Why Silver Outranks Gold (in the U.S. Military)
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2020
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Music:
• Medal of Honor: European Asslt & Pacific Asslt OSTs
Sources:
• "United States Army Grade Insignia Since 1776" by Preston B. Perrenot
• uniform-reference.net/insigni...
Check out this video where we dispel some of the common myths/retorts that have been posted in the comments of this video: ruclips.net/video/wHxqsSzWY64/видео.html
Minor error at 3:12 , the pop-up 2nd Lt shoulder strap should be blank rather than showing a bar.
In first place, me too think so BUT meybe those not mean Gold and Silver but Shiny Brass and Titanium color, this may explained that all
I got a snapshot for you. You may even tear your hair out looking for the truth; which I can't tell you myself, we'll get to that in a moment.
The Salute!
The common myth is that it was knights lifting their visor so they can see each other. I call bullshit on this.
Helmets are hot, claustrophobic and generally a pain in the ass to wear longer than needed. You can't converse with a helmet on, much less with the visor down, and your view is very limited. What this means, is by the time you have your visor down in order to lift, you're pretty damn sure which shiny bastards out there are your enemy.
The closest I can come to the visor being the start of the salute, would be the tournament joust, in which case, they weren't lifting their visors, so much as closing them before charging at each other like good sportsmen.
This belies the fact that ancient Roman soldiers had their own salute, which ignored the cheek-guards which were tied across their chin. And then couple that with the ancient Greeks, who just plain carried their helmets right on top of their heads.
With this in mind, it leaves me to wonder if the salute is even necessary... beyond trying to get your officer sniped. I mean, that's what this all comes down to. What you train to do on the parade square is often directly contradicted by the necessities of the field. And while learning how to walk tall, dress crisp and give respect to superiors is habits worth having, we generally don't salute corporate superiors, lawyers, doctors, or the the like. The more I think about the salute, the more frivolous it becomes, clinging on desperately to what appears to be a lie of ignorance.
A Major outranks a Lieutenant, then why does a Lieutenant General outrank a Major General ? Seems like a little incongruity.
@@salavat294
Yeah I know. It's cuzz one didn't exist before the other, and bureaucracy and stuff and "you know what, this is good enough..."
If Major General were to be put in it's "correct" place, it would be above General; and that's why it stays below the Lt.
My colony military did away with both of them, now they're called Legion General and Corps General; cuzz you know... Brigadier General.
Clint Carpentier : Ya, some armies actually have a Colonel General rank just below General of the Army.
We need silver to fight vampires, that's what Abe Lincoln taught us.
Yup
@Gustavo Octavio deCampos
Yea pretty much, an axe wielding future President of U.S massacring Vampires.
Why was the first think I thought of after reading this was "ah yes the man who fought off the bridish with his AK and nanomachines.......son." I think I need to go to bed
True story.
@Robert Aldridge
Nah, silver coated.
"Why does silver outrank gold?"
Because someone decided they like that shiny better than the other shiny. Case dismissed
Because shiny wearers always have the best ideas
But big yellow shiny better than the other shiny
@@somestupiddudewithayoutube4676 It really isn't. Silver ftw.
It's not gold It's brass
@@2bsmart2 then why is it called green to gold to become an officer?
I spent 22 years as an officer in the US Air Force and retired as a Colonel. I’ve never heard this topic explained as well as you just did. Well done.
🤮🤮🤮
@@deansley174 okay, may I ask why?
Excellant analysis !
@@deansley174 🤡
@@deansley174 = 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Where is the joke "but there's really no difference between a private and a second lieutenant, so they can have the same insignia"?
lol I don't rate that joke
Huh, it sounds very similar to "Corporal, who gave you a star?" when talking to major (as their insignia differ only by that star, at least in my country)
Q. Whats the difference between a 2nd LT and a Pvt?
A. A college degree.
@@mrmanceres7653 A lot more Pvts have degrees than you'd think.
Doesn't make them any less retarded than the 2nd LT's though.
