Important organizations with Courtesy Rank for standard ranks

Pursuivant · 06-16-2024, 01:02 PM

Depending on the service, medical officers, JAG officers, chaplains and similar "non-line" officers might effectively have just Courtesy Rank, although they might have a "Situational Authority" perk which gives them full rank in very limited contexts.

Historically, military officers might have Courtesy Rank during peacetime during military drawdowns or in any era while waiting for their next assignment. For example, because there were more officers than billets, British Napoleonic-era naval officers were often "beached" or "yellowed," with just Courtesy Rank and half-pay while they were stuck on shore awaiting their next assignment.

They're not important by today's standards, but in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were volunteer militias which could have real social clout, but with officers with so little authority that they effectively had just Courtesy Rank.

Some outfits were little more than social clubs with fancy uniforms, but since their members were equipped with real weapons, they could be theoretically mobilized as riot police or to put down slave rebellions. In those cases, their officers might have real authority for the duration of the emergency.

The same holds true for frontier militias organized to fight Indians and for loosely organized social clubs like the Masons.

06-16-2024, 01:02 PM	#19
Pursuivant Join Date: Apr 2005	Re: Important organizations with Courtesy Rank for standard ranks Depending on the service, medical officers, JAG officers, chaplains and similar "non-line" officers might effectively have just Courtesy Rank, although they might have a "Situational Authority" perk which gives them full rank in very limited contexts. Historically, military officers might have Courtesy Rank during peacetime during military drawdowns or in any era while waiting for their next assignment. For example, because there were more officers than billets, British Napoleonic-era naval officers were often "beached" or "yellowed," with just Courtesy Rank and half-pay while they were stuck on shore awaiting their next assignment. They're not important by today's standards, but in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries, there were volunteer militias which could have real social clout, but with officers with so little authority that they effectively had just Courtesy Rank. Some outfits were little more than social clubs with fancy uniforms, but since their members were equipped with real weapons, they could be theoretically mobilized as riot police or to put down slave rebellions. In those cases, their officers might have real authority for the duration of the emergency. The same holds true for frontier militias organized to fight Indians and for loosely organized social clubs like the Masons.