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"And You?"

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Jasta 5 Orden

Left - Jasta 5 patrol with
vonHippel(closest), Könnecke and Mai
(farthest).
Courtesy
Mark Miller
Right
- Three NCO pilots of Jagdstaffel 5. Left to right: Vizefeldwebel
Rumey, Könnecke and Mai. By the end of May 1918, when this photograph was
taken, their combined effort amounted to 50 aerial victories. this figure
had increased to 110 by the end of the war: (Rumey 45, Könnecke 35 and
Mai 30) - Alex Imrie
Why Ranks?
One
of the most enjoyable aspects of belonging to a Jasta (short for
Jagdstaffel which translates to "hunting squadron"), besides the camaraderie
and community you will find, is the opportunity to fly in organized
tournaments and wars, which provide a completely different experience than
flying in the wild and somewhat chaotic open servers. In
order to function effectively within
the context of these organized tournaments and
events, rank and command positions in the Jasta are necessary.
Rank and command is simply an external representative of a pilots experience and
expertise, in addition to an indication of their increased responsibilities and
service to the
Jasta as well as the larger online community, of which we are all a
part.
In addition to rank, pilots earn
medals,
decorations and awards which serve to distinguish each pilot for their
actions. They often refer to participation in various battles.
They may also be in recognition of contributions made by a pilot
during their service to the Jasta.
While
every Jasta pilot should seek to represent Jasta 5 well by acting
honorably and with respect for others, in order to fly effectively as
a group, each
pilot needs to be willing to follow the example set by their superior officers
as well as honor requests made by superior officers.
In exchange, officers are responsible for each pilot directly under
their command and are duty bound to assist them in many different
ways. Examples might be referring a newer pilot to game
resources or answering questions regarding downloading patches or
clarifying game rules. Also important is making each new pilot
feel welcome and comfortable within the Jasta.
Pilots
who
are qualified based upon their abilities,
aptitude and attitude who show an interest in more responsibility within the Jasta
may
be
promoted into the officer ranks.
This is done when it is seen by Hq as benefiting the whole Jagdstaffel.
Following
is an organizational chart showing the various positions and ranks
possible. Following the chart is a functional description of various ranks
and positions within Jasta 5.
|
Description |
Rank/Position
|
Epaulette |
Criteria |
OHL -
Hauptquartier HQ is comprised of
the commanding officer, the assistant commander, and senior advising
officers who command.
Senior Officers may or may not be staff officers,
and are involved in the most important decisions made by command. |
Staffelführer
(Fhr) - Commander |
 |
Appointed |
Title: Adjutant (Adj) - Assistant Commander |
 |
Appointed |
Title: Senior Officers |
 |
Appointed |
Officers
Loyalty.
Leadership.
Service.
Skill.
Officers are leaders who have accepted
the obligation to serve the Jasta in a variety of unique and
important ways including assuring that sufficient financial
resources are available to keep the unit operational at a level that
assures success in carrying out its mission.
Officers usually start
as enlisted men, who at some point during their first year of service with
the Jasta,
are identified by senior officers as a good potential officer candidate.
Once an officer, further promotions usually
occur after another 18 and 24 months more or less, depending upon an
individual's service
record, personal interest in additional responsibilities, and
organizational need.
Officers contribute to the formulation and
discussion involving important decisions involving the Jasta.
|
Major (M) (pronounced
/maˈjoːr/)
is a rank of the German military which dates back to the Middle Ages. The rank of Major originated in
English as a suffix to certain other military positions, usually to denote a
more senior status than others of the same position. By the 19th
century, the rank of Major was being used by nearly every military
in the western and colonial world. It quickly developed into a senior
staff position and was seen as the first of the "command" or
"field" ranks, in contrast to the rank of captain
and below which were viewed as "company ranks".
|
 |
Appointed |
Hauptmann
(H)
Translated as "main man", this
rank is generally considered to be equivalent to a captain
when it is used as an officer's rank. These are the senior
officers of the unit. Generally bestowed upon
only the most capable leaders of the unit.
|
 |
Appointed |
StabsHauptmann (SH)
Specialist or "staff" officers. Instead of being promoted to the rank of
major, specialist officers are usually promoted to the rank of Stabshauptmann and given the salary of a major.
The badge of rank is four silver stars. Generally, officers
having served as Stab or in Hq earn this rank.
|
 |
Appointed |
Oberleutnant (OL)
A rank of the German
military which dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is
typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after at least two years
of service to the unit.
|
 |
Appointed |
Leutnant (Ltn)
The lowest
commissioned
rank in many armed forces. Generally earned following at least one
year of service to the Jasta.
|
 |
Appointed |
Senior Pilots and
Officer Candidates
Oberfähnrich are the senior pilots of the unit. They are the best
and most capable pilots in the air.
