While the deWulf Corporate Navy absorbed several traditions from earlier services (mainly the Groenvelt Navy), one thing that they did build from near scratch was their rank structure. The rank structure is broken down into four major “bands” with each band broken into five discrete ranks. Movement within a band is generally not challenging, merely requiring that one should be competent and diligent in their duties. Jumping from one band to another however, is a much more challenging task: it is not just a shift in responsibilities, but in outlook.
The first band is composed of the enlisted ranks, the foundation of any military force. most deWulf crew are are assigned a specialization early on, just after basic training, and can expect to stay in the same training track for the majority of their time in service. Enlisted ranks are primarily focused around becoming more and more proficient with their specialization. The vast majority of enlisted can expect to easily aspire to reaching the middle rank, and the pay bump that entails.
| deWulf Rank | Example | Equivalent Rank |
| Master [Specialization] | Master Engineer | Master Spacehand |
| Senior [Specialization] | Senior Engineer | Leading Spacehand |
| [Specialization] | Engineer | Able Spacehand |
| Junior [Specialization] | Junior Engineer | Ordinary Spacehand |
| Trainee [Specialization] | Trainee Engineer | Ordinary Spacehand [Recruit] |
The leap from enlisted to Non-Commissioned is the first band jump that many deWulf Navy crew encounter. And often enough, quite a few end up not making the leap. While one will still be involved in the same specialization as in one’s enlisted ranks, the NCO is expected to lead teams of enlisted crew, and not just do, but think. Reaching the highest ranks in the NCO band is a feat few will manage, but those who do are always recognized as masters of their craft.
| deWulf Rank | Example | Equivalent Rank |
| Chief [Specialization] Officer | Chief Weapons Officer | Master Petty Officer |
| Master [Specialization] Commander | Master Weapons Commander | Chief Petty Officer 1st Class |
| Senior [Specialization] Commander | Senior Weapons Commander | Chief Petty Officer 2nd Class |
| [Specialization] Commander | Weapons Commander | Petty Officer 1st Class |
| Junior [Specialization] Commander | Junior Weapons Commander | Petty Officer 2nd Class |
Outside of formal “official” forms and documents, most times NCO ranks are abbreviated into an “official informal” format. The official “Officer” and “Commander” titles are the first thing to be dropped, and the specialization usually ends up changing. For example, a Chief Weapons Officer would often just be abbreviated to be a Chief Weaponeer. Chief and Master Space Officers (NCOs in charge of general operations and admin) usually call themselves “Masters of Time and Space”.
This bit of design work and writing originally came out of some of the first actual art I ever commissioned for my writing; the uniform concepts for the deWulf Navy. As I was putting the commission together, I realized that there were a LOT of details that needed to get worked out. Where did the name tag go? Was there a name tag? How about ship or force affiliations? Where do the rank markers go, and how do they look? And so on and on. I was really, REALLY lucky that my artist was both understanding and helpful, as I didn’t quite realize these questions even existed at the start.
Dollarton Proxima Shipyards 