32 replies to this topic

[Disappointed Defector]

Are there Merc Corps where newcomers obtain officer ranks? I mean, right from the start, after formally becoming a member.

I'm asking about formal rank. Not the immediate right to command anybody or to make any decisions about Corp's politics and doctrine. Pure fluff. This is MechWarrior game. Mechwarriors are considered the elite of the Inner Sphere military. Their BattleMechs are the renowned, expensive, highly sought and hardly replaced pinnacle of military technology, only eclipsed by AeroSpace Fighters on this level.

Yet many Corps I've looked up probably forget about that, take present-day ground forces as an example or just want to emphasize the gap between the Command and ordinary members - and they fill their ranks with enlisted members.



I play the game for fun and satisfaction. I know and value BattleTech universe being the source of it. I'm over 30. When I play MechWarrior, I don't want to start as a private and grind through countless heap of enlisted and NCO ranks. It breaks the immersion and stings my self-esteem. Having the same officer rank for a year will satisfy me more than progression through rank and file (Despite that rank being pure fluff and my authority and responsibilities probably being equal to those of private in other Merc Corps). Why am I entitled? Because I'm Inner Sphere Mechwarrior, that's why. Leave "other ranks" for poor bloody infantry. (Of course, I don't ask for special treatment. I ask if any Merc Corp already has such rank hierarchy).

With a lieutenant being widely recognized as appropriate rank for leading a lance (glorified platoon), there are many possible ranks for his subordinates. 2nd lieutenant, subaltern, ensign (I like the most)... Anything without the stink of combat boots.

So, are there Merc Corps that treat their members as MechWarriors?

PS Needless to say that this is not my main account.

Edited by Disappointed Defector, 29 June 2014 - 03:21 PM.

[Nightmare1]

This is a bit amusing for many reasons.

To be honest, I'm not sure how to answer all that. I know that my own Unit does not do this in the strict sense that I think you are attempting to convey. We've been burned a time or two where pilots would sign-up, make us go through the process of awarding them a rank, and then drop out of the Unit or MWO entirely. So, for us, we put them in an Unassigned/Rankless bracket until they meet with us in TeamSpeak and run a few drops with us to show their dedication. After that, we have a Cadet bracket that is mostly time-based. You basically climb the ranks just for being in the Brigade. After that, we have our MechWarrior tier which is what you would be referencing. Basically, everyone gets a MechWarrior rank once they've been in the Brigade for a certain amount of time and have satisfied our requirements for active membership. Any ranks after that are earned via combat and leadership skills and training.

So, you could say, that we have an entire bracket that is "fluff," along with our lowest MechWarrior ranking, to make an easy progression for newbs. Beyond that, it has to be earned.

...But even our "fluff" won't be awarded if you don't satisfy basic requirements! To be honest, I don't really expect there to be any Units that would operate otherwise.

[Scifimyth]

Similar to Nightmare1, we have a process that we go through with new players to the TMC. Everyone starts out as an Initiate and goes through our inital training. After that, we only have a few ranks that are "Strict" ranks. To move up in the available ranks we require that you would put in time and effort to go past the initial levels. It is too easy to be burned by unscrupulous or just lazy players who feel that they are entitled to something more than that.

As for fluff, I am sure that most units have some sort of RP group in them that brings forth such things but they aren't something that is externally visible.

[Atlai]

Join the Brotherhood Of Atlai! there is like none of us so we don't have any structure at all! you can have any rank you want! my rank is obviously 'Lord of Atlai' never mind the fact im a horrible Atlai pilot! In fact, we are not even a merc corp! were just...something!


(In all honesty its kinda like a secret sub-division thing, you get to be apart of any merc corp you want, you just use Atlai instead of atlases.)

