similarly consists of basic infantry, but with their training aimed more towards close quarters combat aboard starships; there is a unit of NavSec for each Fleet in the Alliance Navy.

Finally, the SpecForce Corps provides elite troops for Special Forces missions, to support and augment other branches of the military. There are five Divisions of SpecForce, the first four headquartered to Chandrila, Mon Calamari, Sullust and Bothawui respectively; the fifth an independent unit designed to operate outside specific Areas of Operation. Within each Division, the Regiments are all numbered uniformly, with each Regiment conforming to a given specialism. (See: Part 3 - Special & Covert Operations)

[Captain Untouchable]

Moar. Again, comments, etc.

Part 3 - Special & Covert Operations

Because of the nature of the Rebel Alliance - particularly prior to the liberation of Sullust and Bothawui - the majority of operations conducted by it's military are clandestine and covert in nature. Though the military has since expanded to accomodate the Rebellion's increasing size, territory, and ability to retalliate against the Empire, there are still four branches that focus exclusively on this kind of activity.


Alliance Sector Forces (SecForce)

Prior to the establishment of the Mobile Infantry Corps, the Alliance Sector Forces represented the bulk of it's ground forces. The size, role and disposition of a Sector Force varies heavily from Sector to Sector: in the case of Sectors like Chandrila and Mon Calamari, which have been completely liberated from Imperial control, the Sector Forces serve as a "Home Guard", providing planetary defense and security; in Sectors still under Imperial occupation however, like Corellia or Ithor, the Sector Forces are organised in a manner more akin to an underground resistance or insurgent force.


Alliance Special Forces (SpecForce)

The Alliance Special Forces were originally created to augment the Sector Forces, providing units of specially trained and mobile soldiers who could perform the kind of missions and operations for which the insurgent Sector Forces were not equipped. As the Rebellion grew and gained a separate Army however, the unit adapted to take on the role of the "elite" forces.

SpecForce was split into five Divisions based on area of operation; each Division contained seven Regiments associated with a particular specialism, with the designations assigned consistantly across all Regiments:

1st Regiment, known as SpaceOps or Marines, served as troops for boarding operations and zero-g combat.

2nd Regiment consisted of Pathfinders, who served as elite reconnaissance troops and as a vanguard for other units.

3rd Regiment specialised as Urban Combat Specialists - or Urban Guerillas - who were trained in ambush tactics, and combat in built-up areas.

4th Regiment, known as Wilderness Fighters or Rangers, specialised in combat situations where environmental conditions - deserts, jungles, snow - provided an obstacle to standard combat operations.

5th Regiment specialised as Infiltrators, who served as the primary covert and black ops group within SpecForce.

6th Regiment provided Heavy Weapons Specialists, primarily focussing on small and portable hardware like anti-tank and anti-aircraft, and explosives; these troopers were referred to as Vanguards. They also worked with the 7th Regiment to provide Gunners for artillery and vehicle support, where required.

7th Regiment provided the support infrastructure for SpecForce: Technicians as mechanics and combat engineers; Pilots and Drivers who operated shuttles, airspeeders, and landspeeders; Scanners, who worked as operators for sensor and communications equipment; Scroungers, who sourced much needed resources; as well as Interrogators.

Though organised as Regiments in terms of administration, SpecForce rarely operated in individual units larger than Company size. Special Taskforce Companies were often used, combining elements of various Regiments. Units such as this were commonly deployed aboard large starships in the Alliance Navy, providing support to the NavSec forces already aboard.

In addition to supporting the Alliance Army, SpecForce also provides back-up on missions to SpecOps and Alliance Intelligence as well.


Alliance Special Operations (SpecOps)

Alliance SpecOps was created during the early days of the Rebellion, made up of the most elite and skilled members of the Rebel Alliance. They focussed on high-risk covert operations, which required a great deal of autonomy and self-sufficiency, not just from its units but from individual Operatives as well. Such Operatives were drawn not just from military backgrounds, but also included smugglers and other criminals, as well as individuals like bounty hunters and mercenaries - the latter often being under contract as an extension of their career. As a result, SpecOps units had a reputation for their lack of discipline, and their chaotic approach to missions.

Mission Groups were units that transcended the normal organisational structure of the Alliance Military. They were often assigned to work with other Alliance branches: some units were deployed alongside Starfighter Corps units, taking advantage of the support platform for those units to deploy rapidly across the galaxy; others worked alongside SpecForce or SecForce units, supporting their operations as well as relying on their support for SpecOps missions. Special Ops Teams meanwhile were advanced Mission Groups who answered to almost no one. They usually performed deep-cover missions that saw them entirely cut off from the Alliance's support network, and took orders directly from the upper echelons of the Alliance leadership.

The roles of Intel and SpecOps often overlap, causing friction between the two groups: the nominal difference is that Intel has the primary mandate of preserving the safety and security of the Alliance; whereas SpecOps acts to bring about the downfall of the Galactic Empire by any means necessary.


