Ranks in the Imperial Navy

Commissioned officers are the highest ranks of Navy officers and usually can only be created by the Battlefleet Administratum. In the Askellon Sector, a certain number of officers are generated by the “commissions” issued to Planetary Governors and Schola Progenium institutions each year to fulfil. Each commission is for a single child of ‘good character’ to attend Port Lockhart, there to become a midshipman in the Holy Imperial Navy. Once they arrive, they may serve aboard Port Lockhart for years waiting for a ship, or leave mere days after they set foot on the station.

Commissions issued to planetary governors are commonly sold to noble families noble families or bestowed in a politically expedient fashion to reward a trusted noble or remove a troublesome sibling. A career in the Imperial Navy is viewed as a "glorious, honourable and very probably fatal enterprise" by noble houses, a sacrifice that enhances the family’s prestige immeasurably. The Schola Progenium, on the other hand, sends their best charges to serve, especially those with naval heritage. "The rivalry between the arrogant offspring of nobility and the earnest young orphans of the Scholas is legendary".

A good portion of midshipman join the Imperial Navy through a more "informal" system of "patronage". It is not uncommon for a Naval captain to take on a noble’s son or daughter as a midshipman at their family’s request. This may be a favour to an old friend, or a means to repay an ancestral debt. However, even in this case, most noble children find the Navy a "harsh and uncompromising environment, where most must excel on their merits, or likely perish".

Lord High-Admiral

Also called the Battlefleet Commander, lord high-admiral is the highest rank of the Imperial Navy. Only five of these august individuals exist, one for each of the Segmentae Majoris. Each is responsible for the Imperial Navy’s fighting forces across the thousands of sectors in their allotted quadrant of the galaxy, or in the case of the Lord High-Admiral Solar, the substantial volumes around Holy Terra itself. The attention demanded by the dizzying array of plans, schedules and staffs under the auspices of a lord high-admiral mean they are seldom seen outside their towering fleet headquarters at the Segmentum fortress.

Lord Admiral

A lord-admiral, or sector commander, is responsible for all naval operations in a given sector and has direct command of units of the Segmentum warfleet allocated to that sector. Nominally a lord-admiral is based at the Segmentum Fortress with other sector-level administratum officials, but most choose to base themselves at the foremost naval facility of the sector under their charge. A lord-admiral answers not only to their superiors in the fleet but to the Adeptus Terra as well. Deploying ships and personnel to patrols, permanent stations and reserve fleets in a way that satisfies both military and civilian needs is a headache most naval officers dread.

Solar Admiral*

In the regions of space in and around the Calixis Sector, an Admiral with an illustrious career and a spotless record may eventually be sent to present themselves before the Battlefleet commander at the Segmentum fortress at Cypra Mundi—a journey that may take years. Should the lord high-admiral approve of the individual when he finally gets around to seeing them (often after several more years) he may send them on to Holy Terra for consideration to become a solar admiral, a process that can take the rest of their life. Solar admirals are often prospective sector commanders waiting for assignment to a sector. As such opportunities are rare it’s far more common for solar admirals to be dispatched to war zones in command of a reinforcing fleet or kept busy on “special duties” with their own independent flotilla.

*Warr's note: included for completeness, but there's no mention of a parallel rank in the Askellon Sector. See also Lord Solar Macharius.

Admiral

An admiral is allocated command of a portion of a sector’s fleet and responsibility for the security of a handful of star systems and the vast tracts of Wilderness Space that lie in between. It’s rare for an admiral to amass their ships in one place as they are generally busy patrolling Imperium worlds and trade routes light years apart. Perhaps twice a century the fleet might be mustered for a punitive strike or to defend against a sector-wide incursion.

Vice-Admiral

By long tradition a vice-admiral commands the leading division of the fleet, the part that would equate to the vanguard of a terrestrial force. In later times this has come to mean commanding a force of light cruisers and destroyers charged with scouting for the enemy, charting navigational
hazards and long-range patrolling. It’s common for a vice-admiral to choose a light cruiser as their flagship to better keep pace with his far-flung squadrons.

