Rebel Alliance enlisted insignia

[Xavier Synik]

Okay so working on a new sig for Ky and wanted to put in an insignia for his rank.

Of course I went and looked for something online, and found that short the odd markings on storm troopers to show some sort of seniority there is nothing for the rebels.

So, I'd like to see what others think...

There are two options that I can think of off the top of my head, sure there are others.

1) Use the traditional US military rank insignia (given that most ranks are based on the US military)

2) Poach the rank insignia from Halo 3 multiplayer. Which are basically just futuristic takes on the traditional ones.

Anyway, anyone have any thoughts?

[Reshmar]

Heres what wiki has.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rank_insignia_of_the_Rebel_Alliance

[Xavier Synik]

Yes but those are all officer ranks...

I have not been able to find enlisted rank insignia, and I honestly don't know that there ever was any created from the films as there was never anyone that I can remember shown with any sort of insignia who was addressed as an enlisted member of the rebellion. Anyone with any rank markings has always been an officer.

[Captain Untouchable]

There are some, which were used on the Hoth uniforms, but that's a really confusing assortment of three-by-three blocks in different colours that shows no real comprehendable pattern.

I have no issue making use of existing insignias. As far as enlisted ranks go, the 3 chevrons = sergeant thing is pretty consistant across the board.

The other option would be to poach the Battlestar ranks, since so many of us use their faces, uniforms, etc.

[Xavier Synik]

I like the battlestar ones, but unless we changed all the ranks to match I don't think they really fit with the SW rebellion officer rank pins.

I think until someone brings up a problem with it, I'll just go with the traditional insignia used by the US Military.

[Captain Untouchable]

I actually worked out how we could use the Battlestar insignias if we wanted to, at some point. When I get home. I'll try and dig up the random bit of paper I scribbled it on the back of...

[Travis North]

I'm for ditching the dot candy ranks. They never really made sense, that said none of the rank insignia seen in the films made sense.
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

[Captain Untouchable]

Based on the SpecForce structure from this (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/SpecForce) wiki page, I'd like to pitch the rank system I've added to the bottom of this (http://www.sw-fans.net/wiki/index.php?title=Rebel_Alliance_%28ranks%29). It should include everything we need / want in a rank system, and follows a fairly linear progression, and also tosses in some of the oddball real world ranks that have earned a mention in the EU.

The Staff and Lance stuff is thrown in for neatness, as is the Master Gunny stuff; I have no problem thinning that out, if y'all don't like it. The same is true of the entire Staff Corporal / Lance Sergeant rank, though it does make for pretty symmetry in the progression of graphics.

- - -

In SpecForce, a Sergeant Major would be the Senior NCO of a Regiment, probably working with the Colonel as some sort of administrative aide, and advisor. They might be the Quartermaster, or perhaps helping to oversee personnel and training. In the Sector Forces they would likely hold a similar role, but potentially working at Brigade, Division, or Sector level.

The rank of Master Sergeant is not extensively used in SpecForce, since there are no operational units between Regiment and Company. In Sector Force, they would be the Senior NCO of a Battalion. In some Infantry units, the rank is referred to as Master Gunnery Sergeant; in some support and technical units, it is a Master Tech Sergeant.

A Staff Sergeant would be the Senior NCO of a Company, working with the officer in command to maintain discipline, and also to assist with training, serve as a drill sergeant, etc. In Infantry units, the rank is commonly referred to as Gunnery Sergeant; in support and technical units, they are usually a Tech Sergeant.

Each Platoon would have a Senior NCO, holding the rank of Sergeant. They would serve as the second-in-command to the officer commanding the unit, assisting in leadership as well as in maintaining discipline, coordinating training, and so on.

The rank of Staff Corporal would be reserved for special circumstances, where an NCO is needed at a level above Squad Leader, but below Platoon Sergeant. They might be a field medic, or a communications specialist working directly with the Platoon Commander; alternatively, they could be a member of admin staff working within the leadership of a Company. A variation, known as Lance Sergeant would be used for a Corporal serving as Platoon Sergeant in a temporary, acting capacity. Tech experts and specialists falling outside the routine chain of command might be interchangeably referred to as a Specialist.

A Corporal would be the rank of an NCO serving as Squad Leader.

The rank of First Trooper or Lance Corporal - used interchangeably - would be held by the senior Trooper in a Fire Team.

Trooper is the basic rank of both SpecForce and Sector Forces.

[Xavier Synik]

I have no problems with what is on the wiki there.

Just for ease of everything, and the fact that we don't have a ton of people playing enlisted personnel then I'd like to suggest the following changes.

1) Remove "Lance Sergeant" and "Staff Corporal" and just have that rank level as Specialist, if we keep it at all.

2) Remove the "Master" level of Sergeants, but give that insignia (the 4 chevrons) to staff/gunny/tech level of Sergeants.

I think that makes sense.

[Captain Untouchable]

I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea of having a "Lance Corporal" and not a "Lance Sergeant". Yes, in most real world Earth military forces they have that, and no one cares. But that's because we have Earth reasons for it. If we crop out Lance Sergeant, I'd suggest we crop out Lance Corporal as well.

I'd also rather we kept three chevrons and a dot for Gunny Sergeant, since that looks cooler than four chevrons on their own, imo. (Also, in the real world, four chevrons is generally used for Sergeant Major, like in the French Foreign Legion, etc).

What about either of these two alternatives?

Option A:

- Sergeant Major: Senior NCO at Company and Regiment level. ( <<<<- )
- Staff Sergeant: Senior NCO at Platoon level; aka. Gunnery / Tech. ( <<<- )
- Sergeant: Squad Leader. ( <<< )
- Corporal: Fire Team Leader. ( << )
- Trooper: Basic Rank. ( < )

That does away with all of the Lance type ranks. It also distinguishes a "desk job" Sergeant Major at any level from a "field work" Staff Sergeant. The basic rank is "Staff Sergeant"; Gunnery or Tech are the alternative options (probably Gunnery for most of SpecForce; Tech for 7th Regiment).

Option B:

- Sergeant Major: Senior NCO at Regiment level. ( <<<<- )
- Staff Sergeant: Senior NCO at Company level; aka. Gunnery / Tech. ( <<<- )
- Sergeant: Senior NCO at Platoon Level. ( <<< )
- Lance Sergeant: Field Medics, Tech Specialists, etc at Platoon Level. ( <<- )
- Corporal: Squad Leader. ( << )
- Lance Corporal: Fire Team Leader. ( <- )
- Trooper: Basic Rank. ( < )

This differentiates between a Company level "Staff Sergeant" and a Regiment level "Sergeant Major", since their roles are different. It also adds back in Lance Corporal; it retains Lance Sergeant, just so the inclusion of Lance Corporal has some degree of logic to it.

For the record: Oran Jsorra would likely be a "Lance Sergeant" in this system: he's more important than a Squad Leader, but he isn't senior enough to fill a proper "Sergeant" role. I'd prefer not to use "Specialist" to describe the rank, just to justify the use of "Lance Corporal".