Is there anything unique you do with the names of your ranks in your games? How do you usually organize your forces and divvy out assignments to officers?
Until recently, I stuck with standard US army and navy ranks but thought it would be better to make a few changes. I adopted the British rank of sub-commander to replace Lt. Commander (and sub-Lt. to replace 2nd Lt. but I don't model junior officers) and demoted commodore and and brigadier general (now just brigadier) out of flag ranks and into the most senior field officer ranks.
The most radical deviation was renaming the generals to make more sense. Now the lowest general is an LT. General, then a Captain General, then a Major General and finally a General.
The full roster for the Navy and the Army are:
Junior Officers
O-0: Midshipman / Cadet
O-1: Ensign / Lt.
O-2: Sub-LT. / 1st Lt.
Junior Officers I image are just counted as part of the regular crew, seeing as they aren't yet trusted with much responsibility. Tho I wish that certain parts like fire-controls, sensors and co-pilot positions needed to be staffed by a character so we can follow an officers career from the earliest stages. Ground HQs should have XO positions for the 1st Lt. to occupy (I only model down to the company level. I know some of you mad-lads model down the to fireteam...). Even if that were the case tho, I'd still exclude midshipmen/cadets from the roster seeing as they are probably just apprenticing on the ship or unit and have no real responsibilities.
Field Officers
O-3: Lt. / Captain
O-4: Sub-Commander / Major
O-5: Commander / Lt. Colonel
O-6: Captain / Colonel
O-7: Commodore / Brigadier
The types of formations Field Officers head are probably pretty obvious. Naval officers under Captain either command minor ships or serve as department heads. I wish that the size and amount of crewmen on a ship was taken more into account on civilian ships when the game decides what rank can command them. A 100,000 ton super-freighter or a million ton terraforming stations should have at least a Commander at the helm. Yes I know you can designate a senior CO but its not enough imo.
Lt. Colonels are in an awkward spot. Unlike all the other field ranks, they don't have any formation to lead since majors handle battalions and colonels handle regiments in my system. Ideally they'd serve in admin posts or as Regimental XO's but the game doesn't model that for ground forces. Hopefully they will someday. For now they can lead science expeditions and handle the logistics command for ad-hoc formations. Perhaps even lead Ranger/Marine Regiments which are smaller than normal.
The most radical change is the inclusion of Commodores and Brigadiers as lowly field officers. I made this change cuz I didn't like how those ranks never meshed well with the naming conventions of the other flag ranks, and I think the title of just Brigadier sounds cool.
Commodores are generally responsible for administrating an important sub-divisions of an admin commands (think CO of Grav Survey under the general Exploratory Command Department) or serve as Superintendents for naval academies scattered around the empire. They can also be in charge of a systems local defense composed of aging warships not needed at the front. They are also responsible for commanding 'Squadrons' of light ships.
Brigadiers are, naturally, in charge of brigades. They straddle the line between the permanent formations within and including a regiment and the ad-hoc formations from divisions on. Brigades are the preferred formation for responding to most ground threats and can either be kept together for a long time or dissolved as soon as the threat is neutralized as the situation warrants. I realize that Regiments are often considered the same level as Brigades, albeit weaker, but I like having both.
Flag Officers
O-8: Rear Admiral / Lt. General
O-9: Vice Admiral / Captain General
O-10: Admiral / Major General
O-11: Fleet Admiral / General
O-12: Admiral of the Navy / General of the Army
For ground officers, the division of responsibility should be clear to those familiar; Division, Corp, Army, Army Group, Head of the Army. These are just larger and larger armies as far as 4x is concerned, with one guy chilling at the top for role-play purposes.
For naval officers its a bit more difficult due to Admin Commands and the lack of a 'middle layer' between them and Task Force (TF) Commands. In my opinion, there should be an upgraded Super Flag Bridge that allows the commander to become the superior of all Flag Bridges in the same system. So if you have 3 TFs under Rear Admirals and 1 TF under a Vice Admiral with a Super Flag Bridge tm you can put the 3 RADM TF's under the VADM's command provided they are in the same system. This would help unify commands in battles where you have multiple separate TFs doing different jobs in a system. With that understood, I can explain how my flag officers would generally be deployed.
Rear Admirals would usually command smaller, specialized TFs that are mostly independent and homogenous called Divisions . These can include a Division of Beam Cruisers meant to soak enemy AMMs and get up close to the enemy or a Division of Missile Destroyers or a Light Carrier and its escorts.
Vice Admirals would command major independent TF's made up of a single Fleet Carrier, their escorts and a contingent of Marines. These 'Carrier Strike Forces' (CSFs) make up the backbone of the fleet and are meant to be flexible enough to respond to a variety of threats independently. Fleet Carriers have Super Flag Bridges installed and the VADM can commandeer Divisions and Squadrons to serve under them and assist in their operations.
Admirals command Battlegroups, which are composed of a collection of CSFs, Divisions, and Squadrons working all under the Admiral's direction. Compositions varies, but a Battlegroup will always have at least 1 CSF and an assortment of other formations to call upon. ADMs are the highest ranking naval officers you will find in the 'field' but usually stay at HQ unless the BG needs to be assembled. In that case, they are usually seen aboard specialized Command ships with sophisticated sensor equipment and a Super Flag Bridge to direct the various independent TFs. A Battlegroup is the largest formation you'll see fighting together. If it isn't something has gone terribly wrong...
...They can also serve as Superintendents to the most prestigious naval academies in the Empire.
Fleet Admirals command, well, Fleets. A numbered Fleet is a massive formation made up of multiple Battlegroups and in some cases even have their own logistics commands which they direct either from Earth or the capital of the Sector they are tasked with defending. Fleets encompass entire theaters of warfare across multiple systems and are meant to be more or less self-sufficient. If an entire Fleet is deployed to a single system, something has either gone very right or very, very wrong. FADM's have a very very high level of autonomy, leading to some to question whether these seemingly loyal servants of the government are actually warlords in their own right with their own fiefdoms. These are obviously alarmist views held by a minority of antigovernment malcontents. Obviously...
And finally there's the head-hancho, ADNY themselves, the Admiral of the Navy. Truth be told they don't do much. Its more of a victory lap for a Fleet Admiral to flex on their colleagues by showing off how much more pull they have with the current administration. While in theory they are supposed to coordinate all of the Navy's efforts, control rests ultimately with the Fleet Admirals in practice. The Navy is just too large for one person to have complete command of, especially an individual pushing 250 and undergoing their third rejuvant treatment.
