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Talk:Military Ranks (RDM)/Archive3: Difference between revisions

Discussion page of Military Ranks (RDM)/Archive3
Latest comment: 15 years ago by Joe Beaudoin Jr. in topic Another Admiral?
Madbrood (talk | contribs)
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{{archive-header
{{archive-header
| archivenumber = 01
| archivenumber = 1
| number = 1
| number = 1
| items = {{archive-item|01|Specialist Cally}} {{archive-item|01|Adama ≠ Fleet Admrial}} {{archive-item|01|How Many Admirals}} {{archive-item|01|Insignia}} {{archive-item|01|Tyrol & Hadrian}} {{archive-item|01|"Gunny"}} {{archive-item|01|Second Chart}} {{archive-item|01| Back to Officer Ranks...}} {{archive-item|01|Piping}} {{archive-item|01|Colorization|end=Y}}
| items = {{archive-item|1|Specialist Cally}} {{archive-item|1|Adama ≠ Fleet Admrial}} {{archive-item|1|How Many Admirals}} {{archive-item|1|Insignia}} {{archive-item|1|Tyrol & Hadrian}} {{archive-item|1|"Gunny"}} {{archive-item|1|Second Chart}} {{archive-item|1| Back to Officer Ranks...}} {{archive-item|1|Piping}} {{archive-item|1|Colorization|end=Y}}
|}}
{{archive-header
| archivenumber = 2
| number = 2
| items = {{archive-item|2|Abbreviations}} {{archive-item|2|Rank Pins}} {{archive-item|2|General update of the page}} {{archive-item|2|Gold Bars}} {{archive-item|2|Assumptions}} {{archive-item|2|USAF?}} {{archive-item|2|Commander equals more to USN Captain, my argument}} {{archive-item|2|Idea for updated comparison list}} {{archive-item|2|Impressive Page, 1 Nitpick about dense chart|end=Y}}
|}}
|}}


__TOC__
__TOC__


==Abbreviations==
== Number ==
Here is the list of abbreviations I wrote for the ranks here. The enlisted ranks for Marines are still a little rough though, the "all caps" ranks are in the US Army style, others use lower case, eg Master Sergeant: MSG, MSgt.
 
Shouldn't Commander be listed as O-7 and Rear Admiral as O-8? Not even getting into the debate over the officer/flag officer status of the Commander rank (although it could go either way (the Colonial forces could have seven officer ranks)), but why is it listed as N/A? It's clearly higher than Colonel, which is O-6. --[[User:Kevin W.|Kevin W.]] 21:05, 26 November 2006 (CST)
:The numbers correspond with the US ranks, not the BSG ranks. [[User:Philwelch|Philwelch]] 01:13, 27 November 2006 (CST)
 
== PO3 ==
 
I understand the note about Venner, since PO3 and Cpl are equivalent, but the page itself does quote RDM who says that there is no PO3 grade. How can the page be modified to show this? --[[User:Kevin W.|<b><span style="font-variant:small-caps;color: #006400">Kevin W.</span></b>]]<sup>&bull;[[User talk:Kevin W.|<span style="color: #DC143C ">So say we all</span>]]</sup> 18:27, 17 December 2006 (CST)
 
:Mhh, you're right. Though I don't consider that one blog entry as the very last word on it. Ideas might have changed a bit by now. Who knows.
:Anyways, the list incluces PO3 mainly for the sake of completion I guess. It does say that some aspects of the table are speculative and that was always ok. You could add a footnote, like done for all other annotations. Then the explination shows up under "references". --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 10:20, 18 December 2006 (CST)
 
== New information ==
 
There's an article that is a few months old on galactica.tv about the pins and symbols of the uniforms [http://www.galactica.tv/battlestar-galactica-2003---news/rank-insignia-and-symbolism-analysis-for-battlestar-galactica-2003-update.html here]. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [http://www.sanctuarywiki.org Sanctuary Wiki &mdash; ''New'']</sup> 08:56, 15 June 2007 (CDT)
:The new information is really the tiny details that are available from of the pins. Our insignia pictures are from that very same rank chart, so the information is already reflected, except for the narrower Lt.j.g. pin. I can update that later. We just have drawings instead of photographs which is somewhat cleaner however. Maybe the great photo of the Commander pin could be included somehow? (like "more images").
:Maybe the information on the other uniform devices could be put on [[Uniforms (RDM)]] though. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 09:10, 15 June 2007 (CDT)
:: Sounds good. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [http://www.sanctuarywiki.org Sanctuary Wiki &mdash; ''New'']</sup> 09:30, 15 June 2007 (CDT)
 
== Recent round of edits ==
 
I got caught up in this again. If I come off as harsh or all to superior, I'm really sorry, but I think this page is pretty good as it is. And all the rest is really pretty nitpicky.
 
I think it comes down to to different approaches:
#That the whole comparison to modern militaries (specifically the US Navy) is overdone.
#Some people seem to be more interested having a close to perfect comparison. Nothing wrong with that.
 
Personally, I'm clearly in camp 1. Sure there are many parallels. But it's not exactly the same. So this page shouldn't be forced to do something that just isn't there. And in the last major overhauls I tried to excise many of the unnecessary comparisons and make more BSG arguments for things. As it stands, we have reasonable good evidence (sometimes conjectural) that commander more closely resembles a modern captain. Like it doesn't seem to be considered a flag rank; and Roslin also seems to imply that she sees Adama as captain in "Resurrection Ship, Part II". The rest is just made fit as best as possible. Putting Lt. opposed to Lt. make most sense, and so that leaves one rank free. It's not all that clear, but it's there.
 
So how do other people feel about this? Not so much about the details, but the whole approach of the article. Is the US Navy thing really that important? Should the article be more about BSG? Should we maybe just ditch the comparison if it's so troublesome and not perfect anyways? I think we can keep it, but it just needs to be clear that it's not supposed to be 1:1. I updated the introduction further to try to reflect that. Maybe I'm just too invested here, because I made a lot substantial edits to it, but I also don't like if people just change substantial things, when we had a sort-of consensus about it.
 
To the people who made those edits: I know you are new. I know that you haven't read everything. And I really don't want to seem overly harsh to you. That's why I'm trying to explain and discuss this here. :) --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:44, 22 August 2007 (CDT)


Officer<br/>
== Why not just scrap the US Naval Rank column ==
O-11 Fleet Admiral No abbrev., FAdm could work<br/>
O-10 Admiral Adm<br/>
O-9 Vice Admiral VAdm<br/>
O-8 Rear Admiral RAdm<br/>
O-7 Commander Cdr<br/>
O-6 Colonel Col<br/>
O-5 Major Maj<br/>
O-4 Captain Capt<br/>
O-3 Lieutenant Lt<br/>
O-2 Lieutenant Junior Grade LtJG<br/>
O-1 Ensign Ens<br/>


Absent anything from Ron Moore or the writer's bible, it's all speculation and guesstimation.  The only salient comparisons within the RDM Galactica universe would be Fleet vs. Marines.  The "Official Statement" is self-explanatory.  And like a lot of good fiction, sometimes it's best to leave some details to the individual's own imagination ... {{unsigned|Fredmdbud}}


Enlisted<br/>
:Yeah, I'm just about ready do that. We can also keep it, but people just have to realize that it won't fit perfectly. It's a rough guideline, but nothing more. I've inserted two paragraphs now that point that out, without actually hitting the reader of the head.
E-9 Master Chief Petty Officer MCPO<br/>
:That whole part is really from the very first version of this article, that was actually more about finding arguments for that comparison table than documenting the BSG universe. Sure you can make a table that lines all up 1:1, but after some discussion most people felt that there are more points to compare the BSG rank of commander to a real world captain, and the rest is built around that. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 04:38, 23 August 2007 (CDT)
E-8 Senior Chief Petty Officer SCPO<br/>
E-7 Chief Petty Officer CPO<br/>
E-6 Petty Officer 1st Class PO1<br/>
E-5 Petty Officer 2nd Class PO2<br/>
E-4 Petty Officer 3rd Class PO3<br/>
E-3 Crewman CN (based on US Navy Seaman SN)<br/>
E-2 Crewman Apprentice CA ("")<br/>
E-1 Crewman Recruit CR ("")<br/>


::My only concern with deleting it is that it's the type of thing that might get periodically re-added by passers-by. I'd advise some note on the article to head that off, but I have doubts as to whether that would be heeded. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 12:55, 23 August 2007 (CDT)
:::True. And while it's not that important, there is some merit to the comparison. It shouldn't be taken ''too'' seriously (pot.kettle.black. ;)), but some people are probably interested to know where certain ranks fall. In retrospect I realize that while there were explanations for certain ranks, there was no explanation for the overall structure. That was an oversight that is hopefully corrected now. We can't expect people to read long arguments on the talk pages to understand how some things are decided, and parts of this article were just presented "as is" without clarification. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 13:27, 23 August 2007 (CDT)


Marine<br/>
==Room for other ranks?==
E-9 Sergeant Major SGM<br/>
E-8 Senior Master Sergeant/Master Sergeant SMSgt/MSG<br/>
E-7 Master Sergeant/Sergeant 1st Class MSG/SFC<br/>
E-6 Staff Sergeant SSG<br/>
E-5 Sergeant SGT<br/>
E-4 Corporal CPL<br/>
E-3 Private 1st Class PFC<br/>
E-2 Private 2nd Class PV2<br/>
E-1 Private Recruit PVR<br/>
--[[User:Talos|Talos]] 22:33, 14 September 2005 (EDT)


: I went ahead and formatted your post, Talos, so that it was easier to read. I don't think I broke anything, did I? Anyway, I think the all-caps ranks look loud. I know that's kind of an artifact of the internet, but still... I'd rather just cap the first letter of a word from an abbreviation. Thus "PFC" is fine because each of those are the first letter of a word. On the other hand, I'd rather "Sgt." than "SGT". Also, "Cpt." and "Cmdr." are more intuitive to me, but I don't know if I made those up or ''where'' they came from. --[[User:Day|Day]] 03:03, 15 September 2005 (EDT)
It is hard to beleive that the ranks shown thus far are the only ones. There would logically be something like Midshipman for officer trainees and Lieutenant-Colonel. If so, the Midshipman grad would be easy to figure out (a white diamond), though Lt. Col would be a little more difficult, given the differences between the Colonel and Major insignia. Just a thought... [[User:Expatkiwi|Expatkiwi]] 16:58, 27 December 2007 (PST)
::Thanks for the formatting, that's how it was whem I typed it in notepad. I see how that works now. Like I said, the reason they are all caps is that it is based on the Army enlisted structure. I didn't go with the Marine Corps structure because it's missing the two ranks unique to the MC, Lance Corporal and Gunnery Sergeant. Here is a link about the US Military ranks: [http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/insignias/officers.html]. There is a link on top to the enlisted ranks. What is interesting is the way the US Navy O-6 rank's head is turned compared to the others. Also, Capt and Cdr are how the USN abbreviates Captain and Commander. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 07:00, 15 September 2005 (EDT)
: True. However, we go with ranks that we've either seen or heard on screen or via behind-the-scenes sources. We don't really speculate on any "missing" ranks, since that falls under "[[Battlestar Wiki:Fanwanking|fanwanking]]". -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [http://www.sanctuarywiki.org Sanctuary Wiki &mdash; ''New'']</sup> 19:05, 27 December 2007 (CST)
:::I wanted to add something else, the CAPS are only used in forms, charts, etc. When written with the name it is normal case, so Hadrian,... Rank: SGT, but ...Sgt. Hadrian. I can't believe I forgot this. I must be slipping. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 14:42, 15 September 2005 (EDT)


