[LMB] request for factual help - the timeline

[CatMtn at aol.com]

In a message dated 8/31/2007 5:07:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
blaise_writer at hotmail.com writes:

>That's a good point, and you're right, it is ship command rather  than 
formal rank that they're >discussing.  I found the reference, and  in the scene 
Cordelia describes being 'promoted to captain', but actually in  Shards she has 
the rank of Commander during her first meeting with Aral, and  only later has 
the rank of Captain.  I'm not really that clear on how the  rank of Commander 
fits in - in Shards Illyan is a Lieutenant, and at the start  of Barrayar he's 
a Commander, and only when Aral promotes him to chief of  ImpSec does he get 
the rank of Captain, but Miles and Ivan go straight from  Lieutenant to Captain 
and apparently have no expectation of being given the  rank of Commander in 
between.  

>As for Aral, he says, 'I was a  captain by twenty-eight.'  He certainly 
means ship command, since >he  adds that ship duty suited him, but he could also 
mean the rank as well. I'd  guess he gets the rank as well as the command, 
since he becomes an admiral so  young, but it's not clear either way. 


M:
 
Naval rank and all the other services' ranks are different.  It's  been said 
that LMB uses naval rank when the person is on ship duty, and the  army ranks 
when they are on shore duty, but this doesn't seem to be  exact.  
 
Navy:                                                                Army,  
Air Force, Marines:
 
Admiral of the  Fleet                                            Field  
Marshal
Admiral                                                             General
Commodore                                                        Brigadier
Captain                                                             Colonel
Commander                                                       Lieutenant  
Colonel
Lieutenant  Commander                                       Major
Lieutenant                                                         Captain
Lieutenant, Junior  Grade                                     1st Lieutenant
Ensign                                                              2nd  
Lieutenant   
 
This isn't exactly the same in all countries, of course.  Anyway,  the person 
commanding a ship is always called "Captain," even if it's a small  ship and 
s/he's only a Lt. Jg.   I doubt that there are many 28-29  year old naval 
captains, other than those of lower rank commanding  ships.
 
Mary









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