Hello,
I have recently started writing on this website, and I had a concept for a story, but I would like some advice on it.
The concept of the story takes place before EG and has Flash Sentry posted as a border guard for the Crystal Empire. It would be done in a journal like fashion. Any advice on military etiquette, rank, or even stories about guard duty would be appreciated.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Orders_for_Sentries

6466717
Thank You!

It should be noted that while those are good overall guides, don't forget that minutia can help as well.

A posting might have specific orders such as a guard who holds a static post except for repeated patrols through the night. This might be something as simple as there being two observation posts between two rises on a ridge, and three guards. Guard 1's job is to hold Point A, Guard 2 holds Point B, and every 1-2 hours, Guard 3 is supposed to patrol from Point A to Point B and then vice versa. But between those patrols he holds post at whichever one he went to last until his next patrol.

There could also be other things. Just remember that effectively when you are on guard duty, its not just literally starting through binoculars all day, unmoving and unblinking. I know we all like to pretend we were hardcore made-from-stone sorts who never wavered but we'd be lying. Everybody on sentry duty has faffed about and goofed off. This could be something as E or T-rated as playing with food and pulling practical jokes on your watch partner(s), to as M-rated as reading dirty magazines for the articles during one of the many (many) quiet periods of a watch.

Also note that there is a very simple hierarchy besides the ranks (enlisted, NCOs, etc.) that most nations observe:

• Officer of the Day: The overall person in charge. As such, one of the things they are responsible for is the post's security element. However it is not their primary concern as they are focused on the post / base / etc. as a whole and thus rely on subordinate personnel.
• Officer of the Guard: The aforementioned subordinate personnel. This is the officer posted in charge of the main guard, responsible for ensuring all members of the security force are properly instructed, equipped, and deployed. While they aren't necessarily responsible for ensuring that Private Joe Buckwheat has his boots laced properly (that's what Private Buckwheat's squad leader is for) he is responsible for making sure that Private Buckwheat's leadership know what's up.
• Sergeant of the Guard: Abbreviated, SOG. While not necessarily an actual Sergeant, they are almost always a non-commissioned officer (NCO) of some seniority. They are typically responsible for assisting the Officer of the Guard in ensuring the main guard force is properly instructed in its orders and responsibilities. Called for more serious matters (ie. an intrusion, suspicious individuals, etc.) that might otherwise fall outside of the standing orders for one's post (ie. your post orders cover somebody armed and approaching the gate with hostile intent, but not a pregnant woman who seems visibly lost and confused).
• Corporal of the Guard: Abbreviated, COG. While not necessarily literally ranked as a Corporal, they are generally a junior NCO. In absence of an SOG, they are the ones in charge. You call for them if something is off but probably not call for alarm (ie. a break in the fence line that was clearly natural / non-intrusive but that will need reported and mended).
• Sentries: The 'bottom of the pole' as it were. Typically enlisted or junior NCOs. These are the ones made famous by Hollywood and other media as the ones who stand so stoically by the doors to important places, or in a watch tower observing their surroundings by spotlight and binoculars. They are the ones doing the most boots-on-the-ground work.

Also one thing to consider for, again, minutia or flavor: at least when I was in, there was only one call from your sentries that you never listened to or obeyed, and that was "Never mind the guard."

Or to put it another way:
- Calling for the Corporal or Sergeant of the Guard means there is a big issue that needs to be addressed. If I'm Sergeant of the Guard and I hear you call for me, I am coming. End of story. No discussion.
- If I hear the call "Never mind the guard" at that point I assume you are being coerced. Now while that doesn't mean I'm going to come into your post guns up and ready to rock (context clues matter and if it seems like nothing is wrong I'll just assume a young Private got too jumpy if that's what it looks like), I'm still showing up.

7022273
Thank you so much! This is extremely helpful!