Travis Long & his lack of recognition

I think we are witnessing the birth of SIS.
One thing we know is that at this point the Manty house of lords does not have formal political parties, instead they have factions, many of which are focussed on a single issue or very transient. Another is that, although the crown has already gained a larger degree of control than it should by a naive reading of the still work in progress constitution, the crown dominance is not yet there.
There was mention that king Michael had made certain arrangements, through Burgandy, with factions which should seem to be hostile to Edward's plans, arrangements which would kick in after Edward's coronation.
What would satisfy such a statement? Someone who has a lot of power and either little or negative connections to the navy. Although the countless was defense minister, at the time such statement was made, she wasn't yet. The critical point for me is that she seems to be outside the navy's politics, even when defense minister.
She is someone who looks in dark places and Travis is an anomaly. His patronage connections make him one of Edward's, but not one of the Navy's. While everything else makes him seeming defaulting to being tied to Breakwater.
Travis is politically a wild card, shine a light on him and chaos could follow. (The denial of the CGS and what is now the Ostermann cross, simply because of his brother, and his appearance of conflict with the admiral, does no credit to the navy. While his own politics are vastly different from Gavin, so capitalising on him is a mistake).

HungryKing wrote:I think we are witnessing the birth of SIS.
One thing we know is that at this point the Manty house of lords does not have formal political parties, instead they have factions, many of which are focussed on a single issue or very transient. Another is that, although the crown has already gained a larger degree of control than it should by a naive reading of the still work in progress constitution, the crown dominance is not yet there.
There was mention that king Michael had made certain arrangements, through Burgandy, with factions which should seem to be hostile to Edward's plans, arrangements which would kick in after Edward's coronation.
What would satisfy such a statement? Someone who has a lot of power and either little or negative connections to the navy. Although the countless was defense minister, at the time such statement was made, she wasn't yet. The critical point for me is that she seems to be outside the navy's politics, even when defense minister.
She is someone who looks in dark places and Travis is an anomaly. His patronage connections make him one of Edward's, but not one of the Navy's. While everything else makes him seeming defaulting to being tied to Breakwater.
Travis is politically a wild card, shine a light on him and chaos could follow. (The denial of the CGS and what is now the Ostermann cross, simply because of his brother, and his appearance of conflict with the admiral, does no credit to the navy. While his own politics are vastly different from Gavin, so capitalising on him is a mistake).

Keep in mind who can receive the Osterman Cross:

The Shadow of Saganami, Chapter 3 wrote:Helen didn't move a single muscle, but she found herself studying Lewis much more intently. The commander looked young for her rank, even in a society with prolong. And now that Helen was paying attention to the medal ribbons on the breast of the Engineer's space-black tunic, she was impressed. They were headed by the Osterman Cross. The Osterman was about one notch below the Manticore Cross, and, like the MC, it could be awarded only for valor. Unlike the MC, however, it could be awarded only to enlisted personnel or noncommissioned officers. The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal kept the OC company, as did the red sleeve stripe which indicated the commander had been wounded in action and the additional stripe which indicated someone who had been mentioned in dispatches.

Underlined and boldface text is my emphasis.

Travis was commissioned when the Osterman Cross was renamed from its previous title, with the rank of Lieutenant:

A Call to Arms, Chapter 1 wrote:“Very good,” Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Travis Uriah Long said, giving the kid his best professional smile as they shook hands. “Feel free to come by if you have any questions.”

Boldface text is my emphasis.

As a commissioned officer, he would have been eligible for the Manticore Cross, not the Osterman Cross:

A Call to Arms, Chapter 26 wrote:“I note that Defense Minister Dapplelake and First Lord of the Admiralty Cazenestro have recommended several RMN officers and enlisted for the Manticore Cross and the Cross of Military Valor,” Locatelli said, his tone going subtly more formal. “As most of you already know—” he glanced around the table, his eyes lingering a bit on the least militarily astute among the group “—these awards are the highest honors that can be bestowed on military personnel who have shown exceptional valor in the face of an enemy. The Manticore Cross is awarded to officers, while the Cross of Military Valor is reserved for enlisted.”

