Talk:Military Ranks

Eh, well, this bugged me a bit, but I thought I'd bring it up here before actually editing anything.

I was really interested in the ranking system of Amestris, and of course the system it was based on. What I found was that, if Brigadier General was used as a rank, Colonel General wasn't, and vice versa. "Colonel General" should probably be replaced by "General" (or "Captain General," the alternate name given by wikipedia). General is a term for a group of ranks, as well as a specific rank, but due to the supposed ranking rules, Colonel General should be replaced. If "Colonel General" was actually brought up in-universe please let me know. NinjAngel 04:03, June 1, 2010 (UTC)NinjAngel

Actually, this ranking system was (mostly) taken from a Guidebook, namely 1st Perfect Guidebook. The RAW is here: mangahelpers. So, FMA-wise, it should be accurate. Kiadony 06:55, June 1, 2010 (UTC)

I'm still not sure. :/ The kanji given for the rank (大将) corresponds to taishou/general, I think. (Although, thanks for the link to the raw. :D) NinjAngel 19:46, June 1, 2010 (UTC)NinjAngel

I'm not sure now, either. I don't know who translated that for the article, and it does look as if the kanji were misinterpreted. I think I know a good translator that can be asked for help though. Kiadony 07:33, June 2, 2010 (UTC)

What is the Amestrian Military based on? I'm guessing it's Germany's military, just due to the that Amestris seems to be based a lot on Germany, but that's just an assumption. Is there anyone who is a military otaku who knows a lot about different countries' militaries?--Full Metal Fan 20:51, August 14, 2010 (UTC)

First of all, Amestris was not based in Germany, despite that belief due to FMA 1 and, according to Arakawa, Amestris is actually a country that had influences of multiple european countries in it's inception, the bigger (though not only) of those influences being England during the 1st Industrial Revolution (a certain "Victorian Era" inspiration, therefore).

But in terms of ranks, most Military of the Modern world are quite alike, aside from a couple of differences in Non-Comissioned Oficials and enlisting methods. That happens because of the Geneva Conventions, which established rules to Military organizations of the world and to war in general.

Some countries have different names to certain ranks, others don't have one particular rank or have a rank more than others. (most of those due exactly to the difference in commissioned X non-comissioned officers), but those similarities make it quite difficult for us to pinpoint what country exactly did Arakawa based upon to build the Amestrian Military structure. I believe it was either: England or USA. England because their Ranks count the equivalent to "Führer", in the "Field Marshal" position (though, of course, in this case, the Marshal is NOT the Head of State), and USA because of the general structure. They both have the same ranks of Comissioned officers and the same names of ranks we use in FMA. Usually, when it comes to Anime, they mostly inspire in the US Army because it's the closer Military organizarion Japan had prior to WW2 (after that, Japan was prohibited of having Armed Forces.Have you guys seen "The Last Samurai"? so! They show exactly the time Japan literally imported the military organization and institution from the US)... So, the Japanese Army during WW2 is very similar to USA's, meaning, if Arakawa sought inspiration in WW2 documents in Japan, she would be going that direction.Turdaewen 14:44, May 15, 2011 (UTC)

Asterisks?
Oooookkk, so i was look at it and some names had asterisks on them and i scrolled down but there was no explaination for them if anyone knows what they mean can you please instert them? 74.162.83.94 01:43, April 19, 2012 (UTC)