"2IC" in Stargate fic

[starwatcher307]

Hi

Comments

[tashabear]

Actually, I was called LT (Ell-Tee) ALL THE TIME, and I loved it. When I was a company XO (executive officer, second in command), the company commander called me XO (Ex-Oh). Everyone else called me "Ma'am" (no more LT; I was a captain by then).

Bear in mind that my experience is in the US Army, but I've worked with people from other US services and NEVER heard the term 2IC. It drives me nutty when I see it in fiction. No idea where it came from, and I wish it could be killed with fire.

[adafrog]

I agree with killing 2IC with fire. But I had no idea they use El-tee in the US as well.

[tashabear]

It's kinda funny; my ROTC instructor said we should never allow ourselves to be called LT, as it was demeaning and disrespectful blahblahblah. But I noticed that when the enlisted folks called a lieutenant LT, they liked and respected that person. When they were called "Lieutenant," not so much. I really missed it when I was promoted.

While we're setting things alight, can we also stop calling the SGA uniforms BDUs? They aren't BDUs. No one has worn BDUs on any of the Stargate shows since, what, season 1 of the original? BDUs have been out of the US system since 2005.

When I was in Kuwait that year, I had a British soldier ask me what the difference was between the desert camo I was wearing and the digital camo worn by others in the chow line we were in. I answered, "They're new here."

[dhamphir]

I think it depends on the branch of service, too. We never used ell-tee in the Navy, at least not when I was in. The officers that weren't respected so much were called sir or ma'am (with a certain subtle inflection) rather than by their rank. *lol*

[tashabear]

Yes, but a lieutenant in the Navy is an O-3. That's a bit too high in rank to be called by a nickname. I was called LT at O-1 and O-2.

[dhamphir]

Yeah. But an O-2 is an LTjg (junior grade), also addressed as Lieutenant. It was my experience that L-T was more commonly used by the Army and the Marines. Didn't run into it when I was (temp) assigned to a billet on an Air Force base.

Although, a lot marines will address a well-liked officer as "skipper", regardless of rank, if that officer is in charge of the group, whether a platoon, division, or the CO. At least they did when I was in a lot of years ago.

[starwatcher307]

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a lot marines will address a well-liked officer as "skipper", regardless of rank,

Cool. Must admit, I don't think I've ever seen it in fic; maybe I'm not reading fandoms where it might be used. I haven't seen/heard 'skipper' since McHale's Navy and Gilligan's Island. *g*
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[dhamphir]

I don't know of any "Marine" fandoms, so I don't know if it's shown up in fanfic. I'm just going by my personal experience from when I was in the Navy (and stationed with Marines and/or Air Force personnel).

[starwatcher307]

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Well, Steve McGarrett was Navy, but I've never seen/heard him call anyone 'skipper' -- not even when Joe White was around for all those episodes.

(Of course, most of H50 fandom doesn't like Joe -- at least, not the corners I read in -- so they don't write him, much.)
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[dhamphir]

Right, McGarrett is Navy, not a Marine, so no, I wouldn't expect him to call his CO "skipper".

[starwatcher307]

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Oh, my apologies for the reading fail. I saw you were in the Navy, and missed that you were working with Marines, so thought 'skipper' was also part of the navy terminology.
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[alessandriana]

L-T is commonly used (spoken) in the AF as well.

[starwatcher307]

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Ah, I should have read all comments before responding; your first para answers the question about L-T I asked, above.

Okay, I just looked up digital camo; I had no idea it existed. But... don't soldiers wear the camo they're given? Why would being new mean a different camo pattern? Am I misreading a flavor of, "wrong pattern because they're clueless"?
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[tashabear]

Yes, you are. The old woodland and desert camo patterns were retired in 2004-2005. So instead of wearing woodland day-to-day at home and then being issued desert camo when they deploy to a desert theater, the US Army issued one uniform that was supposed to be effective in any environment. What they DIDN'T do was ship hundreds of thousands of uniforms to the Middle East to supply those of us who deployed with desert camo with the new digital uniforms. So those who deployed after the new uniforms were issued wore them into theater, and therefore, were new.

The rest of us got the new uniforms after we got home as they came available. Because some items were harder to get than others, at one point I was wearing a digital uniform, a woodland camo Goretex jacket, and desert camo body armor.

[starwatcher307]

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Thanks for the explanation. It's too easy for those with no experience to forget about the complications of supplying the troops.
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[tashabear]

I was a logistician -- trained as a transportation officer, finished my career as a battalion supply officer. Even the Transportation Corps song (which is AWFUL) mentions "getting bullets and boots to the troops."