Battle Rank Titles Explained

[Neutral Calypso]

Due to my boredom and the fact that I can't play the game for another 8 hours or thereabouts, I have decided to create a post explaining the origin of every Battle Rank-related title in the game.

FOR FUN AND PROFIT.

Starting with the Terran Republic:

With two exceptions, Terran Republic titles are based on U.S. military ranks.

Private: Army E-1 & E-2; Marine Corps E-1. The title Private ultimate derives from the term for rank and file soldiers in medieval times, when the nobility would raise "Private" armies. Hence, "Privates." The title continued to be used for the lowest-ranking troops even after the armies ceased to be private.

Private First Class: Army E-3; Marine Corps E-2

Specialist: Army E-4. Historically, the Army has used a rank system designed to promote soldiers with technical expertise without necessarily giving them any sort of command authority. The Army once had an entire parallel ranking system of Specialists ranging from E-4 to E-9. More recently, however every Specialist rank except for the E-4 level has been abolished.

Lance Corporal: Marine Corps E-3. The Lance half of this rank is derived from an old Italian rank called "lancepesade" or "broken lance." This was to signify that the holder of the rank was higher ranked than members of a "Lance" which is equivalent to a modern squad.

Corporal: Army E-4; Marine Corps E-4. Derived from Italian. "Head of a Body" denoting that Corporals have more authority than regular soldiers.

Sergeant: Army E-5; Marine Corps E-5. The term "Sergeant" is ultimate derived from a word meaning "to serve." This is probably related to how the military is often referred to as "the service."

Staff Sergeant: Army E-6; Marine Corps E-6; Air Force E-5. Derived from originally being the rank given to Sergeants who were members of royal regiment staff, and hence paid at that level.

Technical Sergeant: Air Force E-6. It is worth noting that during World War II this was also a rank in the Army and Marines. The Army replaced it with Sergeant First Class. The Marines expanded the rank Gunnery Sergeant to encompass it.

Sergeant First Class: Army E-7

Master Sergeant: Army E-8; Marine Corps E-8; Air Force E-7

First Sergeant: Army E-8; Marine Corps E-8; Air Force E-7, E-8, & E-9. A First Sergeant is usually the senior enlisted advisor of a unit.

Sergeant Major: Army E-9; Marine Corps E-9. Derived from the title of a 16th-century general officer; then used as the title of a mid-level officer; then finally around the 18th-century it took on its current status as a high ranking NCO.

Command Sergeant Major: Army E-9. A Command Sergeant Major is the highest-ranking enlisted person at a given command and answers directly to the commanding officer.

Warrant officer: Army W-1; Marine Corps W-1. In other countries, a Warrant Officer is designated by warrant rather than commission, hence the title. In Commonwealth countries, a Warrant Officer is typically given his warrant from being an enlisted man in the navy. In the U.S., Warrant Officers are more specifically technical specialists. The basic grade of Warrant Officer has been abolished from the Navy and Coast Guard, which only have Chief Warrant Officers. All Warrant Officer ranks have been abolished from the Air Force.

Second Lieutenant: Army O-1; Marine Corps O-1; Air Force O-1. The term Lieutenant is derived from a French term meaning "to hold a position (for a superior)." A Second Lieutenant typically commands a platoon.

First Lieutenant: Army O-2; Marine Corps O-2; Air Force O-2. It may be worth noting that the Navy uses the ranks of Lieutenant Junior Grade for O-2 and just plain Lieutenant for O-3. First Lieutenants typically either command platoons or serve as executive officers for companies.

Lieutenant Commander: Navy O-4. The title is derived from how historically Navy Lieutenants were sometimes put in command of smaller vessels.

Commander: Navy O-5. Historically termed "Master and Commander" this rank originally described a naval officer commanding medium-sized vessels.

Captain: Army O-3; Marine Corps O-3; Navy O-6; Air Force O-3. Derived from a word meaning "one who stands at the head of others." In the Army or Marine Corps, a Captain typically commands a company. In the Navy, a Captain typically commands a larger warship. It is worth noting that in the Navy any officer in command of a ship is titled Captain regardless of actual rank.

Major: Army O-4; Marine Corps O-4; Air Force O-4. Major is the lowest "field officer" rank, and typically serves as executive officer of a battalion.

Lieutenant Colonel: Army O-5; Marine Corps O-5; Air Force O-5. This rank typically commands a Battalion or serves as executive officer of a regiment.

Colonel: Army O-6; Marine Corps O-6; Air Force O-6. This rank typically commands a regiment.