==Rank Pins==
==Specialist classes==
The admiral pin as pictured on this picture is wrong. If you look at the super-duper-high-res promo shots, there's [http://pics.livejournal.com/drewcypher/pic/000gds5y one of Adama]. His pin has two extra bars on the left side (towards the shoulder) and none towards the right. Perhaps the number of side bars denotes admiral grades. Maybe we should utilize those shots to have actual rank pics... --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 10:38, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
IMO the specialist class ranks from the [[Flight of the Phoenix]] and [[Revelations]] credits should be considered official unless they are refuted by a more recent official source. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 04:05, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
:What specialist class ranks are you referring to?-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 04:55, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
:::The credits list Figurski as "Specialist 3rd class". So, there appear to be at least 3 subdivisions here. But it's not that clear how they should be split up. We also only have a single rank insignia for specialist. I'll add a footnote for now, as it should be noted. It should probably be included into the table, but the question is how. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 06:59, 19 June 2008 (UTC)


:You should get permission to use "137th Gebirg"s rank chart. It's much better and more accurate: img503.imageshack.us/img503/8991/bsgranksnewv4et0.png
== RDM's list ==
:The pins could also be cut out of that pic and used individually


:As for different Admiral ranks. In the extended Pegasus cut Adama refers to Cain as "Rear Admiral". At least he said that "she made Rear Admiral very quick" or something. But I guess that's her - and later his - rank at the point of the episode too. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 10:51, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
Seeing the edits on the page, I need to chime in here. RDM's list, which was published over three years ago, is not the definitive list and we should not be a slave to it. There have been introductions of new ranks since then, like Lt. Colonel and Rear Admiral, that are not included on his list. Conspicuously, he does not include "Warrant Officer" (which there is a pin for, and these are the guys in the BG with the beige BDUs), in addition to Private (like [[Stewart Jaffee]]). I'll try to post the definitive list in a few weeks, but the edits that Serenity did are the most accurate to date with the presently available information I have. Attempts to revert them will probably resort in the page being locked, just so you know, since I don't want a needless edit war to break out. Thanks! -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 17:07, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
::What is werid is that the photos we have show a red color not a white for Admiral. Who's right? I go with the show anyday. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 10:56, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
:Yeah, just what I was thinking. I don't get why this should be ''the'' definite list. It's a fine basis, but it's old and things have been added since then. And this page has always been speculative. In the past far more so than now. It's not like the speculative ranks aren't marked. I've included an (s) for those two ranks now, in addition to the footnotes. I wouldn't just add all kinds of speculation just because it sounds nice, but it's marked clearly enough. If people would rather have something more "official" they are free to skip those lines. It just doesn't make much sense to skip vice admiral for no reason, when rear admiral and admiral have been established, given that the ranks more or less follow real-world examples otherwise. And it's been on the list for one or two years without anyone really objecting.
::: You mean the trim of the uniform? A regulation Admiral's uniform like Cain's is white/gold. They didn't update Adama's unform, but I think it makes perfect sense to assume that they don't just happen to have spare Admiral's uniforms lying around. At least not in Adama's size.<br>
:In general my reverts here, have also been about style. Mainly odd capitalization. Things like "commissioned officer" just aren't capitalized (unless in the headers of the table and such). But neither are ranks. It's "Johnson is a lieutenant", but "Tell Lieutenant Johnson". That's also [[w:Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(capital_letters)#Military_terms|what Wikipedia uses]], though they are a bit inconsistent with it. Other sources like [http://www.hjf.org/style_guide/style.html#Titles this], [http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/111201.htm this] or [http://stylemanual.ngs.org/Intranet/styleman.nsf/2050e60b02a59c46852566510067477d/2fa90f9b71e105f6852566880054c234?OpenDocument this] also make this clear. I've also noted that people try to capitalize "president" and "vice president" on every occasion. The same rules usually apply there unless it's the full title of the office like "President of the Twelve Colonies"-- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 17:22, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
:::Btw, I think you can't see the other side of the pin because of the angle. When they were presented to him in the case they were symmetrical --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:01, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
:: All true. By the way, I'd like to get rid of the "Junior Grade"/"Senior Grade" stuff and simply go with "Junior Lieutenant" and "Senior Lieutenant", since this is what they identify these ranks by behind the scenes. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 17:34, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
::::Aaah. Gotcha. Think you're right on that. Perspective... very tricky. Good eye, Serenity. Oh, and there's stuff about the piping on the [[Uniforms (RDM)]] page (though if THAT'S wrong, we should change it too). --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 11:09, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
:::On screen both are used though (though in props mostly junior lieutenant). They seem to exist side by side. There is a footnote about it, actually (#7). Maybe that could be changed to make it clearer, or switched around. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 17:40, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
:::::With what we've seen on the show, the piping info on the uniform page is correct. I also think we should ask Gebirg to use his rank images, t2hey are dead on. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 11:15, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
:::The only real mentions of "Lieutenant Junior Grade" are in the Miniseries, and that was quickly dropped, along with a few other things that didn't quite work from the miniseries. (Such as the "Blade Runner" guns from the Miniseries, which weren't built to last anyway and were just poorly designed.) But I see your point. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 17:45, 28 August 2008 (UTC)
:::::The uniform page is right. People just get confused because Adama is still wearing his commander uniform, while Lee got a new one. Look at pics of Adm. Cain and you'll see that hers is white/gold. Noticable when she steps off the Raptor for example. This [http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/8991/bsgranksnewv4et0.png rank chart] is as accurate as it gets considering all available information --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:17, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
::::::I'm leery of using this rank/pin chart, because the creator admits to using unofficial fan-made props and insignia, so we don't know how much "fanon" is actually on that chart... -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]]</sup> 11:46, 13 September 2006 (CDT)
:::::::The conjectural designs are marked as such, and you don't have to use them if you cut it into smaller pieces. The rest is depicted as seen on screen from everything I can tell, and I've been paying attention to that lately --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:51, 13 September 2006 (CDT)


:With regards to Adama's rank pin, I'm inclined to agree with the notion that the "bars" on the side of the "Admiral" pins denote the level of Admiralty. Adama's has three distinct bars, clearly visible during his conversation with Tigh about half an hour into "Sacrifice". If that was the case, it'd be:
== Initial new information ==


*1 bar - Rear Admiral (lower half)
This is by no means the complete list of ranks, but it's based off the pin-ordering sheet I have in front of me. (No, I can't scan it. Sorry.)
*2 bars - Rear Admiral (upper half)
*3 bars - Vice Admiral
*4 bars - Admiral
*5 bars - Fleet Admiral


So that would make Adama a Vice Admiral? Thoughts? --[[User:Madbrood|Madbrood]] 13:06, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
From highest to lowest (these are the "green fill" verisons):


* Crew Master Chief
* Crew Senior Chief (this is what Tyrol wears before his demotion for being an ass)
* Sergeant 1st Class (basically the Junior Lieutenant, except the fill is green, not gold).
* Crew Sergeant (like crew specialist, but has another border—with no breaks—between the outside border and the diamond)
* Crew Specialist
* Crewman (which is the same pin as the "Private" that Jaffee wears)
* Crewman Apprentice


::Maybe. They could also add additional stuff on the gold plate. Like some additional silver. Anyways, I think he's a Rear Admiral:<br>
The gold versions:
1.) see the [http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/8991/bsgranksnewv4et0.png rank chart]: two gold bars<br>
2.) in the Extended Cut of "Pegasus" Adama says about Cain "she made Rear Admiral very fast". While he could just have meant her first flag rank, that could also refer to her current rank. And they have indentical insignia. Interpretation here is highly subjective I guess.<br>
3.) ''Galactica'''s Dradis shows 2 stars next to ''Pegasus'' which some believe means a 2-star admiral. But I can't find the picture atm. Todays "two stars" could be the same as the two bars on the pins
--[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 13:24, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
:::Well, I just went to the Season 3 promo pics and Adama's insignia does show what looks like three bent vertical bars on each side. This is a pic of the pin. [http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/8607/adaadmpintn7.jpg Adama Rank Pin]
:::This could prove interesting if Cain was a two star Admiral like the Dradis screenshot implies, since Roslin would have promoted Adama above Cain. I'm looking for that Dradis pic right now. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 13:39, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
::::I think what you see as the inner bar there is just the silver plate behind the diamond that's actually ''above'' the gold plate with two bars. In-universe wise I think they only made one insignia and gave Adama the same one as Cain. I still wonder why Billy went to jeweler instead of just giving him Cain's pins. Or maybe he lied because that would have been somewhat morbid ;) --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 13:45, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
:::::If Roslin '''did''' promote Adama to Vice Admiral, that would explain why they had to go to a jeweler- using Cain's Rear Admirla pins as a reference to get a set of Vice Admiral pins made? Besides, in "Sacrifice", and the above pic of Adama's pin, the "bars" look to be seperated by distinct colour, as opposed to the first part being a silver plate? --[[User:Madbrood|Madbrood]] 14:04, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
::::::For me it looks like the bars are seperated by small indentations, which would create darker shadows in bad lighting. I also think Adama's and Cain's insignia look the same. But if you have any clear pics to the contrary... --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 14:15, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
:::::::Okay, just went over the final scene of Res Ship pt II, where Roslin gives Adama his new rank pins, and they do indeed appear to have a silver plate, with a larger gold plate behind it. So, Serenity, it would appear that I'm wrong and you're right, as a gold plate with two "bars" separated by a small indentation- along with the smaller silver plate- would give the appearance of three distinct "bars" under certain lighting. I can't get screenshots at the moment, but will post some later tonight if anyone wants confirmation- but I move that Adama's rank be clarified as Rear Admiral, upper. --[[User:Madbrood|Madbrood]] 07:08, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
::::::::Ok, I'll go ahead and do the change and also give some reasons for the definition (2 bars = 2 stars on Dradis, comment in Extended Pegasus cut, Adama and Cain with same insignia.)<br>Could you have a look at my rank pin proposal below? --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 07:18, 18 September 2006 (CDT)


