Alien/Aliens: Ripley question

[J.T.B.]

I often see Ripley referred to as a "warrant officer," and then IIRC she was called a lieutenant in Alien 3. Can anyone refresh my memory as to how that got started? IIRC in Alien she called herself "third officer" (I assume that Lambert was second officer after Kane). Was "warrant officer" perhaps a military equivalent to her merchant service grade, to facilitate her working with the Marines in Aliens?

Thanks,
Justin

 

[Candlelight]

Her rank was lieutenant.

Her position was warrant officer.

Her place in the crew was third officer, behind Kane and Dallas. Lambert was just a navigator and probably 4th or 5th in heirachy.

She was just considered an observer/advisor in Aliens. She wasn't actually part of the marine corp.

 

[J.T.B.]

Her rank was lieutenant.

Her position was warrant officer.

OK, when was she first referred to as such? And what would that be, in terms of a commercial vessel? In the real world "warrant" refers to a type of officer that doesn't hold a commission, but merchant mariners have never held commissions anyway (nor ranks like lieutenant) so I'm trying to imagine why that title would be used. And why she would make a log entry as "third officer" if that wasn't her official title.

Her place in the crew was third officer, behind Kane and Dallas. Lambert was just a navigator and probably 4th or 5th in heirachy.

Dallas was captain, Kane was first officer. Being in charge of a vessel's navigation is a pretty high-responsibility position, which is why I assumed Lambert was next in line as second officer. OTOH, didn't Ripley take charge and access Mother while Lambert was still alive? Perhaps the writers weren't clear that "third officer" equals "fourth in command." I'm not really clear on what Ripley's area of responsibility was on Nostromo, anyway.

She was just considered an observer/advisor in Aliens. She wasn't actually part of the marine corp.

Right, I was wondering if warrant officer was the closest Marine equivalent, given as a courtesy as she would be working side-by-side with them.

--Justin

 

[Candlelight]

Her rank was lieutenant.

Her position was warrant officer.

OK, when was she first referred to as such? And what would that be, in terms of a commercial vessel? In the real world "warrant" refers to a type of officer that doesn't hold a commission, but merchant mariners have never held commissions anyway (nor ranks like lieutenant) so I'm trying to imagine why that title would be used. And why she would make a log entry as "third officer" if that wasn't her official title.

Ripley was an officer designated by a warrant from Weyland-Yutani (as opposed to a commission, etc). At least that's how I see it.

After being rescued by the salvage team in Aliens, she was promoted to lieutanant and had her flight status restored in return for being a consultant aboard the Sulaco. This seems to be the first mention of her lieutenant rank; being a commercial vessel the Nostromo probably wouldn't have had ranks like Lieutenant (save for Captain, obviously).

Her place in the crew was third officer, behind Kane and Dallas. Lambert was just a navigator and probably 4th or 5th in heirachy.

Dallas was captain, Kane was first officer. Being in charge of a vessel's navigation is a pretty high-responsibility position, which is why I assumed Lambert was next in line as second officer. OTOH, didn't Ripley take charge and access Mother while Lambert was still alive? Perhaps the writers weren't clear that "third officer" equals "fourth in command." I'm not really clear on what Ripley's area of responsibility was on Nostromo, anyway.

It would be a writing error; Ripley explicitly tells Ash in the infirmary that when Dallas and Kane are off the ship, she is next in charge.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

In 'Alien' she explicitly told Ash that she was in command when Dallas and Kane were off the ship, which is why his decision to disobey her orders and allow them to return to the Nostromo in violation of quarantine protocol pissed her off. I believe she was referred to as the "flight officer," and she remained behind to supervise the repairs to Nostromo after they were damaged in the descent to LV-426.

In 'Aliens,' The Company debriefer van Lewyn (sp?) said:
"...it is the finding of this court of inquiry that Warrant Officer E. Ripley..."
I think the onscreen profiles of each of the crew might have referred to her as flight officer or warrant officer as well. The deal Ripley had with The Company was that her flight status would be reinstated if she went back to LV-426 with Burke and the Colonial Marines.

In Alien3, all of a sudden she was referred to as Lieutenant. This could either be a mistake on the part of the screenwriters or could refer to her reinstated flight status with a promotion for time in service that Weyland-Yutani gave her in Aliens.

Weyland-Yutani's cooperation with (more like exploitation of) the Colonial Marines might require that they give their civilian crews ranks to allow them some control under certain non-combat situations like aboard their ships.

Or their ships operate under a military-like command structure with ranks even though they're civilians, similar to ship crews and airline crews. Or it's quasi-military, like Starfleet.

In the US, Warrant Officers are often technicians and specialists of some type (but can also be pilots), but in the RAF Warrant Officer is a rank between Flight Sergeant and Pilot Officer, so perhaps Ridley Scott was going for that to reflect her pilot status.

[edit] Ninja'd by Candlelight.

 

[J.T.B.]

Thanks to both of you for helping nail down those details. I'm still not sure what they were going for, there. Maybe it just sounded cool.

--Justin

 

[RoJoHen]

Maybe it just sounded cool.

This is often the case.