General Army Promotion Rates

[Enoki]

The USN also had enlisted pilots pre-WW 2, and the Japanese used enlisted pilots throughout WW 2, with their squadrons being mostly enlisted with just a few officers flying as the leadership.

So, this varies by nation and could vary similarly in the Travellervese

 

[Condottiere]

An example might be Age of Sail ship crews, where you have a clear separation between the specialists, and the commissioned officers.

With the introduction of steam engines and more sophisticated ship systems, and the need for retention, you had to have a career path mapped out.

 

[Enoki]

An example might be Age of Sail ship crews, where you have a clear separation between the specialists, and the commissioned officers.

With the introduction of steam engines and more sophisticated ship systems, and the need for retention, you had to have a career path mapped out.

That's an interesting point, and one that might well be usable in Traveller. For example, the difference between "Line" officers (ones who were eligible to command ships) and "Engineering" officers in the Imperial German Navy (circa WW 1) was stark.
Engineering officers were not allowed to participate in most official affairs officers attended. They were in some cases barred from using the officer's clubs and other amenities afforded Line officers.
The German Navy considered them specialists who were granted the position of officer just for pay and supervisory reasons but were not really 'true' officers like those of the Line.

On sailing ships this was also true where you had specialists like a Sailing Master (advised the Captain on what sail to set in what conditions), Navigator, and other skilled Masters who were not officers but given some privileges of officers.

 

[kilemall]

A couple of mechanisms to consider putting in-


Enlisted Rank Career
if a character fails commissioning, the promotion roll is still rolled. The character has been promoted on an enlisted track into NCO/WO ranks and earns an extra skill roll as though it were an officer promotion.

The rank is tracked as E-1-E-6 instead of R1-R6 or O1-O6. The character gets extra benefit rolls as per enlisted rank, but not the +1 to the benefit table (officers only).

If the character succeeds in a commissioning roll, the extra benefit rolls accrued as enlisted are lost and now counted by officer rank as per normal. So beyond a certain point, a player may choose to consider staying with an enlisted career and skip commission tries.



Up and Out
If it is desirable to have a promote or leave culture to one or more of the services/careers, then for every term where a promotion has been denied, apply a -1 DM to the reenlist roll. The DM resets when a promotion has been awarded, and only begins again when the next denied promotion occurs.

It is strongly suggested that the enlisted rank rule be in play when using the up and out rule.

 

[Enoki]

An alternate to that would be if someone enlists (non-officer) and exceeds the intelligence, strength, etc., base number to do so by X amount they start at like E-3 or 4 instead of one and automatically get training for a chosen skill / job that matches what they exceed the base stat in for their first year of service.

So, if they have higher edu and intel they go into an engineering or technical role with base skills trained right off. If they are stronger, higher endurance, they get into like special forces / tougher combat skills jobs.

This would reflect that the service they joined wanted them to join because they were a desirable candidate and they got more training and an automatic promotion to reflect their better ability to perform the role they're assigned.

 

[whulorigan]

On sailing ships this was also true where you had specialists like a Sailing Master (advised the Captain on what sail to set in what conditions), Navigator, and other skilled Masters who were not officers but given some privileges of officers.

And it was from these specialist officers that the term "Warrant Officer" originally arose: They had been granted an office of authority by Royal Warrant, because their experience in their profession "warranted" a recognition of their abilities that officially raised them above other sailors when in military employment, while it was still considered inappropriate for them to be ranked with "gentlemen men-at-arms" who held their Office thru a Commission (often one that they had purchased with their own finances - i.e. a Captain-of-Men or his Lieutenant or an Ensign, all acting in military leadership roles).

I have often seen an odd parallel here with the Aslan and their division between Male Officers (Leaders/Fighters) and Female Officers (Technical and Staff specialists).

 

[Condottiere]

Basically, you have the sailing crew, and the combat company, which early on, would have consisted of archers and marines. Simplistically, the Crown authorizes an aristocrat, or a professional soldier, to raise a company of fighting men, and since that fighting will happen on water, the requisite vessel and crew are add ons.

I think that flag officers are now required to have a Masters or Doctorate in some related field, like International Relations, plus undergoing Staff and/or Command Schools.

 

[Condottiere]

Commanding officers need a generalist understanding of how things function, and how to get the best out of their men and equipment.

And then politics, office, legislative, public, interservice and international.

 

[aramis]

The USAF has always maintained that to fly an aircraft you had to be a commissioned officer. They have always struggled to keep flight officers for transport and utility aircraft. Most officer joining the USAF want to be fighter pilots.

Now with drones, they are having even more issues. Few pilots were willing to give up flying real aircraft and fly drones. They have grudgingly start allowing enlist personnel to fly some classes of drones. There is at least some consideration to bring back WO to be drone pilots.

Well, we know what the insignia would look like...

Sky Blue in place of Navy Blue or Marine Red.

Or, maybe they'd use the CAP warrant officer insignia... (Black LT-sized bar, with longitudinal gold lines, 1 per grade).

To answer why they'd consider it? There used to be a general rule that no unit was to engage without a commissioned officer present and supervising. The later third of the 20th C saw that go by the wayside in practice, with mere radio contact being sufficient. Officers have the political knowledge (in theory) to keep the bigger picture in mind. Drone pilots are making life and death decisions... With Warrants, you could have them making the fire/no-fire decisions within the standards set out in regs and tradition.

 

[Condottiere]

Ship captains/commanding officers, used to have an awful amount of responsibility and power, especially those in charge of warships, before the age of telecommunications, since they had the capability to commit their nations to war.

I vaguely recall prize ships were sent back under the auspices of available midshipmen.

 

[kilemall]

Ship captains/commanding officers, used to have an awful amount of responsibility and power, especially those in charge of warships, before the age of telecommunications, since they had the capability to commit their nations to war.

I vaguely recall prize ships were sent back under the auspices of available midshipmen.

A kind of built-in interest in following the middie's orders and take care with the ship- no intelligent sailor would care to damage or lose their share of the prize coming to them.

 

[Condottiere]

It was probably a matter of pragmatism.

A valuable prize probably rates the senior lieutenant, especially if it's an enemy warship more or less still combat capable, or a Spanish treasure ship.