:::::Bingo, found the dradis pic. Hmm, if there are only two bars, and two stars on the screen.... --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 13:47, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
* Commander
[[Image:GalPegDradis.JPG|thumb|right|Galactica/Pegasus Dradis screens.]]
* Colonel
::::::Well...today a two-star Admiral is a Rear Admiral UH. That would also fit with Adama's "Rear Admiral" comment (see point 2). Maybe wait for some other opinions before editing anything --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 14:00, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
* Warrant Officer (worn by those in the beige BDUs, it's similar to the Crew Master Chief, itself a cross between the Lt. Col and Crew Senior Chief pips)
:::::::http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j81/steel_viper/BSG/promopin.jpg
* Lt. Colonel (these are the pins that Dualla was wearing in "LDYB" Pt. II
:::::::I know the angle on this shot is funky (and I keep going back to it because it's so high-res), but I agree that the "third" vertical bar appears to actually be the silver part of the Commander insignia, with the outer two being the actual "gold" bars (presumably distinguishing the degree of "admiralness"). --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 08:04, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
* Major
::::::::The silver plate is already there on the Commander pin. Basically the Admiral insignia are Commander pins on a gold plate of variable size. I don' t know if having 4 or 5 bars on each side is practical though. So maybe there is some additional bling for the highest Admirals --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 08:09, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
* Captain
* Senior Lieutenant
* Junior Lieutenant


As detailed below something needs to be done about the rank pins depicted. They are completely wrong. To be honest, I don't see how someone can object to conjectural designs, given that the ones used now are also conjectural and even the ones shown on TV are sometimes entirely wrong (see below).<br>
As we've already determined earlier, the "ensign" rank pin does not exist.
Another possibility would be to make some screencaptures from the show. I could point you towards some good scenes to get caps of Admiral or Major for example. But that's probably more work for a worse result than using such artwork.<br>
If there is really such concern about conjectural designs, we can only use the ones clearly established on the show, by cutting "137th Gebirg"'s chart apart. I did so with one pin to demonstrate what I mean and uploaded it to my own webspace for now: [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/8-4-7-2/BSG/BSGRankExample.jpg Captain's inignia]. Before including them in the main article I'd ask for his permission of course<br>
Opinions?


Errors in rank pins:
I'm working on finding about the Admiral pins.  
*Admiral has two gold "bars" with a silver plate between that and the diamond
*Commander's silver plate is not just on the top half
*Colonel doesn't have any trimming on the diamond's upper half
*Major actually looks like the Captain pin depicted here
*Captain only has two chevrons
*The PO insignia is "PO 1st class" (seen on Sgt. Hadrian). "PO 2nd class" is missing completely
*The thingy inside the diamond of "specialist" is far larger
--[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 06:06, 18 September 2006 (CDT)


:I agree with you Serenity- that rank chart, cut apart as per your example, is probably the best way forward. They seem to be the most accurate example of the rank pins we've found without taking screengrabs (which, you've noted, isn't really the best way to go about it- I'll refer you all to our recent discussion regarding Adama's Admiral pins :P ) The remind me a lot of Steve Marriot's Star Trek rank graphics (Tango Fleet pbem).
Also, an interesting story about the flight wings that the pilots wear... the symbols in the middle resemble the Captain's rank pins. There's a reason for this. The pins were also supposed to echo the rank of the wearer, but this idea was abandoned during the production. I don't know why, but I'll lay my money on the fact that it had to do with cost. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 01:01, 31 August 2008 (UTC)


Hell, if "137th Gebirg" agrees (and no-one has any major objections to using conjectural designs), we could even ask him to throw together some pics for the other Admiralty ranks? And could this be a good basis for a [[BW:OC]] question? "Is Adama a Rear-Admiral?" or something? --[[User:Madbrood|Madbrood]] 11:02, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
:That actually fits pretty well with the current structure (aside from the names), but some of the enlisted ranks as they are now have been established in dialogue. For example, Dualla is called petty officer second class by Billy, and I think Tyrol is identified as chief petty officer as well. The term "petty officer" in general is also mentioned (for example by Adama when he demotes Tyrol). So that would screw things up a bit.
:As for warrant officer. Not everyone in beige BDUs can be a WO. Some of the Marines who have been identified with other ranks wear them as well, most notably Hadrian. It would probably be more accurate to say that in practice all WOs wear beige. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 12:39, 31 August 2008 (UTC)


:Good news everyone! I got his permission and already updated the page. This is only a first draft. I'll do some more cosmetic formatting, explinations and of course the crediting.
::The warrant-officers-in-khaki thing has always left me scratching my head ... why single out warrant officers with a different style uniform, but have the officers and enlisted wear the same color fatigues? For comparison's sake, in the US Navy, ranks of chief petty officer and above wear khaki service uniforms like officers (hence the term "khaki leadership"), making it easy to make the "chiefs-vs-indians" distinction in a crowd. Maybe it was easier (and cheaper) to "ret-con" the khakis as warrant officer uniforms and kind of sneak by on the collar insignia (which had little chance with a crowd like this :-)), rather than go through the cost and time of developing new insignia.-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 01:43, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
:I might also upload new pictures because some of the cutouts are off by a few pixels.
:::There's that too, but it's fiction, so why not? But the other other points that speak against being all khakis = WOs. For example that the uniform is used a lot (there shouldn't be that many WOs from what I understand), is also used by Marine Sergeants (and others) and also worn by a lot of young crewmen. Warrant officers should generally be a bit older I think. It might have been thought of that way, but I don't think the wardrobe department really adheres to it closely. Not that I blame them. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 16:00, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
:Unfortunately I broke the table in the process. It's shown at the bottom and not under "insignia" /o\
:Plzfix! :) I'm no expert with tables. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:10, 18 September 2006 (CDT)


::Awesome! Looks sharp! --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 11:14, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
I don't know, this list is a little confusing, it seems like it's a combination of marine and fleet ranks. When you get a chance Joe, I'd like to say a side by side break down of rank equivalents, I have some other questions regarding this list but I'll hold them because I think a side-by-side might answer them.  Particularly because some of Joe's comments seem to contradict what we have known up to know.
:::Pics with bright lines at the bottom have been replaced. Looks a bit better now.<br>I tried centering the ranks on the pictures but that didn't work despite using "align=center" on both. Maybe someone who's better at tables wants to try, but it's not really important --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 12:51, 18 September 2006 (CDT)


== General update of the page ==
I'm sure you guys have all seen the graphical rank guide put out by somebody (I can't remember the name of the top of my head but I'd be interested both to see the next update and how the new information jibes with the current version.  Does anybody know how to contact this guy?-- [[User:Grandmaester314|Grandmaester314]] 15:50, 31 August 2008 (UTC)


When we have come to a consensus about Adama's rank, the page need to be updated. Right now it lists Adama as Commander.<br>
::You might be referring to Jim Stevenson's article on galactica.tv: http://www.galactica.tv/battlestar-galactica-2003---news/the-history-of-the-rank-insignia-chart-for-battlestar-galactica-2003.html
Footnote 2 could be replaced with Adama's "Rear Admiral" comment. While he didn't state her current rank with 100% certainty it's an indication. Or do an additional footnote about it.<br>
::IMO, I think his observations and analysis are about as speculative as the discussion in this wiki.-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 01:51, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
Footnote 3 which now gives some arguments about his Commander rank could then include reasons for fixing his Admiral rank at "Rear Admiral" or "Vice Admiral" --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 14:10, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
:::Fred, RDM and co. are following their own conventions; they don't have to mirror real-world conventions, at all, despite the wishes of some. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 04:28, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
::::I'm just saying ... have there been any references, on-screen or in production notes, of "sr-lieutenant"?  Lieutenant and jr-lieutenant have been used in scripts and on props to-date, as far as I know ...-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 06:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
:::::Yes, numerous times. Where, pray tell, do you think I got the above list?  -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 15:13, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
::::So any idea about the enlisted ranks that are missing but have been mentioned in ''dialogue'' (most notably "petty officer second class"). "Specialist" has been mentioned numerous times and is on the list, but PO2 is not on it. If that can't be resolved, it's not really much better than what we have now. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 16:00, 1 September 2008 (UTC)


And I've come to realize, that it needs huge overhaul:<br>
I realize that Stevenson's model is just as much speculation as ours but I thought it might be helpful to coordinate with him so we can get a consistent image for the new rank insignia's we know know as well as give proposals for ranks that are now known to exist but for which ranks haven't been developed. Right now the Lt. Col. image sticks out because it doesn't show the fringes colors like all the officers I have a version from his sheet that shows it only with white fringe, (at the time it had only been seen worn by Dualla). Also I think now that we know the the insignia for Apprentice/Private First Class, its easy to conclude that their is indeed an insignia for recruit/private because without one, the trend from Apprentice/PFC to Specialist/Corporal to PO2/Sergeant doesn't make sense.
1.) Not only Adama's rank needs to be updated, but also Lee's. Dualla as well I guess. She's now an LT<br>
2.) Is it really necessary to have a comparison with Air Force and Marines too? IMO modern Navy is enough. The Marines don't play a huge role on the show<br>
3.) The enlisted ranks are wrong. They go Recruit -> Deckand -> Specialist. No "apprentice" there<br>
4.) [[Prosna]] is listed as "specialist" on his site, but here as "apprentice/deckhand". I think specialist is correct<br>
5.) The rank chart doesn't even list "Petty Officer, 2nd class" despite it being displayed prominently with Dualla<br>


All in all, the article is almost more about equating BSG ranks with real life US military ranks than documenting the ranks within the BSG universe. Some of that can be retained, but maybe it should be dialed back a bit.
While I'm at it I'd like to propose a new tentative ranks structure based on what new information we now have.  Of course this is subject to change when Joe gets more info but I want to run what I've got by all of you and see if I'm missing something or have something confused.


For now I cleaned up the rank comparisons and updated and changed some example ranks. I left out Admiral Adama's rank as per ongoing discussion above --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 18:20, 17 September 2006 (CDT)
*Flag Officer
:Any time you list ranks of living characters you put yourself at risk of having obsolete information. Since there is still a lot of potential for ranks to shift around a lot, perhaps we could try to target dead or unused characters for the examples. Or, perhaps as an alternative there could be some sort of reminder on the pages of all characters used as examples here that they are on this page, so that when their rank is updated on their character article the editor can be reminded to propagate the change to this page as well. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 07:50, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
**Admiral
::Yeah, I'm aware of that and I'll change the page if and when new promotions come. I still left Dualla as PO2, but indicated that this it was her rank in season 1 and 2, since she's the only example of that rank. I put Adama at Rear Admiral now and gave the reasons for it. That was a bit harder since it' s debatable. Though there were errors in it that were apparent in season 1 already. Like listing Sharon as full LT.<br>But the character examples are really the least problem of the article, even if a focused a lot on it here. The rank pin pictures need to be updated. Look a bit further above
**Rear Admiral
*Senior Commissioned Officer
**Commander
**Colonel
**Lieutenant Colonel
*Junior Commissioned Officer
**Major
**Captain
**Senior Lieutenant
**Junior Lieutenant
**Ensign
*Senior Enlisted (Non-Commissioned Officer)
**Master Chief Petty Officer/Sergeant-Major
**Senior Chief Petty Officer/Master Sergeant
**Chief Petty Officer/Gunnery Sergeant
**Petty Officer First Class/Sergeant First Class
**Petty Officer Second Class/Sergeant
*Junior Enlisted
**Specialist/Corporal
**Apprentice/Private First Class
**Recruit/Private


::Btw, shouldn't the older entries here be archived? The page is getting rather long (>32kb) and bloated --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 08:04, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
Also, I want to clarify two things with Joe: First, it appears from something you wrote above that you believe Tyrol was a Senior Chief Petty Officer instead of just plain Chief.  Is that true? Second, are there supposed to be separate rank insignia for warrant officers or are they supposed to be simply identified by their uniform color.