[Grey Black]

Allow me to tell you a little story. John is playing with his unit and having fun, but hopes one day to do more for his unit. He knows how the unit operates, knows his team members, and has a grasp of some of the basic ways to run a unit. One day, a guy named Steve joins up and is immediately promoted to officer above John. John accepts this, but begins to realize that Steve has no concept of the unit. He asks the standard heavy pilots to play Ullers, the light pilot to run an Atlas,and John to play an Orion, though John doesn't own an Orion. When John points out these flaws, Steve reports John for insubordination to the higher ups in the unit and John is discharged. This leads to upheaval in the unit and divisions agreeing with John, which leads to massive back and forth and upheaval and internal division, meaning that no one has fun in the unit and the corps disbands.

This is the problem with starting people in officer ranks. If they have no idea what they're doing, they can hurt a unit's cohesion immensely. As such, most units prefer to only promote people who work hard and want to help the unit however possible. If you just want a title, talk to some RPing Clan units to test for rank in a Trial of Position. Outside of that? Don't count on it.

[Disappointed Defector]

Grey Black, on 29 June 2014 - 05:13 PM, said:

Allow me to tell you a little story. One day, a guy named Steve joins up and is immediately promoted to officer above John. Steve reports John for insubordination to the higher ups in the unit and John is discharged.

No, I won't allow you. Only functionally illiterate man could've produced that nonsense after reading (or, rather, NOT reading) my post.

In the Merc Corp I'm looking for John can't be an enlisted if he's a mechwarrior. I've told clearly that I'm looking for a Merc Corp where lowest officer rank is a common rank for new mechwarriors. John will either be a lance leader and hence lieutenant already, or he will hold some other intermediate rank (many can be coined - senior ensign? 2nd lieutenant, being senior to newbie ensigns/subalterns/etc?), or he will just be senior because of longer time in starting grade. Steve starting as senior to John simply can't happen (if Merc Corp doesn't have a penal unit where John serves, members of which are demoted from their starting rank).

The concept is borrowed from some Air Forces where pilot obtains lowest officer rank after completing their training (and during this training they are probably ranked as cadet/aspirant/fahnrich). (Acting) Pilot Officer in RAF, for example. It seems appropriate, I must repeat, because of BattleMech being sofisticated and expensive piece of equipment, even treated as superior to contemporary "conventional fighter" aircraft, and also in many cases owned by its user (making Mechwarrior somewhat akin to a knight - at least until recent surge in BattleMech production caused by industrial revival of the Inner Sphere).

Nightmare1, on 29 June 2014 - 04:08 PM, said:

So, for us, we put them in an Unassigned/Rankless bracket until they meet with us in TeamSpeak and run a few drops with us to show their dedication. After that, we have a Cadet bracket that is mostly time-based. You basically climb the ranks just for being in the Brigade. After that, we have our MechWarrior tier which is what you would be referencing. Basically, everyone gets a MechWarrior rank once they've been in the Brigade for a certain amount of time and have satisfied our requirements for active membership. Any ranks after that are earned via combat and leadership skills and training.

I've checked your site. I like your starting rank being called a Cadet (as opposed to Recruit), and fully established ordinary lancer having a rank of Mechwarrior (as opposed to Private). The only nuisance there is the presence of sergeants between mechwarriors and commanding officers.

Scifimyth, on 29 June 2014 - 04:19 PM, said:

Similar to Nightmare1, we have a process that we go through with new players to the TMC. Everyone starts out as an Initiate and goes through our inital training. After that, we only have a few ranks that are "Strict" ranks. To move up in the available ranks we require that you would put in time and effort to go past the initial levels.
As for fluff, I am sure that most units have some sort of RP group in them that brings forth such things but they aren't something that is externally visible.