@@1BeGethats only something privates say to make them feel better lol
A more interesting version of the story goes like this... One day an Admiral was asked about how the design and color of the officer rank insignia were decided. The admiral replied...
"We give a gold bar to Ensigns because they are valuable to the Navy, but still quite malleable. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) are given a silver bar because they are still valuable but not as easily malleable. Lieutenants are given two silver bars because they are twice as valuable as a Lieutenant (JG), Captains have a silver eagle because they soar above all others, and admirals have silver stars because they are ascended to the heavens of the US Navy."
The junior officer thought about what he had been told for a moment, then asked, "But Admiral, why to Lt Commanders and Commanders wear oak leaves?"
The Admiral replied, "Those rank insignia have a tradition that goes all the way back to biblical times. You see, son, since the Garden of Eden we've always covered our pricks with leaves."
This is beautiful and absolutely canon, as far as I’m concerned
Because who the hell wants to be a "butterbar"
Any NCO who looks at their Leave and Earnings Statement
Alex Johnson not true. 01 makes $3,787.50 per month. If he station ohhh let’s say fort Leonardwood. One of the cheapest military bases. His bah if he’s single could be less than $1,000. But for argument stakes let’s give that $1,000 of bah. Now. While I was at fort Leonardwood. I was on active duty orders for the guard. In the guard your BAH is based on your zip code I was making $4800 a month while out there. So basically I was making roughly the same as an 01 as an E4.
@@JcLazy1 dependents, COLA, BHA, Clothing, travel, hazardous duty, tax exemption... The list goes on.
Vincent that’s my point. There’s a lot of enlisted soldiers making more then some officers. You just gotta know how to hustle the system. The ones who don’t are the ones who leave the army with virtually nothing to show for it. Difference with me is I actually joined the army with a degree so I had some knowledge. I wanted money but I didn’t want the officer responsibilities.
@@JcLazy1 still the fact that you are o1 and making the same as and e4 instead of e1
One of the most dangerous things a Second Lieutenant can say is "from my experience...."
Yeah college LOL, unless he/she is a prior-enlisted E9. Then yikes o.o
@@tutelar5757 hell even a E7, getting to E9 is a CF most go WO before bothering to get that many ranks in enlisted
@@hansorsic7387 I was in BOLC phase 3 with a prior service 1st Sergeant that was just promoted to 1st Lieutenant and was looking at least 2 years until his next promotion. A few weeks earlier while he was a 2LT the Army changed the battlefield commission policy to address the shortage in competent Majors by making E9s go straight to Major and E8s go straight to Captain. It basically would have shortened his promotion path by at least 5 years if his commission came 10 months later.
@@tutelar5757 no enlisted E9 will ever go become an officer, but I get your point
We had a Full bird at Eglin back in the early 2000's who as an E8 applied for OCS in order to make himself look better for promotion to E9... yeah accepted and held every rank from E1 - O6 with the exception of E9... you did not want to try to blow smoke up his ass. Watched a 2nd LT try it once at one of our monthlies... oh man that did not go well. He's one of the best officers I've ever served under.
My Dad explained it in a easy way when I was younger. He explained that an old man with White hair (Silver) is more wise than a young person (Gold)...
B-b-b-but old is gold
@@benm8274 still makes sense in a weird sort of way
You'd assume so, but America's military isn't exactly known for their wise leadership. It was probably a guy with white hair who decided those pixelated grey uniforms were a good idea.