:::Sounds like you're on it. The rear admiral (with justification) sounds good. I think it was noteworthy enough that she made that rank at her young age. To have gotten promoted above that would likely have been noteworthy (and noted in further dialogue). As for the rank pics, I think everybody would be happy if you could manage to get gebirg's permission to hack his beautiful work to pieces to be placed into the article. As for the archive... done. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 08:21, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
Finally I'm kinda wondering if there are multiple grades of warrant officer like their are in the U.S. military.


== Ensign? ==
[[User:Grandmaester314|Grandmaester314]] 16:47, 2 September 2008 (UTC)


All this discussion of rank pins has me looking through all my BSG stuff now... and I noticed something. It doesn't look like Ensign Davis wears any kind of pin on her collar ([[Hand of God]]). Anyone think otherwise?<br />
: I need to make something a bit clear here. Firstly, the costuming / props department has not made a new rank for every single specialist (whether that be SP1, SP2, SP3). Figurski wears the same pins that Cally does, for instance. Also, with regard to the Lt. Col. pins, one of the judges (the African one) from "Crossroads" wears these pins on his own uniform, though is not part of the Col. Military. So... when it comes to the accouterments of b.g. officers, they're not really anal about it. And speaking of the Lt. Col pins, there's at least one or two offers in the blue BDUs that wear them, simply because they're not enough pins to go around. (Or not enough on the truck, or whatever.)  


PS: Can anyone help me out with regards to screencapping from DVD's? All I can do at the moment is cap from poor-quality avi/mpeg files :( --[[User:Madbrood|Madbrood]] 11:24, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
: As for Tyrol, since there are other petty officers aboard (i.e. [[Basim]] and [[Peter Laird]]), it would make the most sense. In any event, he wears the pins.
:For DVD capping I use [http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ VLC]. It works fine (it kicks out files in png format, I think). My biggest gripe about it is a lack of "frame by frame", since the way that VLC reads the data renders the concept of "frames" meaningless, apparently (or there's some other technical reason why it doesn't do it). Hopefully our screencap gurus might weigh in (Talos, FordSierra, etc). --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 11:29, 18 September 2006 (CDT)


Either she doesn't wear one or it can't be seen from the angle. I don't think the prop departement even made Ensign pins. Some nuggets in "Scar" are called Ensigns but they wear LT pins.
: For the ranking system itself... it wasn't meant to be overly analyzed like what we're doing. As RDM indicated, it is derived from TOS—which I personally believe to be a serious mistake—so it was already FUBARed from the start. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 17:15, 2 September 2008 (UTC)
A comment by Bradley Thompson in the Official Communiques doesn't list the Ensign rank either. ("the sketches I've seen don't yet carry the ensign rank designator")
Interestingly, he lists Lt.Col. and that one doesn't show up in RDM's blog. But that entry is over one year old and shouldn't be considered the absolute authority. Ideas of the writers might have changed now --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 11:39, 18 September 2006 (CDT)


== Gold Bars ==
: Just a nitpick and tidbit to chew on, take it for what it's worth ... there is no such thing as Sergeant First Class in the Marine Corps.  If you're aiming to align with PO1, that would be Staff Sergeant (SSG).  The only sergeant ranks I can recall from dialogue in the episodes (not including credits, to which I never really paid attention) are the generic "sergeant" and "gunny", so conceivable room to justify SFC rather than SSG (which is an army equivalent of gunny & CPO). Such are the hazards of trying to maintain something resembling "canon" with a combination of speculation, extrapolation, and a writing staff that introduces contradictions and revisions, not to mentioning costuming (lol for effect) ...-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 21:48, 16 September 2008 (UTC)


Yes, it's me again :) Just a thought- if the Commander rank is the equivalent to Rear Admiral (lower), and the Admiral ranks have gold bars on them surely the Cdr rank pin should have a single gold bar?
:: Ugh, my use of the word "canon" gave me spine shivers, I hope things don't devolve into something "Richard Arnold"-esque (a ''Star Trek'' fandom spectactle/controversy/train-wreck, for those not familiar with the name ...)!-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 22:10, 16 September 2008 (UTC)


Or, perhaps, Commander is in fact equivalent to Captain? This would move the other ranks down the list, meaning Ensign would be perhaps a probationary rank? --[[User:Madbrood|Madbrood]] 13:26, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
== References ==
:Well, yeah. I/we argued that RA is a two-star Admiral, but there isn't really a one-star Admiral. Unless CF also uses that Upper Half/Lower Half nonsense, and Adama went straight to UH.
The references currently aren't showing up. I've checked the page in K-Meleon and IE6. -- [[User:Gordon Ecker|Gordon Ecker]] 07:09, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
:But I think it's just best to not equate BSG ''excactly'' with the US Navy. Those comparisons serve as a rough analogy, but they shouldn't be taken too seriously IMHO --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 14:39, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
:I tried it in IE7 and it doesn't work when I'm logged out. Logging in will display the references. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 14:14, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
::I could see Commander being a RALH or Commodore equivalent. Of course, RDM was in the Navy and took a lot of stuff from that (snipes for example) and put it into BSG. --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 15:06, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
: Frak. I'll try to fix that tonight. I think we may just need to update the extension... -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 16:32, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
:::NROTC, I believe. (He mentions it in one of the podcasts.) --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 15:20, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
::::He actually wanted to join the Marines, but the USMC technically belongs to the Navy. See [http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2006/04/#a000525 this] blog entry --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 15:32, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
:::::That's what I was talking about. Speaking as an current Army ROTC cadet, he was pretty much in the Navy. :) --[[User:Talos|Talos]] 15:37, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
::::::Well even after my Army ROTC experience (I think I may have left something about that on your talk page), I wouldn't really say I was "in" the Army... but I know what you mean. RDM did spend some time on a frigate (USS W.S. Sims), though it's hard to tell when it's military stuff coming from RDM vs. Bradley & Thompson or the military technical advisor, etc. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 15:49, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
:Or if we stick with Adama and Cain as Rear Admirals (which we should for now), then maybe Commander used to be a one-star rank, but the Colonial military doesn't count it as full flag rank anymore for whatever reason (maybe a restructuring in the command structure of the BSGroups). So their flag officers start with two stars/bars. If there is even anything to the number of bars. That UH/LF business only exists since about 50 years ago. While the BSG rank structure is very similar to today's, I see no reason why there couldn't be slight changes.<br>I know that Commander is listed as flag rank on the list, but that's really to line  it up the with the US Navy ranks and the footnote explains that it could go either way --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 17:06, 18 September 2006 (CDT)


== Assumptions ==
== Recent Updates ==


*"It is assumed that [[Nagala|Nagala's]] given rank of Admiral ([[Miniseries]]) equates to that of Admiral in the US Navy. However, when he took personal command of the Colonial Fleet following the [[Cylon Attack]] ([[Miniseries]]), it is assumed he adopted the (war time) role of Fleet Admiral." This seems like an arbitrary assumption. Why do we assume this?
As the freeze period has expired I decided to make some updates which I thought seemed appropriate.  In the interest of avoiding another edit war I'd like to elaborate a little on those changes which I think are most likely to be controversial.


*"Helo states his rank as "Lieutenant, Junior Grade" in "33", but he consistantly wears the rank insignia of a full Lieutenant." This seems a little backwards—doesn't spoken dialogue take precedence over our assumptions of how the insignia work?
*I have once again removed the rank of Vice Admiral, I know this has been a sore point between me and some others but with lieutenant colonel, their are now ten confirmed officer ranks which already is starting to make the rank structure pretty top heavy especially given that in the U.S. Military there are usually ten officer ranks and nine enlisted ranks.  Currently we have ten confirmed officer ranks and only seven confirmed enlisted ranks (eight if you include senior chief petty officer which hasn't been proven).  I think it highly unlikely that there would be such a discrepency in the number of ranks between the two corps (officers v. enlisted).  I have left senior chief petty officer because I think it is at least possible that such a rank may exist, although I am by no means sold on it..
*As for the Marine Ranks:  The ranks of private, private first class, and sergeant major have already been established both as ranks and as to their position in the rank structure.  In addition, the ranks of Corporal, Sergeant and Gunnery Sergeant have been established as existing but their place in the structure hasn't been definitively established.  To fill out the gap between sergeant and gunnery sergeant (as well as to confirm the places of the other ranks that are as of yet unconfirmed as to position, I have relied on Joe's post indicating a partial rank listing.  In that posting he mentions both sergeant and sergeant first class as distinct ranks and also notes that sergeant first class shares the same insignia as petty officer first class.  If we assume that this information is correct we then have enough information to definitively name and place all the marine enlisted ranks.  That is how I have derived the current structure.
*I also have removed marine "lieutenant" Terry Burrell from the officer example list since, as was already indicated on the page in a footnote, his  place in the rank structure is not definitively known.
*As noted in the footnotes, the reason for my changing the rank of deckhand also is derived from Joe's post. It's also partly inspired by my own personal belief that deckhand doesn't really sound like a rank.  However as their is generally hostility to changes based only on personal inclinations (and perhaps rightly so), I have only changed it now based on the new information provided by Joe.


[[User:Philwelch|Philwelch]] 19:06, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
I also have a couple questions:
*How is that some you are able to include brief comments in your history logs?
*How does one upload pictures?  I have a better version (though still not consistent with the others for the crewman/private first class insignia but I don't know how to post it.


