What do you need working for the ICN to put you to sea?

I'm curious about what it takes to be invalided out of sea duty in the ICN.

Baron Seamount got put to shore for the loss of a few fingers on one hand. Other officers, however, have been at sea with a missing foot, leg or eye.

I'd've thought that an officer would probably be in fine shape for sea duty - on deck, anyway, not up the ropes! - with one working hand, and would likely have a much harder time missing a foot or leg.

Did policy change at some point, and Seamount kept ashore on account of being so very vital there and already out of practice sailing?

And assuming Hector Aplyn-Ahrmahk recovers full use of both legs but only minimal use of his injured hand (the most likely prediction, if I recall correctly), is he likely to be kept ashore? He is, at least, unlikely to be scurrying up and down masts anymore.

Baron Seamount got hurt years before the war started. There would have been no need for every available man to serve on a ship then. They probably offered him a post ashore to make room for someone else. And I'm sure he accepted quite happily when he realized how much fun he could have making things explode in his new job.

By the time the war started, yes, he probably was more valuable as an inventor than as a ship's Captain or Admiral.

Admiral Staynair, on the other hand, got wounded in the middle of a war. He was a good and experienced officer. They would have wanted him to keep doing his job at sea. And I'm sure he would have refused a post ashore.

As for Hector Aplyn-Ahrmahk, I think that will be at least partly a political decision. I also think he wants to go back to sea, so they will probably find a way to make it look good politically. You know, "the heroic young Duke, barely recovered from his terrible wounds, throwing himself back into the war beside his new wife's countrymen, to avenge her father's murder". Or something else equally silly.

I have the impression that Seamount was in the course of his present duties playing with things that go boom.

He claims to get seasick taking a bath and is happy in his present role. So I imagine he would have no interest in a sea going command.

As for Hektor, it will be interesting to see how RFC handles that. I can see the argument both ways. One could make a case for keeping him where he is at politically. On the other side, he needs a few more years of seasoning before he is ready for an independent command at sea. There has been some talk here on forum about putting him on one of the Haarahlds as an up and coming junior officer to assist by accessing one of the snarcs.

Maybe someone should have a heart to heart with Sir Dunkyn to clear him for "the seijin has visions" version of things and tell him that Hektor also has that gift and then put the two of them back together.

Don

JeffEngel wrote:I'm curious about what it takes to be invalided out of sea duty in the ICN.

Baron Seamount got put to shore for the loss of a few fingers on one hand. Other officers, however, have been at sea with a missing foot, leg or eye.

I'd've thought that an officer would probably be in fine shape for sea duty - on deck, anyway, not up the ropes! - with one working hand, and would likely have a much harder time missing a foot or leg.

Did policy change at some point, and Seamount kept ashore on account of being so very vital there and already out of practice sailing?

And assuming Hector Aplyn-Ahrmahk recovers full use of both legs but only minimal use of his injured hand (the most likely prediction, if I recall correctly), is he likely to be kept ashore? He is, at least, unlikely to be scurrying up and down masts anymore.

Horatio Nelson was short 1 arm and 1 eye, which turned out very handy when he wanted to not see an order (the source of the "turning a blind eye" cliché) sent via signal flag. The most important part of a good officer exists between his ears, not below them, therefore, for a good officer, it would take a lot to invalid them out.

Keith_w wrote:

JeffEngel wrote:I'm curious about what it takes to be invalided out of sea duty in the ICN.

Baron Seamount got put to shore for the loss of a few fingers on one hand. Other officers, however, have been at sea with a missing foot, leg or eye.

I'd've thought that an officer would probably be in fine shape for sea duty - on deck, anyway, not up the ropes! - with one working hand, and would likely have a much harder time missing a foot or leg.

Did policy change at some point, and Seamount kept ashore on account of being so very vital there and already out of practice sailing?

And assuming Hector Aplyn-Ahrmahk recovers full use of both legs but only minimal use of his injured hand (the most likely prediction, if I recall correctly), is he likely to be kept ashore? He is, at least, unlikely to be scurrying up and down masts anymore.

Horatio Nelson was short 1 arm and 1 eye, which turned out very handy when he wanted to not see an order (the source of the "turning a blind eye" cliché) sent via signal flag. The most important part of a good officer exists between his ears, not below them, therefore, for a good officer, it would take a lot to invalid them out.

Another famous officer who served while disabled was Group Captain Douglas Bader of the RAF. He lost parts of both legs in an air crash in 1931, was medically retired yet returned to duty in WW2 as a fighter pilot and scored 20 known victories. After being shot down, he made so many escape attempts he was finally sent to Colditz Castle, the German POW Alcatraz.

doug941 wrote:

Keith_w wrote:Horatio Nelson was short 1 arm and 1 eye, which turned out very handy when he wanted to not see an order (the source of the "turning a blind eye" cliché) sent via signal flag. The most important part of a good officer exists between his ears, not below them, therefore, for a good officer, it would take a lot to invalid them out.

Another famous officer who served while disabled was Group Captain Douglas Bader of the RAF. He lost parts of both legs in an air crash in 1931, was medically retired yet returned to duty in WW2 as a fighter pilot and scored 20 known victories. After being shot down, he made so many escape attempts he was finally sent to Colditz Castle, the German POW Alcatraz.

Another historical example would be Confederate general John Bell Hood. His left arm was permanently crippled (but not amputated) at Gettysburg. Despite the injury, he returned to service and took part at the battle of Chickamauga about 2 and 1/2 months later. In this battle, he received an injury to his right leg which did result in amputation of the limb just below the hip. Despite having only 1 leg and 1 good arm, he would return to service within 6 months. His aides would have to strap him to the saddle of his horse due to his missing leg, but he was able to ride over 20 miles a day and keep up with the marching army without difficulty.

From the sound of things with Hood, they would have had to amputate below the chin to keep him down...

Don

n7axw wrote:From the sound of things with Hood, they would have had to amputate below the chin to keep him down...

Don

Pretty much the truth. Hood was one of the most aggressive Brigade and Division commanders of the entire ACW. And his injuries did not change his style. After being injured, he would eventually ascend to corps and eventually army command. Unfortunately, the aggressive, headlong offensive style that served him as a brigade and division commander did not serve him once he ascended to higher command. He was a disaster as an army commander...

Since the actual nature of Hektor's wounds aren't known to the public, there's really no reason not to fly him to Nimue's cave to fix his injured hand. It would raise an eyebrow or two amongst those who have had access to the family quarters, but if he kept the hand bandaged, and the healers didn't see it after the first night, there wouldn't be much more anyone could say other than "He healed better than we expected." Since the entire country thinks that he survived because Irys' love saved him from death and then she nursed him back to health, having him recover completely would only heighten the miracle and make a better story for the public.

McGuiness wrote:Since the actual nature of Hektor's wounds aren't known to the public, there's really no reason not to fly him to Nimue's cave to fix his injured hand. It would raise an eyebrow or two amongst those who have had access to the family quarters, but if he kept the hand bandaged, and the healers didn't see it after the first night, there wouldn't be much more anyone could say other than "He healed better than we expected." Since the entire country thinks that he survived because Irys' love saved him from death and then she nursed him back to health, having him recover completely would only heighten the miracle and make a better story for the public.

But he is already healed now. Wouldn't that make it much harder to fix? IE, treating an injury correctly the first time is much easier to trying to correct something that has already healed improperly.