Sounds kinda racist but ok.
but there are a lot more younger men and woman who are smarter then their older counter parts and gold is more valuable. sounds like the older soldiers are ego driven and whant to "pull rank" on there Subordinates, cause they know gold is Better and they jealous
As a military buff, i was always curiious of the silver/gold rank insignia. Thanks a lot for this information. Please make a video on how the US Army Regimental System works, and how it differ from British Regimental system
Most outright for me are the NCO stripes that the yanks get the wrong way ;p (there is a reason stripes were that shape), the fact that what the British system classified as Warrant officers, the US make senior NCOs (the Sergeant-Majors), and that a Brigadier in the UK is a senior officer following Colonel whereas in the US Brigadier is a general officer (we assign different duties for our 'equivalent' ranks
The short answer is that the U. S. Army regimental system means diddly squat and is almost entirely heraldic. There are a few exceptions -- The 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) and a couple of cavalry regiments come to mind -- but for the most part the regimental number is just to give a unit a designation. Most regiments don't exist as a command at all with nominal battalions of that "regiment" scattered across various commands. Some of them don't even have more than one battalion. In both size and function, brigades now serve the role once held by regiments and are the primary maneuver element of the U. S. Army. The whole system of "X Battalion, Y Regiment" is obsolete and should probably be scrapped in favor of something that actually makes sense.
@@itsapittie It makes no sense. I was in 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment when I was in the Army. By that logic, it means that there are 319 more field artillery regiments before it. It is was not even part of a regiment but a part of 3 BCT, 101st Airborne Division. The regimental system existed when it was Division Artillery but since the BCT it disappeared. Also, many logistical units make no sense. There is a 650th Regional Support Group. Again, to anyone not familiar with the US Army, they would think that there are 649 Regional Support Groups that also exist.
@@itsapittie thanks a lot for the information. In my country i.e India, Army Infantry still follows the British style regimental system. A regiment is not a field unit/formation. It is rather an administrative body, a regiment trains, equip and provide combat units to field formation. I am from the state of Mizoram, so if I am to enlist in the army infantry, I would most likely be in a regiment nearest to my permanenet address i.e Assam Regiment. They wore their parent regimental dress and insignia throughout their career even of they are posted outside their regimental battalions or at command staff jobs. Elite and technical regiments like Parachute and Mechanised Infantry follow differenr recruitment rules. As for officers, they are given regimental units based on merit and vacancies. There is a system called "Parental Claim". If an officer cadet parents/ancestors happen to serve in a particular regiment say X regiment, he can choose the X regiment using parental claim. Unlike the Brits, the officers also wore their regimental insignia and uniforms throughout their career even after they attain general rank(brigadier and above)
@@boffinboy100 if I am not wrong, British Sergeant-Majors are appointment/post names and not rank. While American Sergeant-Majors are both rank title and appoinment titles
Ha ha, the photo of CPT Coy flipping out is from our OCS class last year. He’s yelling at a buddy of mine after he accidentally called him a lieutenant (it was like day one or two, we didn’t know any of the cadre, and we were already getting smoked anyway).
to be fair in the navy he is the rank of an LT
@Bren Woodard
How could your buddy NOT know the difference between the rank insignia of a captain and a lieutenant???
@@spaceman081447 I think you missed the part where he said it was the 1st or 2nd day of OCS
@@jimmymartino5433
RE: "I think you missed the part where he said it was the 1st or 2nd day of OCS"
Well, I'm a lifelong civilian, and I knew the different rank insignia even in my late teens and early twenties. And if they were in OCS, then they had to have been in the military for at least a short while before entering OCS.
@Drew Taylor
RE: "Since we trained all branches for MI on my post, Fort Huachuca, we'd have sailors constantly mistaking our Captains for Lieutenants and getting smoked for it."
Well, I can easily understand how that could happen, since the Army's rank insignia for Captain is identical to the Navy's rank insignia for Lieutenant.
I just know that I Saluted anything with brass on thier collar.
Many a Chief earned a salute because of that rule. Fucking Navy gotta be different.
When in doubt, whip it out
-psg
@USA#1 !! You have to love painting the First Sergeant's rocks. And...
NEVER walk on the Sergeant Major's grass!
@@mrmanceres7653 I once accidentally saluted a Lance Corporal once because he was wearing bras chevrons on his collar and I didn't notice that until after I saluted him.
@@Riceball01 Is there anything wrong in saluting someone who doesnt have a higher rank?