:This page, like the [[Cylon agent speculation]] page are assuming pages mostly based on visual evidence. There are no "defience" time periods of the ranks because of prop errors. For now, I am reverting your edits while we discuss this more. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 23:05, 18 September 2006 (CDT)
[[User:Grandmaester314|Grandmaester314]] 17:48, 13 September 2008 (UTC)


::Um, the promotions of Starbuck, Apollo, Adama, et. al are all established in dialogue. [[User:Philwelch|Philwelch]] 01:29, 19 September 2006 (CDT)
: I think the serious mistake here is the mistake we made in earlier versions of this article. That mistake was to try to mirror or associate Colonial Military ranks to US (and other real-world) military ranks; obviously, since the Original Series rank structure was FUBARed to begin with, there could be no clear real-life association to be made. So, yes, it may be top heavy... but we're here to report, not to make up facts or fanwank to explain things, which is what I'm starting to see here a bit, particularly with the brevet ranking notes.
:I'll take one error in dialogue over 30+ errors in costuming any day of the week. And how the rank insignia work isnt an "assumption". It's fact. From the show alone you can deduce that "short chevron" means Lt.jg. And Bradley Thompson confirmed that in the BW:OC !
:The Nagala thing is more in the realm of fantasy and I didn't write that. It's save to remove I guess, but the Helo point make sense, and there is a long-term conflict that needs to be resolved some way.
:As for the promotions of the characters. Listing them under all or at least 2 ranks they held probably makes the most sense. Saying that Lee was a Major in "The Captain's Hand" would maybe a bit much. What about specifying the episode of the promotion just by number? Like "Episode 2x11" for "Resurrection Ship, I". That's usually shorter than writing out the episode and can be linkified too. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 04:14, 19 September 2006 (CDT)
::I am going to be reverting again, but if they are placed, it should be inside the ref tags. I still don't see a reason to list the episodes of when they were this rank. Rank changes through out the show. That's why under the credits we don't [[BW:SAC#Quote_of_the_Day|wiki link the rank]] with the character name because if there rank does change, without any dialog. Will this is not policy, it's clearly shown in the QOD guidelines that it does not happen. [[Season_1_%282004-05%29#Stars]], [[Season_2_%282005-06%29#Stars]], and [[Season_3_%282006-07%29#Stars]] all do not have the rank because it changes without notice. Putting any hard examples in on a rank page, even with "Miniseris to Season 2.5" (Which doesn't mean anything to UK viewers) doesn't mean the on-screen evidence ([[BW:CITE#Acceptable_Sources]]) That's why we ask questions to the cast and sometimes other people interview cast members as way to find out their rank. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 05:07, 19 September 2006 (CDT)
:::Alright. It makes perfect sense to not mention the ranks all over the Wiki, but concentrate it in one place like a character page where it can be easily change. So we'll just go by last established rank here? I think having reference tags for every promotion clutters things up too much.
:::An exception I'd like to make is Dualla since she's the only example of a PO2.
:::But just to make it clear, it's alright to make arguments and deductions about ranks (like Helo or Sgt. Hadrian) as long as they are clearly marked as such? In the first paragraph it's said that some things are assumed and the footnoots are worded with qualifiers and in the conditional as well. They aren't just wild assumptions but list some evidence for the decisions. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 05:26, 19 September 2006 (CDT)
::::Like the first paragraph says, this is just clearly examples assumputions. Charaecter pages are the best place to track rank and to list it. Who knows, it might be wrong because William Adama could be the Fleet Admiril. Going to wait on the revert but I think I said what I wanted to say. --[[User:Shane|Shane]] <sup>([[User_Talk:Shane|T]] - [[Special:Contributions/Shane|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/Shane|E]])</sup> 05:38, 19 September 2006 (CDT)
:::::Despite the attempts for the writers and costumers to get the details right, folks, they '''are''' going to make inconsistencies. If I had my preference, we would stick to dialogue and command protocol to establish this, and not nitpick the details of each subrank. Keep in mind that this is a TV show, please. Try to glean the most likely information, but, because of the nature of the show, please realize we aren't going to get precise information. This may be a Official Communiques question for help in understanding, rather than excessive debate. --[[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 07:05, 19 September 2006 (CDT)
::::::Yeah, excessive arguing shouldn't be the point, and I'm content to leave the page as it is concerning explanations for ranks. Most of the ranks are clearly established and more justifications aren't necessary.<br>And yes, they make errors, but those errors can also be in dialogue. I don't see why one snippet of dialogue should get preference when he's clearly wearing "Lieutenant, Senior Grade" pips in ''all'' episodes. Just by logic a longer chevron means a higher rank, and Mr. Thompson confirmed the meaning of the Officer insignia already. --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 07:26, 19 September 2006 (CDT)


OK, Helo aside, I still think we should retain the multiple examples per character. While it's true that Adama is currently an admiral, Lee is currently a commander, and Starbuck is currently a captain, they were a commander, captain, and lieutenant (respectively) throughout most of the show. Commander Adama throughout the first season and a half is a better example of a commander than, for instance, Garner (who was a commander for one episode) or Apollo (who was a commander for only a handful of episodes, and didn't even appear in all of them). Apollo was a captain almost continuously until "The Captain's Hand", while Starbuck has only been a Captain for half a season. By the same token, it's not worthwhile to mention Apollo's stints as Lieutenant and Major. [[User:Philwelch|Philwelch]] 15:08, 19 September 2006 (CDT)
: Regarding your questions, the "summary" line in the editing form is where we note the brief comments in the history logs. To upload files, you need to go to the [[md:|Media Repository]] to upload your files. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 00:57, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


== USAF? ==
:Yeah, the deckhand thing makes sense. That always seemed a weird choice for a rank, as it also refers to mechanics and the like in general. As for Dualla's rank in LDYB. The simplest thing is to leave it at lieutenant and consider it a costuming mishap. It's the first time she appeared in an officer's uniform, which may explain it. The explanation about a brevet promotion may appear logical, but from what I can tell, the writers don't put that much thought into such trivial details. Every comment about Lee Adama, for example, makes it sound like they consider it to be a normal promotion. And his demotion to major is actually referred to explicitly in a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd-KJ2Jscko deleted scene] in "Collaborators", even if it's a bit jokingly. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 14:26, 14 September 2008 (UTC)


As forewarning, this may not of the strictest relevance here.  Watching "[[Black Market]]", the scene where Captain [[Lee Adama|Adama]] initially confronts Colonel [[Saul Tigh|Tigh]] shows what would be called a "shadow box" by today's military behind Lee's shoulder on Tigh's wall.  The shadow box contains what are plainly three rank insignia from today's [[Wikipedia:United States Air Force|US Air Force]]: [[Wikipedia:Airman#United States Air Force|Airman (E-2)]], [[Wikipedia:Senior Airman|Senior Airman (E-4)]], and [[Wikipedia:Staff_Sergeant#United_States|Staff Sergeant (E-5)]].
== Updated Rank Chart based off of format established by Jim Stevenson ==


This presents us with ''two'' distinct problems.  This first of which is the appearance of obviously modern, 21st century, military rank insignia from [[Earth]] on Tigh's wall.
I'm sure all of you by now has seen the rank guide created by Jim Stevenson, in fact I'm pretty sure that's where almost all of the rank device images on the page come from.  Anyway it's been a year and a half since he last updated it and there have been several major updates, so I went ahead and updated it might self. Would there be a problem with me posting it, and if so would people have a problem with me posting it in lieu of the current chart?


The second being if the item on his wall was ''meant'' to be a shadow box.  Shadow boxes are typically given when somebody separates from today's military as recognition of their accomplishments while on military service; in fact, several other unidentifiable (by myself) patches and accoutrements appear in the box.  Furthermore, all three of those insignia are ''enlisted'' ranks, whereas Tigh is a high-ranking officer.  Was Tigh prior enlisted, separated/retired, and later commissioned as an officer?  Was ... [[Ellen Tigh|Ellen]] perhaps prior enlisted, and later separated or retired?
[[User:Grandmaester314|Grandmaester314]] 21:52, 24 October 2008 (UTC)


Lastly, as a disclaimer against my possible ignorance: "Black Market" is currently as far along the series as I have watched - and I have been meticulously avoiding spoilers on this wiki until I have caught up with the live airings. —  '''[[User:pd_THOR|<span style="color:#CC0000;">pd_THOR</span>]]''' <sup>|''' [[User_talk:pd_THOR|=/\=]]'''</sup> 09:08, 9 October 2006 (CDT)
:You should definitely ask him if he's ok with you updating and reworking it. He hasn't worked on it for some time, but it's still his design. This page credits him, but I also asked if I could cut the chart up like this. And actually creating a new version is another thing entirely. He might be fine with it, but you should ask.
:Tigh was prior enlisted (deck hand up through CPO) and was later "dragooned" into OCS and came back in  as a Viper pilot. --[[User:Steelviper|Steelviper]] 09:16, 9 October 2006 (CDT)


==Commander equals more to USN Captain, my argument==
:As for the change I made to your recent edits. That wasn't about the content, so much as the style. We already have an entire page of footnotes and such extensive notes aren't good to read IMO. Yeah, I've seen legal documents with one page for ''one'' footnote, but that doesn't mean it's such a good idea. Most of it is necessary here, but the stuff you added was very self-argumentative and could be shortened a lot. Basically it says that it's unclear why the decision was made, that there may be one or two in-universe reasons, but that there are also real-world reasons like an error or production realities. That's perfectly fine, but it's possible to say that in one or two sentences without adding five footnotes, that were frankly hard to read the way they were worded and structured. It took me a while to get what the actual argument was, and then I realized that a lot of it didn't really add to the point made, but just hid it behind verbosity. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 17:47, 27 October 2008 (UTC)
Of course the rank page is speculative and may not represent of how BSG ranks may equal to actual USN ranks.


This is just my argument based on what I've been watching on TV, to why I think the rank of Commander of BSG is more equal to the role of USN Captain than it is to rear admiral or commodore.
::I would have asked him directly but I have no way of contacting him.  Also I apologize for the "verbosity," I have a very flowery writing style and to be quite honest couldn't simply anything to save my life, if anybody would like to try to do that I welcome the assistance.  However I do reserve the right to reinsert something if I believe something of value has been cut.[[User:Grandmaester314|Grandmaester314]] 14:48, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


Case points (not in any particular order):
::With the upcoming auction of BSG props, wouldn't now be an opportune time to replace the rank illustrations with images of actual production insignia?  It would also be interesting to see the insignia used on the tan warrant officer uniforms - even if there is an inconsistency, it's something footnotable and worthy of interest.-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 08:24, 4 January 2009 (UTC)


1. Adm Cain dies, Colonel Fisk is promoted to "Commander" of the Pegasus.
:::If they're ''high quality'' pictures sure. I decided to use those illustrations in the absence of any detailed references and screencaps. The recently added real pictures are still of pretty low quality. They are a nice complement, but can't really replace the drawings IMO. But if we can get nice photos of all pins, sure. -- [[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 21:51, 13 January 2009 (UTC)
2. Barry Garner is promoted to Commander of the Pegasus after Fisk, considering Garner was chief of engineering, I would assume he had a much lower rank than Colonel, maybe Captain? Adama and Tigh talk about how he was promoted from engineering, so he jumped ranks to become "Commander of the Pegasus"
3. Lee Adama held the rank of Major and XO of the Pegasus, Garner dies, Lee Jumps over the rank of Colonel to become "Commander" of the Pegasus.


