> You wrote:
> last comment I can't concur with. Rangers are profficient with the
I don't actually recall seeing a Ranger shoot anyone in the series. They like
beating people with sticks, sure. But I don't work at close quarters, and if
shooting has started I'm no longer worried about being subtle. We have this
discussion on occasion with people who get
carried away with hand signals--once people have started shooting, the
enemy knows you are there, so you can shout whatever it is you're trying to
say.
But then again the opponent may not know the actual disposition or composition
of your forces. If you had a guy trying to flank them it doesn't do any good
to shout "Hey John, flank them on the left" or to say "Lt. Johnson, take the
first squad and charge down this hall".
There are times in which keeping your resources secret or misdirecting the
enemy comes in handy, even when the gunfire has started.
> John Atkinson wrote:
> I don't actually recall seeing a Ranger shoot anyone in the series.
> I don't actually recall seeing a Ranger shoot anyone in the series.
quarters, and if shooting has started I'm no longer worried >about being
subtle. We have this discussion on occasion with people >who get
carried away with hand signals--once people have started >shooting, the
enemy knows you are there, so you can shout whatever it >is you're trying to
say.
> John M. Atkinson
Personally, I can think of two justifications for the Rangers' Fighting Pikes.
First, the Mimbari are aliens, with a highly overdeveloped sense of honor. In
their minds, one Ranger with a Pike is more than a match for
any non-ranger, even if the enemy does have a gun. Not a sensible
attitude, in my estimation, but then I'm not a Mimbari.
Secondly, most of the Rangers that we have seen have been fighting on board
space ships or stations. In those circumstances, a gun is not really the best
possible weapon to carry. After all, a metal pole is less likely to punch a
hole in your hull than a gun is. Death pressure,
anyone?