I'm not asking about becoming a fully established member without any approbation process, of course (this answer also goes to Nighmare1 with their Cadet ranks for newcomers).
As for fluff, that's what I'm looking for. Not a unit that treats MWO as "just another MMO" (I, personally, find it too bad a game to play as "just another MMO"), but a unit that pays some attention to BattleTech Universe, fluff and maybe even RP (unit as a whole, not some group inside it). For example, your own unit, by the look of it, certainly pays some attention to appearance and identifies itself as a kind of knightly order with corresponding ranks (you've mentioned "Initiate", on the Templars' website I also noticed "Knight Errant" and "Crusader" tags) - instead of just pulling some intimidating name out of thin air and copypasting NATO rank structure for the purpose of organisation with newcomers being mindlessly shoved into the boots of Private.

[Nightmare1]

How are the Sergeants a nuisance? Just out of curiosity...

We actually were started as a milsim Unit. The ranks up through MechWarrior can be earned via time accrual and participation in battle (as long as requirements for active membership are met). Senior MechWarrior is reserved for MechWarriors who have led lances and demonstrated an ability for leadership. Sergeants are the liaisons between the Command Staff and the pilots under them. They also lead 12-Mans occasionally and assist the Command Staff with admin duties when need. Lieutenants serve key admin and Ambassadorial roles, while the Captain (me), General, and Brigade Commander act as the administrative heads and policymakers. Command Staff members (Lieutenant and higher) also routinely lead 4-Mans and 12-Mans, and often contribute financially to the Brigade.

In short, you could work your way up to Senior MechWarrior by being an active member and occasionally leading lances. Beyond that, however, only our truly dedicated may advance. Our rank structure is designed to partition the Brigade between our untested newbies, our rank-and-file members, our elite members, and then our Officers. So far, it has worked quite well.

[Grey Black]

Disappointed Defector, on 29 June 2014 - 11:14 PM, said:

No, I won't allow you. Only functionally illiterate man could've produced that nonsense after reading (or, rather, NOT reading) my post.

In the Merc Corp I'm looking for John can't be an enlisted if he's a mechwarrior. I've told clearly that I'm looking for a Merc Corp where lowest officer rank is a common rank for new mechwarriors. John will either be a lance leader and hence lieutenant already, or he will hold some other intermediate rank (many can be coined - senior ensign? 2nd lieutenant, being senior to newbie ensigns/subalterns/etc?), or he will just be senior because of longer time in starting grade. Steve starting as senior to John simply can't happen (if Merc Corp doesn't have a penal unit where John serves, members of which are demoted from their starting rank).

The concept is borrowed from some Air Forces where pilot obtains lowest officer rank after completing their training (and during this training they are probably ranked as cadet/aspirant/fahnrich). (Acting) Pilot Officer in RAF, for example. It seems appropriate, I must repeat, because of BattleMech being sofisticated and expensive piece of equipment, even treated as superior to contemporary "conventional fighter" aircraft, and also in many cases owned by its user (making Mechwarrior somewhat akin to a knight - at least until recent surge in BattleMech production caused by industrial revival of the Inner Sphere).

Well just allow me to state that you'll likely be looking for a long time. The majority of merc corps really don't offer officer ranks to people fresh out of basic. The majority in my experience require time in unit and some experience with the rest of the group to become a low ranking officer, which was the point of my story. Again, perhaps you should try to sign on with an RPing Clan unit, perhaps you can Trial of Position into one of those ranks starting? But then, I suppose only a functionally illiterate person wouldn't have understood that to be the point of the story. After all, if infantry doesn't exist in the game, why even include them in the ranking structure? Wouldn't ALL mechwarriors be officers of one sort or another, to your definition in lore?

[BlackPhoenix01]

During training, in most houses, mechwarrior recruits tend to be Privates with lance leaders being Corporals, then upon graduation, are officially various Sergeant ranks and on up the officer scale. "Mechwarrior" itself is the more common title regardless of the rank they are. Here is a good reference: http://www.sarna.net.../Military_Ranks - and here is an example of House Davions ranking structure. http://www.sarna.net..._Military_Ranks

Enlisted ranks are not a nuisance. It's a valid and important part of the BT universe. And from a unit managing perspective, Some people don't want to advance and some people do. You don't want someone who only shows up once every few weeks and is really unknown amongst the unit wearing officer tags in a community where an officer rank is accepted as leadership of some sort.

