Today I complain about naval / space fleet officer characters in Disco and how some of these portrayals make me cringe. I am not calling anyone out.
In no particular order,
"Muh most elite and skilled legendary officer" - OK well firstly, incompetent / flawed characters are very interesting so let's see more of them. Secondly, it's easy to talk about skill and merit but ultimately it's meaningless until that capacity is actually demonstrated. And is it just skill? What about leadership? Both military aptitude and leadership are things that need to be studied, honed, and developed over the course of a whole career.
"Officers on a ship acting like it's high school" - OK so I'm going to use the term "officer's mess" to refer to all the officers on a ship (caps) from now on. The captain knows the officer's mess. Yes there can definitely be drama and intrigue and friendship within the officer's mess, but beyond all of that, a proper hierarchy of order is the goal to maintain. It is a community of people who are professionals. The people part is important but so is the professional part. Nobody became a division officer on a ship by being a brooding emo punk. And the captain didn't become a captain by winning the student body elections or the talent show. The more responsibility someone has in their station, the more likely they were to demonstrate coolness and aptitude. Ideally. And a non-ideal, flawed command climate is a really fun idea for a setting too!
"A FATHER TO HIS MEN WHO DOESN'T TOLERATE COWARDS" - Fraternization is against the rules for a reason. A naval leader's purpose is to empower their peers and subordinates to carry out their duties as effectively as possible and see to it that their needs are met. Yes, a huge factor of this is caring for your people. Another huge factor is maintaining control of your people and professional distance. And for the 350000th time yes, intentionally subverting this to demonstrate poor/developing/immature leadership in a character is a great idea. But to subvert a norm it has to be clear what the norm is, first.
Oh yeah, and the "doesn't tolerate cowards" part. Cowardice is already against the rules. You can get kicked out of the military for it. Nobody is a superhero because they told a coward they were lame.
"UNSTOPPABLE SUPERWARRIOR WHO SLEEPS ONE HOUR A NIGHT AND TRAINS JUDO NONSTOP COMMANDO GOD" - We talk a lot about striking the balance. A good officer is well-rounded and takes care of themselves. Sticking to an unhealthy sleep regime out of "toughness" is just dumb. It lowers work efficiency and increases the risk that fatal mistakes will be made. The leader who is best able to make good decisions has a healthy life outside of work and exercises and sleeps well. They are well-rounded and shouldn't be "one-track mind commando" dullards who collapse in anything not directly related to their job. People have interests and other studies. For example, Jotaro Kujo is a marine biologist. It barely ever comes up w.r.t. his job as the most powerful stand user in za warudo, but it's an interest of his that he studies and indulges in healthy moderation.
"HE DRILLS THE TROOPS RELENTLESSLY BUT THEY LOVE HIM" - Here's a more accurate response from the troops, "oh god who scheduled two hours of CO time after the working day? I haven't seen my infant son awake in three months." Yes training is good. But who needs the same trainings? The hull maintainers, fire controlmen, enginemen, hospitalmen, supply clerks, chefs, water systems technicians, first lieutenant's division, the helm, navigator, gunners? Battle drills require everyone. But rest is also important. And so is recognizing a job well done with time off. Maybe certain divisions or sections need to do extra trainings? Perhaps instead of "BUH GAWD HE MAKES THEM TRAIN 3000 HOURS A DAY" it's something along the lines of the officer character checking on a specific part of the ship himself, investigating why the maintenance is always being gundecked and what needs to be solved to improve the command climate?
As a final thought, a great mentor of mine (if I could call him a mentor) once described his thoughts on leadership as being four pillars which support a leader. I keep those four pillars in my calendar so I can see them every day.
End state - Knowing what end state you want to create with what you do. Leadership should have a goal, whether concrete and small (100% advancement for my PO2 promotables) or larger and more nebulous (increase efficiency with our annual trainings).
Empathy - Knowing and understanding your people and being able to step into their perspectives.
Communication - Getting ideas to and from people with minimal error. So many problems are a result of miscommunication. For example, the Vincennes shot down an Iranian airliner in the Persian Gulf. In the CIC moments before the shootdown, a radar operator announced "COMAIR!" indicating a commercial aircraft. The CO raised his palm up. Was he dismissing him? Was he acknowledging what he heard? The operator never pressed the CO. Poor communication!
Learning / Physical / Social / Spiritual - Balancing intellectual curiosity, fitness, social life, and spiritual/philosophical centering to create a well rounded person.
I have no summary because I have no point or thesis. If you read this far I am sorry. Bye.
(12-28-2018, 11:44 AM)SnakThree Wrote: Arrogant and overconfident characters are flawed in a way already. Annoying, surely, but hey, we need all sorts of flavours out there.
But the problem is they're played straight as if they aren't flaws. Lolita would not have been a very good book if Nabokov wrote as though pedophilia was totally OK.
This is a good thread. Approved by Thunderer's Small Advisory Council for Drama and Role-Play. (small because it's made up of 1 person)
PS: Though please have some understanding for the people who've never been in the military and only learn from books, movies or the internet. I think I am one of those, but I am trying my best and tend to consult with the people who did serve a military.
Good thread. I grow inside military environment and every time when i RP with somebody, its often take some time to tell, how this things looks wrong. You pretty good summarise part of it.
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Good post. I still serve in the Army National Guard and see some leaders like this. Fortunately, they don't last long.
Quote:And generals do not fly in front line combat units
Some do. They're called fighting commanders and they're fewer and further between. George Patton was a great example of this as was Douglas MacArthur.
My battalion commander during Desert Storm was as well......in an Apache helicopter.
(12-28-2018, 11:44 AM)SnakThree Wrote: Arrogant and overconfident characters are flawed in a way already. Annoying, surely, but hey, we need all sorts of flavours out there.
Agreed. It's good having flawed characters. All I can really see in OPs post are different flavours of characters, granted people making themsleves Mary Sues does need to stop.
I think the most jarring thing is military faction leaders not being capable in pvp, in regards to either skill or having good battle strategy.
Core leaders go to the front line to fight because they're not pussies. Dolor transit, Gloria aeterna est.