Need some military lingo

efreysson

Closer than ever
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
1,618
Reaction score
101
Location
Iceland
In my space opera WIP I have an ex-soldier being asked what military structure he belonged to, and I want him to answer in detail.
"X, part of Y, part of Z..." ending in the national military he was a part of.

How is this kind of designation (?) structured?
 

cmhbob

Did...did I do that?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
5,744
Reaction score
4,845
Location
Green Country
Website
www.bobmuellerwriter.com
It's going to vary somewhat based on the type of forces.

I was in the US Army for a while. I was assigned to D (Delta) Battery, 6th Battalion, 52d Air Defense Regiment. We were part of the 69th Air Defense Brigade, which was one of several brigades and commands under the 32d Army Air Defense Command in Europe. If someone asked my my unit, I'd say "Delta, 6-52 ADA."

Someone in an infantry company might be assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment, and answer "Charlie, 1-61 Infantry."

Someone in a force structured like the US Marine Corps would answer differently. The Navy and Air Force would also answer differently.

What does your military force look like?
 

efreysson

Closer than ever
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
1,618
Reaction score
101
Location
Iceland
What does your military force look like?

Well, I have to admit I don't intend to feature the military in a direct role, so I haven't created a detailed structure. But the soldier in question was part of a special battalion using experimental science. It was part of the armed forces of an entire planet (split into several nations but with a unified military to fight a space war), and its main purpose was to be transferred about quickly and making sharp strikes in urban areas.

Does that help?
 

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
VPX
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
25,582
Reaction score
3,785
Location
New Hampshire
Website
madhousemanor.wordpress.com
In the Navy you have an administrative and an operational chain of command.

On the operational side, a ship may be attached ad hoc to one or another Task Force or Task Group. When the specific task is done, the ship is operationally re-assigned to some other TF or TG.

On the administrative side, where training and maintenance takes place, a ship may be in one chain of command for years. For example, at one time I was assigned to USS Hawkins, DD-873. She was part of DESRON 30 (DESRON = Destroyer Squadron), which was part of CRUDESGRU 8 (CRUDESGRU = Cruiser/Destroyer Group). CRUDESGRU 8 came under the administrative and operational command of Second Fleet (East coast of the US from North Pole to Caribbean, and to mid-point of Atlantic (half-way to Europe).

Which isn't to say that anyone would identify with any of those organizations above the ship level (unless they were a squad dog). While I might say that I was assigned to the Hawk (which I was), and I might say I was in Desron 30 because destroyers in the same squadron frequently operated together, that's about as high as anyone would usually take the chain of command when discussing an assignment. The folks higher on the chain made sure you had bullets and beans and bunker, but other than that their existence was of little importance, and might as well be mythical, to the folks on the deck plates.
 

cmhbob

Did...did I do that?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
5,744
Reaction score
4,845
Location
Green Country
Website
www.bobmuellerwriter.com
If he was in a special unit (and the stuff was secret at all), he might just name the highest command possible, like "I was part of the security staff for the 3d Planetary Defense Brigade."

"Oh yeah? What did you do there?"

"Security."
 

Trebor1415

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
653
Reaction score
82
Location
Michigan
Who is asking and in what context?

While he can identify himself down to the platoon (or similar unit in another service) in many circumstances there would be no reason to do so.

If a civilian asks, as a general interest question, he could ID himself with the type of unit he was in (Space Navy, Army, Colonial Marines, whatever) or could id himself with the overall unit they might have heard of. "I was in the Fifth Spaceborne Infantry" (or whatever).

Unless they understand the military there's no real reason to ID himself in any more detail.

Now, talking to another military person he might get more detailed, especially if they are comparing notes as to where they served, who they served with, etc. Then you'd get into: Overall command, subunit, subunit, down to whatever level is needed. But, as a general rule, he wouldn't get into that much detail unless there is a reason. (Like, which Platoon or Company he was in, unless they want to know if he knows someone in that Company)
 

Bolero

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
1,080
Reaction score
106
Location
UK
And if he is in something that was high security like the SAS, he probably wouldn't say, but would have a much more general answer.
 

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
3,539
Reaction score
429
Location
Floral City, FL
Well, I have to admit I don't intend to feature the military in a direct role, so I haven't created a detailed structure.

If you don't have a military structure, how could you expect a character to provide theirs and another character to understand what was said? :)

Okay, it's a space opera. Steal a military structure from whatever military you like. It doesn't exist yet, but it will likely be based on an organization of the past. Depending on your needs, it could be as complex as him replying "I was in delta squad, fifth company, third ranger battalion, on loan to baker group of the ninth invasion force." Or as simple as "I served under Bob Taggart's command."

Jeff