Edited by BlackPhoenix01, 30 June 2014 - 05:31 AM.

[Nightmare1]

BlackPhoenix01, on 30 June 2014 - 05:26 AM, said:

During training, in most houses, mechwarrior recruits tend to be Privates with lance leaders being Corporals, then upon graduation, are officially various Sergeant ranks and on up the officer scale. "Mechwarrior" itself is the more common title regardless of the rank they are. Here is a good reference: http://www.sarna.net.../Military_Ranks - and here is an example of House Davions ranking structure. http://www.sarna.net..._Military_Ranks

Enlisted ranks are not a nuisance. It's a valid and important part of the BT universe. And from a unit managing perspective, Some people don't want to advance and some people do. You don't want someone who only shows up once every few weeks and is really unknown amongst the unit wearing officer tags in a community where an officer rank is accepted as leadership of some sort.

Good sum-up!

[Grendel408]

Disappointed Defector, on 29 June 2014 - 03:12 PM, said:

Are there Merc Corps where newcomers obtain officer ranks? I mean, right from the start, after formally becoming a member.

I'm asking about formal rank. Not the immediate right to command anybody or to make any decisions about Corp's politics and doctrine. Pure fluff. This is MechWarrior game. Mechwarriors are considered the elite of the Inner Sphere military. Their BattleMechs are the renowned, expensive, highly sought and hardly replaced pinnacle of military technology, only eclipsed by AeroSpace Fighters on this level.

Yet many Corps I've looked up probably forget about that, take present-day ground forces as an example or just want to emphasize the gap between the Command and ordinary members - and they fill their ranks with enlisted members.

With a lieutenant being widely recognized as appropriate rank for leading a lance (glorified platoon), there are many possible ranks for his subordinates. 2nd lieutenant, subaltern, ensign (I like the most)... Anything without the stink of combat boots.

So, are there Merc Corps that treat their members as MechWarriors?

<note: some text redacted from quote>

For the Blue Star Irregulars... everyone comes into the unit ranked as a Cadet. Rank in my unit is determined on skill and overall knowledge of the unit. Those who show the merit and drive to command and be respected among their team are likely to be promoted to Officer status. Albeit... rank doesn't always mean much in my unit as we all tend to communicate and work as a team. I don't necessarily believe anyone who joins my unit is entitled to anything rank-wise... however I am willing to merge units into BSI, ranks are appropriately given in that aspect. For example, we recently recruited a small unit of players, Nasty Boys, into BSI and I used them to form out a new company to help keep their players together, those players in turn were promoted as negotiated between myself and their CO, who became CO of that Company. Basically it comes down to this for ranks in BSI: skill, knowledge, and conduct. You could be the newest member in the unit, or my XO and I will listen all the same because regardless of rank this is a game... MWO have some MilSim (Military Simulated) units that strictly adhere to specific doctrine... too rigid for my unit However... when it comes to 12man drops or Competitions, ranks come out and people listen in BSI

Edited by Grendel408, 30 June 2014 - 12:29 PM.

[Disappointed Defector]

Nightmare1, on 30 June 2014 - 05:06 AM, said:

How are the Sergeants a nuisance? Just out of curiosity...

Without them Mechwarrior ranks in your rank structure could’ve been perceived as junior officer ranks, similar to Pilot Officer and Flying Officer in RAF. Presence of Sergeants (NCOs) clearly defines ranks below them as enlisted or junior NCOs.

Grey Black, on 30 June 2014 - 05:15 AM, said:

Well just allow me to state that you'll likely be looking for a long time.

Maybe yes, maybe no. I’m counting on numbers and diversity of the Merc Corps.

Quote

After all, if infantry doesn't exist in the game, why even include them in the ranking structure? Wouldn't ALL mechwarriors be officers of one sort or another, to your definition in lore?

