Editing Imperial Navy (section)

=== Officer Ranks ===

*'''Lord-High Admiral of the Imperial Navy''' - This person is a [[High Lords of Terra|High Lord]] and is the person responsible for the '''ENTIRE''' Imperial Navy, though likely the post holder doesn't do much other than delegate to their subordinates and attend tedious High Lord meetings.
*'''Lord-High Admiral''' - There are five of these guys, one for each Segmentum. While they're probably never anywhere near the front lines they probably have more to do, since its their job to oversee the deployment of fleets and materials from sector to sector. That said, the non-canonical Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 game has Lord-High Admiral Spire personally leading Battlefleet Gothic around the Cadian sector from his flagship, even taking down some of the top-dogs of Abaddon's inner council.
*'''Lord Admiral''' - The guy in charge of a sector fleet who gets direct command of vessels and formations. You see these guys in the fluff quite regularly when "key" worlds ''(like Armageddon)'' need defended or attacked.
*'''Solar Admiral''' - Often a ''terminal'' rank... no really. Occasionally regular Admirals who do good jobs can put themselves forward for promotion to this position, which needs to be approved by the Lord-High Admiral of their Segmentum, then the officer needs to travel to Terra be reviewed by the Lord-High Admiral of the Imperial Navy. Obviously this can take a very, ''VERY'' long time to approve. So they might often be [[Grimdark|dead before the paperwork gets rubber-stamped]]. If they do get approved they are likely to get promoted straight up to sector commander (see Lord Admiral) as a position will probably have opened up while he was waiting. More rarely, Solar Admirals can get sent on "detached duties" which is basically a license to do as they please with their independent fleets. The fact they get approved implies that those who died waiting were rejected without being told.
*'''High Admiral''' - Commands several group of naval fleets (e.g. Battlegroups), often the most senior Navy officer in a Crusade but the things these fucks usually do is just having snacks with their Imperial Guard counterparts and leaving the combat duties to their subordinate Admirals
*'''Admiral''' - Gets put in charge of a fleet and told to oversee some subsectors. He's usually the highest of the "front line" ranks and much of his time will be on active duty patrolling his assigned region.
*'''Vice Admiral''' - Fleets traditionally get split into three parts, with the highest Admiral taking up the portion containing the larger ships, while the "Vice" Admiral takes the "Vanguard" portion of faster moving ships.
*'''Rear Admiral''' - the third portion of a fleet would be the "Rearguard" and usually gets assigned to the youngest/least experienced Admiral in the fleet. His job is usually the quietest one as he gets the mop-up and repair duties.
*'''Commodore''' - an experienced Captain in command of a squadron of capital ships. It's traditionally only a temporary rank, as capital ships don't always get assigned to each other the same way that escorts do. But the realities of war often mean that ships stay together for extended periods, often well beyond the lifespans of generations of captains.
*'''Lord Captain''' - not actually a rank, but an honourific applied to Captains of detached vessels operating independently. The '''"Lord-"''' part implies that they operate with the full authority of the Imperial Navy when they act so they can deal with outside organisations (like planetary governors, Space Marines or Imperial Guard) on relatively even footing. Sometimes also known by the more archaic term of "Flag-Captain", since as the commander of a detached vessel they figuratively carry their own flag.
*'''Captain''' The commander of a single capital ship or the lead starship in an escort squadron.
*'''Commander''' - Usually the commander of an escort vessel. Is also the ranking officer on board orbital space stations. It also gets used as the terminal rank amongst Pilots, since small attack craft all fall under the remit of the Navy; so a '''Wing Commander''' would get command over all pilots based on a single carrier.
*'''Lord Lieutenant''' - The second-in-command to captains of capital ships, bizarrely Commanders don't hold that role and hold their own positions. Thankfully because a chain of command exists in any military, despite a Wing Commander holding higher "actual" rank over a Lieutenant on a carrier vessel he would not hold any higher authority on that ship than his duties allow for. [[Fail|Sometimes this rank is known as Flag Lieutenant, which allows GW to once again show their incompetence as a Flag Lieutenant is actually an Admiral's aide-de-camp.]]
*'''Lieutenant''' - a "working" rank. Either holds command over small system vessels or acts as second in command to Commanders of escorts, or as department heads on Capital ships. They are also Squadron leaders amongst pilots.
*'''Sub-Lieutenant / Ensign''' - Team leaders or attack craft pilots.
*'''Midshipman''' - Apprentice officers who haven't passed any exams or earned any responsibility, they would exist below the Warrant Officers in terms of authority, despite holding a commission. Midshipmen are commissioned from Imperial Nobility as part of the [[Administratum|Imperial Tithe]] ''(which can mean virtually anyone gets the job if they send their useless heirs just to keep the best ones at home)'' but they are also assigned from the [[Schola Progenium]]. In addition, Midshipmen also may be taken on as a personal favour from the Captain of a vessel if he knows the family. This echoes the ancient real-world practice of young noblemen showing up while the vessel was in dock with a letter from their family and being granted a commission on the Captain's say-so.