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« Last post by butchbird on 05 October 2024, 20:09:05 »
Thought I could give a well cut reply on this, but a quick research to confirm my faulty memory advises me not to say too much. But having actually looked through this, I'll add a few things none the less.
As its clear mechwarriors are best compared, in the 20th/21st century, to fighter pilots and that aristocrats still held a huge deal of prestige during WWI (Ah, the woes, complaints and hatred of the russian "warrior lesser aristocracy" (hard to translate this one to my liking) for the changing times, but I digress), something has to be pointed out concerning that war.
Fact is, back in the early days of aerial warfare, NCOs made up a huge chunk of the fighter pilots. Even reknowned aces spent a large part of that war as sergeants (or ranks "around that"), though they'd often get commissioned once they "earned enough prestige". If I'm not mistaken, WWII also had many NCOs as pilots.
I'd argue that, while the BTU is in the future and would be affected by developments in the structure of the military and all that, "knights of the air" are more closely related to mechwarriors then F-22 pilots would be, as far as the whole feel & vibe is concerned and hence what is aimed to be presented.
Another thing is how mechwarrior training programs have been described. If I remember well the Marik Handbook rundown on military academies, the fact that one of these academies only churned out mechwarriors with officer training was a big deal, implying that most aren't schooled in the art of commanding. Going against this conception would require a fair bit of retconing or contorsions.
But this does not necessarly mean that a infantry captain would think ill of being ordered around by a lesser rank mechwarrior in many cases. Prestige is a very real thing. Mechwarriors (and aerospace pilots, supposedly, though they get much less screen time) are simply superior to any other branch. It's a well known and integrated fact. Being recognized as the nation's elite would have quite the weight on the battlefield, no matter the rank.
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