Alliance Intelligence (Intel)

(I'll add in later; too lazy to type anymore right now. :mneh )

[Captain Untouchable]

Aside 1 - Phonetic Alphabet

The NATO Phonetic Alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc) has been used in Star Wars before - Bravo Squadron from Episode I springs to mind, for example. Unfortunately, some of the words used are extremely Earthlike and, while we might be able to get away with ones like Tango, or with the Greek letters (which are used for Lambda Shuttles, etc), explaining how the Star Wars knows about Golf, India, Lima, Quebec and so forth is a bit tenuous.

It's by no means official, but Sarah and I got bored up last night and cooked up a modified version that I'd like Dorn Force to use; if anyone else uses the other version, or a different version or whatever, we can just treat 'em as different variations on the same thing - after all, the LAPD uses the old WWII one still (Able, Baker, Charlie, etc) so... *shrug*

Anyhow...

Alpha
Bravo
Constellation
Delta
Echo
Firecat
Gundark
Harmony
Iridium
Jedi
Kamino
Lojo
Mandalore
Nebula
Omicron
Panda
Quasar
Rodia
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Wookiee
X-Wing
Yavin
Zeltron

[Captain Untouchable]

Since things are potentially changing over the course of the Big Story, some of the above is going to need to change; I figured I'd get my arse in gear and post up a bit more anyway, so this can be found later on.

Aside 2 - Military Ranks

The ranks of the Rebel Alliance are a wonderfly diverse and confusing thing, riddled with quirks and conundrums. I'm sure you're used to the notion that a Captain in the Army and a Captain in the Navy aren't at all equivalent, but the Rebels go above and beyond to make things seem nutty and wacko.

Rather than trying to show you, here instead is a helpful graphic:

Ranks of the Rebel Alliance (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php?title=Rebel_Alliance_%28ranks%29)

Some of those ranks warrant a little explaining. Where a word is in brackets, it is part of the rank title on paper, but is not usually stated. Where it is crossed out, it is indicitive of what the rank means and how it is derrived, but the word is not officially part of the rank.


Vice Admiral & Rear Admiral

Though equal in rank to a Rear Admiral "on paper", the title of Vice Admiral is afforded to the second-in-command of an Alliance Fleet, because they are the Vice / Deputy Admiral-in-Command.


Line Captain

Sometimes, the Captains of large starships are assigned Frigates and so forth as escorts. If that is the case, the Captain of the main ship is in charge, and is bumped up to Line Captain on paper to indicate that. It would be considered a "non-substansive rank" - meaning that you can skip over it.


Major & Commander

For the Starfighter Corps, these ranks are "backwards". It's just one of those things that is, as far as Star Wars is concerned. At a guess, I would say that it derives from the notion that Major means "senior to" (like a Sergeant Major), so they are effectively the "Commander-Major", for want of a better term. Since a Commander is generally a Squadron Leader, then being a Major would indicate that they are more senior than a regular Squadron Leader; perhaps the a senior pilot aboard-ship, or something similar.


Multiple Choice NCO Ranks

Generally speaking, the top row (Master Sergeant, Staff Sergeant) would be used by the "regular" army, such as the SecForce or Mobile Infantry. The middle row (Master Gunnery Sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant) are generally used by SpecForce: in particular by Regiments 1-5, and sometimes 6. The bottom row (Master Tech Sergeant, Tech Sergeant) would be used by Regiment 7 of SpecForce, and by any similarly specialised Sergeants in other units. For the sake of convenience, Master Gunnery and Master Tech Sergeants can be referred to as a "Master Sergeant". (In essence, the regular Master Sergeant is already short for Master Staff Sergeant)

The ranks for NCO members of the Starfighter Corps also present a choice. This is because the individuals might be sourced from the Navy, or from the Army, depending on the sort of unit they are supporting, and where they are based. Quite simply, the top row is the Navy option, and the bottom is the Army option. For the most part, it's an optional affair; go with the one that sounds coolest.


Lance Sergeant & Specialist

These ranks fall into a little-used limbo zone. A Lance Corporal would be an individual who, because of skill or specialism, deserves to be more senior than a Corporal; but whose role requires them to be junior to a regular Sergeant. In a Squad, which is generally led by a Sergeant, then a Comms Specialist, Field Medic, or similar might be known as a Lance Sergeant (or specialist). Alternatively, they might be working as a Quartermaster, or admin specialist, and need to outrank other Corporals to do their job.

This is mostly a "flavour" rank, thrown in to make the rank progression all neat and symmetrical; that said, it is in use with a couple of SpecForce characters. It would be considered a "non-substansive rank" - meaning that you can skip over it.


Addenda - Insignia

The costume department for Star Wars went a bit crazy with the rank insignia, and as a result there are various sight differences. What I've put up is a simplified version that fits with the ranks that we're using, available in a slightly more generic Imperial / Republic style version, and in the dots pattern seen on General's uniforms and on Echo Base uniforms. If I can work out how the blazes they work, I may try and do the army ranks from Echo Base as well.

As mentioned, they're simplified, so they won't hold up to full-on nitpicking scrutiny; but hey. It'll do for now, right?

