Military RP Primer

<h2>BEING A GRUNT</h2>
<p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Ok, you’ve signed on the dotted line, and your butt is now the property of whatever military you have seen fit to join. Most characters will start out as a fairly low-ranking member of that org, and will be expected to work their way up. The truth of the matter is that the majority of military characters will never advance beyond mid-level officer rank, because command and flag positions are relatively few. That should not stop you from being ambitious, if that is part of your character’s makeup. However, at its most basic level, simply being a soldier will be the source of your greatest RP at the start of your IC career.
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">What does this mean? Well, soldiers behave in certain ways…depending on what their specific task is, and what the overall mentality of their unit or military force is. They behave in certain ways around other soldiers, and they behave in certain ways around civilians. Understanding this can be a tremendous source of spontaneous RP. Again, let’s discuss some basic points to think about.
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">A. What are you?
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">This is the easy one. You’ve thought about what makes your character tick, and what their goals and ambitions are. Now, you need to figure out what it is they actually do on a day-to-day basis. Are you an engineer on a warship? Are you a fighter pilot? Are you a marine or infantryman, a navigator, a gunner? Chances are you will be assigned to some sort of job when your character is ready for action. There are more elaborate options as your career advances, depending on the org, of course…you might be an intelligence officer, or a ship captain, or a drill sergeant. Whatever you are, though, you need to realize something: you’re a soldier, which means you spend lots and lots of time training to be GOOD at whatever it is that you do, and this should be a certain point of pride and a source of confidence. Don’t be afraid to develop an attitude. Fighter jocks should have a certain swagger to them. Marines or infantrymen should take pride in their toughness, and have a healthy arrogance toward people with more "cushy" jobs aboard ships or behind desks (and these people should generally think of the ground-pounders as sort of stupid.) Developing the attitude appropriate to your position and role is important for two reasons: it gives you a means of shaping character interaction (fighter pilots might brag about their accomplishments or try to best each other, off-duty marines might get into the occasional barfight to prove how tough they are…members of different branches of the same service may feel rivalry or even dislike for each other.) In addition, it can help gain recruits. Someone may look at you and say, "Wow, look at those marines, they really have the attitude down, they look like a fun group, I want to be part of it," or, "Wow, check out those hotshot fighter pilots. They make it look like fun to BE one of those guys, even on the ground." It works. Trust me. 
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">B. What kinds of stuff do you DO?
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">Look, reality is, there is not always going to be a superior officer online, telling you what to do. Once you understand what your role is, once you’ve got the swagger or the attitude down, you need to put that knowledge to use to keep yourself busy. On a day-to-day basis, you need to think about what your character would DO with him/her/itself, in the absence of specific orders. If you can’t come up with a few things, you’re going to be bored a lot of the time. And the key is, your ideas don’t have to be too complex. Fighter pilots might, if they have clearance, take their fighters out on patrol now and then, or even race against each other or practice in sims, but they can also simply lovingly polish their ships, talk to them, baby them, paint kill decals on them, etc. Of course, this is only fun if someone else is around at the time, like everything. A marine, infantryman or security officer might go on patrol around their local city, interacting with any civilians they see like a soldier who is working hard at keeping them safe. They also could get together with their buddies and have target practice, maybe even betting money on it. Engineers can fix stuff, or break stuff, which is even more fun…they can always be tinkering with their ship, working to upgrade it, keep it running, etc. Ideally, an engineer would have a relationship with the ship itself (see Scotty in Star Trek.) All of this can be the source of spontaneous RP (those fighter jocks bragging in the ship’s lounge will get real worried when the ship’s reactor core starts to overload, for example.) Point is, don’t wait for RP to come to you. 
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true" data-rte-empty-lines-before="1">C. Don’t be too anxious for advancement.
</p><p data-rte-fromparser="true">Hey, it can be FUN to be a low-ranking grunt. You don’t necessarily have to be a very smart character, and your responsibility level is much lower than a command-level officer. Besides that, you’re most likely to see action when you’re a grunt. You’re the guy who will be sent in to the dangerous situation, or be on the front lines. Do not overestimate this. Yeah, sure, it’s fun to be the boss, or to command your own ship. But it’s a lot more work and responsibility. As a grunt you have freedom that you will not have as your career advances. Enjoy it while it lasts...you might decide you want to leave it that way.
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