***Snip***

“Accordingly,” Locatelli continued, “and keeping in mind the tremendous heroism and skill involved in the reactivation of HMS Phoenix’s laser and the subsequent destruction of an enemy battlecruiser—”
Breakwater leaned forward a little more in his seat, and Winterfall sensed him bracing himself for combat—
“—I propose that the Cross of Military Valor be renamed the Osterman Cross.”

Italics are the author's, boldface and underlined text is my emphasis.

I'm referring to the medal he was denied at the end of the first book. Although it does not come out and say it, the implication of a gallantry based midshipman's warrant indicates that it was at that level or just under it. Of course the official reason for the denial might be that his actions failed to reach the threshold and none of the lower medal fit.

I'm curious as to how this will play out in the plot, but from Travis's point of view, it's purely a matter of Locatelli knifing him for writing up his son.

Travis is likely unaware or only dimly aware of how his half brother brings a political element to how his superiors view him. It's entirely possible his denial of the medal had very little to do with personal spite on Locatelli's part, and that those who made the decision genuinely believed the service could not afford to give a political boost to the anti-RMN faction. However, from the viewpoints of both Travis as he is denied the medal, and from the LT (forget her name) who was told to deny him credit for the idea to save both ships, it looks like pure spite from the higher ups.

feyhunde wrote:Otoh, does ONI even exist at this time?

Let me answer that with a very brief snippet from ACTV:

“These days it’s mostly just a handful of mossbacks pondering diplomatic reports,” he said. “And in their spare time leafing through Solarian weapons brochures saying ooh—shiny at all the cool hardware that Breakwater will never let us buy.”

ericth wrote:I'm curious as to how this will play out in the plot, but from Travis's point of view, it's purely a matter of Locatelli knifing him for writing up his son.

Travis is likely unaware or only dimly aware of how his half brother brings a political element to how his superiors view him. It's entirely possible his denial of the medal had very little to do with personal spite on Locatelli's part, and that those who made the decision genuinely believed the service could not afford to give a political boost to the anti-RMN faction. However, from the viewpoints of both Travis as he is denied the medal, and from the LT (forget her name) who was told to deny him credit for the idea to save both ships, it looks like pure spite from the higher ups.

Thank you! This has been the point that I was trying to make & emphasises that these stories are deeper & not just one-sided.

The one thing I would disagree with you though, is about when Lieutenant Metzger who was told to deny Travis credit for his idea by Vanguard's captain. To my mind that was pure spite as his brother was not sufficiently prominent in the Anti-RMN campaign then & just crediting somebody is not sufficiently noteworthy to be able to claim political advantage with. Somebody might have different views on that last point though.

Rincewind wrote:The one thing I would disagree with you though, is about when Lieutenant Metzger who was told to deny Travis credit for his idea by Vanguard's captain. To my mind that was pure spite as his brother was not sufficiently prominent in the Anti-RMN campaign then & just crediting somebody is not sufficiently noteworthy to be able to claim political advantage with. Somebody might have different views on that last point though.

Iirc, Didn't that captain give TUL grief bout his file using words like has great potential? When I see phrases like great potential, I hear la, not working to full potential, lazy." or similar. He was predisposed to give Travis no credit for anything.

I thought that was Casey's captain when travis first reported aboard, about a month/2 before the mercs hit?

Dauntless wrote:I thought that was Casey's captain when travis first reported aboard, about a month/2 before the mercs hit?

Swell then ... I humbly stand corrected.

HungryKing wrote:One thing we know is that at this point the Manty house of lords does not have formal political parties, instead they have factions, many of which are focussed on a single issue or very transient.

It started with The Appropriations Committee meeting. Winterfall wasn't exactly on that committee, but Countess Calvingdell had double-booked herself again and asked Winterfall to sit in for her" ..."Please don't misunderstand. I'm honorednand flattered that you consider me worth inviting into your confidence. I just don't see what additional assets I bring to the table. ... There's also Clara Sumner's recommendation, tweenriver said. the countess wouldn't let just anyone sit in on an Appropriations meeting for her."

More fuel to the debate? I reread the book and finally made the connection. Still don't think Countess Calvingdell asking Chomps about our hero will come to anything good for our illustrious [sic) hero