As far as onboard troops go, honestly I would call them "drop infantry" or something like that. Maybe even call them Mobile Infantry just to give Heinlein a nod. Because 90% of the time that's what you're actually going to use them for, dropping onto a rock somewhere and securing it, the fact that they can theoretically also board things that don't have their own gravity well is kind of secondary.
Wow I am getting so sick of so much bullshit right now. All I am saying is call them whatever you want and do not object to single use cases of naval terms unless you're objecting to the use of naval terms in general. Marines do more than boarding actions, and are a bit different from nation to nation, the only unifying factor is 'Ship borne shock troopers' and from there it's whatever. Call your own starship troopers whatever you want. Just, please, don't say that they CAN'T be called something.
To bring this back on topic we're discussing what the space military should even be called, what their ranks should be called, and whether or not there should be a division between enlisted and officers. I say naval terms are fine, but it's whatever. Ranks, whatever. Should there be an officer enlisted divide? Yes, as I stated earlier Officers are necessary for matters of military and national policy and exist as battle lawyers.
And to anyone arguing that crew on a ship would have their own structure by job, like their own job rating, since they go their own school for their job on the ship, et cetera... congrats, you're not arguing a difference between running a space ship and the US Naval structure, you're literally recreating how the US Navy does things BUT IN SPACE and also with Battle Lawyers trained in Military Law that we call Officers! Literally named after the room they post in, AN OFFICE! ...fuck it, Office is a land term, you don;t have offices in space. I say Officers should be called a space term. Officers are now Espatiers.
Post by princesskibble on Oct 6, 2016 22:55:28 GMT
I am objecting to the use of naval terms in general! Also like in real life astronauts will spend most of their time on the ground, where there is plenty of room for offices.
I am objecting to the use of naval terms in general! Also like in real life astronauts will spend most of their time on the ground, where there is plenty of room for offices.
To bring this back on topic we're discussing what the space military should even be called, what their ranks should be called, and whether or not there should be a division between enlisted and officers. I say naval terms are fine, but it's whatever. Ranks, whatever. Should there be an officer enlisted divide? Yes, as I stated earlier Officers are necessary for matters of military and national policy and exist as battle lawyers.
And to anyone arguing that crew on a ship would have their own structure by job, like their own job rating, since they go their own school for their job on the ship, et cetera... congrats, you're not arguing a difference between running a space ship and the US Naval structure, you're literally recreating how the US Navy does things BUT IN SPACE and also with Battle Lawyers trained in Military Law that we call Officers! Literally named after the room they post in, AN OFFICE! ...fuck it, Office is a land term, you don;t have offices in space. I say Officers should be called a space term. Officers are now Espatiers.
This is actually a good point, should there be enlisted men on ships? If you look at fighter jets, all pilots are officers. We could use the same logic and have an all-officer crew, as they are all elite specialists the way fighter pilots are. During missions, there would be nothing special, they are all (valuable) crew - the work of enlisted has been automated away, if you will. The distinction would only play outside of missions, on the ground, for protocol, formation, pay...
And now, etymology time! "Officer" doesn't come from the office room. This comes again from Latin via the French word "officier" - and in French (and the Latin it comes from), "office" doesn't mean "office room" (that would be "bureau"). Instead, it only has the other meaning: position of responsibility, duty, official role. An office can be a military one, or it can be an administrative one. (There were even offices you could buy under the Ancien Régime, like tax collector.) So being officer has nothing to do with sitting in an office. It's the opposite, offices are places where (some) officers sit to exert their functions.
Something wrong with the UI? Let me know, I'll add it to the UI Thread
To bring this back on topic we're discussing what the space military should even be called, what their ranks should be called, and whether or not there should be a division between enlisted and officers. I say naval terms are fine, but it's whatever. Ranks, whatever. Should there be an officer enlisted divide? Yes, as I stated earlier Officers are necessary for matters of military and national policy and exist as battle lawyers.
And to anyone arguing that crew on a ship would have their own structure by job, like their own job rating, since they go their own school for their job on the ship, et cetera... congrats, you're not arguing a difference between running a space ship and the US Naval structure, you're literally recreating how the US Navy does things BUT IN SPACE and also with Battle Lawyers trained in Military Law that we call Officers! Literally named after the room they post in, AN OFFICE! ...fuck it, Office is a land term, you don;t have offices in space. I say Officers should be called a space term. Officers are now Espatiers.
This is actually a good point, should there be enlisted men on ships? If you look at fighter jets, all pilots are officers. We could use the same logic and have an all-officer crew, as they are all elite specialists the way fighter pilots are. During missions, there would be nothing special, they are all (valuable) crew - the work of enlisted has been automated away, if you will. The distinction would only play outside of missions, on the ground, for protocol, formation, pay...
And now, etymology time! "Officer" doesn't come from the office room. This comes again from Latin via the French word "officier" - and in French (and the Latin it comes from), "office" doesn't mean "office room" (that would be "bureau"). Instead, it only has the other meaning: position of responsibility, duty, official role. An office can be a military one, or it can be an administrative one. (There were even offices you could buy under the Ancien Régime, like tax collector.) So being officer has nothing to do with sitting in an office. It's the opposite, offices are places where (some) officers sit to exert their functions.
I was just being funny. But again, Officers don't just study their trade. They study military law and policy and have certain legal obligations and responsibilities. There is no reason to make everyone on the ship spend an extra two years learning such a role. They exist not because the ship does but because the rest of the military does. Anyone not an officer is enlisted. You don't just start calling people officers to make them feel special. The division is not entirely arbitrary. Without officers you just don't have a military ship representing it's nation.