I never imagined there were five Rambo movies. I saw the original First Blood when it was newish and thought it had a bit of an over-the-top build-up of the local constabulary villainy to set Rambo off, a bit more subtlety and motivation as it sounds like the book had would've helped a lot. I couldn't believe it when people were making him out to be and into a straight action hero later, plus selling kids' merchandise including pajamas. There's nothing wrong with the original movie as is, just could've had a bit more depth. I saw the second one once and then that's been it for me and Mr. Rambo. It definitely had a big influence I feel on comics. I'd much rather reread the Jon Sable Freelance issues on MIAs!

I remember another book/movie where a PTSD vet takes over Central Park. I think the movie was called the same thing; the original story was titled The Park Is Mine written by Stephen Peters.

Sergeant Major is the top NCO rank.  A Command Sergeant Major is the senior NCO, who is in an advisory position to the commanding officer (usually at a battalion or division level).  A sergeant is usually a squad leader and a staff sergeant is the platoon NCO.  As you move up the ranks, you move up to company NCO, battalion NCO and Division NCO, where you are filling a staff NCO position.

This covers the equivalents between services, in the US military.

Generally speaking, NCOs tend to be billeted together (if not in their own family quarters) and in private, call each other by their given names.  In professional situations they will use their rank.  Certain ranks come with their own nickname.  A Gunnery Sergeant in the USMC is usually called "Gunny" while a First Sergeant is often called "Top".  The Navy is a bit different, as we usually use rank and rating when referring to an enlisted sailor.  For example, a Machinist's Mate (MM), who holds the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class, would be referred to as MM2 Smith. If he was a PO 1st Class, it is MM1 Smith; and, if and when he becomes a Chief Petty Officer, it would be Chief Smith (then Senior Chief Smith and Master Chief Smith). 


On a ship, the Chiefs have their own mess area and their own berthing (sleeping) area.  Officers have their wardroom and their own staterooms (usually shared, until becoming a department head, depending on the size of the ship).  Chiefs call each other by given name, as do officers, depending on the gap in rank.  Usually, lieutenant and below call each other by given name and they refer to the department heads by their department title (Weps, for Weapons Officer, Ops for Operations, Suppo, for Supply, First Lieutenant, for Deck, and CHENG, for Chief Engineer).  However, you might call your immediate supervisor by their given name, in private.  At non-formal functions you might use given names of senior officers, depending on how formal the CO likes to have his wardroom.  When I was attached to a destroyer squadron staff, we pretty much used given names, outside of work, for everyone but the Commodore (CO of the Squadron) and Chief Staff Officer (XO).

A lot depends on the command; I have seen very informal and very formal.  It really depends on the CO.

Your last question is something most civilians really don't understand and Hollywood (and comic books) usually get it wrong.  An enlisted servicemember actually enlists in their service and signs and enlistment contract.  Their enlistment is for a specific period of time, though it can be extended in an emergency (such as a shooting war).  A commissioned officer serves at the leisure of the President of the United States, who grants them a commission in their particular service.  There is, technically, no expiration date for the commission.  It can be revoked and the officer discharged from the service.  It can also be resigned by the officer.  However, a resignation must be approved before the officer is allowed to leave the service.  Now, in reality, an officer must move up in rank to remain in the service.  You become eligible for the next rank after a minimum time at your present rank and then your record goes before a promotion board and they vote on whether you are promoted in rank. You usually have two shots at it, once for early promotion, once for regular promotion.  if you are passed over both times, you are usually out of the service, unless there are special circumstances (such as unique expertise).  The ultimate goal of an officer is command; so, if you aren't up to the next stage, you are a waste of resources and it's goodbye.  Now, generally speaking, unless you are a complete F-up, promotion is pretty much a given, until the rank of Commander (LT Colonel, in the Army).  By that point, you are up for command of a ship and there are only so many of those.  LCDR (or Army Major) isn't necessarily a given, though, again, it takes a lot to eliminate you from the running.

Here's where people get it wrong.  An enlisted service member can become an officer, through a few channels.  Now, my experience was with the Navy; so, this is the Navy path.  You can become a warrant officer, because of technical expertise.  They tend to serve at repair facilities or other technical facilities, because of their expertise.  An NCO who shows strong leadership skills might become what is known as a "mustang," receiving an "limited duty officer's" commission (LDO).  Warrant Officers will not rise to command a ship or unit; but, a "mustang" could, to a certain extent.  It is rare they would command a ship; but, they could be one of the senior officers in the command.  They can also apply to a commissioning program, either because they have a college degree or have applied to a service academy or ROTC program and are accepted.  Upon completion of their degree, they would receive an officer's commission.  At my NROTC unit, at the Univ of Illinois, we had three former enlisted personnel (one Navy, two Marine) who were going through the program.  I believe the Army and Air Force have similar programs.  Now, in the Army, Warrant Officer is treated a little different.  Helicopter pilots are usually Warrant Officers, while in the Navy, they are commissioned officers.  Outside of repair and technical facilities, about the only other place in the Navy that you would find a warrant officer is in a SEAL team.