However the
rank is not bound to a command position,
A Fähnrich is
a pilot who served in the regular ranks, first as a junior NCO then
in subsequent grades.
The
rank is not bound to a command position, but pilots in this rank may be
considered for officer candidacy.
Officer candidates are
expected to begin to serve the unit in a variety of important ways,
including monthly contributions to the operational expenses of
the unit, in the unlikely event that they are not already doing so.
Promotion into the officer ranks generally
occurs after 12-18 months or adequate demonstrated service to the
unit and completion of an officer training program. Refer to
officers description in section above.
|
Oberfähnrich (OFR). These are the senior pilots of the unit.
They are the best and most capable pilots in the air. |
 |
Appointed
(senior pilots often function in various Stab or Instructor Pilot roles) |
Fähnrich
(FR)
(officer candidate) is a
German
and Austrian
military rank in armed forces which has no direct comparison in the
English speaking world (though the French
Army has a similar position called an Aspirant).
|
 |
Appointed
for Officer
Training and/or Instructor Roles |
Stab ("staff")
Staff have positions
and not ranks. A pilot filling a staff position may or may
not have the rank of an officer, and so these positions are listed
here beneath the higher ranked sections. Staff are involved in
day to day operational functioning of the Jasta and so serve a vital
role to our success. Staff are to be respected and appreciated
by all pilots.
|
Title: Communications |
|
Volunteer/
Appointed |
Title: Lobprotokollführer (Lpkf) - Awards |
|
Volunteer/
Appointed |
Title: Oberstabsingenieur (OPO) - Operations |
|
Volunteer/
Appointed |
Title: Stabsingenieur
(SO) - Server Operator |
|
Volunteer/
Appointed
|
Title:
Anwerbungsoffizier (RO) - Recruiting |
|
Volunteer/
Appointed |
Title: Ausbilder
(TO) - Training |
|
Volunteer/
Appointed |
Title: Staffelmaeler - Graphics/Paints |
|
Volunteer/
Appointed |
Non
Commissioned
Officers
Hauptfeldwebel
begin to take responsibilities on similar to
those that officers have - to lead through service to the Jasta.
Feldwebel play an important role in the unit as they
are relied upon as instructor pilots.
Unteroffiziere are
eligible to contribute to the unit success by flying in campaign
missions.
Upon reaching the NCO ranks, each pilot should
begin to consider their personal responsibility to financially
support the monthly operational needs of the unit, which they are
benefiting from, in the event that they have not already begun to do
so.
|
Hauptfeldwebel (HFw)
In the German military, the
appointment of Hauptfeldwebel was the German equivalent of a
Commonwealth Company
Sergeant Major or American Company First Sergeant. Duties are largely administrative. He was the
senior NCO of his subunit, and had many nicknames including 'der
Spiess' ("the Spear") and 'die Mutter der Kompanie'
("company mother").
|
 |
Earned
after having previously earned
both Observers and Pilot badges. |
Feldwebel (Fw)
gained its
widest usage under the German military beginning from the early 19th
century. The highest ranking NCO, the Feldwebel acted as Company
Sergeant Major or Regimental
Sergeant Major. |
 |
Fighter or Bomber Training Completed
(Advanced Certification)

Prussian
Observers Badge (POB) Earned
OR

Prussian
Pilots Badge (PPB) Earned Feldwebel often
function as Flight Leads |
Unteroffizier (Uffz)
Translated literally as “Under Officer”, this is perhaps
misleading as an Unteroffizier is in actuality a junior enlisted rank.
The rank of Unteroffizier was first created to "bridge the
gap" between career professional soldiers and enlisted
conscripts.
When a pilot finishes their Pilot School
(intermediate certification), they earn priority in being assigned missions
during campaign missions.
Refer
to the Unteroffizer training forum for metrics used to guide in the
determination of eligibility for promotion to Feldwebel,
|
 |
Pilot Training Completed (Intermediate
Certification)
|
Enlisted
Personnel
Enlisted personnel are largely made up of conscripts
serving their nine months of mandatory service.
The most important distinction between NCOs and enlisted men is
that the latter cannot give orders to lower-ranked soldiers unless
under very specific circumstances (e.g. while on guard duty). |
Gefreiter (Gfr) -
Gefreiter is the German equivalent for Private
in the armed services. Gefreiter was the lowest rank to which an
ordinary soldier could be promoted. Soldiers holding the rank of Gefreiter or
Obergefreiter were equal in status only to private soldiers;
they had no powers of command or authority, and the rank represented
little more than a pay raise. They were not non-commissioned officers
(in German, Unteroffiziere mit Portepee (Senior NCO) or Unteroffiziere
ohne Portepee (Junior NCO).
