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03-22-2009, 08:15 PM | #21 |
DeceptiGrenadier
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Broca Beach, MI
Posts: 12,187
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I think the Vipers are the Marines of the Cobra Empire and the Troopers(blueshirts) are the Army of the Cobra Empire. They both are the bottom rung in the rank chain. The Red Divers would be the bottom of the Cobra Navy and the Air-Troopers would be the bottom of the Cobra Air Force. Crimson Guard would be like the Cobra Army version of Rangers, Alley-Vipers would be like the Marines Delta Force & the Snow Serpents/Eels would be the Cobra Navy version of the Seals.
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Rest in peace my son, Aaron Michael. You will always be in our hearts and prayers. 9/13/2012 |
03-22-2009, 10:44 PM | #22 |
W.O.R.M.S. Commander
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Back in the US of A! (NoVA)
Posts: 10,649
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I see it like this. Bottom rung is a Blueshirt. Really a private. He maybe gets some Cobra basic training/indoctrination and is handed the standard issue Dragunov Rifle cause cobra got those at a bargain price during the cold war.
Once he gets a promotion he can continue to move up the ranks in the Blue Shirts regular units or he can get specialized. I would say a majority of the Cobra operatives are blueshirts. Supply guys, maintenance, security, transport, ditch-diggers, basic logistics. Should they want more money and danger they move to the Viper Corps. These are Cobra Assault troopers. Either a Ranger or Marine Equivalent. Once they complete the training they are Corporals (E-4) You first need to complete Viper training to move to any of the other Viper Specialties. For this fact alone All Specialty Vipers are at least E-5 sgts. Range-Vipers and Alley-Vipers and Para-vipers and Snow Serpents are all E-7 equivalents to begin with due to the amount of time they spend training There are no Warrant Officers but a lot of Sgt Majors. To become an officer in any unit of Cobra you just have to be the most ruthless guy around. It's more of a title than anything else. You get paid more but you have to answer to someone above and battlefield executions of officers are common. So any Cobra Officer is not afraid of anyone. I mostly disregard the ranks we were given. I assume some of the more specialty Vipers have higher ranks to start with in general, but they hold ranks just like any other unit. Therefore a Sgt doesn't outrank a Captain ever. I have one (0-6) Viper (Gold Sonic Viper) The various other Cobra Officers and Neo-vipers and Hiss drivers are Captains or Majors or Lt. depending on which ever I have the most or least of. The more I have the lower the rank. The rank of (0-4) Major is about as high as a faceless Cobra gets. Many of the named Cobras are at least (0-5) Commander. So Rip-It, Skull-buster, Claymore, Snow-Serpent Commander are all (0-5), and they are as ruthless and tough as Cobra has. Pilots are a little different. But since they don't command troops they are not really in charge of anyone but themselves. Wild Weasel is the exception. Now Crimson Guards that's an interesting one. For me since there are a million versions now. (This is my verse of course) All are officers, they are commissioned as Capt. right off the bat. You figure all are college educated and Lawyers or accountants. So much like our Armed forces they get commissions. They are the spies of Cobra as well. But they have other roles as well. Like the SS they are the best trained troops in Cobra. They are the Political Officers of Cobra, sort of like how Soviet era Russia was set up. So he may not be the field commander but he could just as easily put a bullet in the field commanders head and take over.. They are trained as military officers and are usually brighter than what gets put in the field. Shadow Guards are the Gestapo wing of the Crimson Guards. Crimson Guard Immortals are the Highest ranking CGs and they do serve as battle field commanders occasionally. They all hold the rank of Colonel. They are only tapped for duty to serve with Cobra Commander. Cobra Commander does not travel lightly armed. But he keeps his detachment with him at all times. If one of these guys tells you to do something you know it came straight from the Commander. Crimson guard commanders are 0-5 equivalents and they serve as Battlefield commanders and are the next step down. Most CGs are Capts or Maj and there is one attached to every company sized unit. Like a Chaplain. |
03-23-2009, 12:10 AM | #23 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 762
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Quote:
the only problem with this is 1: Snow Serpents are Eels, so there is no need to differentiate their ranks, and two Eels are stated as being the same rank equivalent as Cobra Troopers (E-4), so they aren't above them at all.