TLDR: they did it for backwards compatibility in a messy codebase
In Sweden silver takes precendence over gold on uniforms, because in the 16th century gold could be substituted by brass, but there was no suitable way to substitute silver. So, in the Swedish army silver became significant to the guards regiments, and gold (brass) to all the others. Since then there has of course been a lot of exceptions for this rule of thumb, but the guards is still wearing silver.
That's what most Americans think of Silver over Gold. Crazy. Give those Russians Hell.
tfw iron doesnt exist
LOL... “Many things are just what’s left after stacking many decades of changes on top of each other...” yes, that would be accurate. So where between traditions, not making a decision, continuing misunderstandings, not rocking the boat... “ “many things are just what’s left”... is a perfect analogy for many things. Great video.
especially military
A gunny once told me:
2nd lts are very valuable hence the gold bar. 1st lts have worn all the gold off from polishing. Captains are twice as valuable so they have 2 bars. Colonels are like the eagle, flying high and over watching.
What about major and ltcol?
Well, just like the Greek and Roman statues we cover our pricks with leaves
Interesting, loved the video. I never actually noticed that sliver outranked gold.
Thanks! And yeah it's one of those things that kind of just accepted lol
That explains a lot. Someone once asked me why a 2nd LT/Ensign is referred to as a "Butter Bar". I responded that it looks like a stick of butter. In fancier dining settings that officers are privileged to, a stick of butter would be found on a silver or similar tray. (If it's not true, run with the theory... I was enlisted and in the navy, officers ate separately from enlisted.) As the "butter bar" is subjected to the "trial by fire" of service and is being used more and more to gain expertise of command and job knowledge, (in other words, the butter is being put to use) the "butter" disappears and all that remains is a silver tray/bar, fully qualified and ready to perform their duties. It answered their question.
Good job Mr. Gibbs! Don't let them lubbers catch you flat-footed.
I'd like to see an episode on "When did horses start to wear hats."
Spent 4 years in the army & this was never even discussed.
Just accepted as is. I spent 30 years and it really never crossed my mind. It just was.
When I was in Army ROTC I heard the bullshit story of gold being more malleable than silver but never why the ranks were there actual color.
@@Gwildor2020 The initial ranks are Brass not Gold. Gold is for General Ranks. This is why Silver "outranks" them.
@@swaghauler8334 was looking for this comment.
@@nash-p The OP of the video disagreed with me. Look at his response to my post here. Apparently, I'm wrong in my assertion that we even call the Officer Corps "The Brass" because of it.
As a suggestion for a future episode : as a non-military person, I have always been a bit confused about the "Generals" ranks. How many stars? Brigadier, Lieutenant , and so on.
Good idea!
Be My Little General
Brigadier General, 1 Star
Major General 2 Stars
Lieutenant General 3 Stars
General 4 Stars.
The more impressive the preceding name sounds the lower the rate is.
Interesting tidbit. In today's Army, brigades and regiments are synonymous units at lateral echelons, commanded at the O6 level. Prior to 1900 they were different echelons. Colonels only commanded Regiments, whilst Brigadier's commanded Brigades. Major Generals typically commanded Corps whilst Lt Generals were a rarely used rank only established during wartime.
The 4 star general as we know it did not really exist until WW1, when a new type of unit called the Division commanded at the Major General level was developed.
The 5 star General or General of the Army was established to been on peer with the Continental European Field Marshall ranks.
Why is a lt. Gen. Higher than a maj. Gen.
Amazing, I love the editing. Y'all deserve more subscribers, and are growing fast. Will be donating when I get the chance.
Much appreciated and glad to have you aboard!
I always thought silver outranked "gold" because its not gold... its brass. Brass was a cheaper metal & colonial soldiers where covered in it (buttons, cufflinks, buckles and other decorations) Soldiers had to maintain their uniforms & polish their brass buckles & such. Polished brass is gold looking but still far less valuable than silver. Gold was reserved for royalty. So I would think its more like: Gold (Royalty) > Silver (Nobility/Sr officers) > brass (Jr officers). Obviously as the ages passed, the military changed, but a lot of things like wool tunics, epaulets, aiguillettes and the colors continued on as tradition. This is why an enlisted soldier may refer to an officer as top brass.