The issue of rank never really came up before Pegasus showed up because the Galactica was the only major Military Vessle in the fleet, then Commander William Adama didn't have any military issues when it came to commanding a military fleet, Galactica was the only major military ship, with the rest of the fleet being Civilian.
::::Yes, that's why the gallery of pin photos was added, instead of replacing the graphics.  Jim's graphics had some inaccuracies that had to be corrected, such as plain "starbursts" w/o the Colonial emblem for the rank lieutenant colonel. The ranks of warrant officer and crew sergeant were missing and had to be "cooked up". Also, replacing the table would have removed the collar piping illustrations, which would have thrown off the text references in the article.-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 22:15, 13 January 2009 (UTC)


When Pegasus showed up, then it opened a new can of worms with an Admiral.
== Additional footnote for Lieutenant Colonel insignia ==


The Rank of Colonel as mentioned by bsg wiki is highly speculative, there have been no cases where someone who held the rank of Colonel (aside from the tenure Colonel Tigh had when Adama was shot) to be a perminate Commanding officer of a ship. All "commanders" of major BSG ships have been either a Commander or an Admiral (see below)
Would it make sense to add an additional bullet to the footnote mentioning that this insignia has been used on warrant officer uniforms?  It appears to be the case from pictures in the BSG auction catalog.-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 10:55, 4 January 2009 (UTC)
: You mean the Warrant Officer's pin, right? Since that was the one mainly used on the tan BDU (with the exception of Sgt. [[Hadrian]]). -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 16:05, 4 January 2009 (UTC)
:: Is there a distinct warrant officer's pin?  The ones on the tan BDU's looked like the Lt Col Fisk/Dualla insignia.-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 18:20, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
:: Yes, it's basically the same pin as the Lt. Colonel, but with the smaller diamond plates on the sides... very much like the collar dogs that Chief wears, except gold and silver. There's a picture of it in the catalog in the pin collection... the lot # escapes me right now, but a quick search of the PDF (or of the catalog on Auction Network) will pull that up in a jiffy. ;-) -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 18:31, 5 January 2009 (UTC)
::: Yeah, the side lozenges are closer-in than the Chief's pin, easy to go unnoticed without a dialogue closeup shot (or in auction catalog full-length tan costume illustration)  :-)-- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 03:31, 6 January 2009 (UTC)


From the working knowledge of what is being shown on BSG, mainly the Pegasus cases, the Rank of Commander is the Commanding officer of a ship, unless there happens to be an Adminral on the ship, then in that case the Admiral is the Commanding officer of the ship they are on AND the supreme commander of all Military ships.    This may not happen in real life, but I'm talking about the BSG universe here.
== Lance Corporal ==


The rank of Colonel has been shown to be more of a support/2nd in Command type of position similar to the rank of USN Commander (Colonel Tigh and Colonel Fisk are good examples as both have been XO's, Colonel tigh under both Commander and Admiral Adama and Colonel Fisk under Cain, then himself becoming a Commander after Adm Cain dies).
Another wrench thrown into the works perhaps (Lance Corporal Maldonaldo)?  It doesn't help that he wore the black tactical uniform without rank insignia. -- [[User:Fredmdbud|Fredmdbud]] 07:32, 2 February 2009 (UTC)


All of these cases leads me to believe and lean towards that the rank of Commander the show is more equal to the Rank of USN Captain, than it is equal to the rank of USN Rear Admiral. -[[User:Themoonrulez|Themoonrulez]] 14:51, 9 October 2006 (CDT)
:Yeah I noticed that to, I'm inclined to chalk it up as an error on the part of the writing staff.  None of the production materials we've seen to date recognize the existance of that rank.  If such information is forthcoming I think that time would the appropriate time to add it to the chart.  Until then, I think it best to leave it out. -- [[User:Grandmaester314|Grandmaester314]] 14:48, 7 February 2009 (UTC)


:You are probably right, and the page does state that it can encompass the ''role'' Captain too (see the footnote!). The ambiguity of Colonel is also stated there.
==Another Admiral?==
:I didn't make those comparisons and I've found that they were taken way, way too seriously in the last version of the page. It's just meant to be a rough comparison and one can make arguments that go either way. Fact is that the BSG rank system isn't compatible perfectly with the US Navy one. And neither should it. But placing Adama as Captain messes up the chart because it moves everything else further in the Navy column down as well --[[User:Serenity|Serenity]] 15:50, 9 October 2006 (CDT)


::While I tend to agree with Themoonrulez, I'm going to play devil's advocate here and forward some more reasoning for the thought that '''Commander''' is a flag rank. As far as I'm aware, a USN carrier is often presided over by an Admiral- could it be, in the BSG universe, that the lead vessel in a Battlestar Group is commander by a Flag Officer (in this instance, a Commander), and the "XO" is the equivalent of USN Captain?
Just to be picky here, i just watched "Sine Qua Non" and i distinctly recall seeing Adama promote Tight to Admiral in his absence. It's even listed in the episode article, in the details section
::If this is so, it also brings up an issue with Adama/Cain's rank insignia. If "Commander" ''is'' a Flag rank (and Colonel the equivalent of USN Captain), with the flag denoted by the silver diamond behind), then perhaps Cain ''was'' a Vice Admiral by the time of Pegasus? Just throwing up ideas for discussion. --[[User:Madbrood|Madbrood]] 13:49, 16 October 2006 (CDT)
[[User:Griffin-2-6|Griffin-2-6]] 23:23, 5 August 2009 (UTC)
: Correct. Tigh was promoted to Admiral, although the promotion is short lived. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 23:51, 5 August 2009 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 23:51, 5 August 2009

Specialist Cally, Adama ≠ Fleet Admrial, How Many Admirals, Insignia, Tyrol & Hadrian, "Gunny", Second Chart, Back to Officer Ranks..., Piping, Colorization


Abbreviations, Rank Pins, General update of the page, Gold Bars, Assumptions, USAF?, Commander equals more to USN Captain, my argument, Idea for updated comparison list, Impressive Page, 1 Nitpick about dense chart


Number

Shouldn't Commander be listed as O-7 and Rear Admiral as O-8? Not even getting into the debate over the officer/flag officer status of the Commander rank (although it could go either way (the Colonial forces could have seven officer ranks)), but why is it listed as N/A? It's clearly higher than Colonel, which is O-6. --Kevin W. 21:05, 26 November 2006 (CST)

The numbers correspond with the US ranks, not the BSG ranks. Philwelch 01:13, 27 November 2006 (CST)

PO3

I understand the note about Venner, since PO3 and Cpl are equivalent, but the page itself does quote RDM who says that there is no PO3 grade. How can the page be modified to show this? --Kevin W.So say we all 18:27, 17 December 2006 (CST)

Mhh, you're right. Though I don't consider that one blog entry as the very last word on it. Ideas might have changed a bit by now. Who knows.
Anyways, the list incluces PO3 mainly for the sake of completion I guess. It does say that some aspects of the table are speculative and that was always ok. You could add a footnote, like done for all other annotations. Then the explination shows up under "references". --Serenity 10:20, 18 December 2006 (CST)

New information

There's an article that is a few months old on galactica.tv about the pins and symbols of the uniforms here. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Sanctuary Wiki — New 08:56, 15 June 2007 (CDT)

The new information is really the tiny details that are available from of the pins. Our insignia pictures are from that very same rank chart, so the information is already reflected, except for the narrower Lt.j.g. pin. I can update that later. We just have drawings instead of photographs which is somewhat cleaner however. Maybe the great photo of the Commander pin could be included somehow? (like "more images").
Maybe the information on the other uniform devices could be put on Uniforms (RDM) though. --Serenity 09:10, 15 June 2007 (CDT)
Sounds good. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Sanctuary Wiki — New 09:30, 15 June 2007 (CDT)

Recent round of edits

I got caught up in this again. If I come off as harsh or all to superior, I'm really sorry, but I think this page is pretty good as it is. And all the rest is really pretty nitpicky.

I think it comes down to to different approaches:

  1. That the whole comparison to modern militaries (specifically the US Navy) is overdone.
  2. Some people seem to be more interested having a close to perfect comparison. Nothing wrong with that.

Personally, I'm clearly in camp 1. Sure there are many parallels. But it's not exactly the same. So this page shouldn't be forced to do something that just isn't there. And in the last major overhauls I tried to excise many of the unnecessary comparisons and make more BSG arguments for things. As it stands, we have reasonable good evidence (sometimes conjectural) that commander more closely resembles a modern captain. Like it doesn't seem to be considered a flag rank; and Roslin also seems to imply that she sees Adama as captain in "Resurrection Ship, Part II". The rest is just made fit as best as possible. Putting Lt. opposed to Lt. make most sense, and so that leaves one rank free. It's not all that clear, but it's there.

So how do other people feel about this? Not so much about the details, but the whole approach of the article. Is the US Navy thing really that important? Should the article be more about BSG? Should we maybe just ditch the comparison if it's so troublesome and not perfect anyways? I think we can keep it, but it just needs to be clear that it's not supposed to be 1:1. I updated the introduction further to try to reflect that. Maybe I'm just too invested here, because I made a lot substantial edits to it, but I also don't like if people just change substantial things, when we had a sort-of consensus about it.

To the people who made those edits: I know you are new. I know that you haven't read everything. And I really don't want to seem overly harsh to you. That's why I'm trying to explain and discuss this here. :) --Serenity 11:44, 22 August 2007 (CDT)

Why not just scrap the US Naval Rank column

Absent anything from Ron Moore or the writer's bible, it's all speculation and guesstimation. The only salient comparisons within the RDM Galactica universe would be Fleet vs. Marines. The "Official Statement" is self-explanatory. And like a lot of good fiction, sometimes it's best to leave some details to the individual's own imagination ... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Fredmdbud (talk • contribs).

Yeah, I'm just about ready do that. We can also keep it, but people just have to realize that it won't fit perfectly. It's a rough guideline, but nothing more. I've inserted two paragraphs now that point that out, without actually hitting the reader of the head.
That whole part is really from the very first version of this article, that was actually more about finding arguments for that comparison table than documenting the BSG universe. Sure you can make a table that lines all up 1:1, but after some discussion most people felt that there are more points to compare the BSG rank of commander to a real world captain, and the rest is built around that. --Serenity 04:38, 23 August 2007 (CDT)
My only concern with deleting it is that it's the type of thing that might get periodically re-added by passers-by. I'd advise some note on the article to head that off, but I have doubts as to whether that would be heeded. --Steelviper 12:55, 23 August 2007 (CDT)
True. And while it's not that important, there is some merit to the comparison. It shouldn't be taken too seriously (pot.kettle.black. ;)), but some people are probably interested to know where certain ranks fall. In retrospect I realize that while there were explanations for certain ranks, there was no explanation for the overall structure. That was an oversight that is hopefully corrected now. We can't expect people to read long arguments on the talk pages to understand how some things are decided, and parts of this article were just presented "as is" without clarification. --Serenity 13:27, 23 August 2007 (CDT)

Room for other ranks?

