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Implemented Explaination of Military Ranks and Roles

demibear

demibear

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There has been a lot of discussion in the Yamatai discord lately about the categories of military ranks. I am curious if anyone is interested in seeing a more detailed wiki article on roles and expectations.

Not planning on it being faction specific. Though I can include faction flavors/examples of FMs wish it.
 
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I feel like Yamatai has this fairly well covered:
  • Rank categories are explained on each section the ranks page
  • Every rank has its own article that has an explanation of the rank and expectations for it (some need to be re-templated)
  • There's a page that explains how promotions work specifically
What do you want to know specifically? If there's missing info I can add it.
 
There just seems to be a vast amount of confusion between Warrants, Non-commissioned, and Commissioned.
 
Okay, I'll rewrite the Star Army ranks article in the near future.
 
The confusion could be explained by people simply not reading the current article. It's pretty clear.
 
raz said:
The confusion could be explained by people simply not reading the current article. It's pretty clear.
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I have read the article. The explanation of a warrant officer is:
Warrant officers are usually seasoned technical experts who are issued warrants based on Star Army needs.
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What does it mean to be issued a warrant? What is a warrant? I understand the idea of a warrant for someone's arrest. But the idea of a warrant that makes someone a "warrant officer" doesn't mean anything to me.

Why are you so quick to suggest people haven't read the article? If people are expressing confusion, a little compassion is surely warranted.
 
hyralt said:
What does it mean to be issued a warrant? What is a warrant?
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A quick google search of "warrant definition" will give you the answer.

We don't have an explanation of the intricacies of the Star Army's commissioning process, either. I've asked before "who gives a Star Army officer their commission? Is it the Empress? Is it the Taisho of the Star Army?" Wes didn't have an answer and honestly that's fine with me because the answer should only come after he thinks of the exact explanation he wants for his faction.

Ultimately, the roles of each rank bracket are clearly defined on the Star Army's pages already. The roles and responsibilities of enlisted, warrant officers, and commissioned officers are all clearly defined on the wiki as it stands. I was part of the discussion in #yamatai chat this morning and everything people wondered about could be answered if they read existing wiki pages.

Expanding articles is always good, but the available information proves that it shouldn't really be a priority. That's all I'm saying.
 
raz said:
A quick google search of "warrant definition" will give you the answer.
Click to expand...
Done. The third definition is a certificate that makes someone an officer of lower rank than a commissioned officer. So the sentence is effectively saying: a warrant officer is usually a seasoned technical expert who has a certificate that makes them a warrant officer based on Star Army needs. I guess I'm confused now thinking that there would be some deeper meaning, but you seem to be implying there isn't. I don't think that this is clear from the article.

I guess you're saying that "warrant officer" is just a thing in the same sense that "photonics" is a thing.
 
The short version is:
  • Enlisted are the everyday soldiers who sign up for 3 years in the Star Army and usually are combat soldiers or have some specific specialization. Most technicians, infantry troops, box-movers from supply, etc are enlisted. These are the worker bees of the Star Army that provide the labor and manpower the Star Army needs to get stuff done.
  • NCOs are experienced enlisted soldiers who have risen to become leaders of the lower enlisted soldiers. There's no way to start as an NCO, it can only be earned through years of service. NCOs translate orders from officers into tasks.
  • Warrant Officers are technical expert professionals, who are not quite regular officers - they're not really there to be leadership, they're there because they're good at something and the Star Army needed them. They're way more rare than regular officers or enlisted. In the Star Army warrant officers are not part of the enlisted rank chain and you can't get promoted from enlisted into a warrant officer.
  • Officers are typically college-educated military career professionals who are either in complex roles that require a lot of formal education and/or training like doctors, scientists, and starship operators. Often found in labs and starship bridges. Line Officers are decision makers and leadership like Star Army Centurions, First Officers, and Starship Captains.
  • General officers are admirals: officers who have risen through the ranks to become generalized high-ranking Star Army leaders who command various parts of the Star Army
 
Those are excellent explanations.

The promotions page mentions flag officers. Is that the same as a general officer?

The rank page in one sentence mentions “commissioned officer” (which I guess is implied by the existence of a non-commissioned officer). Is that the same as an “officer”?
 
hyralt said:
The promotions page mentions flag officers. Is that the same as a general officer?

The rank page in one sentence mentions “commissioned officer” (which I guess is implied by the existence of a non-commissioned officer). Is that the same as an “officer”?
Click to expand...
Yes, the definition of flag officer is a senior military officer ranking higher than a Navy captain - so they're admirals.

Commissioned officers are the regular officers. A commission is a formal document from a head of state (the Empress) or in their name, that appoints an officer to a position in the military. Currently in the Star Army, Taisho Yui commissions officers and she and the Empress jointly commission flag officers (general officers).
 
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