Royal Caledon Navy Officer Ranks and Titles
Overview[edit]
The officer corps of the Royal Caledonian Navy is incredibly competitive, subject to several stages of ruthless weeding-out. The goal is to create ship and fleet commanders who are peerless combat leaders.
Entry: Graduates of the Royal Caledonian Naval Academy start at age 21 at the rank of "O1".
Ranks[edit]
Ranks in the Royal Caledonian Navy fall into three broad bands:
- Junior Officers -
- Command Officers -
- Flag Officers -
Junior Officers[edit]
All graduates of the Naval Academy start as O1 "Ensigns". The end of the first term is a major pass-fail point; ensigns who don't show the capacity to be combat leaders are shunted into the Warrant Officer corps, to serve the rest their careers as technical specialists.
The years spent as a Sublieutenant and Lieutenant are basically training for becoming a commander - the next step to which is being promoted to "First Lieutenant" (O4) rank, serving as the second-in-command of a ship . This is the next major pass-fail point; showing great aptitude as a leader of men in combat is non-negotiable for advancing to command rank. It is possible for an officer to spend decades as a Lieutenant without advancing to command rank or being shunted into staff work.
- O1 - Ensign
- O2 - Sub-Lt
- O3 - Lt
- O4 - First Lt
Command Officers[edit]
These officers command ships - from smaller warships and auxiliaries as a Lieutenant Commanding (O5), to Battleships as a Captain of the Line (O8). Command Officers are to a person intelligently aggressive, and masters of the art and craft of space warfare. This is true even of officers commanding auxiliaries - transports, tankers, repair and depot ships and the like; their commanders are expected to be knowledgeable about starship combat, so as to be best able to support fleet operations under fire.
- O5 - Lieutenant Commanding*
- O6 - Corvette Captain
- O7 - Frigate Captain
- O8 - Captain of the Line
Flag Officers[edit]
These officers command the Navy's Task Forces, Stations, and the Navy itself.
- O9 - Rear Admiral
- O10 - Vice Admiral
- O11 - Admiral
- O12 - Admiral of the Fleet
Staff Officers[edit]
Officers above the rank of O3 who "fall off the command track" move into Staff billets. Their separate career progression is noted below.
Promotion[edit]
Referee's Note - To account for different game and dice systems, a fairly abstract promotions system is provided here.
It involves adding a character's Intelligence, Leadership, and either Ship Tactics (O6 or below) or Fleet Tactics (O7 and above) ratings, and rolling against the result.
- Outstanding Success is 1/4 or less of the number arrived at above
- High Success is 1/2 or less of the number above.
- Success is less than the number arrived at above
- Failureis greater than the number arrived at.
Note that the number will change as the officer gets additional Ship/Fleet Tactics and Leadership skill levels through his/her career.
| Character Rank | Roll vs. Leaderhip + Intelligence +... | Outstanding Success | High Success | Success | Failure | Notes | |
| O1 - Ensign | NA | Promotion to O3 | Promotion to O2 | Promotion to O2 | Switch to Warrant Officer at rank WO1 | It's not supposed to be easy to get past this point! | |
| O2 - Sublieutenant | Ship Tactics | Promoted to O4 | Promoted O3 | Promoted to O3 | Remain at O2 | - | |
| O3 - Lieutenant | Ship Tactics | Promoted to O4 | Promoted to O4 | Remain at O3 | Move to Staff (at current O-level rank) | - | |
| O4 - First Lieutenant | Ship Tactics | Promoted to O5 | Remain at O4 | Remain at O4 | Move to Staff (at current O-level rank) | See First Lieutenant notes below. Subtract one from the die roll for each term after the first full term as an O4. A "First Lieutenant" is always the second-in-command of an RCN vessel | |
| O5 - Lieutenant Commanding | Ship Tactics | Promoted to O7 | Promoted to O6 | Remain at O5 | Move to Staff (at current O-level rank) | Character commands a sloop or small auxiliary (<1,200 tons) | |
| O6 - Corvette Captain | Ship Tactics | Promoted to O8 | Promoted to O7 | Move to Staff (at current O-level rank) | Move to Staff (at current O-level rank) | Character commands a Destroyer, Corvette, Surveillance Ship or AXL or other auxiliary <5,000 tons | |
| O7 - Frigate Captain | Ship Tactics | Promoted to O9 | Promoted to O8 | Move to Staff (at current O-level rank() | Retire from service | Commands Frigate, Monitor, AXH or major auxiliary, or a squadron of Destroyers or Corvettes | |
| O8 - Capitain of the Line | Fleet Tactics | Promoted to O9 | Remain at O8 | Move to Staff (at current O-level rank) | Retire from service | Character commands a battleship, carrier, or a squadron of Frigates/Auxiliaries. | |
| O9 - Rear Admiral | Fleet Tactics | Promoted to O10 | Remain at O9 | Retire from service | Retire from service | Character commands a RCN Task Force | |
| O10 - Vice Admiral | Fleet Tactics | Promoted to O11 | Remain at O10 | Retire from service | Retire from service | Character commands an RCN Station / Fleet | |
| O11 - Admiral | Fleet Tactics | Promoted to O12 | Retire from service | Retire from Service | Retire from service | Character is in effect the commander of the RCN; O12 is an honorific bestowed by the Parliament and Prince. |
'Note about First Lieutenants - the longer a First Lieutenant remains in grade, the larger the ship he/she is second in command.
- First term: Sloop, Destroyer, Corvette, Surveillance Ship, AXL
- Second Term: Frigate (heavy or light), AXH or other large auxiliary
- Third and subsequent terms: Battleship or Carrier.
Staff Officer Career Progression[edit]
When officers of rank O3 through O8 are moved to Staff billets, they roll for promotion every term against their (INT+Bureaucracy). Success results in a promotion; failure, in remaining in current grade (through O6) or retirement (O7 and O8). At O8, outstanding success results in promotion to Staff O9; any other result is retirement.
Staff officer billets are as follows:
- O3 - Junior staff Lieutenant.
- O4 - Staff Lieutenant on a Base, Task Force or Station department (Logistics, Intelligence, Operations or Administration)
- O5 - Senior Staff Lieutenant in a Base, task force or station department (Logistics, Intelligence, Operations or Administration)
- O5 - Commander of a RCN Task Force, Base or Station Department (Logistics, Intelligence, Operations or Administration)
- O7 - Commander of an RCN base, or Chief of Staff for a Task Force.
- O8 - Chief of Station staff, or member of the central Naval Staff.
- O9 - Chief of Naval Staff. Head of all naval staff; there can be only one.