For fluff/RP purposes, I’ve already said that. Yes, I see nothing wrong with all mechwarriors being officers – not in the whole Inner Sphere, of course, but in the unit I’m looking for.

BlackPhoenix01, on 30 June 2014 - 05:26 AM, said:

During training, in most houses, mechwarrior recruits tend to be Privates with lance leaders being Corporals.

In actual Air Forces practices were different. I’ve mentioned RAF officer ranks for pilots quite some times already. In US Army Air Force the percentage of enlisted pilots was negligible most of the time. There was a brief upsurge between June 3 1941 (Public Law 99 allowing enlisted to receive flight training) and July 8 1942 (Public Law 658 aka Flight Officer Act ends the creation of enlisted pilots). In USSR the rank of flight school graduates had been changed from lieutenants to sergeants on the eve of WW2 to deny them some privileges that were costly and inconvenient for regime and hence amass numbers cheaply (much to disappointment of said graduates). On the other side of the scale in those times were Japanese Air Forces (both Navy and Army), where pilots were enlisted (one of their top-scoring aces Saburo Sakai had only been commissioned to ensign in 1944 after 6 years of service as fighter pilot). I haven’t researched neither Luftwaffe, nor post-WW2 period yet, but I recon that during post-WW2 period the enlisted would probably disappear from cockpits because of reduced numbers and increased complexity of the aircraft.

As far as I know, in the Inner Sphere practices also vary (yes, including mechwarriors below Sergeant rank). And without doubt they’re especially diverse among mercenaries. I count on that looking for a unit with ranks structure that suits me.

Quote

Enlisted ranks are not a nuisance. It's a valid and important part of the BT universe.

Yes they are valid and important part. And I think that the best role for them is implied presense behind the scene, setting off our special elevated status of Mechwarriors.

Quote

And from a unit managing perspective, Some people don't want to advance and some people do. You don't want someone who only shows up once every few weeks and is really unknown amongst the unit wearing officer tags in a community where an officer rank is accepted as leadership of some sort.

Quote

Our rank structure is designed to partition the Brigade between our untested newbies, our rank-and-file members, our elite members, and then our Officers. So far, it has worked quite well.

And from a unit managing persective the same partition can be created using various officer and officer candidate ranks – for example, putting some Cadet ranks in the mix (as Jin-Roh already does) and emphasizing the distance between Company-level officers, Field officers and General Officers (if there are any), or between the ranks of Lieutenant and lower and Captain and higher (based on the fact that Company Commander – usually Captain – is the lowest grade commanding officer exercising full command and control, while Lieutenant Platoon Leader lacks certain powers in the US Army).

Just know that I’m not trying to convince you that any of your units should promptly change their rank structure. I’m writing the above just to show you that I understand your reasons and purpose, but at the same time I remain sure that those goals are still achievable without resorting to Other Ranks. Yes, in this case certain universally perceived tint of inequality between officer and enlisted castes would probably be lost – well, this is exactly what I’m looking for. Formal tenets of chain of command and rank ladder are enough.

Edited by Disappointed Defector, 30 June 2014 - 02:06 PM.

[Nightmare1]

Disappointed Defector, on 30 June 2014 - 01:55 PM, said:

Without them Mechwarrior ranks in your rank structure could’ve been perceived as junior officer ranks, similar to Pilot Officer and Flying Officer in RAF. Presence of Sergeants (NCOs) clearly defines ranks below them as enlisted or junior NCOs.

And that's a problem...how? It's just an extra rank. Most of our pilots with one of our three grades of MechWarrior ranking don't want the extra responsibilities associated with the Sergeant's position. Inputting the Sergeants relieves some minor duties from the Command Staff while preventing our Senior MechWarriors from being saddled with responsibilities they neither want, nor may have the time to execute. I'm confused as to how you perceive this negatively.

