Quote:
Originally Posted by tbrock1031
Just getting around to reading this thread....
Realistically, the CAG of a space-opera carrier (like those mentioned in the OP) is more likely to have points in Strategy (Space) for planning the operation and spend time in the Control Room of the ship (assuming the Control Room of SM >10 ships includes a CIC [Combat Information Center]) than he would be in-flight among the other pilots with Piloting, Gunner, Artillery, etc. He'd be in contact with the carrier's squadron leaders - no sense in him being in contact with the individual pilots during combat unless he had specific orders for that particular flight of fighters.
In short, the chain of command goes Admiralty -> Task Force Commander (usually a Commodore in rank) -> Ship Captain -> CAG -> Squadron Leaders -> Flight Leader (4 birds from a squadron) -> Individual Pilots. Skipping over the chain are usually in the form of the Task Force Commander talking to the CAGs, the CAGs talking to Flight Leaders, and Squadron Leaders talking to Individual Pilots; these rarely earn contempt from those skipped, as the fast pace of combat often means the skips are necessary to save lives on your side.
Of course, in a Suitably Heroic Moment the CAG is well within his rights to board a fighter - I seem to recall a few times after he was promoted to General that Wedge Antilles did just that.
|
So what about the situation when there is a
total of 6-24 fighters on the carrier (the typical number being 10-12). Imagine something modeled after the Ur-Quan Kzer-Za Dreadnought or a Protoss Carrier (but in space and with human-piloted fighters).