QHG Ranks and Rank Insignia

Qinqean enlisted service members in the pay grades of E1 and E2 are called Junior Enlisted; Middle Enlisted in pay grades E3 to E5 and Senior Enlisted are the Non-Commissioned Officers in pay grades E6 and higher. Junior enlisted are usually either in training or engaged in their skill function on their initial assignment. The training includes the basic training phase where crewrecruits are immersed in Home Guard discipline, culture and values. Basic training is followed by a specialized advanced training phase that provides crewmen with specific core skill functions in an area of expertise or concentration. Senior enlisted may have some minor leadership duties but are still primarily engaged in their skill functions. Non-commissioned officers may still practice their skill functions but with each succeeding promotion are engaged to a greater degree in leadership duties.  At the E7 through E9 level, the Home Guard has two positions at each pay grade. Those serving with the ranks of Command Senior Crewchief, Command Crewchief First Class, and Command Master Crewchief are the commanders' senior advisers for enlisted matters. A third E-9 element is the Executive Crewchief who is the voice of the enlisted force at the highest levels of the QHG.

The QHG warrant officer corps traces its beginning back to the 15th century in the nascent Qinqean Army. At that time, native nobles were in command of the army but had no knowledge the new tactics offered by Antonio Salovega � let alone how to use the new technologies of the cannons � and relied on the tactical expertise of Salovega and the and cooperation of other Europeans who tended to the technical aspects of operating the cannons. These Europeans became indispensable to the native officers and were rewarded with a royal warrant and designated as a Nitayno. This warrant was a special status, designed to set them apart from the native soldiers, yet not violate the strict class system that was prevalent during the time. Technically, even Antonio Salovega was a Warrant Officer.

Warrant officers hold warrants from the Ministry of Defense and are direct representatives of the Minister of Defense. Warrant officers are specialists or experts with specific technical skills, in contrast to commissioned officers, who are generalists. Warrant Officers are usually addressed as "Mr./Mz. [surname]" or "Nitayno [surname]" by officers and by their peers, and as "sir/ma'am" or "Nitayno [surname]" by their subordinates.