CT Generals in the Rebel Alliance

Oh I agree they don't correlate exactly but there is still certainly some correlation, i.e. lieutenant, captain, major, colonel, general....

They were officers, so they couldn't have been that low. If they were enlisted, I'd buy the "yes sir" routine since enlisted people say that to just about everyone (except other enlisted). But an officer wouldn't be so obsequious to a civilian (excepting, of course, the civilian oversight at the very top).

 

The names correlate, at least, even if the duties may vary.

"General" as a commander of many pilot wings is a bit more atypical - usually the title is something like "air marshal" - but, since they're in space, there is no air - hence a different title becomes appropriate.

 

This fits with the Alliance being less formal. Look at the Empire. General Veers leads the ground forces at Hoth, but General Calrissian lead four squadrons of fighters against the Death Star II. In fact, looking at the general situation, pun intended, it seems that the Alliance is a bit more like the Jedi of the Old Republic. General Kenobi, General Skywalker, General Yoda, General Windu and the others commanded ground and aerial forces during the Clone Wars. Lower ranks included Commander, which Anakin was early in the war as well as Ahsoka.

 

And frequently small fleets, with Admirals answering to them.

Maybe General should be an "all armed forces" rank above Admiral?

 

Nah, because Ackbar still gave overall orders, but in terms of being on the front line, that was Lando's job.

 

True - I was thinking more of the TCW era - with Anakin issuing orders to Yularen.

At least, I think he did, during the Malevolence arc and before (chronologically).

 

Very few countries actually have Marshals (and count the U.S. as one who does not). For some reason the term makes me think of 19th Century Germany or something like that.... it's a very European concept....

I am not sure what you're saying here. The Air Force has Generals, so it isn't like that act of being in an airplane (starfighter) means you can't be a General.

You're mixing your services. Admiral and General are equal ranks of different branches. Now, for example, at the Battle of Endor, it is clear the Alliance gave Ackbar authority over the Theater, but there is no rule that says Generals answer to Admirals or vice-versa.

 

I'm talking about TCW - in which General Skywalker commands a squadron of Star Destroyers for a mission, with Admiral Yularan answering to him.

It's quite common actually - due to the influence of the British Empire:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Marshal

 

There is absolutely nothing in there that says that rank is "quite common" in the world's armies/air forces. Regardless, it isn't a term used in any Star Wars context so I don't even really know why it was brought into the discussion.

 

It says:

The rank of air marshal is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth

and lists a whole bunch of them.

"Marshal" is used in the Star Wars Roleplaying game, though not the movies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshal

Star Wars
In the universe of Star Wars, the rank of marshal may be connected to the TIE fighter forces. Marshall are the ranks held by senior TIE fighter commanders, equivalent to Imperial Navy Admirals. Several sources of the Star Wars Expanded Universe have listed the following marshal ranks of the starfighter service.

• Grand marshal
• High marshal
• Force marshal
• Chief marshal
• Marshal
• Vice marshal

 

You realize there's almost 200 countries on the planet, right? Seriously. To devote this much energy to arguing against my claim that usage of the rank Marshal is "rare" is hilarious. Let it go.

That's all that matters. The rest is nonsense.

 

Whether or not the rank of general in an "air force" type organisation is the exception or the rule, I don't know for sure.

But we know at least that Lando was a general when he led the starfighter attack force - so it's a Star Wars Rebel Alliance starfighter rank at least.

 

I never realized that discussing political positions, let alone military rank would be so convoluted.

 

I am not sure what you are saying, but there are plenty of generals in the Air Force. Granted, in the real world, a General would not be in the cockpit of a jet fighter heading into battle... by that point of their career, they would be retired from flying fighter craft.

 

No- not a single air force - all of them.

Lets say there's 50-odd air forces in the world. Do most of them have a "General" rank somewhere? Half of them? A quarter?

And what ranks do the ones that don't have "General" use, at the same level? Are there any "General-equivalent" ranks that are actually commoner?

I know there's at least 12 that use "general" and at least 12 that use "marshal" - what do all the others use?

 

In the US Air Force, most generals keep up their training and qualifications to fly, including those in fighter units. They don't fly as often as they'd like to, but they want to have first-hand knowledge and understanding of the situations and conditions that they're sending their juniors into. Generals flying fighters in combat aren't seen very often, but I saw a couple on the flightline in Iraq.