Glad you're making regular videos. Fantastic delivery and great topics. Look forword to the next one.
More to come!
Thank you for making this video to answer a question that I've thought about for a long time.
The proper pronunciation of "Calvary" is one hill to die on.
Just goes to show that there's always something that you can learn about military history. Also, does the Army have an equivalent to the Navy's Bull Ensign?
I do not believe so. Although there may be more than one 2nd Lieutenant in a company at any given time as Platoon Leaders, they would be far more likely to learn from their Platoon Sergeant who would usually be an E-7
No. A lieutenant per platoon. Maybe one first lieutenant in a company consisting of 2-5 platoons. Leading senior officer in first platoon. Senior captains in A company. Leading sergeants in first squad. Rare to see platoon sergeants as they would be staff sergeant. Large companies are afforded a first sergeant. Where as a smaller, the staff sergeant will fill those roles. Combat companies will have less diverse officer ranks for simplicity (generally speaking) because the members know who are in charge (mostly and in today’s army). Relatively speaking, today’s service officers don’t really gloat over their ranks. Only the generals seem to be full of themselves. However seeing the kids grow up leaves me little hope nowadays. God bless.
Thank you. I've always wondered this. Keep up the good work.
As soon as I heard the music it took me way back! Thank you for that. MoHPA
I know its common but when military channels say "calvery" instead of "cavalry" it triggers me. One fights on horseback, the other references crucifixion.
@@CARILYNF its not really a question of accent here. More a matter of been saying it wrong so long they can't stop now I suspect. He doesn't have an accent that typically struggles with "l"s in the middle of words.
Language changes over time. Though I can certainly see why it would bother a history buff
The CAL-very will some day go NEW-cue-lur.
@@CraigLumpyLemke gaaaah oh my gawd there is the other one!
Because sometimes you gotta work with what you've got? Like, employing the calves instead of missing horses?
But hey, that's just a theory. A *_Language_* Theory!
This is a really damn cool video! I would share it with my friends if I had any!
1) I love how you used the old Medal of Honor soundtrack from its early games, brought back some solid good memories.
2) I really thought gold was heavily use more for other sort of military equipment like support equipment, perhaps parts of tanks and some armored fighting vehicles. But this makes sense now.
Thanks for this. I had wondered about that in the past.
We always referred to a 2nd Lt as a "Butter bar", but not to their faces.
You don't have to say it to their face. Everyone knows what a 2nd LT is.
Probs because power hungry new lieutenants gonna call you out.
What if you were a 1st Lt, could you make fun of the 2nd Lt
@@l0sts0ul89; why not? EVERYBODY makes fun of 2nd Lts. As the saying goes, "The most dangerous thing on the battlefield is a 2nd Lt with a map".
Some of my favorite memories are LTs in bridgeport, California, mountain warfare training center, getting ass blasted by the enlisted for getting lost and making us hike up massive mountains for no reason, only to turn around and go up a different mountain or even a completely different direction entirely because they kept getting lost. One time our 1st sergeant saw it happening and started yelling at the corporal giving him a blasting, but he just hung his head in shame and said "it's okay, he's right..."
Scary (relevant). I just wondered about the same thing this very morning.
God that nostalgic music reminds me of how good the WW2 Medal of Honour games were when I played them as a kid, can't beat their mornful / heroic orchestraal pieces
@Battle Order
I have often wondered why silver outranks gold in officers' insignia. Thanks for the informative video!
My understanding was you always find gold at lower depths in the ground which is why it is lower than silver as far as rank goes. So then you have the bouillon which is the bars. You have the train tracks which would be above the bouillon. You have the oak leaves which obviously above the tracks. You have the birds that fly above the oak leaves and you have the stars that are up above the birds.
