>>Anyway, I'm not going to comment on this one way or another, except to
>>ask you to consider the following: The IPO Space Force has, at the
>>time of Roses in Springtime, only two ships. What, then, would
>>it need another captain for?
>
>I was wondering about the ranking structure of the IPO, whether it
>followed the traditional naval system, or the police ranking system.
>Captain Utena, Lieutenant Kate, I can't spell Sgt. Dorothy.

The International Police Organization itself follows a rank structure similar to that of the British police - Constable, Sergeant, Inspector and so forth. The IPO Space Force, though, uses a version of traditional naval ranks, similar to such organizations as Starfleet and the Wedge Defense Force. The enlisted types, equivalent to Constables in the regular IPO, are Able Spacemen; there's a confusing mess of NCO ranks (what, precisely, is the difference between a Master Chief Petty Officer and a Senior Chief Petty Officer, and who gives a damn?). The commissioned ranks begin at Lieutenant and theoretically advance to Admiral, although with a fleet of only two ships which operate more or less independent, there's no need for anyone to hold that rank.

In practice, the IPO puts only a semi-formal importance on the rank structure. It's more important that the jobs get done than that the proper forms of address are used.

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/