Ranks

[Hammer]

I have set up an initial rank structure. please let us all know what you think.

When a person is invited to the unit they will get the rank of RECRUIT. They can be promoted when the unit decides.

Then in ascending order:

MECHWARRIOR, lowest rank of a Mech pilot.

SERGEANT, the basic experienced MechWarrior rank (a sergeant leads a squad or tank in todays world, so makes sense for single mech)

SERGEANT FIRST CLASS, first leadership rank, leads a section (two mech team)

MASTER SERGEANT, experienced section leader

LIEUTENANT, first officer rank, leads a lance

CAPTAIN, more senior officer rank, currently the most senior rank in the unit

Special command positions:

Commanding Officer, special company command staff position, responsible for ensuring the unit accomplishes its mission and is combat ready at all times, commands the unit

Executive Officer (XO), special company command staff position, assists the CO in running the unit, second in command of the unit

First Sergeant (1SG), special company command staff position, typically the most experienced enlisted person in the unit, usually responsible for beans, bullets, and personnel

Master Gunner, special company command staff position, an elite MechWarrior that is responsible for training the rest of the company in gunnery and tactics

These positions are elected or appointed, exact methods yet TBD.


A typical lance will look like this:

LIEUTENANT Lance commander and first section leader
RECRUIT, MECHWARRIOR, or SERGEANT as first section wing
SERGEANT FIRST CLASS or MASTER SERGEANT second section leader, second in command of lance
RECRUIT, MECHWARRIOR, or SERGEANT as second section wing

There are two typical lances in a company along with the command lance, which looks like this:

CO typically MAJOR or CAPTAIN, Company commander, command lance leader, command lance first section leader
XO typically LIEUTENANT or CAPTAIN, second in command of company, communications officer, command lance first section wing
FIRST SERGEANT typically at least SERGEANT FIRST CLASS, Company senior enlisted, third in command of company, company logistics coordinator, command lance second section leader
MASTER GUNNER typically at least SERGEANT, elite MechWarrior, command lance second section wing

[Hammer]

sometimes people may have more senior ranks than their positions. we can discuss and decide how to deal with that as necessary. we also need to decide some rules to assign ranks to everyone right now. for now I have assigned everyone as a SERGEANT except myself which is unit owner (we can decide what do do with this position later, ultimately this rank should probably be the CO, XO, or 1SG as it is mostly for admin purposes). I will suggest XO.

in Battletech the lowest merc unit commanders seemed to be Majors, so we could create that rank and that person can be the unit CO.

we can add more higher level ranks if/as the unit grows. right now I think we fit into a company sized unit well with some room to grow (picky as we are and should be).

[BlackHawk*K]

sounds good Hammer. i agree, i dont see a real push at this point in time for assigning ranks or leadership really. maybe if/when we start pulling in more players then it may become an issue. thanks for getting the rank structure setup for us. i may not be overly useful now, but i am hoping the near future it will be useful and besides, you were the right man for the job <S>!

[976PAIN]

Looks very cool to me, but could I be designated as His Divine Exaltedness? =) Seriously, that is lookin good Hammer.

[BlackHawk*K]

i thought you wanted to be the divine fabulousness?

[VEGETA]

I like the MASTER GUNNER rank

[Hammer]

well then, you have to play (!) and be really good and be appointed or elected. note it is a position, not a rank!

but at least we hear from you once in a while. you are not totally lost Veg!

[VEGETA]

Ya well we will see what happens. See if I can get more gaming time in. Well actually some time in lol.

[Buffalo Six]

well now that i turned the internet and cable i might get back in the cockpit soon, got to get thru the next couple of cooks and the American Royal 1st weekend of oct. nothing like a 570+ team BBQ cook off

[Hammer]

cool Buff, be good to see you around again.

[BlackHawk*K]

i agree with Hammer, would be great to see you again in the cockpit Buff!

[Slamhammer]

Yes Buff come back..... need more Buff...in my best christopher walkin voice.....

[Hammer]

what are YOU talking about? need more slam too!

[Bronurstomp]

You can rank me a Sergeant or what ever. Are we going to set limits on mechs based on rank? If so I should be ranked just high enough to pilot an assault.
I've bought a set of Dire's with Cbills and I think my favorite is a 4UAC5, 4 Medlaser build. Typically I get 450-800 damage and at least 1 kill per match so far. I tried 3 UAC10s, but it runs out of ammo too fast, and overheats like crazy, and with only room for small lasers, it doesn't hit as hard or as long as the 4UAC5 build.
Hondo mentioned the AC5 range extender module was worth getting, but I think a targeting computer works well enough.

[Hammer]

no, I do not believe ranks would equate what mech class you pilot.

everyone that was in gdl, elh are sergeants right now.

I do not yet think we have a need to further address this, but perhaps soon with the growth of our unit. right now we need ideas on how to rank people in the unit to start with.

[Bronurstomp]

I see there are 16 people in our unit HMM. Nice!