It is hard to beleive that the ranks shown thus far are the only ones. There would logically be something like Midshipman for officer trainees and Lieutenant-Colonel. If so, the Midshipman grad would be easy to figure out (a white diamond), though Lt. Col would be a little more difficult, given the differences between the Colonel and Major insignia. Just a thought... Expatkiwi 16:58, 27 December 2007 (PST)

True. However, we go with ranks that we've either seen or heard on screen or via behind-the-scenes sources. We don't really speculate on any "missing" ranks, since that falls under "fanwanking". -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Sanctuary Wiki — New 19:05, 27 December 2007 (CST)

Specialist classes

IMO the specialist class ranks from the Flight of the Phoenix and Revelations credits should be considered official unless they are refuted by a more recent official source. -- Gordon Ecker 04:05, 19 June 2008 (UTC)Reply

What specialist class ranks are you referring to?-- Fredmdbud 04:55, 19 June 2008 (UTC)Reply
The credits list Figurski as "Specialist 3rd class". So, there appear to be at least 3 subdivisions here. But it's not that clear how they should be split up. We also only have a single rank insignia for specialist. I'll add a footnote for now, as it should be noted. It should probably be included into the table, but the question is how. -- Serenity 06:59, 19 June 2008 (UTC)Reply

RDM's list

Seeing the edits on the page, I need to chime in here. RDM's list, which was published over three years ago, is not the definitive list and we should not be a slave to it. There have been introductions of new ranks since then, like Lt. Colonel and Rear Admiral, that are not included on his list. Conspicuously, he does not include "Warrant Officer" (which there is a pin for, and these are the guys in the BG with the beige BDUs), in addition to Private (like Stewart Jaffee). I'll try to post the definitive list in a few weeks, but the edits that Serenity did are the most accurate to date with the presently available information I have. Attempts to revert them will probably resort in the page being locked, just so you know, since I don't want a needless edit war to break out. Thanks! -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 17:07, 28 August 2008 (UTC)Reply

Yeah, just what I was thinking. I don't get why this should be the definite list. It's a fine basis, but it's old and things have been added since then. And this page has always been speculative. In the past far more so than now. It's not like the speculative ranks aren't marked. I've included an (s) for those two ranks now, in addition to the footnotes. I wouldn't just add all kinds of speculation just because it sounds nice, but it's marked clearly enough. If people would rather have something more "official" they are free to skip those lines. It just doesn't make much sense to skip vice admiral for no reason, when rear admiral and admiral have been established, given that the ranks more or less follow real-world examples otherwise. And it's been on the list for one or two years without anyone really objecting.
In general my reverts here, have also been about style. Mainly odd capitalization. Things like "commissioned officer" just aren't capitalized (unless in the headers of the table and such). But neither are ranks. It's "Johnson is a lieutenant", but "Tell Lieutenant Johnson". That's also what Wikipedia uses, though they are a bit inconsistent with it. Other sources like this, this or this also make this clear. I've also noted that people try to capitalize "president" and "vice president" on every occasion. The same rules usually apply there unless it's the full title of the office like "President of the Twelve Colonies"-- Serenity 17:22, 28 August 2008 (UTC)Reply
All true. By the way, I'd like to get rid of the "Junior Grade"/"Senior Grade" stuff and simply go with "Junior Lieutenant" and "Senior Lieutenant", since this is what they identify these ranks by behind the scenes. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 17:34, 28 August 2008 (UTC)Reply
On screen both are used though (though in props mostly junior lieutenant). They seem to exist side by side. There is a footnote about it, actually (#7). Maybe that could be changed to make it clearer, or switched around. -- Serenity 17:40, 28 August 2008 (UTC)Reply
The only real mentions of "Lieutenant Junior Grade" are in the Miniseries, and that was quickly dropped, along with a few other things that didn't quite work from the miniseries. (Such as the "Blade Runner" guns from the Miniseries, which weren't built to last anyway and were just poorly designed.) But I see your point. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 17:45, 28 August 2008 (UTC)Reply

Initial new information

This is by no means the complete list of ranks, but it's based off the pin-ordering sheet I have in front of me. (No, I can't scan it. Sorry.)

From highest to lowest (these are the "green fill" verisons):

  • Crew Master Chief
  • Crew Senior Chief (this is what Tyrol wears before his demotion for being an ass)
  • Sergeant 1st Class (basically the Junior Lieutenant, except the fill is green, not gold).
  • Crew Sergeant (like crew specialist, but has another border—with no breaks—between the outside border and the diamond)
  • Crew Specialist
  • Crewman (which is the same pin as the "Private" that Jaffee wears)
  • Crewman Apprentice

The gold versions:

  • Commander
  • Colonel
  • Warrant Officer (worn by those in the beige BDUs, it's similar to the Crew Master Chief, itself a cross between the Lt. Col and Crew Senior Chief pips)
  • Lt. Colonel (these are the pins that Dualla was wearing in "LDYB" Pt. II
  • Major
  • Captain
  • Senior Lieutenant
  • Junior Lieutenant

As we've already determined earlier, the "ensign" rank pin does not exist.

I'm working on finding about the Admiral pins.

Also, an interesting story about the flight wings that the pilots wear... the symbols in the middle resemble the Captain's rank pins. There's a reason for this. The pins were also supposed to echo the rank of the wearer, but this idea was abandoned during the production. I don't know why, but I'll lay my money on the fact that it had to do with cost. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 01:01, 31 August 2008 (UTC)Reply

That actually fits pretty well with the current structure (aside from the names), but some of the enlisted ranks as they are now have been established in dialogue. For example, Dualla is called petty officer second class by Billy, and I think Tyrol is identified as chief petty officer as well. The term "petty officer" in general is also mentioned (for example by Adama when he demotes Tyrol). So that would screw things up a bit.
As for warrant officer. Not everyone in beige BDUs can be a WO. Some of the Marines who have been identified with other ranks wear them as well, most notably Hadrian. It would probably be more accurate to say that in practice all WOs wear beige. -- Serenity 12:39, 31 August 2008 (UTC)Reply
The warrant-officers-in-khaki thing has always left me scratching my head ... why single out warrant officers with a different style uniform, but have the officers and enlisted wear the same color fatigues? For comparison's sake, in the US Navy, ranks of chief petty officer and above wear khaki service uniforms like officers (hence the term "khaki leadership"), making it easy to make the "chiefs-vs-indians" distinction in a crowd. Maybe it was easier (and cheaper) to "ret-con" the khakis as warrant officer uniforms and kind of sneak by on the collar insignia (which had little chance with a crowd like this :-)), rather than go through the cost and time of developing new insignia.-- Fredmdbud 01:43, 1 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
There's that too, but it's fiction, so why not? But the other other points that speak against being all khakis = WOs. For example that the uniform is used a lot (there shouldn't be that many WOs from what I understand), is also used by Marine Sergeants (and others) and also worn by a lot of young crewmen. Warrant officers should generally be a bit older I think. It might have been thought of that way, but I don't think the wardrobe department really adheres to it closely. Not that I blame them. -- Serenity 16:00, 1 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

I don't know, this list is a little confusing, it seems like it's a combination of marine and fleet ranks. When you get a chance Joe, I'd like to say a side by side break down of rank equivalents, I have some other questions regarding this list but I'll hold them because I think a side-by-side might answer them. Particularly because some of Joe's comments seem to contradict what we have known up to know.

I'm sure you guys have all seen the graphical rank guide put out by somebody (I can't remember the name of the top of my head but I'd be interested both to see the next update and how the new information jibes with the current version. Does anybody know how to contact this guy?-- Grandmaester314 15:50, 31 August 2008 (UTC)Reply

You might be referring to Jim Stevenson's article on galactica.tv: http://www.galactica.tv/battlestar-galactica-2003---news/the-history-of-the-rank-insignia-chart-for-battlestar-galactica-2003.html
IMO, I think his observations and analysis are about as speculative as the discussion in this wiki.-- Fredmdbud 01:51, 1 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
Fred, RDM and co. are following their own conventions; they don't have to mirror real-world conventions, at all, despite the wishes of some. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 04:28, 1 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
I'm just saying ... have there been any references, on-screen or in production notes, of "sr-lieutenant"? Lieutenant and jr-lieutenant have been used in scripts and on props to-date, as far as I know ...-- Fredmdbud 06:55, 1 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
Yes, numerous times. Where, pray tell, do you think I got the above list? -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 15:13, 1 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
So any idea about the enlisted ranks that are missing but have been mentioned in dialogue (most notably "petty officer second class"). "Specialist" has been mentioned numerous times and is on the list, but PO2 is not on it. If that can't be resolved, it's not really much better than what we have now. -- Serenity 16:00, 1 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

I realize that Stevenson's model is just as much speculation as ours but I thought it might be helpful to coordinate with him so we can get a consistent image for the new rank insignia's we know know as well as give proposals for ranks that are now known to exist but for which ranks haven't been developed. Right now the Lt. Col. image sticks out because it doesn't show the fringes colors like all the officers I have a version from his sheet that shows it only with white fringe, (at the time it had only been seen worn by Dualla). Also I think now that we know the the insignia for Apprentice/Private First Class, its easy to conclude that their is indeed an insignia for recruit/private because without one, the trend from Apprentice/PFC to Specialist/Corporal to PO2/Sergeant doesn't make sense.

While I'm at it I'd like to propose a new tentative ranks structure based on what new information we now have. Of course this is subject to change when Joe gets more info but I want to run what I've got by all of you and see if I'm missing something or have something confused.

  • Flag Officer
    • Admiral
    • Rear Admiral
  • Senior Commissioned Officer
    • Commander
    • Colonel
    • Lieutenant Colonel
  • Junior Commissioned Officer
    • Major
    • Captain
    • Senior Lieutenant
    • Junior Lieutenant
    • Ensign
  • Senior Enlisted (Non-Commissioned Officer)
    • Master Chief Petty Officer/Sergeant-Major
    • Senior Chief Petty Officer/Master Sergeant
    • Chief Petty Officer/Gunnery Sergeant
    • Petty Officer First Class/Sergeant First Class
    • Petty Officer Second Class/Sergeant
  • Junior Enlisted
    • Specialist/Corporal
    • Apprentice/Private First Class
    • Recruit/Private

Also, I want to clarify two things with Joe: First, it appears from something you wrote above that you believe Tyrol was a Senior Chief Petty Officer instead of just plain Chief. Is that true? Second, are there supposed to be separate rank insignia for warrant officers or are they supposed to be simply identified by their uniform color.

Finally I'm kinda wondering if there are multiple grades of warrant officer like their are in the U.S. military.