Gefreiter are called upon to begin contributing to
missions in campaigns, often initially in the capacity of flight
support or as reserve pilots or during times of urgent need, as an
active pilot on the flight line. |
 |
Flight School
Completed (Basic
Certification) |
Flieger (Flg.) -
are primarily in a learning capacity, adapting to the requirements
of the military profession, acquiring knowledge of Jasta 5 customs,
courtesies, and standards, as well as striving to attain
technical proficiency. Flieger operate at the
tactical level.
Flieger have the privilege,
and are expected to fly "in uniform", by using the
designation J5 in front of their names while flying in servers.
e.g. J5_Voss.
|
 |
Induction and Ground School Completed
(first official training flight)
|
Civilian Inductee -
Recruit |
Recruits -
are hopeful pilots to be who have
recently applied to fly at the Western Front with Jasta 5.
Recruits go through their "Induction" -
getting their game installed, getting communications set up and
making sure that they have all the basic tools necessary to begin
their training and otherwise be an active member of the
Jagdstaffel.
Recruits do not bear any uniform rank
insignia, which would normally be worn on the sleeves, which
accounts for the nickname of "slick sleeve".
|
No
Uniform |
Applied to join Jasta 5 |
Officer
grades are by appointment only. Transfers from another German unit will
normally, but not always, be reduced by two grades of rank. Most
information regarding ranks, including graphics, are sourced from material
found at wikipedia.org.
Chain of Command in Practice
Staffelführer
The Staffelführer
is the head of the Jagdstaffel. He is responsible for all administrative work
of
the squadron. The Rittm. typically maintains the website, gives out weekly mission assignments, plans
the future of the Jasta, corresponds and coordinates with other Jasta
Commands and organizes online wars with other Jastas teams. He will
organize all things you may not even notice, unless they aren't done.
Because of these "macro management" responsibilities, the Staffelführer
will basically try to avoid involvement with any day-to-day
affairs. Instead, subordinate officers are tasked with "micro
management" details of day to day affairs. Working alongside the
Staffelführer is the Jastakommandanten.
Hauptmann
These
are the more senior officers of the Jagdstaffel. Typically members of the
Jastakommandanten, they are the leaders of
the Jasta and advisors to the Staffelführer . They keep most of the work away
from the Staffelführer that has to do with promotions, discipline, transfers, and so on. They are also important for the long-term future of the
Jasta, as the Staffelführer usually calls a meeting of the
Jastakommandanten before any
important decision.
Oberleutnant
These officers assist their superior Hauptmann as directed and may have several Leutnants to help them
accomplish this work. While serving in this position, an officer
proves whether or not they are suitable for service in the
Jastakommandanten, who function as advisors to the unit Commander and
participate in most decision making.
Leutnant
Pilots reaching the rank of
Leutnant, have a command position with high
responsibility. In addition to assisting higher ranking officers as
requested, they are more directly tasked with keeping pilots content and trained. Decisions
regarding promotions, discipline and transfers are mainly made here, and
sent up to the Oberstleutnant for approval. Although already a position
with some organizational duties, the Leutnant should not lose contact with members of his
Staffel.
Rather their job is to stay in direct contact with them, with the
assistance of their Fähnrich.
Fähnrich
The
pilot rank of "Fähnrich"
is not bound to a command position. It is the highest rank you can achieve if you are not
able to take the future responsibility of an
officers command position, or do
not have enough time to do so... or if insufficient officer positions
are available. You can only earn your rank of Leutnant after
several months of high activity and involvement while this rank.
Feldwebel
While serving in this
position you can be sure that officers are evaluating your skills and
abilities to possibly serve as a "Flight Leader" or "Gruppe Leader".
Flieger
Recruits who are beginning their careers as a pilot in the
German Air Service (GAS) begin here. If you have succeed in completing your
induction and basic training certification you will earn your Prussian
Observers Badge and be transferred to the active
duty roster with the Flieger designation.
While progressing through these early ranks, you are still in training, under command of
your Ausbilder and all other Officers. You
will become acquainted with protocols within Jasta 5 and the online
simulation communities along with reporting procedures, not to mention
mastering basic
flying maneuvers and tactical awareness and skill.
As
you see, ranks and command positions
are earned by showing interest and activity. Medals and decorations
have more objective regulations set up. Every commendation, badge, medal and
order which is earned while in Jasta 5 will be entered into your dossier
and displayed on the Jasta 5 website for all other Jasta pilots and
visiting guests to see. Even if you are otherwise not very active in the
Jasta, your results in flying will influence your achievement of medals
and recognition. There
are several special positions normally held by pilots within the Jagdstaffel.
-
"Oberstabsingenieur"
(OPO) This position is responsible for implementing
initiatives and coordinating the efforts of the stabsingenieurs
consistent with those initiatives along the line of efficiency, effectiveness
assisting unit command
with the areas of operations including strategy and tactical
planning during organized events.
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