dont know if this has been mentioned and i appologise if it has , i have been reading about the doughboys having some form of bond and friendship and teamwork within the US sides , and i had a thought .
perhaps a rank struture could be formed within the US sides to highlight and build a better team sprit , to give ppl a goal to work towards and have maybe a promotional thing after each event .
something like this .......
just an example do not take literatly.
Headshot- Major
Webby- Captain
Rhys- 1st Lt
Me- Sgt
so on and so forth .
not only would i think it would be fun , it would promote teamwork and give the new players people to look up to for help and advise .
let me know what you think
Chris
we had a rank structure before and it didnt really work. plus from event to event(depending on whether its CiA, gunman etc) different people will end up in charge
so while we could set up a structure it didnt really work before and wouldnt get stuck too.
yea i guess your right , sounds good on paper , but when you think about the reality side it , it could be complicated.
chris
Doughboys is still in its infancy for now, there's room to grow yet. 
Headshot- Major
Webby- Captain
Rhys- 1st Lt
Me- Sgt
Did webby pay you to post that?! 
Arbitrarily creating ranks can have the opposite effect to what you (good-naturedly) suggested; PBI and Kampgruppe SS are a wee bit more unilateral in their decisions, which is why they can go ahead and do it. In a side as nebulous as the US, it would be difficult just to go ahead and decide who gets to wear stripes etc. Plus, the range of uniforms and distinct units which the US players wear makes it impossible to have the uniformity the other groups have. And don't forget, the German sides and PBI have strong characters in charge, who more often than not have real-world military experience. Let's not run before we can walk. 
Plus it encourages bitching and moaning about rank allocations 
No longer involved in airsoft.
Even though I have corporal stripes on my M43s, I find the awarding of rank and medals slightly offensive. When you think of the sacrifices the veterans made to earn those it's a little pathetic and belittling to award medals for making the 'sacrifice' of attending a WW2 airsoft game.
Something to be avoided in my humble opinion.
like i said , just an idea , obviously a poor one .
yea i guess your right , sounds good on paper , but when you think about the reality side it , it could be complicated.
chris
I could be a bit 
as well
From a game organising POV, as organisers / commanders on the day we've often badged up as officers. On the German side this was intended to make the organisers visible by the wearing of peaked caps rather than helmets.
As things have progressed and most players now know each other it has become less neccessary , although it still helps to have some identifying mark in the fog of war . Command and control does vary from event to event as noted above .
Don't forget also that people often have more than one uniform , and to have three or four all badged the same takes away some of the fun .
Somewhat of a side issue , however I've always advocated badging for rank commesurate with your age, 40 year old privates look silly , 18 years old majors equally so.
At the end of the day though its your hobby - do what you feel happy with .
what you guys need is velcro rank badges so you can all take turns at being the biggist target 
theres nowt so Permanent as temporary
Headshot- Major
Webby- Captain
Rhys- 1st Lt
Me- SgtDid webby pay you to post that?!
Cheeky Monkey!! It was a freebie!
There's not a whole lot of point putting captain or major ranks on your uniforms, I doubt many of them would have seen any major fighting (unless the CP was under attack)
As every1 else has said but just to reflect, the idea of ranks doesnt really work in airsoft, nobody wants to be "told" what to do when all they are out to do is play and have fun. Saying that, elected side commanders attain a sort of officer status,... but quite often the ranks are just to decorate the kit or follow a role. i.e. I have a number of ranks for my gear, PFC for infantry, lieutenant for Airborne etc. Fibble for example has Tech 5th grade is that right Fibs? A rank best suited to ancillary army staff such as supply troops or combat photographers etc.
Personally I think Sarge stripes look the best on kit, as I think thats the rank you most associate with WW2 US soldiers,... such as Lipton, Garnier, Malarky, Sarge Horvath (SPR) Big and little Joe (Kelly's Heroes)
.... the idea of ranks doesnt really work in airsoft, nobody wants to be "told" what to do when all they are out to do is play and have fun....
Actually I think having someone in charge adds immensely to the whole thing, and I am quite happy to do what I'm told.
A fixed system with promotions and rewards I think is a bad idea because it could lead to ill feeling but Sgt Chris' original sentiment is bang on with regard to having a chain of command.
The people/person in charge doesn't have to be the same every time and there's no problem rotating it if other people want a go, but if we're going to operate as a squad/section then we've got to have someone leading it.
It worked really well at Hurtgen with the radios and Spiers who took on the role of an nco under Webby.
I wasn't sat on him though honest!!
I think you've hit the proverbial on the proverbial there Barrie. Er, or Anne.
I happy to follow orders in an airsoft combat context, but perhaps not to the extent where we have ranks which are constant over many games. Similarly, if someone needs me to lead, I'm happy (and assertive) enough to do it.
aye as kav says. Its fine to have leaders in the game context. ie someone leading each squad at the eagle has landed. it adds to the fun and realism
but in a out of game context having a ranked organisation will just act as a hinderance for the doughboys at this point.
The only rank you'l ever need in airsoft battles is Head Shepherd ( Flockmeister in German)