Grandmaester314 16:47, 2 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

I need to make something a bit clear here. Firstly, the costuming / props department has not made a new rank for every single specialist (whether that be SP1, SP2, SP3). Figurski wears the same pins that Cally does, for instance. Also, with regard to the Lt. Col. pins, one of the judges (the African one) from "Crossroads" wears these pins on his own uniform, though is not part of the Col. Military. So... when it comes to the accouterments of b.g. officers, they're not really anal about it. And speaking of the Lt. Col pins, there's at least one or two offers in the blue BDUs that wear them, simply because they're not enough pins to go around. (Or not enough on the truck, or whatever.)
As for Tyrol, since there are other petty officers aboard (i.e. Basim and Peter Laird), it would make the most sense. In any event, he wears the pins.
For the ranking system itself... it wasn't meant to be overly analyzed like what we're doing. As RDM indicated, it is derived from TOS—which I personally believe to be a serious mistake—so it was already FUBARed from the start. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 17:15, 2 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
Just a nitpick and tidbit to chew on, take it for what it's worth ... there is no such thing as Sergeant First Class in the Marine Corps. If you're aiming to align with PO1, that would be Staff Sergeant (SSG). The only sergeant ranks I can recall from dialogue in the episodes (not including credits, to which I never really paid attention) are the generic "sergeant" and "gunny", so conceivable room to justify SFC rather than SSG (which is an army equivalent of gunny & CPO). Such are the hazards of trying to maintain something resembling "canon" with a combination of speculation, extrapolation, and a writing staff that introduces contradictions and revisions, not to mentioning costuming (lol for effect) ...-- Fredmdbud 21:48, 16 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
Ugh, my use of the word "canon" gave me spine shivers, I hope things don't devolve into something "Richard Arnold"-esque (a Star Trek fandom spectactle/controversy/train-wreck, for those not familiar with the name ...)!-- Fredmdbud 22:10, 16 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

References

The references currently aren't showing up. I've checked the page in K-Meleon and IE6. -- Gordon Ecker 07:09, 10 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

I tried it in IE7 and it doesn't work when I'm logged out. Logging in will display the references. -- Serenity 14:14, 10 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
Frak. I'll try to fix that tonight. I think we may just need to update the extension... -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 16:32, 10 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

Recent Updates

As the freeze period has expired I decided to make some updates which I thought seemed appropriate. In the interest of avoiding another edit war I'd like to elaborate a little on those changes which I think are most likely to be controversial.

  • I have once again removed the rank of Vice Admiral, I know this has been a sore point between me and some others but with lieutenant colonel, their are now ten confirmed officer ranks which already is starting to make the rank structure pretty top heavy especially given that in the U.S. Military there are usually ten officer ranks and nine enlisted ranks. Currently we have ten confirmed officer ranks and only seven confirmed enlisted ranks (eight if you include senior chief petty officer which hasn't been proven). I think it highly unlikely that there would be such a discrepency in the number of ranks between the two corps (officers v. enlisted). I have left senior chief petty officer because I think it is at least possible that such a rank may exist, although I am by no means sold on it..
  • As for the Marine Ranks: The ranks of private, private first class, and sergeant major have already been established both as ranks and as to their position in the rank structure. In addition, the ranks of Corporal, Sergeant and Gunnery Sergeant have been established as existing but their place in the structure hasn't been definitively established. To fill out the gap between sergeant and gunnery sergeant (as well as to confirm the places of the other ranks that are as of yet unconfirmed as to position, I have relied on Joe's post indicating a partial rank listing. In that posting he mentions both sergeant and sergeant first class as distinct ranks and also notes that sergeant first class shares the same insignia as petty officer first class. If we assume that this information is correct we then have enough information to definitively name and place all the marine enlisted ranks. That is how I have derived the current structure.
  • I also have removed marine "lieutenant" Terry Burrell from the officer example list since, as was already indicated on the page in a footnote, his place in the rank structure is not definitively known.
  • As noted in the footnotes, the reason for my changing the rank of deckhand also is derived from Joe's post. It's also partly inspired by my own personal belief that deckhand doesn't really sound like a rank. However as their is generally hostility to changes based only on personal inclinations (and perhaps rightly so), I have only changed it now based on the new information provided by Joe.

I also have a couple questions:

  • How is that some you are able to include brief comments in your history logs?
  • How does one upload pictures? I have a better version (though still not consistent with the others for the crewman/private first class insignia but I don't know how to post it.

Grandmaester314 17:48, 13 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

I think the serious mistake here is the mistake we made in earlier versions of this article. That mistake was to try to mirror or associate Colonial Military ranks to US (and other real-world) military ranks; obviously, since the Original Series rank structure was FUBARed to begin with, there could be no clear real-life association to be made. So, yes, it may be top heavy... but we're here to report, not to make up facts or fanwank to explain things, which is what I'm starting to see here a bit, particularly with the brevet ranking notes.
Regarding your questions, the "summary" line in the editing form is where we note the brief comments in the history logs. To upload files, you need to go to the Media Repository to upload your files. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 00:57, 14 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
Yeah, the deckhand thing makes sense. That always seemed a weird choice for a rank, as it also refers to mechanics and the like in general. As for Dualla's rank in LDYB. The simplest thing is to leave it at lieutenant and consider it a costuming mishap. It's the first time she appeared in an officer's uniform, which may explain it. The explanation about a brevet promotion may appear logical, but from what I can tell, the writers don't put that much thought into such trivial details. Every comment about Lee Adama, for example, makes it sound like they consider it to be a normal promotion. And his demotion to major is actually referred to explicitly in a deleted scene in "Collaborators", even if it's a bit jokingly. -- Serenity 14:26, 14 September 2008 (UTC)Reply

Updated Rank Chart based off of format established by Jim Stevenson

I'm sure all of you by now has seen the rank guide created by Jim Stevenson, in fact I'm pretty sure that's where almost all of the rank device images on the page come from. Anyway it's been a year and a half since he last updated it and there have been several major updates, so I went ahead and updated it might self. Would there be a problem with me posting it, and if so would people have a problem with me posting it in lieu of the current chart?

Grandmaester314 21:52, 24 October 2008 (UTC)Reply

You should definitely ask him if he's ok with you updating and reworking it. He hasn't worked on it for some time, but it's still his design. This page credits him, but I also asked if I could cut the chart up like this. And actually creating a new version is another thing entirely. He might be fine with it, but you should ask.
As for the change I made to your recent edits. That wasn't about the content, so much as the style. We already have an entire page of footnotes and such extensive notes aren't good to read IMO. Yeah, I've seen legal documents with one page for one footnote, but that doesn't mean it's such a good idea. Most of it is necessary here, but the stuff you added was very self-argumentative and could be shortened a lot. Basically it says that it's unclear why the decision was made, that there may be one or two in-universe reasons, but that there are also real-world reasons like an error or production realities. That's perfectly fine, but it's possible to say that in one or two sentences without adding five footnotes, that were frankly hard to read the way they were worded and structured. It took me a while to get what the actual argument was, and then I realized that a lot of it didn't really add to the point made, but just hid it behind verbosity. -- Serenity 17:47, 27 October 2008 (UTC)Reply
I would have asked him directly but I have no way of contacting him. Also I apologize for the "verbosity," I have a very flowery writing style and to be quite honest couldn't simply anything to save my life, if anybody would like to try to do that I welcome the assistance. However I do reserve the right to reinsert something if I believe something of value has been cut.Grandmaester314 14:48, 7 February 2009 (UTC)Reply
With the upcoming auction of BSG props, wouldn't now be an opportune time to replace the rank illustrations with images of actual production insignia? It would also be interesting to see the insignia used on the tan warrant officer uniforms - even if there is an inconsistency, it's something footnotable and worthy of interest.-- Fredmdbud 08:24, 4 January 2009 (UTC)Reply
If they're high quality pictures sure. I decided to use those illustrations in the absence of any detailed references and screencaps. The recently added real pictures are still of pretty low quality. They are a nice complement, but can't really replace the drawings IMO. But if we can get nice photos of all pins, sure. -- Serenity 21:51, 13 January 2009 (UTC)Reply
Yes, that's why the gallery of pin photos was added, instead of replacing the graphics. Jim's graphics had some inaccuracies that had to be corrected, such as plain "starbursts" w/o the Colonial emblem for the rank lieutenant colonel. The ranks of warrant officer and crew sergeant were missing and had to be "cooked up". Also, replacing the table would have removed the collar piping illustrations, which would have thrown off the text references in the article.-- Fredmdbud 22:15, 13 January 2009 (UTC)Reply

Additional footnote for Lieutenant Colonel insignia

Would it make sense to add an additional bullet to the footnote mentioning that this insignia has been used on warrant officer uniforms? It appears to be the case from pictures in the BSG auction catalog.-- Fredmdbud 10:55, 4 January 2009 (UTC)Reply

You mean the Warrant Officer's pin, right? Since that was the one mainly used on the tan BDU (with the exception of Sgt. Hadrian). -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 16:05, 4 January 2009 (UTC)Reply
Is there a distinct warrant officer's pin? The ones on the tan BDU's looked like the Lt Col Fisk/Dualla insignia.-- Fredmdbud 18:20, 5 January 2009 (UTC)Reply
Yes, it's basically the same pin as the Lt. Colonel, but with the smaller diamond plates on the sides... very much like the collar dogs that Chief wears, except gold and silver. There's a picture of it in the catalog in the pin collection... the lot # escapes me right now, but a quick search of the PDF (or of the catalog on Auction Network) will pull that up in a jiffy. ;-) -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 18:31, 5 January 2009 (UTC)Reply
Yeah, the side lozenges are closer-in than the Chief's pin, easy to go unnoticed without a dialogue closeup shot (or in auction catalog full-length tan costume illustration)  :-)-- Fredmdbud 03:31, 6 January 2009 (UTC)Reply

Lance Corporal

Another wrench thrown into the works perhaps (Lance Corporal Maldonaldo)? It doesn't help that he wore the black tactical uniform without rank insignia. -- Fredmdbud 07:32, 2 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Yeah I noticed that to, I'm inclined to chalk it up as an error on the part of the writing staff. None of the production materials we've seen to date recognize the existance of that rank. If such information is forthcoming I think that time would the appropriate time to add it to the chart. Until then, I think it best to leave it out. -- Grandmaester314 14:48, 7 February 2009 (UTC)Reply

Another Admiral?

Just to be picky here, i just watched "Sine Qua Non" and i distinctly recall seeing Adama promote Tight to Admiral in his absence. It's even listed in the episode article, in the details section Griffin-2-6 23:23, 5 August 2009 (UTC)Reply

Correct. Tigh was promoted to Admiral, although the promotion is short lived. -- Joe Beaudoin So say we all - Donate - Battlestar Pegasus 23:51, 5 August 2009 (UTC)Reply