Disappointed Defector, on 30 June 2014 - 01:55 PM, said:

And from a unit managing persective the same partition can be created using various officer and officer candidate ranks – for example, putting some Cadet ranks in the mix (as Jin-Roh already does) and emphasizing the distance between Company-level officers, Field officers and General Officers (if there are any), or between the ranks of Lieutenant and lower and Captain and higher (based on the fact that Company Commander – usually Captain – is the lowest grade commanding officer exercising full command and control, while Lieutenant Platoon Leader lacks certain powers in the US Army).

Just know that I’m not trying to convince you that any of your units should promptly change their rank structure. I’m writing the above just to show you that I understand your reasons and purpose, but at the same time I remain sure that those goals are still achievable without resorting to Other Ranks. Yes, in this case certain universally perceived tint of inequality between officer and enlisted castes would probably be lost – well, this is exactly what I’m looking for. Formal tenets of chain of command and rank ladder are enough.

So...what you're trying to say, is that you want an officer's rank just for signing, even though it is pure fluff and means nothing at all. You also want us to use a small number of rankings so that you don't have far to climb if you chose to do so? And overall, rank structure is necessary but negative because it creates inequalities and a caste system? Am I understanding you correctly?

[Disappointed Defector]

Nightmare1, on 30 June 2014 - 02:04 PM, said:

So...what you're trying to say, is that you want an officer's rank just for signing, even though it is pure fluff and means nothing at all. You also want us to use a small number of rankings so that you don't have far to climb if you chose to do so? And overall, rank structure is necessary but negative because it creates inequalities and a caste system? Am I understanding you correctly?

Yes and no. Yes in that I want a rank after completing certain basics and becoming somewhat established ordinary member (being a cadet just after signing and before that). Yes in that I want it for pure fluff. I've also stated that I'm OK with certain borders, and even if there are fewer ranks in result - No, I don't expect any faster climbing:

Quote

Having the same officer rank for a year will satisfy me more than progression through rank and file.

I've also stated - just above your post in my ending paragraph - that No, I don't want you specifically to change your rank structure or do anything at all. I'm on the market, I'm just looking for opportunities I find attractive and I've issued a call to find what I want faster. I'm using discussion with you to explain my position in detail to other brokers lurking there.

Yes, rank structure is necessary. No, I don't perceive is as negative. I'm also aware that there is and will always be certain inequality. What I want is to avoid blatantly conspicuous inequality. There are two universally perceived castes in the military context - officers and enlisted. When playing Mechwarrior, I want to enjoy myself by avoiding ever being in the lower caste (and assuming at the same time that it still exists - behind the scenes, no, I don't want to order somebody around for the sake of it). If the need for certain defined borders between Corp members arises for the sake of unit management (one can probably call it castes, too?), that could be done more subtly, less obviously, by operating the terms existing within the higher universally perceived caste.

Edited by Disappointed Defector, 30 June 2014 - 02:44 PM.

[Grendel408]

I'm starting to wonder if what you're looking for is actually around in a unit within MWO... You mentioned this isn't your main account for MWO, so I would like to ask this: What is the current unit like that your other account is affiliated with? Because this round of questioning and general inquiry regarding your wants and needs speak volumes for your listed account name in this thread.

[M1Combat]

Due to our initiate program our "starting" rank, "Knight", is a well respected rank within the community.

Give us a shot.

Edited by M1Combat, 30 June 2014 - 04:05 PM.

[Nightmare1]

Disappointed Defector, on 30 June 2014 - 02:39 PM, said:

Yes and no. Yes in that I want a rank after completing certain basics and becoming somewhat established ordinary member (being a cadet just after signing and before that). Yes in that I want it for pure fluff. I've also stated that I'm OK with certain borders, and even if there are fewer ranks in result - No, I don't expect any faster climbing:

I've also stated - just above your post in my ending paragraph - that No, I don't want you specifically to change your rank structure or do anything at all. I'm on the market, I'm just looking for opportunities I find attractive and I've issued a call to find what I want faster. I'm using discussion with you to explain my position in detail to other brokers lurking there.