Very interesting and informative. Makes more sense than the explanation I heard when I was in Basic. That explanation went on to say: Gold was found deeper in the earth than silver, so 2nd Lieutenants had gold and1st LTs and Captains had silver bars. Then it went on to say that an Oak leaf was in a tree and 'above' the minerals so that's how the Major/Lt Colonel got the leafs, with the gold leaf being lesser than the silver. An eagle flew 'above' the oak tree, and stars were higher still. I believed it until I saw this video, now that old explanation sounds so obviously made up after the face.
Thanks for the lesson!
Thank you. This one has always puzzled me.
Great video, to the point and good images.
I love the MOH soundtrack!!!
I heard MoH Vanguard soundtrack
I once heard that someone accidentally mixed up the colors in a very old communication, and they just rolled with it
Loved that "Medal of Honor-European Assault" theme playing in the background. My favourite "war song" ever, with a very interesting video on the top! Good work soldier! :)
Spent 30 years in the Army as an enlisted guy, Warrant Officer, and commissioned officer. Never heard this discussed,but always wondered about it! Thanks for the info!
Nice concise and clear video, explaining the history of the "butter bar" and the gold/silver ranks.
We were told in basic that silver was more valuable than gold that’s why silver outranked gold
Interesting. I've vaguely wondered about that for a while. Thanks for the info.
Awesome channel!
I always just assumed that the "gold" was actually polished brass. The theory being that brass represented the lower rank, silver the higher rank. Doesn't that have something to do with the US Army custom of calling all officers "brass"?
He addresses this theory in the video if you'd finish it.
@@reznovvazileski3193 He provides a facile and empty handwave, that dismisses it rather than addressing it.
@@stanmann571 You can't dismiss something without adressing it though? I mean yea he said it's not what this guy said but you can't say that without making that remark and saying or writing a remark to something is called adressing it.
@@reznovvazileski3193 Sure you can. Addressing means. presenting a case with evidence dismissing is "Some people think.. But they're wrong and stupid"...
@@stanmann571 @stanmann571 Adressing means (as per the Oxford English Dictionary (no link cus youtube dislikes it and keeps deleting my comment...) but we got google today):
17.c) transitive. To take on as a topic for discussion or inquiry, or as a problem to be solved; to deal with, tackle, or confront.
While I understand your position in that he dismissed the point rather quickly and lazily you may even say as he never posted a thought-out argument, he did satify the condition of tackling/confronting the topic which in an either/or statement like this definition is plenty to justify it as addressing. Building an actual argument is called arguing and presenting evidence is called proving. I'm talking about adressing. The act of simply making a mention/saying a few words about it. Whether or not you are willing to take those words for granted is up to you. But he made his point, he showed the theories and he doesn't think those theories have merit. To say he didn't adress it at all would be dismissing the fact that he quite literally did say those things.
I was always told it was because it was not GOLD and SILVER
It was BRASS and SILVER
Exactly. IT's really that simple
@@stanmann571 Except he directly addressed that myth...
@@phoenixrising4573 Not really, He dismissed it without addressing it.
Nice video. Well done.
Thanks for the good video. I had always wondered why, but knew better than to ask.
I was deployed with a CAV unit to Iraq a few years ago and my plt Sgt and I were talking about deployment spurs (the gold spurs you are awarded for deploying) I had done a spur ride before and had earned my silver spurs, which have a higher presidence and when I told him that he said "gold is always above silver" and that "I am wrong". I was gonna point out the officer ranks as an example, but I wasn't looking to get smoked😂
I've always heard that when it comes to spurs specifically, the gold ones are seen as taking precedence. Then again, it's the same way with ribbon awards as well. Only in rank structure does silver mean more.
Not sold on the spurs.
Randomly got recommended this, and hearing the MOH music in the background...... man the nostalgia hit hard.
That was superb. Thank you.
Great video. I always just accepted it and never thought about why. Good to know.
I love this!
I'm building a colony world, and one of the issues I've come across is the arbitrary nature of things from "Old Earth" like measurements. Ranks have been a thorn in my side for years now, as have been rank insignia. Having broken from "Old Earth", many of the traditions now need to be re-worked.
