EarthForce - Ranks

Ranks

Officers and crew are allowed to transfer between branches; Richard Franklin (father of Dr. Stephen Franklin) once served as first officer on the EAS Ares, but by the time we actually meet him, the elder Franklin was a general in the EarthForce Marines. EarthForce uses a unified rank system, with both Army/Marine and Navy-style ranks :

  • General/Admiral
  • Lt. General/Vice Admiral
  • Colonel
  • Lieutenant Colonel
  • Major
  • Captain
  • Commander
  • Lieutenant Commander
  • Lieutenant
  • Lieutenant Junior Grade
  • Ensign

Admirals were mentioned in a few episodes (in "Signs and Portents", Garibaldi says that both generals and admirals were final candidates to command Babylon 5; in "And the Sky Full of Stars", one of Sinclair's interrogators says that he was on the fast track to becoming an admiral), although they did not appear onscreen. Background material for the show states that Admirals are usually found as commanders of large strategic fleets and are rarely seen by front line personnel (as opposed to Generals, who are often tactical commanders in the field). Also, the ranks of Vice Admiral and Admiral are equal in standing to Lieutenant General and General (as they are in most real world militaries).

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