Yes, rank structure is necessary. No, I don't perceive is as negative. I'm also aware that there is and will always be certain inequality. What I want is to avoid blatantly conspicuous inequality. There are two universally perceived castes in the military context - officers and enlisted. When playing Mechwarrior, I want to enjoy myself by avoiding ever being in the lower caste (and assuming at the same time that it still exists - behind the scenes, no, I don't want to order somebody around for the sake of it). If the need for certain defined borders between Corp members arises for the sake of unit management (one can probably call it castes, too?), that could be done more subtly, less obviously, by operating the terms existing within the higher universally perceived caste.

...So...you like what currently is in place (generally speaking), but want more fluff and less structure, and you are using this as a "recruit me" message. That's what I'm getting out of this.

Overall, I'm not entirely sure what your old Unit was or who you are. I'm not as familiar with the rank structures of our fellow Merc Units because I only recently started acting as an Ambassador to some of them. I know that Jin-Roh looks like it has a lot of ranks but, like I previously said, a lot of them are awarded based on time served. We really only have two main ranks - Cadet and MechWarrior, and then we have various grades within those ranks. Anything above MechWarrior is typically Admin, Ambassadorial, or in-game Commander in nature. We try to keep it simple.

As for a caste system, I really don't see that in the Units with which I've gained experience. Not sure what your referencing there. Castes make me think of religious sectarianism...

[RapidFire7]

Unless somehow an "Officer" rank is the lowest in a unit, I would say no. Usually that rank denotes that a pilot has worked their way up from being a cadet or private. As far as I know of, no such units start off with the rank of Officer.

Sometimes if a player is new but they are very good at commanding a unit and there is a new company being started up by the unit, then they might get promoted, but I'm just guessing here. Haven't read the whole thread yet.

Be aware that the nature of your original question and reasoning can be taken the wrong way, furthermore you have stated that this is "not your main account".

You will find that taking that attitude into a lot of units will soon get you on the wrong side of the unit leaders and members...

[Zolaz]

lol ... if you want to start out as an officer in a unit, you are going to need to start your own unit.

[Disappointed Defector]

Grendel408, on 30 June 2014 - 03:50 PM, said:

You mentioned this isn't your main account for MWO, so I would like to ask this: What is the current unit like that your other account is affiliated with? Because this round of questioning and general inquiry regarding your wants and needs speak volumes for your listed account name in this thread.

I’d like to answer that if I were willing to disclose my identity, I would’ve started this topic from my main account. BTW I like you rank structure, Blues. Without the layer of Sergeants and with Mechwarrior insignia being very similar to Lieutenants it looks attractive to me, apart from the word “Enlisted” in the description of Mechwarrior ranks.

M1Combat, on 30 June 2014 - 04:05 PM, said:

Due to our initiate program our "starting" rank, "Knight", is a well respected rank within the community.
Give us a shot.

Yes, it's good, and rank structure that differs from commonly used modern military ranks could probably suit me too eventually. I want to look for units that use more common ranks first - again, purely for fluff/RP reason (knightly order being a bit too special and standing out in the Inner Sphere setting) - but putting this aside, the rank of Knight after completion of initiate program looks good.

RFMG567, on 30 June 2014 - 06:51 PM, said:

Unless somehow an "Officer" rank is the lowest in a unit, I would say no. Usually that rank denotes that a pilot has worked their way up from being a cadet or private. As far as I know of, no such units start off with the rank of Officer

Not “unless”, but just that! Though I’d probably displayed too much zeal in my opening post. As I’ve stated in my previous posts, I understand the need for certain period of probation, training and integration for newcomers, and I find Cadet rank or ranks appropriate for this period (Cadet being the usual rank for officer candidates), with promotion to Ensign (or equivalent) upon completion.