OT: BSG - command structure

[gregebowman]

Something has always puzzled me about Battlestar Galactica. Why is a colonel even in the cdc, let alone second in command? Maybe Glen Larson wasn't in the military and just thought it sounded good. I don't know about his backgroud. But now Lee is a major, and if they were following the navy protocols I thought they were, he should be a Lt. Commander, not a major. That would make it an equivalent of an Air Force rank, not naval. So does anybody know how they are determining rank in BSG? Just pull it out of a hat or something?

[Atrocities]

They are aliens, they have different command structure from us Earth Humans.

[Arkcon]

I dunno, Colonel Tigh was always on the bridge of the Galactica in TOS, so maybe it was a homage?

[Xrati]

No wonder they lost the fracking war!!!

[AMF]

Actually, I think this was discussed a while back, maybe years ago. I recall making the point that it was clear to me at least that they had to have some sort of integrated structure that merged two services (at least). Similar to what you see maybe with an expeiditoinary strike group today in the US Navy, where they have high ranking Marines in the command structure or even as the head honcho. I mean, it makes a bit of sense, Tigh is clearly a Marine, and the rest are clearly Naval officers.

At least, that's what I thought until last season, when, as you mentioned, they started mixing up Marine and Naval ranks all over the place.

So...my guess is they lost their military liason who used to tell them what was what.

Oh well, still a great show.

[Arkcon]

AMF said:
So...my guess is they lost their military liason who used to tell them what was what.

Oh well, still a great show.

Yeah, that was always my take on it, a tiny amount of 12 planets worth of population survives, and the best military expertises left is one captain and one colonel. Heck, their president is the former Secretary of Education. Could they lay it on any thicker in what poor shape their civilization is?

There was once a suggestion for SE4, that as you lost too many battles and planets, you would begin to lose technology, yes even the colonization tech you started with, to model the collapse of your society under the onslaught of constant warfare.

[Slick]

There was once a suggestion for SE4, that as you lost too many battles and planets, you would begin to lose technology, yes even the colonization tech you started with, to model the collapse of your society under the onslaught of constant warfare.

I guess you would have to deconstruct & analyze one of your own Colony Ships to get the colonization tech back ???

[oli_chose123]

would be interesting to lose a technology when it isn't used at all. You would lose your colony tech if you had no colony ship remaining.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

oli_chose123 said:
would be interesting to lose a technology when it isn't used at all. You would lose your colony tech if you had no colony ship remaining.

I like that mod idea.

[AMF]

Oh, well, I meant that I think the BSG producers must have lost their military advisor type person. But, that's a good point. Maybe the lack of manpower and skilled personnel led to a need to create ad hoc command structures in the wake of the cylon attack, and eventually these ad hoc structures just become ingrained.

Arkcon said:
AMF said:
So...my guess is they lost their military liason who used to tell them what was what.

Oh well, still a great show.

Yeah, that was always my take on it, a tiny amount of 12 planets worth of population survives, and the best military expertises left is one captain and one colonel. Heck, their president is the former Secretary of Education. Could they lay it on any thicker in what poor shape their civilization is?

There was once a suggestion for SE4, that as you lost too many battles and planets, you would begin to lose technology, yes even the colonization tech you started with, to model the collapse of your society under the onslaught of constant warfare.