History Main / ArtisticLicenseMilitary

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'': When Susan becomes a giant, the military comes and shoots her with a giant TranquillizerDart. Even ignoring the dart's enormous size, it is not standard procedure for soldiers to use tranquilizer guns.

** ArtisticLicenseMilitary/{{MASH}}

* For that matter, the military is rarely ever competent in Franchise/MarvelComics at all. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't count, as it's a GovernmentAgencyOfFiction.[[note]]S.H.I.E.L.D. may appear to be an example of this trope, since [[Comicbook/NickFury its most well-known leader]] is a Colonel, but this is his exit rank from the US Army, not his rank within the organisation.[[/note]]

* For that matter, an overly harsh DrillSergantNasty. A drill sergeant, drill instructor, etc. is certainly going to make your life hard during basic training, but it's for the sake of breaking you down to build you back up. The breaking is shown a lot more than the building in media, but the building is an essential part of your training. A drill instructor who keeps producing recruits that can't pass inspections is someone who won't be a drill instructor for very long. Plus, as bad as a drill instructor can be, they're also trained to recognize when a recruit is at their physical and/or mental breaking point, and either direct them to someone who can help them or step in themselves. Many modern militaries would expel or even court-martial a drill sergeant for some of the abuse that the character archetype is known for.

* [[HollywoodMilitaryUniform Incorrect uniforms, rank insignia, patches, and medals]]. These differ not just by country or service branch, but also by era and conflict -- you shouldn't see a Gulf War veteran wearing a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI medal. Works especially have a tendency to fail to distinguish between ranks entirely, and to make the uniforms a lot snazzier than they would be in real life. [[https://www.stripes.com/why-can-t-hollywood-get-military-uniforms-right-1.159651 There's a common belief]] that depicting US military uniforms perfectly accurately is illegal and leads to charges of impersonating a military officer, but this is an UrbanLegend.

** Live-fire infantry training with offset aim alone preventing casualties, modern warships destroyed with spar torpedoes, Russian T-34s as the ultimate tank design for rear area strikes which are apparently the sole purpose of tanks, antiquated 1950s radar easily spotting stealth bombers, etc. etc. Platoon strength militia units with no logistics or coordination with each other are upheld as vastly superior to existing military, to the point of being called upon to train the actual military. At one point, the protagonist shows his contempt for the established military by sleeping through a briefing containing such ''useless'' trivia as local politics, road and weather conditions.

** Live-fire infantry training with offset aim alone preventing casualties, modern warships destroyed with spar torpedoes, Russian T-34s as the ultimate tank design for rear area strikes which are apparently the sole purpose of tanks, antiquated 1950s radar easily spotting stealth bombers, etc. etc. Platoon strength militia units with no logistics or coordination with each other are upheld as vastly superior to existing military, to the point of being called upon to train the actual military. At one point, the protagonist shows his contempt for the established military by sleeping through a briefing containing such useless trivia as local politics, road and weather conditions.

** While much of this is intentional (it being a humor strip, after all), the anachronisms are mostly due to being a LongRunner. When Beetle signed up for the Army in Korean war times (both in real life and, back then, the strip), the uniforms, equipment, and procedures were a lot more current.

* ''LightNovel/MuvLuvAlternativeTotalEclipse'':

** Japanese media have a special example here. Both the Imperial Japanese Forces and the Japan Self-Defense Forces use unified rank structures, with the only difference between ranks of the same grade but different services being a prefix or a single kanji to indicate the branch in question, which is typically dropped when context isn't needed. Thus, a ''tai-i'' without prefix could refer to either an army captain or a navy lieutenant (NATO OF-2). Anime in general tends to use the Imperial ranks unless they specifically feature the Self-Defense Forces.

* In the ending credits of the second volume of ''Anime/HellsingUltimate'', the survivors of the attack on the Hellsing manor salute the dead at their funeral. Despite being a British organization, they use the American salute. An American-style salute given to Seras by the surviving Wild Geese in volume seven may or may not qualify - The Wild Geese are mercenaries, and said soldiers may have been trained to salute according to American traditions long before taking a job in England.