One thing I've done is remove Captain from the ground forces. This, even after having learned that an Army captain has an older historical value than a navy Captain; but because the navy Captain supersedes army/marine Captain when both are on a navy vessel, meaning that an army/marine Captain then becomes a Major anyhow.
I've discovered a LOT of work goes into minor details of things that are conventionally "known". I've done away with most insignia in favor of stripes for all branches, just to simplify things; and I've even considered removing half stripes from the navy.
Arbitrary! Everything is so arbitrary, with so many hold-overs from bygone times.
The more you dig into the details of things the more you'll realize that they aren't arbitrary. For example if you look at old measurements like you mentioned you'll find that they are based on common factors that humans can easily estimate, but were later standardized as we got more precise tools. Things like rule of thumb (typically used in crafting or navigation), arshens (about the stride length of an average man, similar to a meter/yard), foot (pretty obviously about a foot's length), or els (roughly the length from your elbow to your wrist).
@@PvtMartin78
You claim it's not arbitrary, and then you list off a bunch of arbitrary. Just because it's standardized, doesn't make it any less arbitrary.
Most measures were standardized in the fifties. I'm not saying that they were wrong, I'm saying that's how recently; and it still took decades for general adoption.
The metric system is based on the meter. A meter is 1 ten-millionth the distance from the north pole to the equator. I shit you not. Now, that didn't take into account the equatorial bulge due to centrifugal forces of the Earth spinning, so the circumference of Earth's equator is actually 40,070... some odd kilometers.
So, if it's all arbitrary anyhow, and a colony wants to disassociate from Earth, and they have the time and distance to do so; what's to stop them from it? Take for instance, a planet's equator has 360 degrees of longitude, say each degree is 100 local miles(after doing the math, my mile was something like 1.02km); now you have a planetary measure that is part of a culture that can complain... about how stupid the metric system is! And let's not get up in arms about weight; cuzz no other planet will have 1.00 gravity.
Now, having said all of that. This video highlights the problems of bureaucratic inertia. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's easier to just say, "This is how we'll fix it for now, good enough." and kick the can down the road for someone else to fiddle with, until they give up and kick it down the road again. So here's my problem as I see it...
All militaries have some things in common; all militaries have peculiar local traditions; all militaries have are influenced heavily by conquerors colonizers and liberators. Everything else is fairly arbitrary. What I want is simple, understandable ranks that won't trip over each other; ground forces, wet forces and space forces.
@@clintcarpentier2424 While I appreciate your detailed response I think you misunderstand the meaning of the word arbitrary.
"based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system."
These things are all based on some form of system and reasoning. I can understand you not liking them, because they are based on older traditions that may have lost relevance over time, but they are not arbitrary by any means.
@@PvtMartin78
Good try, but it doesn't start to convince me.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Arbitrary - Autocratic, despotic. Determined by will or caprice, selected at random.
ie the king's foot. Horses measured in hands. A mile doesn't whole number to any other measure that is currently in use; and those that it does, none are rounded. An acre is measured by how much land a man can plow in a day.
Who said 24 hours in a day?
My complaint isn't that somebody decreed any of this shit. It's that I now have to determine if my colonists care enough about the reasoning behind the way things were on "Old Earth", enough to carry it over to their new paradise.
"Why a Kernel? Do we honestly need the rank of Kernel? Kernel is a bastardization of the Spanish pronunciation of the Italian word for column; as in a column of pikes in a brigade, as in the column commander, or Colonel. Why... do we need this???" - Major Bastard
ruclips.net/video/Iz-8CSa9xj8/видео.html
@Celeborn
Not sure what you're getting at?
I always assumed the butter bar was brass not gold.
LessCommonKnowledge lmaoooo
It's f***cking butter.
The material is brass. Gold is simply the term used to refer to the color. Maybe way back in the day they used actual gold? idk, but probably not.
My god this is the best channel I've discovered in a very long time 💞
Great channel just subbed
omg I had this question for so long haha
Glad we helped out with that lol
@@BattleOrder thanks for the video!