So, an enlisted servicemember can be raised to an officer rank.  The reverse cannot happen, since the officer does not sign an enlistment contract; he serves at the leisure of the President.  If he wants to resign his commission, he leaves the service (assuming his request is granted).  If he is court martialed for an offense, he could be reduced in rank, but only to a lower officer rank; he could not be reduced to an enlisted rank.  More than likely, if he was court martialed, he would be kicked out of the service, after any sentence is served, as the military doesn't tolerate that from the officer corps.


The DC Comics Impact line, featuring the Archie superhero characters (in the early 90s) had an incorrect situation in one of its books, Legend of the Shield.  In the comic, Joe Higgins, alias The Shield, was an Army officer whose own father framed him for an offense and he was busted down to enlisted rank, forcing him to take part in the Shield test program (he was given a special battlesuit that gave protection from bullets and augmented his strength).  That scenario is impossible, as he held an officer's commission and could only be reduced to a lower officer rank or kicked out of the service.  Now, if he had been an enlisted soldier, given a battlefield commission and he faced disciplinary action, it is possible for him to be busted back down to his former enlisted rank.  This was not unheard of in WW2, as sergeants might be promoted to lieutenant, after the officer is killed; but, might get into a bar brawl and have his battlefield commission taken away and be busted back to sergeant.


Now, in NROTC, as midshipman, we were in an interesting situation (same at the Naval Academy).  We got the first year, with no commitment.  At the start of our second year, we had to commit to the program or leave.  If we committed, were were then obligated to pay back the time we had taken for our studies.  So, at the end of a 4-year degree program (most Bachelor degrees), we had to serve for a minimum of 4 years.  If we flunked out of school, or were kicked out of the program, we would then have to serve out our commitment as an enlisted sailor.  This hadn't really been invoked since Vietnam, for the obvious reasons; but, you could find yourself out the door and then stuck with a debt to the federal government, to pay back your scholarship.  The closest I ever saw to such a situation was an ensign at Supply Corps School, who was caught cheating on an exam and was kicked out on an honors violation.  he had come in via the Officer Candidate School program, from the civilian world.  I believe they just processed him out, without further obligations, since OCS is just a few months.  Another one, who decided he didn't want to be an officer, went to the school CO and said he cheated on a project, to get out, though the scuttlebutt was that he hadn't cheated but saw it as an easy out.  Says a lot about his character, though.  Another flunked out and was removed from the service as unfit to be an officer, as he had some definite maturity issues (starting with the fact he wasn't ready for marriage to a wife who was even more immature and selfish, and also domineering).

Funny enough, Ross Perot, the businessman who ran as an independent candidate for US President in 1992, had gone through the Naval Academy, then used his father's political connections to get him out of his service commitment, after commissioning.  He put in a request to resign, stating something about serving with officers who did not measure up to standards, whose language offended him and similar things.  All that was a crock of horse @#$%.  You didn't get through 4 years of a commissioning program without hearing a bit of salty language.  if it offended our sensibilities, you should have resigned after your first year.  Basically, he got a free ride through a major institution, then got off scott free without living up to his commitment, which is one of several reasons I wouldn't vote for him (the others being he had no actual policies or plans for the presidency and avoided answering direct questions about his position on issues by repeating his rhetoric that the government was crippled by "gridlock," without offering any plan to change it).  Before the 1980s, athletic stars from the service academies had to serve their commitment, before going off to professional sports, including NFL quarterback Roger Staubach.  However, by the Reagan era, they were letting cadets and midshipmen go straight to the pros.  When James Webb became Secretary of the Navy, he put a stop to this, saying they owed the Navy first; but, he did remain as SECNAV for long, as he had little use of the Administrations weaselly attitudes and character and resigned in disgust (the Reagan Era DOD was a bit of a  corrupt cesspool, though that has been true for many administrations).

So, long winded answers; hope you find what you are looking for there.

Suppose I tripped over on the United States/Canada border. My upper body/head is in Canada, my lower body is in the United States. Will a Canadian or U.S. ambulance pick me up? Who takes responsibility for me as a patient?

(Silly question, but I had some alcohol today)

Too tired to Google my brudder? Even before I googled I found I partially knew the answers. It is revenue created by having advertisers you take on to promote (x amount of clicks we with each click on an ad or your podcast translating to $'s), taking on paid subscribers and being funded by other providers as the main source of "payment". There are more ways but it will mainly depend on building and keeping a large following.

Crimebuster may be the best equipped to answer your question. I believe the answer, though, is that there are free hosting services, though they come with limitations/restrictions. I suspect running a podcast costs as much or as little as you want to invest. Do you get the higher quality microphone and mixing software or use your laptop? Do you host it yourself or use a free service? Do you pay to advertise it? etc

Also, in the age of Youtube, I'm of the belief that most folks aren't flocking to podcasts anymore. Why not just do a video channel? I've been toying with the idea of doing one myself.

I feel like podcasts have maybe peaked, but still have a few advantages over YouTube. Podcasts can be distributed via various platforms, listened to more easily on commutes or while doing other things, and there’s also more freedom to monetize.