Rear-Admiral

In ancient times when an entire Battlefleet might be massed together, the thousands of ships present would be divided in to three commands, each under their own admiral. The rear-admiral was the youngest and least experienced and so would be given charge of the rearmost division as the one least likely to see combat. Over time this rank has evolved into a largely administrative post charged with co-ordinating repair facilities, refuelling ships, forming convoys and other rear echelon activities. Some time spent as a rear-admiral is seen as essential for an officer that aspires to the higher ranks so they can demonstrate a facility with logistics and high-level planning.

Commodore

Also sometimes called a group commander, the rank of commodore was originally only a temporary one given to a senior captain placed in charge of a squadron of ships. Over time the rank of commodore has found its way into permanent usage as what were once temporary squadrons stabilised into regular patrol routes and areas of responsibility. On the rare and terrible occasions when capital ships join together in squadrons the senior captain is still promoted to commodore for the duration of the engagement.

Lord-Captain

Sometimes also referred to as a flag-captain, lord-captain is an honourific rank normally applied to captains in command of vessels on detached duty. A lord-captain speaks backed by the full authority of the Battlefleet. This is an important distinction when dealing with arrogant planetary governors or petty administratum officials that might be inclined to dismiss the words of a “mere” Navy captain. For this very reason, many
Rogue Traders have adopted the title of lord-captain.

Captain

To be captain is to become lord and master of all one surveys. The Emperor is the Master of Mankind, but aboard a ship the Captain’s very word is His law. Imperial Navy captains are aloof, uncompromising figures unbowed by the awesome responsibility entrusted to them. They may be a tyrant, martinet, swashbuckler, strategist or saint but a captain "will always be an exceptional individual" to hold full command of an Imperial Navy warship.

Commanders

Individual escort-class vessels normally come under the charge of a commander, with a captain or commodore holding overall command of an escort squadron. However, a commander might also be found as the leader for a squadron of system vessels, wing commander of the attack craft onboard a carrier ship, or placed in charge of an orbital station. Many Navy officers aspire to nothing more than becoming the commander of a
frigate with its frequent opportunities for action and glory.

Lieutenant

Many officers in the Navy rise no higher than Lieutenant. System-defence ships and monitors occasionally fall under the direct command of a lieutenant. It is more common for them to be found acting as second-in-command aboard escort-class ships, as part of the vast bridge crew found on a capital vessel, or in an attack craft squadron acting as flight leader. A lieutenant is regarded as having true potential and the opportunity for
greatness. Some of the most renowned lord-captains first began to forge their reputation by taking over the helm of the ship when their commander was killed or injured.

There are actually several different ranks of lieutenants, ranging from lowly sub-lieutenants or ensigns just promoted from midshipman to the flag-lieutenant (or lord-lieutenant) who serves as the executive officer aboard a ship of the line. In Battlefleet Askellon, the lowest ranking lieutenants are often referred to as ensigns, and given minor responsibilities such as commanding small craft, boarding parties, or press gangs. They are often paired with a senior warrant officer to provide valuable guidance, and in the eyes of their superiors and the crew they’re treated with respect for their rank, and caution due to their lack of skill and experience.

If they succeed, a lieutenant can expect to advance through the ranks as a third, second, and finally first lieutenant, steadily gaining more responsibilities as they do so. Eventually, they may rise to the rank of flag or lord lieutenant, the second in command aboard a capital ship. If they can prove themself to be a resourceful and competent officer, they may eventually be promoted to commander, and given the chance to take command of their own vessel. However, many lieutenants never make that leap, and spend their days serving as valued junior officers on a voidship’s bridge.

Midshipman

Midshipman are the lowest ranking “officers” in the Navy, and are actually better described as students with an officer’s rank. Technically afforded an officer’s respect, they are nevertheless in demanding training to become true officers, and many of their duties are “hands on” opportunities to learn. Midshipmen are so called because they traditionally have quarters somewhere in the ship’s midsection, far from the command bridge. Not quite trusted with true responsibility, they remain under constant scrutiny as they complete their training. Should they prove successful, the Askelline Battlefleet adheres to the tradition of requiring them to pass difficult examinations to become lieutenants, though some have been known to receive “void promotions” for particularly impressive actions.