this again leads back to the idea that specialty dictates rank. the problem with this is that the rank structure is meant to replicate standard military rankings, and that just doesn't occur in the military. Wet Suit isn't a higher rank than Footloose just because he's a SEAL (Joe equivalent of Eels) and Footloose is just infantry (Joe equivalent of Troopers or Vipers). not to mention giving a BAT a rank is like giving a toaster oven or Jeep a rank. I didn't give BATS a rank; I simply pointed out that they're the bottom of the barrel. My ranking system is much less complicated than many people make them out to be. |
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03-23-2009, 12:19 AM | #24 |
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: South Texas RIO GRANDE VALLEY
Posts: 11,700
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Quote:
I always had this theory about the Vipers....they came around when Serpentor kicked off Cobra Commander and took his place. For me the Vipers took the place of the regular Cobra Officers..and their uniforms...the chrome mask in particular was meant as an insult to Cobra Commander....what once was used just for the commander was now a standard uniform piece for the regular grunt
B. They figured the plain blue helmet/jumpsuit and black sash look was obsolete and that the "troopers" needed a new look. They figured this look more intimidating than the old look and replacing their sniper rifle with a grenade aluncher rifle was an upgrade as well, and doesn't the viper helmet in the filecard say they have a built in radio in their helmets so this is a newer piece of equipment that makes old stuff look like junk. |
03-23-2009, 12:47 AM | #25 |
Eternal F'n Toys R Us Kid
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Chicago
Posts: 2,839
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Quote:
I always had this theory about the Vipers....they came around when Serpentor kicked off Cobra Commander and took his place. For me the Vipers took the place of the regular Cobra Officers..and their uniforms...the chrome mask in particular was meant as an insult to Cobra Commander....what once was used just for the commander was now a standard uniform piece for the regular grunt
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12-06-2011, 10:00 PM | #26 |
Banned
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 179
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My own version of how Cobra is structured is that the troopers are the lowest of the Cobra army and any one who joins Cobra without military training are trained as troopers aka blue shirts they go through training similar to the military and any that prove themselves can move up either to the Viper corps or can become an officer.Any that join Cobra with military experience may join another part of the Cobra army depending on their training.
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12-06-2011, 10:04 PM | #27 |
Iron Grenadier
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Illinois (northwest suburbs of Chicago)
Posts: 792
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I kind of thought Vipers were above at first, but after a bit I figured they were the not-so-bright whistle d!ck$ who thought they'd be cool and tough with all the body armor and cool helmets...while the Cobra Officers pretty much hung out all day in comfortable clothes and an unrestricted view of the tv.
Quote:
I was thinking about this the other day. I've always thought that vipers were above cobra troopers and the filecard for the new viper says this as well. I'm wondering what that means for the cobra officers. It seems like there were a lot more vipers in the cartoons than the officers who were kinda elite. Plus the vipers were supposedly the backbone of the cobra legion. I was just wondering how you guys imagined this working.
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12-06-2011, 10:12 PM | #28 |
Expendable
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Silent Hill
Posts: 1,168
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I've always thought that a promoted blue shirt is a viper. Just look at the refurbished arms of a blue shirt compared to a viper!
About the chrome mask of the vipers, I've thought of that as a sign of perfection for vipers because they were made in the image of their commander.
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Quote:
Last edited by Kaboomskie; 12-06-2011 at 10:17 PM.. |
12-06-2011, 10:13 PM | #29 |
Junkion Astronomer
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Astro City
Posts: 2,417
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According to the original 1983 file card, the Officer is supposed to hold the rank of O-4 (Major) or equivalent. The Viper's rank is undfined on the card, but, as the Viper corps has many branches (Toxo, sludge, Motor, Tele, etc.) I would put their ranks at either specialist or above. So, the Officers would outrank the Specialist Vipers.
Last edited by CobraOfficer999; 12-07-2011 at 12:58 PM.. |
12-07-2011, 11:41 AM | #30 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,937
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Quote:
According to the original 1983 file card, the Office is supposed to hold the rank of O-4 (Major) or equivalent. The Viper's rank is undfined on the card, but, as the Viper corps has many branches (Toxo, sludge, Motor, Tele, etc.) I would put their ranks at either specialist or above. So, the Officers would outrank the Specialist Vipers.
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