Commissar: Not a military rank, but a political one. In certain states a Commissar may serve as a liaison between the political powers and the military powers. However, a Commissar typically answers to a political superior and not a military one. I personally think that PS2 was taking a nod from the Warhammer 40K universe with this one.

Major General: Army O-8; Marine Corps O-8; Air Force O-8. A Major General typically commands a division of 10,000-20,000 troops.

Lieutenant General: Army O-9; Marine Corps O-9; Air Force O-9. A Lieutenant General typically commands a corps of 3 divisions.

General: Army O-10; Marine Corps O-10; Air Force O-10. The term is derived from "Captain General" or, "Captain of the Army in General." Naturally the potentially confusing parts of the title were truncated leaving only General. A general can be presumed to command multiple corps.

Field Marshall: In some military systems, a Field Marshall is the overall commander of the entire army.


With TR down, let us move on to the New Conglomerate:

New Conglomerate ranks are very random and, in my opinion, quite bizarre if one assumes they are meant hierarchically.
For example, an NC Corporal is the equivalent rank to a TR Sergeant Major. Anyway, moving on, largely dictionary definitions of NC ranks:

Recruit: One who has freshly joined a military organization.
Cadet: A student at a military college who is typically going to become an officer on graduation.
Grunt: Slang term for infantrymen in the military.
Trooper: Traditionally this term refers to a cavalryman. More modernly, it typically refers to a state police officer.
Gunner: A serviceman who specializes in guns. Especially an artilleryman.
Guerilla: A member of an irregular armed force that typically engages in hit and run tactics.
Scout: One dispatched from the main body to gather intelligence.
Vigilante: One who takes enforcement of the law into his own hands.
Maverick: One who refuses to abide by the dictates of a group; a dissenter.
Serviceman: A member of the armed forces.
Guardsman: A person who acts as a guard or a member of a national guard.
Corporal: Army E-4; Marine Corps E-4. Derived from Italian, "head of a body." It is clear the NC prefer a more ancient usage of Corporal to the TR.
Cavalier: A gallant or chivalrous gentleman; a knight.
Commando: A member of a small fighting force which makes quick destructive raids against enemy-controlled territory.
Ranger: A member of an armed force who patrols a specific region.
Deputy: An assistant with the authority of his superior in the absence of his superior. I.E. Deputy Sheriff.
Ensign: Navy O-1. A military stadard (i.e. flag); Or one who carries it, the standard-bearer. It is worth noting that this was an army rank before it became a Navy rank.
Agent: One empowered to act for another; Or a representative of a government agency; or a spy.
Raider: One who mounts surprise attacks. It is interesting to note that this also has corporate meanings, such as one who lures away a competitor's employees.
Warden: Chief administrator of a prison; Or one who enforces certain laws or regulations
Overseer: One who directs laborers; a supervisor.
Sentinel: A guard.
Brigadier: In some militaries, the commander of a Brigade is not considered a General rank. Nevertheless, it is still equivalent to Brigadier General, which is O-7 in the U.S. Army, Marine Corps and Air Force.
Major General: Army O-8; Marine Corps O-8; Air Force O-8. A Major General typically commands a division of 10,000-20,000 troops.
Deputy Director: The assistant of the Director
Director General: Typically the highest ranking official in a corporate or (civilian) government organization.
Executor: One who carries out the will of another. Odds are the devs were thinking of the Executor from Starcraft when they assigned this as NC's highest rank.


Overall, the NC ranks give the impression of some kind of mildly military combination of mercenary, police, militia, and corporate entities.


And now, for the Vanu Sovereignty and their quasi-religious graeco-roman ranking system...

Initiate: One who has been newly admitted to membership.
Novus: Latin word meaning "new." May also be related to the word Novice.
Disciple: A follower and student of a mentor or teacher.
Aspirant: The lowest officer rank in some militaries.
Lictor: A special class of Roman civil servant, assigned as the bodyguards of magistrates.
Decanus: "Chief of 10" essentially a squad leader in the Roman army, equivalent to a Corporal or Sergeant in modern times. Worth noting that the word Dean is derived from it.
Preceptor: A teacher responsible for upholding certain traditions, such as paladin traditions or those of a masonic lodge.
Prefect: "One who has been put in charge." The exact meaning of this title could be low or high ranking, but it seems the VS prefers low-ranking Prefects.
Adept: One who has attained specific knowledge. The title is often used by cult-like organizations as a rank above Initiate.
Legionary: Roman Legionaries were professional soldiers, members of a Legion.
Adherent: A supporter of a cause or individual.
Operant: "A person or thing that operates" Undoubtedly, they were thinking of Operative when they came up with this title. May also be related to "operant conditioning" from psychology.
Venator: A type of non-fighting gladiator that specialized in hunting or taming animals.
Arcanus: Latin term meaning hidden, secret, or private; but the most likely definition intended here is: trustworthy.
Justicar: A judge.
Ascendant: The state of being in control; Also has astrological meanings and can be another term for "ancestor."
Primus: Latin for First. Can refer to certain types of bishop in some religions.
Centurion: In the Roman Legions, a Centurion was the commander of 100 legionaries.
Signifer: A standard-bearer.
Castellan: The governor of a castle.
Immortal: In addition to the obvious meaning, Immortal was a term used for certain elite forces of the Persian Empire and two elite unites of the Byzantine Empire.
Legate: Commander of a legion in the Roman Empire. Equivalent to a General rank.
Archon: Greek term meaning "ruler."
Praetor: Either the overall commander of an army, or another kind of Roman magistrate.
Harbinger: This title either has some sort of prophetic implications, or is related to Herald, an officer of arms sent as messengers for a king.
Primarch: Judging from word structure, I would presume it means First Archon, but when looking up this word I simply get deluged in Warhammer 40K references.
Paragon: A model of excellence or perfection.