Warrant officers (also known in some quarters as “petty officers”) act as the equivalent of sergeants and corporals in a planet-bound army—they disseminate orders from higher authority, ensure that those orders are carried out and maintain discipline with regular floggings. They are called warrant officers because they are created through the issue of a written warrant from either fleet administration or the captain of the ship. Warrant officers occupy positions of trust on the ship and a captain with even the most mutinous of crews can keep the ship running as long as they can rely on their warrant officers. It’s common practice to promote warrant officers from among the ratings already on board a ship, but large numbers of warrants are also issued to civilised worlds as part of their Imperial tithe of experienced personnel, often with a promise of reward to entice skilled individuals.

There are two broad types of warrant officers. The chief petty officers are the ship’s most senior warrant officers, often given positions of authority and trusted with tasks vital to keep the ship running. Sometimes they’ve served on a ship longer than the captain or any of the commissioned officers. A wise captain pays careful heed to their chief petty officers. Below the chiefs are the regular petty officers, who are responsible for day to day ship operations and directly leading the masses of ratings and indentured workers that make up the majority of the ship’s crew. An example of a chief petty officer would be a Master Gunner, while an example petty officer would be a Gun Captain.

Ship's Master

The ship’s master is generally the ship’s most senior warrant officer and most experienced voidsman. Often the master is tasked with critical responsibilities, such as stellar navigation and the keeping of the ship’s log. In addition, he might oversee the keeping of the ship’s attitude jets, hanger decks, and stores and supplies.

Gun Captain

A gun captain has command of a single gun crew on a warship. This is a great responsibility as ship-borne macroweapons are huge and have crews in the hundreds, and lance turrets can be much larger. The gun captain must know how to do the jobs of all the men under their command and often achieves the post only after decades of working their way up through all the different ratings. Gun captains are highly respected individuals and there’s often a great deal of rivalry between them over whose crew is the fastest and most accurate on the ship. On attack craft carrying ships, “squadron leader” is often employed as an equivalent rank.

Sergeant-at-Arms

A sergeant-at-arms has charge of a squad of armsmen anywhere between six and twenty strong with responsibility for close action in naval combat (such as hit and run attacks and boarding actions). A sergeant-at-arms’ greatest responsibility is the keys entrusted to them for the weapons lockers found on every deck of a warship. When battle commences the master of arms signals the sergeants to clear the decks and prepare for action, indicating at that time whether to arm the crew. Naturally, the sergeant-at-arms is an early target during mutinies. Sergeants-at-arms are often recruited via warrant at planets from among former Imperial Guardsmen to ensure they don’t have prior associations with the current crew.

Bosun (boatswain)

The ships Bosuns are disciplinarians and taskmasters in a crew, assigned to oversee the common ratings and indentured workers determine their duties, and ensure they’re carried out. This often means they’re responsible for enforcing discipline on recalcitrant crewmembers, and are likely to handle that task personally. This makes them unpopular figures in the Navy hierarchy, and aboard many warships they find themselves naturally allied with a ship’s sergeants-at-arms, as their duties are similar.

Naval discipline is brutal. The regulations cover a dizzying variety of infractions, and for most of them the punishment is death. Infractions vary from fleet to fleet, even from ship to ship. According to Battlefleet Askellon regulations, for example, crewmembers caught sleeping during their watch are to be beaten to death by their comrades, those that neglect maintenance are to be electrocuted, black marketeers are strangled, and hoarders are starved. Even minor failings such as an unkempt appearance or speaking after curfew might earn a flogging.

Page after page, chapter after chapter of the regulations codify punishments in exhaustive detail. In every case the attitude is taken that "branding an indelible message on the rest of the crew is more important than the lives of any wrongdoers". Crew have no rights of appeal nor indeed trial beyond what the captain grants them, and his word is law.

This being said, few captains are "ferocious enough" to execute their crew as often or as viscerally as the regulations demand. The best command through respect as much as discipline, and for most the threat is enough to wield absolute authority. However, the Navy wants captains that are "feared and respected, not loved". Where the captain "fails" in their duty, the fleet commissar stands ready to ensure discipline is "properly maintained".