Personally, I think silver looks much nicer and more elegant than gold.
Agreed
That was excellent quality knowledge. Nice to know the story of why things came to be!
Wow I learnt so much from this, thanks!
2:38 So many say Calvary instead of Cavalry.
It's CAValry, not CALvary.
Exceptionally well done and rationalized. As a retired 25-year U.S. Army veteran I can certainly appreciate your endeavors in posting this video. Thank you.
You my friend just got a new sub. Great video 🔥🙏🏾
Simple. It's platinum, not silver. ;)
You had my like until you said "calvary".
This is good background, thanks!
I'd love to see videos about Naval history. Really like your channel, you got a new subscriber.
Simple answer: armies are conservative organisations that don`t like change. Complicated and proper answer: **watch the video!**
The USAF Loves to makes changes, apparently just for the sake of change, having too big a budget or boredom. In just the last decade they have:
- changed to a stylized winged logo
- gone from 6 under/2 over to 5 under/3 over on enlisted stripes
- got rid of the rank of buck Sargent
- removed the silver ring around the US on collar insignia
- reinstalled the silver ring around the US on collar insignia
I remember when they added the rank of SRA as a buck Sargent without a star in the center. We had fallen out into a formation for a mystery announcement when a butter bar read the proclamation with a straight face. (paraphrased from the '70s) " By removing the center star but leaving the same E4 pay grade, this new rank will instill pride in our enlisted forces ". An unauthorized response filtered from the rear of the formation about this making about as much sense as having men wearing dresses to hide they have the clap.
This is an awesome explanation of the history behind the silver and gold insignia. But I almost clicked away when I heard “Calvary” in reference to horse mounted soldiers. They’re cavalry.
Another theory I heard was that gold is actually found below silver when mining and that the bars are meant to represent metals found in the Earth where is the oak leaves sit above it on trees then the eagle that purches itself upon the tree and finally the stars in the skies above
Its not gold but Brass only Gold when General ranks.
This guy's telling me I'M WRONG when I say that. I just looked at my old Class As and the Insignia are made of BRASS!
I noticed you used the Medal of Honor: European Assault theme and I love it
Great video and eloquent narrator. Sub!
Thanks. I've actually always wondered this since COD3
These facts are things even career military personnel do not know.
THANK YOU!
Fantastic and accurate video!
Nice job
Very cool. I love this kind of information.
This is unnecessarily complicated, but thanks for filling in, not your fault.
Subbed btw, great content, good voice.
Thanks for making this video. Even my wife wondered why a Second Lieutenant’s rank insignia was gold, instead of silver (she noticed when I was promoted to First Lieutenant). Two thumbs up!
Thank you for answering a 10-year search for answers and explaining why this happens
I love the medal of honor allied assault theme in the background
So complicated - but really interesting!
Neat.
Subscribed
I appreciate your choice of MOH music
It's a classic
looking forward to future snapcshots
Ohhhh that medal of honor allied assault menu theme playing in the background is giving me nostalgia.
The super simple way we were taught in basic was that it’s based on elevation. Gold is found deeper than silver hence why it’s lower rank, then silver, then the oak leaf, then the eagle, then the star
Such stories are apocryphal.
*_Medal of Honor Frontline, Rising Sun and Allied Assault. You have good taste in music sir._*
I'm familiar with history of the insignias.
My "project nation" hobby uses a simplified rank structure. Using gold for both enlisted and officers of members that join via the "military" ( "Service guarantees citizenship."...lol...from film STARSHIP TROOPERS )
Love the spurs on desert boots! Very entertaining!
Very informative video! Being enlisted my entire career, I never gave much thought about the officer rank insignia. It is interesting to see how the rank of 2nd Lt - affectionately nicknamed "Butter Bar" came into being.
Great vid, Battle! Very informative!
QUESTION: who or what group in the military is responsible for creating and implementing
new ribbons, their placement on the uniform, and other things related to changes on/in the uniform?
It does, and I never really thought about that, i seriously never noticed.