And there you have it! Quite frankly, the inclusion of Commissar for TR and Primarch for VS leads me to believe that somebody on the dev team likes 40K a teensy bit too much, but at any rate, there are the overall meanings of the various rank titles for each faction. I hope you have found it edifying.

[capiqu]

Since all I play is TR I didn't know each faction had different rank titles. Yes it is nice to know. Don't know who came up with this but its cool. Thanks .

[MaxDamage]

Most of these ranks are based on British ranks or British English interpretations of European (French/Spanish) words. I don't see much that particularly sets them out as US specific aside from a couple of minor variations - just general English language ranks.

I like the choices for the Vanu Sovereignty.

[Neutral Calypso]

It is true that the U.S. and the U.K. use similar ranks, however looking up the U.K. enlisted army ranks we have...

Private, Lance Corporal/Bombardier, Corporal/Bombardier, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Colour Sergeant, Warrant Officer Class Two, Warrant Officer Class One.

No PFC, no Sergeant First Class, no Technical Sergeant, no Sergeant Major... etc.

Whereas, as I mentioned the only two rank titles which are not in use in the U.S. which the TR use are Commissar and Field Marshal. The latter is the highest rank in the British Army, equivalent to a U.S. General of the Army.

Interesting bit of history, the U.S. mulled over what title to give their 5-star rank when they were inventing it, but I think they made it General of the Army instead of Field Marshal because the person they were promoting was named Marshall so they didn't want to call him Marshal Marshall. :P

I attribute the Commissar rank to a Warhammer 40K junkie on the dev team. I attribute the Field Marshal rank because it sounds so much cooler than bland "General of the Army."

[LoliLoveFart]

I'm fairly sure the VS ranks have something to do with roman titles, haven't done the research though.
Good work though man.

[Ghoest9]

"Commando" is the greatest title ever.

[SeraphC]

Unlike Ghoest9 above me here I'm kind of disappointed in the NC titles. It feels like they did them last, had no inspiration at all on how to structure ranks within what is supposed to be a corporate military (right?!) and just threw in some words they thought sounded cool.

[Canaris]

Commissar Canaris, I like the sound of that almost ominous

[OCNSethy]

Thanks for this interesting post. Nice work.

[Sir fraggington]

It would have made sense if the top rank of the nc was CEO or something similar.

[Ghoest9]

Originally Posted by SeraphC

Unlike Ghoest9 above me here I'm kind of disappointed in the NC titles. It feels like they did them last, had no inspiration at all on how to structure ranks within what is supposed to be a corporate military (right?!) and just threw in some words they thought sounded cool.

Oh I pretty much agree with you. It sounds like like a 12 year old made the list.
I just think the "Commando" title is excellent.

[Sunrock]

Originally Posted by LoliLoveFart

I'm fairly sure the VS ranks have something to do with roman titles, haven't done the research though.
Good work though man.

Only two... Prefectus and Primus are Roman army ranks...

[belch]

Nice, Calypso...the only thing I had heartburn with was:

Originally Posted by Neutral Calypso

Trooper: Traditionally this term refers to a cavalryman. More modernly, it typically refers to a state police officer.

And paratroopers.

[Neutral Calypso]

Generally one does not assume that a trooper is a paratrooper unless the prefix para is thrown in there somewhere.

[belch]

Originally Posted by Neutral Calypso

Generally one does not assume that a trooper is a paratrooper unless the prefix para is thrown in there somewhere.

trust me...in the 82nd when you hear "troopers", it is always a reference to paratroopers...not the Cav or the local State Troopers.