Ratings take care of the functions that need muscle instead of training—hauling shells and missiles, re-routing cables, clearing debris and conducting basic maintenance (i.e., scrubbing the decks). They are the basic personnel aboard a ship. People in this class typically have a myriad of sub-classifications (ratings) that specify their role further, e.g. gun-layer third class, fuse-changer second class and so on. Ratings make up the bulk of the crew and will be the ones doing most of the fighting in boarding actions.

Contrary to popular belief, "many Navy ratings are volunteers—the pay is good and the conditions are better than those on many Imperial worlds". The Navy can make generous promises when it "knows barely half the ratings will survive a cruise and collect their Askels at the end". If there aren’t enough volunteers to fulfil a captain’s requirements they always have the right to send press gangs to tithe more crew directly from any planet along their way. This can mean anything from emptying Penal Colonies to press-ganging collections of citizens out of hab-blocks. In practice this is often achieved with the collusion of the planetary governor, but an Imperial Navy captain "does not need permission" to take crew from any world. The necessary practice of press-ganging remains a potential flashpoint for rebellion on many worlds and Navy ratings have an unsavoury reputation as "little more than convicts" because of it.

As stated previously, there are multitudes of different types of ratings, but they can often be divided into two broad classifications, armsmen and voidsmen.

Armsman

Armsmen are crewmembers trusted to carry weapons at all times onboard the ship and maintain the contents of the weapons lockers. They keep discipline among the lower ranks and protect the crew as needed—usually by wading in with truncheons or shooting first and asking questions later. Unlike most ratings, armsmen get to move around different decks of the ship in the course of their duties and their loyalties are carefully scrutinised. Many ratings spurn the chance to become an armsman simply because they don’t want to become part of the systematic brutality of ship discipline.

Voidsmen

Voidsmen (also referred to by the more archaic “shipmen” on some Imperial Navy vessels) are those ship’s crew with some training and skill, the ratings most likely to be entrusted with tasks such as conduit-maintenance, bulwark repairs, cog polishing, or other jobs that might require some skill and autonomy. Hive Worlders are favoured as voidsmen due to their familiarity with technology and the fact that they are inured to the worst of the noise and claustrophobic conditions found on ships. However, a captain sometimes has to take what he can get so a crew can become an eclectic mix of feral barbarians, agri-world farmers and cynical hive-worlders by the end of a long cruise.

The lowest ranking voidsmen are given the most mundane drudgery. However, those who are smart, lucky, and dutiful may advance in rank after many years of service. On many ships, these individuals are called able voidsmen, the title officially acknowledging their skill and experience. Some captains require examinations be passed to achieve able voidman rating while others simply bestow it as a marker for time served onboard.

Occasionally, a voidsman with both brains and ambition may become a leading voidsman. Officially, leading voidsmen are simply those placed in charge of work gangs but unofficially many officers use it as a proving ground for those under consideration to be warrant officers. Needless to say, only a very rare few reach this point.

---

Indentured Workers

Almost every warship has a voracious appetite for unskilled hard labour, and this appetite is fed by a steady diet of indentured workers. Often these are unfortunates who are press-ganged from a worlds slums or taken en masse from penal colonies— some of the Imperium’s teeming hordes of humanity, only valued for their ability to work. The Navy sees these unfortunates as much a resource as fuel for the drives and food for the crew, and they are given duties such as hauling guns into position, turning flywheels, and carrying supplies, heavy equipment, and macrocannon shells. Most ships must replenish their crews of indentured workers every so often, as a steady stream die to malnutrition, accidents, and disciplinary actions. Many indentured workers may be “upgraded” with crude augmentics and even mental inhibitors to make them more compliant to orders (and likely ensuring they’ll serve as indentured workers for the remainder of their lives). For those who avoid that fate, their best hope is to become a rating, learning some task that makes them valued in the ship hierarchy.

The following titles and positions are acknowledged in Navy regulations aboard ships. Many of these political niceties exist as necessities to slot the diverse specialists necessary to a ship’s functioning into the framework of Navy command.

Tech-Priest Majoris (Enginseer Prime)

The Imperial Navy and the Adeptus Mechanicus are closely intertwined, but in shipboard life they often lead entirely separate lives. The tech-priest majoris is the mechanicus representative on the bridge crew and communicates the needs of the adeptus to the captain and their officers. The tech-priest majoris may not be of especially high rank in the Cult Mechanicus. A common Navy belief is that "the most senior Mechanicus adepts on a ship seldom leave the engine rooms, unable to tear themselves away from the throbbing heart of the ship itself".

