The 76th Independent Battalion (Part 5)
POSTED BY: Tristan
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 20:56
VIEWED: 17832
PAGE 4 of 10
Tristan, in looking at screencaps, I don't really see any distinguishable rank insignia on the coats that Mal, Zoe, or any of the other browncoats are wearing. I am not certain how they are distinguishing officers & NCOs from enlisted, but if they can, I don't see how. It could be that like in many wars in history, soldiers quickly found out that sharpshooters sought and and killed officers and NCOs first to destroy the chain of command. Could be the browncoats ran into the same problem in fighting the Alliance & did away with obvious rank symbols.
I think that collar insignias might work best. You can get the subdued (flat black finished) rank insignias online that would work on coats or shirts.
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Quote:
Originally posted by babywiththepower:
It could be a sniper check in combat, to be sure, but I think for D&C (Drill and Ceremony for the uninitiated) it’s forgivable. Plus, as Tristan said, it’ll make us easier to identify at the Con.
True, and I defer to your judgement.
Quote:
Originally posted by babywiththepower:
I suggested we use the Army’s rank structure but dropped out ranks that had duplicates, keeping Corporal and dropping Specialist for example. I also suggested that for the enlisted rank we turn it upside down. I suggested this because in the BDM in the Maidenhead, Jayne was wearing a shirt with a bunch of patches sewn on it, and the SFC rank patch was upside down.
It makes sense to use the current Army rank structure for simplicity sake. Most people are at least familiar with it. I agree that eliminating the redundant ranks is a good idea. I have always preferred corporal to specialist. Will we be sticking with one sergeant rank & if so, which one? Perhaps the SFC rank we saw Jayne wearing?
As far as wearing the rank upside down, not a problem. That will make it like the old military style where they were inverted.
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About the rank insignia:
There was apparently something special about the Lt's patch that Mal 'acquired' in Serenity Valley.
Something discreet, Change lettering color, change border color, combinations... Apparently an RFID chip (or future equivalent) was embeded in it (to get the ident to call in an air strike) as well.
Not practical for our purposes (who'd want to order 100 Colonel patches so that we could make use of 1?)
Perhaps everyone wore a red scarf (not saying colors aren't a good idea, they are, especially for parade & drill), and there was rank insignia stitched into it, or pinned to it. Then again, maybe the officers Did wear different scarves, thus explaining why they were all dead. (Wouldn't be the first military to make such an obvious blunder)
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Morning, 76th!
It looks like we are back up and running.
BrownCoat1, thank you for that. I like the idea of the subdued collar insignia. This will work for the ones wearing the coats...we may have to figure out something else for those wearing the smock/tunic without a collar...any ideas for that? I am talking about the Zoe/Tracey style outfits, they Type B uniform.
FlatTop, from what I remember, it was a number code on the back of the patch that allowed for orders to be passed on via radio.
As for the scarves, I believe they all wore the same color (red in Serenity Valley, Blue for Du Khang), but we decided to differentiate rankings by scarf color. Rest assured that is we do go into battle, I will be wearing the same color scarf as everyone else! 
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Ben was looking at the screencaps last night, and he seems to think that the stripes on the vests are made of leather, not material. I'll make sure he posts more on this possibility later. 
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Morning, Boomer!
I am not so sure about the leather stripes. They look like cloth, especially on Tracey's vest...almost like strapping. I'm not going to argue this point , but as I have already started building the vests, I am going to stick with the idea that they are cloth. If it comes down to it, I'll stick my fingers in my ears and pretend I can't hear you.
I am glad he is on the site now, though! Give us time, we can make him as obsessed with Firefly as you/we are!
Oh, I want to go ahead and post something regarding "joining" the 76th. The XO and I have talked about this and agreed that everyone who wants to join should be able to. This is, after all, just another way for fans to show their love. So, if you want to be a member of the 76th, feel free to sign up! Even if you are not able to march at D*C, there will be other marches or cons or shindigs in which you can show off. We will have patches and all sorts of other items to purchase, make, find, etc., so everyone should be able to create their own uniform.
The one thing we are a bit more strict on is the ranking. Everyone is considered a Private unless they have or will be giving something to the group in terms of skills, advice and expertise, etc.; they are not automatic, nor do they give anyone any "real" authority. Remember, this is an imaginary battalion 
For the sake of the march, I would like to try to follow military guidlines as far as discipline. I am not talking about walking in lockstep down the street...that would not be the Independent way! I would like to see some semblance of order, though, as I am sure most of us would...it will look very impressive, don't you think?
So, in a nutshell, even if you can't march, feel free to join. Rank is given on merit/contributions, but everyone is equal in terms of input.
Sorry for the long post, but we wanted to get that out there.
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Tristan,
you are correct, the code needed to call for air support was on the back of the patch.
Browncoats are the shiniest folks in the 'verse
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ArtCat! There you are! I thought we lost you for a spell!
How are things progressing with you?
-EDIT-
And please forgive me for being rude and not even thanking you for that verification!
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CO of the 76th Independent Battalion http://76thbattalion.homestead.com/index.html
Ever marched with the Independents? Wanna?
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Morning Colonel.
The subdues rank insignia can be worn on the collar or just about anywhere. It could be pinned on the shoulder, as the current military does with the class A uniform jacket. The military does not use subdued insignia on the class A uniform, but the placement might work well for our unit.
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Morning, BrownCoat1!
Aha! Thank you for that...I never would have thought to just attach the insignia on the shoulder! That would make things a lot easier.
Again, thank you!
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CO of the 76th Independent Battalion http://76thbattalion.homestead.com/index.html
Ever marched with the Independents? Wanna?
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