[Captain Untouchable]

Aside 3 - Order of Battle

The term "Order of Battle" is used to describe "normal" units, rather than specialised groups. An Order Company would be a regular infantry unit, whereas a Taskforce Company would be one specialised towards a specific role. More broadly, it defines the hierarchy of how units break down into smaller units.


Navy Order of Battle

A Fleet is an umbrella unit that encompasses all of the operations within a particular region of the galaxy. This may be an Area of Operation for a mobile, deployed fleet (like the Third Fleet), or may be centred on one of the Alliance homeworlds (like the Fifth Fleet at Bothawui). It is commanded by an Admiral, and has a Vice Admiral as second-in-command.

A Task Force is the largest subdivision of a Fleet. It is a Force put together to conduct a specific task. It may be deployed individually, or it may operate as part of the Fleet in a large battle, tasked with completing a particular objective. It usually consists of dozens of ships, and is commanded by a Rear Admiral.

A Task Group is a unit of intermediate size, created to fill a particular role. That role is often substituted for "Task" in the title, such as with a Carrier Group or Battle Group. Size varies dependant on a lot of factors; a small number of Starships may warrant being a Task Group if its fighter compliment is large, for example. It is commanded by a Commodore.

The term Battle Line is used to describe a force of around half a dozen ships, which operate as part of a Task Force in Fleet combat. It may be a force of gunships working together under a single commander; it may be a Capital Ship and her escorts. In this instance, it is commanded by a Line Captain.

The largest individual Rebel starships are mostly Star Cruisers: this term encompasses Battlecruisers, Cruisers, and some Destroyers, and is the Rebel alternative to the Star Destroyer term. They are commanded by a Captain.

Smaller starships are sometimes called Star Frigates: this encompasses some Destroyers, as well as Frigates, Gunships, and Corvettes. They generally serve as escorts to Star Cruisers, and are commanded by either a Captain or a Commander.

The smallest ships - eg. Corvettes - may be commanded by a Sub-Commander.


Starfighter Order of Battle

Within each Alliance Fleet would be a General, who was responsible for the oversight of all Starfighter forces deployed within that Fleet.

Because of the nature of the Rebel Navy - specifically the capacity of its carriers - very few Starfighter units were able to deploy in forces larger than three or four Squadrons (with a few exceptions, such as the Liberator-class Cruiser). The sum total of fighters within a specific command was known as its Air Group, and would be led by a Major or Colonel, depending on size.

A formation of three Squadrons was specifically referred to as a Wing. In many cases, the Wing and Air Group were synonymous, given the capacity of the carrier craft. Wings were usually commanded by a Major, or in some cases by a Commander.

A Squadron usually consisted of twelve fighters, typically grouped into three Flights of four. Squadron Leaders were usually either a Commander or (in junior cases) a Captain, with the position of Flight Leader typically held by a pilot of Lieutenant or higher.


Infantry Order of Battle

A Sector Force is the umbrella unit that oversees all ground operations within a particular sector. The Mobile Infantry is considered equivalent to a Sector Force. In both cases, they are commanded by a General.

A Division is a subsection of a Sector Force, or the Mobile Infantry. In Sector Forces, there may be a Division per planet or system (depending on importance). Because they may be in the order of tens of thousands (plus support equipment, etc), most Rebel starships cannot easily transport an entire Division; and so they rarely operate as a single unit, except for large scale ground battles. They are commanded by a Lieutenant General.

A Brigade consists of several thousand men. They usually require several ships (or a large troop transport) to move them, and potentially come with assault vehicles, air support, and so forth. They are commanded by a Brigadier.

A Regiment consists of a few thousand men, and often represents the troop capacity of a Rebel Star Cruiser; An MC80 for example carries around 2,000 men. They usually focus on a specific unit type; as part of a Batallion, there may be an Air Support Regiment, a Mechanised Regiment, and so forth. Regiments are commanded by a Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel. The Senior NCO would be a Sergeant Major.

A Company consists of a few hundred men if an infantry unit, and less if specialised for Artillery, Walkers, etc. They are commanded by a Major or Captain. The Senior NCO would be a Master Sergeant.

A Platoon is the basic command unit, consisting of a few dozen men. They are commanded by a Captain or a Lieutenant. The Senior NCO would be a Staff Sergeant.

A Squad is a subsection of a Platoon, consisting of around a dozen men. They are commanded by a Sergeant.

A Fire Team is the smallest grouping, usually consisting of four men, commanded by a Corporal.


SpecForce Order of Battle

SpecForce as a whole is - like the Mobile Infantry - treated as a "Sector Force", and is led by a General.

SpecForce currently has five Divisions, each commanded by a Lieutenant General. They in turn are each divided into the standard seven Regiments, led by a Colonel.

From there, role can vary dramatically. Units of Company size that were deployed by SpecForce were referred to as a Taskforce Company (TFC), and were usually led by a Captain or Major. Regiments also deployed Platoons individually, which would be organised (for the sake of administration and logistics) as part of an Order of Battle Company (OBC).

A SpecForce Platoon would usually be commanded by a Lieutenant, or sometimes a Captain. These divided still further into Squads, led by a Sergeant.