...will not be presented here in full.
However.
After a pilot or small crew (for an AWACS, say, or a tank) has gained combat experience - defined as one kill for direct combatants and one engagement's support for non - they're permanently assigned to the same craft whenever practical, and permitted to add whatever nose art they like (well, within the bounds of good taste and officerlike conduct). Larger units - ships, basically - are allowed to do the same from day one, and exactly what to do in that way is traditionally but not always decided by a secret vote from among the crew. Double aces - ten combat kills or better - are permitted to go farther and perform any customization of their craft's appearance that doesn't interfere with identification. The catch being that anything but the regulation paint job has to be done and maintained by the pilot theirself, rather than the standard ground crew. Practically speaking, higher-ranking officers usually manage to bribe subordinates into doing the dirty work, or assign it as punishment detail, but that's not covered by the regs.
Jewelry on duty is a no-no, as is make-up (since it can rub off and end up places it shouldn't, sometimes), but the rules on hair basically boil down to 'whatever is out of your way and doesn't distract anyone else is okay'. That last actually does extend to boot camp, with the caveat that nobody gets any extra time for anything.
I'd go into detail on the uniforms, but that'd take more research than I feel like buying into at the moment. ^_^;
Something I will say is that the EDTO does keep up the tradition of ceremonial swords for dress uniforms, but mandates that they be functional weapons as well as symbolic pieces. Which makes them... rather different from what's usually seen today.
The big reason for this - and the existence of the Spartan configuration - is that the SDF-1 had a few Zentradi swords aboard.
That still demands the question of why a Zentradi would want to use a sword, and I think it's simple: Even relative to steel-grade or better armor, try and think about the cutting ability of an area a few microns across (achieved by adding an SIF generator in the sword's hilt and modifying the field slightly past the actual edge) backed by a Zentradi's strength and nearly a ton of steel, or a piercing point the same width in front of thirty-five tons of moving mass.
Sure, you can do better with a sufficiently powerful beam weapon or enough explosives, but swords are cheap, explosives aren't, and quantum beams can be supressed.
Ja, -n
(likes the idea of competition for Jialan, BTW.)
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
However.
After a pilot or small crew (for an AWACS, say, or a tank) has gained combat experience - defined as one kill for direct combatants and one engagement's support for non - they're permanently assigned to the same craft whenever practical, and permitted to add whatever nose art they like (well, within the bounds of good taste and officerlike conduct). Larger units - ships, basically - are allowed to do the same from day one, and exactly what to do in that way is traditionally but not always decided by a secret vote from among the crew. Double aces - ten combat kills or better - are permitted to go farther and perform any customization of their craft's appearance that doesn't interfere with identification. The catch being that anything but the regulation paint job has to be done and maintained by the pilot theirself, rather than the standard ground crew. Practically speaking, higher-ranking officers usually manage to bribe subordinates into doing the dirty work, or assign it as punishment detail, but that's not covered by the regs.
Jewelry on duty is a no-no, as is make-up (since it can rub off and end up places it shouldn't, sometimes), but the rules on hair basically boil down to 'whatever is out of your way and doesn't distract anyone else is okay'. That last actually does extend to boot camp, with the caveat that nobody gets any extra time for anything.
I'd go into detail on the uniforms, but that'd take more research than I feel like buying into at the moment. ^_^;
Something I will say is that the EDTO does keep up the tradition of ceremonial swords for dress uniforms, but mandates that they be functional weapons as well as symbolic pieces. Which makes them... rather different from what's usually seen today.
The big reason for this - and the existence of the Spartan configuration - is that the SDF-1 had a few Zentradi swords aboard.
That still demands the question of why a Zentradi would want to use a sword, and I think it's simple: Even relative to steel-grade or better armor, try and think about the cutting ability of an area a few microns across (achieved by adding an SIF generator in the sword's hilt and modifying the field slightly past the actual edge) backed by a Zentradi's strength and nearly a ton of steel, or a piercing point the same width in front of thirty-five tons of moving mass.
Sure, you can do better with a sufficiently powerful beam weapon or enough explosives, but swords are cheap, explosives aren't, and quantum beams can be supressed.
Ja, -n
(likes the idea of competition for Jialan, BTW.)
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."