Principle Navigator (Warp Guide)

The most senior Navigator has the terrible responsibility of charting a passage through the Warp and bringing the ship through unharmed. Naval officers view Navigators as "little more than well-heeled civilians" but they are accorded a level of respect and even deference aboard ship that can astound a planet-dweller.

Chief Astropath

Smaller void ships only carry a handful of Astropaths but capital ships commonly boast an entire choir for long-range communication. Regardless of size one of the astropaths on the ship is always designated as the chief astropath and has direct dealings with the captain. Much of what passes between them is by necessity kept secret from the rest of the ship so the chief astropath "often becomes the captain’s closest confidant".

Master Gunner

The Master Gunner is a high-ranking warrant officer given responsibility for the maintenance and performance of the ship’s macrobatteries and lances. On small ships the Master Gunner may inspect each weapon personally, while on larger vessels they are  likely to delegate this to several aides. He also is responsible for ammunition storage and power linkages.

Master of Ordnance

Unlike many Rogue Trader vessels, many Navy vessels only have such an individual to manage torpedoes and attack craft—huge starbombers, lumbering assault boats and agile fighters—carried aboard the ship in vast launch bays. The master of ordnance co-ordinates the efforts of the deck crews to ensure everything is fuelled, armed and ready to launch at a moment’s notice. The master of ordnance has a vastly more complex task on ships carrying attack craft rather than just torpedoes. Maintaining discipline and training standards among the kind of hotshot pilots attracted to attack craft service is said to be an art form in itself.

Master of Arms

The master of arms is charged with ensuring that all weaponry onboard is serviceable and ready for action, from the greatest macrocannon to the meanest stub pistol. The sergeants-at-arms report directly to them, and by extension all armsmen are under their control, and so they also perform a role akin to chief of police aboard ship. The master of arms is normally appointed from among the commissioned officers on a ship but more rarely a senior warrant officer may hold this position. Experience with the Imperial Guard or Adeptus Arbites is "thought to be a great benefit for officers performing this role", and a master of arms will "often" seize any opportunities they can to participate in landing parties and other joint operations.

Ship's Surgeon

Sometimes also called the chief chirurgeon or else, unofficially, “sawbones,” the ship’s surgeon has charge of the medicae facilities aboard the vessel. Their duties include the combat of disease and malnutrition among the crew as well as suturing flesh and setting bones. The title is allotted to the most qualified individual onboard whether it be a Magos Biologis extremis on a capital ship, a medicae servitor on a destroyer or someone with first aid training on a gun-cutter.

Officer of the Watch

The officer of the watch draws up duty rosters, assigns watches and attends the ship’s chronometers. On most ships the title of officer of the watch is rotated through the ranking commissioned officers. On older vessels it tends to become a permanent position assigned to the officer that has served the longest time aboard the ship.

Fleet Commissar

Just as the regiments of the Imperial Guard have commissars appointed to them to ensure their unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, the ships of the Imperial Navy are host to fleet commissars. A fleet commissar works closely with the master of arms to ensure a ship is kept battle-ready at all times and that the crew remains focused on their duty to the Emperor. A fleet commissar has the authority to declare a captain or even an entire crew unfit for service if they're sufficiently concerned about their actions or the state of their ship. At least one fleet commissar will normally be aboard any capital ship. In the case of escort squadrons a fleet commissar will divide their time between the different vessels in the squadron in a series of snap inspections and drills.

Ship's Confessor

Imperial Warships are armoured by their faith as much as their adamantium hulls. The confessor works tirelessly to promote the Imperial Creed among the crew and "weed out heretics". In these duties the confessor is usually assisted by lay-preachers chosen from the most faithful on the lower decks. This is particularly essential on large warships as it allows the confessor to concentrate their efforts on the officers, shriving and chastising them as required. Imperial Navy officers wield unthinkable power in the Emperor’s name and confessors believe "they must be reminded of their duties to the Saviour of Mankind loudly and often".