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IN & IM ranks and ratings insigns...

V

vermeylenhans

SOC-11
Here is how I see them... Based on the following facts and guesses...

1) There are few things more canon in the Traveller universe than the very names of the various services ranks and ratings.

2) Those used by the IN are obviously inspirated by USN ones. In-game reasons why they came to be used by the IN is not the subject of this topic but would be interresting to figure out.

3) A quiet natural hypothesis is that not only the names, but also a insigns (or at least a variant of them) are used.

4) IN flag is gold on black.

5) According to GT:GF, IM wear (with the notable exception of their marroon full dress) variants of the IN uniform.

6) Seems quite logical that IM then use variant of the IN insigns too.

7) IM flag is marroon on black.

Based on those seven points:

ec13.jpg

IN (left) and IM (right) officers ranks, from 01 (top) to 06 (bottom)

f2cf.jpg

IN ratings, from E4 (top left) to E9 (bottom right) and MCPO of the Navy (bottom left).

Note that ratings from E4 to E6 are Gunnery Mates - Missiles, while those from E7 to E9 are Gunnery Mates (from E7 and up they're proficient in both misilles and beams).

Now, there is room for improvment (as an old CO used to say about everyone but him). I'm not too found of the 'magic wand' look of the laser beam, nor am I too happy with the missiles that look too TL7-ish for me... And of course all other specialities are still to be drawn. For some (most) I can't just take them over from USN: the feather used for admin seems weird in a TL12 paperless navy... The naval anchor is out of character on a spaceship... Got my point?

So, what do you think?
 
Though I still can't see the pics, it should be remembered that tradition plays a huge role in all military services, so it's not that unexpected that an anchor would appear somewhere in naval rank insignia, in order to establish an unbroken link through thousands of years of history. Oftentimes, when the situation is desperate, the only thing that keeps soldiers (and sailors and airmen) at their posts is the weight of tradition.
 
Most of that stuff is based on tradition lasted for god knows how long.

I personally prefer to use more "British" ranks and rates it is an Imperial Navy after all and my mind works better with Colour rather than Gunnery Sergeants.
 
Your choice. As I said I used US ones because those names were used in the small CT booklet over IN.

The point of the topic is not to start once over again the whole 'wich ranks are you using'/'I personaly prefer a mix of Israelian NCOs with Kriegsmarine officers and Soviet Air-Force generals' discussion. But rather to show the insigns I've drawed (not sure that one isn't irregular), and ask your advice about the graphics. And your ideas to improve them. If you don't like them, or don't like the hypothesis on wich they're designed, no problem. But I do, and I think I'll keep going that way.
 
Working now.

IMTU the Second Imperium insignia were almost identical to traditional RN/USN ones. 3I started off similar, but changed a bit over the centuries. After the Rim War the Solomani went back to the original ones.
 
I'm not sure if it is canon or something someone came up with for their IMTU, but I know I've read somewhere that around the time of the Solomani Rim War (just prior to it I think) the Emperor ordered the Imperial armed forces to change its insignia in an effort to remove its similarities to Solomani insignia.

If one uses this in one's game, I've always assumed it would primarily affect the insignia used and maybe the names and appearance of medals and decorations rather than actually making significant changes in the rank titles or structure.

I would think that if it changed the rank titles/structure to significantly any perceived benefit in removing the association with the enemy would be outweighed by the potential for mass confusion within your own service. Though I suppose this could be when the IM ranks got changed so that they no longer match army ranks.

I could also see the insignia shifting back to toward their original form in the years after the Rim War so as to be heavily influenced by Earth insignia again by the time of CT/MT/TNE.
 
About the 'remove any similarities with the Solomani insigns' thing:

I can understand that when two armies with similar uniforms fight eachother they try to avoid confusion. Even going as far as changing uniform or camo patern. For exemple, when Luxembourg units were engaged in former-Yougoslavia they wore Belgian slopes because their camo patern was too similar too the Serbish one.

But I don't really see the point of changing the ranks insigns... This would add much confusion. Certainly at the eve of a major war.
 
Originally posted by Hans Vermeylen:
About the 'remove any similarities with the Solomani insigns' thing:

I can understand that when two armies with similar uniforms fight eachother they try to avoid confusion. Even going as far as changing uniform or camo patern. For exemple, when Luxembourg units were engaged in former-Yougoslavia they wore Belgian slopes because their camo patern was too similar too the Serbish one.

But I don't really see the point of changing the ranks insigns... This would add much confusion. Certainly at the eve of a major war.
Click to expand...
Yeah...I had kinda wondered about it myself. I've looked around for a few minutes to see if I could find where I read that, but haven't had much success.

My recollection is that it was more of a political propaganda thing that something as simple as avoiding the same camo patterns. Heck, if this happens IMTU I'll probably have it be one of several factors that contributed to the Imperium's poor performance during the first several years of the Rim War.
 
Originally posted by Hans Vermeylen:
About the 'remove any similarities with the Solomani insigns' thing:

I can understand that when two armies with similar uniforms fight eachother they try to avoid confusion. Even going as far as changing uniform or camo patern. For exemple, when Luxembourg units were engaged in former-Yougoslavia they wore Belgian slopes because their camo patern was too similar too the Serbish one.

But I don't really see the point of changing the ranks insigns... This would add much confusion. Certainly at the eve of a major war.
Click to expand...
There are real life examples of militaries doing exactly this, though not many, if any, on the eve of war. Canada changed its insignia when the forces were combined into a single service in the late 60s, for example. There was not military need for it, it was part of the political restructuring.

As for changing the insignia on the eve of the Rim War, it wouldn't be the first time that a ruler, especially one ruling something as vast as the Imperium, didn't truly appreciate the effects of his/her actions.
 
OK. Guess it's possible. But I'll wirk with one of those hypothesis:

1) It didn't happen.

2) It did, but the old insigns came back into use after the war.
 
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