Babylon 5: Questions Answered and Unanswered part 3

37.Don't argue with me on this one: between half and two thirds Starfury and shuttle pilots wear enlisted uniform/less than half ever wear the same uniforms as commissioned officers. Yes I know some could be technicians but why would technicians need a pre-battle prep talk from Sheridan (S2, 'The Fall of Night')?

So I am assuming the following [IF GROPOS/Earth Force Marine Corps, Security and the Navy all the same terminology at Specialist-level and higher (i.e. PO3)]:
Paygrades by rank
Command Master Chief (PO)/Sergeant-Major: as Lieutenant Commander
Master Pilot: as Lieutenant
Senior Pilot: as Second Lieutenant

Paygrades enlisted personnel (being nine for consistency)
[Pay Grade →
Branch of Service ↓ E-1 E-2 E-3 E-4 E-5 E-6 E-7 E-8 E-9
Army PVT PV2 PFC SPC - CPL SGT SSG SFC MSG - 1SG SGM - CSM - SMA
Marine Corps Pvt PFC LCpl Cpl Sgt SSgt GySgt MSgt
Navy SR SA SN PO3 PO2 PO1 CPO SCPO MCPO - CMDCM]

Master Chief (PO)/Pilot
Senior Chief Petty Officer/Junior Pilot
Chief Petty Officer
Petty Officer (1st Class)
2PO
3PO
Crewman: as Private First Class
Crewman: as Private
Crewman recruit: as Private (unranked)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_Master_Chief_Petty_Officer

Pilot insignia based on those shown in
http://babylon5.wikia.com/wiki/Earth_Force_Ranks#Other_Insignia

Alternately:
Master Pilot=Lieutenant
Senior Pilot=Lieutenant (junior grade)
Pilot=Ensign
Junior pilot=Ensign/Cadet

38.The specific rank of Ensign is actually never mentioned until 'Crusade' in Gideon's flashback to the EAS Cerberus. Ditto Lieutenant (junior grade) until series 3 (specifically Corwin's promotion to Full Lieutenant, whereas in series 2 he is a 'Second Lieutenant'). I considered including these ranks in the enlisted ranks but it made more sense to insert only the Petty Officer and Pilot positions. There is no mention of the rank of Corporal so I am assuming GROPOS follow the US Army ranking system, at least up to a point and then Naval ranks take over.

39.How far does the Shadow's fear of telepaths go? Is it then in their interests to develop the younger races away from a Vorlon-style development and hence the repeated conflict with the Vorlons?

40.Conversely, would a development towards Vorlon-style telekinesis in e.g. Humans create less resource-hungry civilisations and therefore less need for conflict over resources? The Shadows could see this as well and it may be in both races' interests if organic technology (at least the ability to simply grow ships in a vacuum) were developed by the younger civilisations. The Shadow wars' aim could be to stimulate development while at the same time stifling growth so no race is a threat to any of the First Ones.

41. Re. Starfury pilots possible ranking system

Major=Master Pilot
Lieutenant=Senior Pilot
Lieutenant (junior grade)=Pilot
Ensign=Junior pilot

Four 'pilot' levels also correspond with the mentioned four non-command security levels and could be considered to use the same ranking system...except the security officers on Babylon 5 are certainly all non-coms. Earth Force Security does have Commissioned Officers but these are not the general peacekeepers/gendarmarie that would cover Earth Alliance outposts and colonies.

The series two episode 'GROPOS' shows most clearly the uniforms used by the enlisted men. A design used for NCOs outside of battle dress shows a pattern similar to the shade of blue over blue used by at least some pilots but is two shades of a pale cream instead. Obviously Keffer and other pilots wear the blue and blue uniform but personnel associated with the Starfury squadrons are seen on many occasions wearing the two pale cream uniforms. One example is the (NCO?) who tries to come on to Kodath in 'Born to the Purple'. I should add that the technical staff on B5 wear a combination of blue and grey overall-type uniforms, apart from the Officers stationed in C and C.

42. Again, could the Shadow-Vorlon dichotomy come from the First One's apparent theology? Namely Loriens' assertion that the First Born were naturally immortal and that later 'generations' (i.e. races) were more numerous while having progressively shorter lifespans. Perhaps a cull of some sort was desired, certainly the Shadows would feel threatened by any large alliance of younger races, such as that which defeated them in the past. Perhaps the reduced lifespan gives a kind of urgency to the Shadow's cause while the Vorlons seem more content to watch and wait. Maybe the Shadows even believe that repeated wars prevent worse conflicts breaking out in the future-or they simply wanted somone they could relate to on their level.