* Incorrect depiction of groups that traditionally aren't (or weren't) members of the military. Militaries did not historically allow [[TheSquadette women]] or [[BlackVikings ethnic minorities]], or if they did segregated them into their own units or forbade them from having certain jobs like infantry. That may have changed, but some works that depict a historical war will happily use modern demographics when this would not have been allowed. A few may make it a point to show that it's not allowed but nobody cares, or that they're making an effort to blend in (including [[SweetPollyOliver women pretending to be men]]).

** Japanese media have a special example here. Prior to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Imperial Japanese armed forces used a unified rank system with the same words and kanji used for Army and Navy commissioned personnel (prefixed with ''Rikigun'' for Army and ''Kaigun'' for Navy). That changed under the postwar constitution--the Japan Ground, Air, and Maritime Self-Defense Forces use different words and kanji for equivalent ranks--but Japanese ''creators'' seem to prefer using the prewar rank system, which besides being inaccurate for the JSDF, often causes confusion for translators.

* Military action in domestic territory. Generally, the military needs to have a ''damn'' good reason to do this. US military fighter pilots cannot fire missiles over the territory of the United States without express authorization from the US President, and the US Armed Forces are barred by Congress from being used to enforce domestic law outside of an active insurrection or invasion. On the other hand, countries in continental Europe have special branches of the military dedicated for domestic law enforcement, like the french Gendarmerie of the Italian Carabinieri.

* Military action in domestic territory. Generally, the military needs to have a ''damn'' good reason to do this. US military fighter pilots cannot fire missiles over the territory of the United States without express authorization from the US President, and the US Armed Forces are barred by Congress from being used to enforce domestic law outside of an active insurrection or invasion.

* Overly brutal military justice. If a character is CourtMartialed, it will usually be a summary trial which often ends in [[ShotAtDawn the defendant's execution]] because after all, it's war! Unless the defendant is a MilitaryMaverick, in which case the work will again go too far in the other direction and let them get away with flagrantly disobeying orders.

* The official subtitled version of ''Anime/StrikeWitches'' calls Mio a Major (an Army/Air Force rank) in the subtitles. It's the right grade, but as a naval officer she should technically be a Lieutenant Commander. They also call Shirley a Lieutenant in episode 5, but since she's an officer in her country's Army, she should technically be a Captain. What makes this error more unusual is that the subtitles correctly referred to her as a First Lieutenant in episode 3 (she was promoted off-screen between the two episodes). The actual dialogue averts this, since the characters use the all-forces rank structure of the Imperial Japanese forces ('shousa' being used to refer to both army majors and navy lieutenant commanders, for instance).
** To add to the confusion, the Witches in Joint Fighter Wing holds TWO rank. One is for her native country and branch of service she originally is from, which should be addressed by whatever the appropriate title it is for the serving country/branch. And the other is for the League of Nations Air Force (LNAF), which is generally addressed in British Royal Air Force ranks. For example, in a drama CD, Barkhorn states that she is a Shousa (Major) in Karlsland Luftwaffe, but holds the rank of Taii (Captain/Flight Lieutenant) in 501st due to command structure and such.

* In the ending credits of the second volume of ''Anime/HellsingUltimate'', the survivors of the attack on the Hellsing manor salute the dead at their funeral. Despite being a British organization, they use the American salute. An American-style salute given to Seras by the surviving Wild Geese in volume seven may or may not qualify - The Wild Geese are mercenaries, and said soldiers may have been trained to salute according to American traditions long before taking a job in England.
* ''Anime/DivergenceEve'' identifies MauveShirt Luke Walker in English dialog as a chief petty officer, but his bio in the opening credits gives his rank as sergeant. Every other character uses naval-style ranks, and no, the Japanese words for the ranks aren't the same.
* ''LightNovel/MuvLuvAlternativeTotalEclipse'':
** Questionable since it's a {{callsign}}, but everyone refers to Yuuya Bridges as "Film/TopGun" as befitting his status as an AcePilot. The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Strike_Fighter_Tactics_Instructor_program Top Gun]] program is a US Navy outfit where [[InsistentTerminology Aviators]] practice dogfighting tactics against master pilots in Nevada and Southern California. Sounds fitting doesn't it? Unfortunately, Yuuya is in the US ''Army''.
** The subtitles for the anime give the TSF pilots naval ranks, with Yuuya and his squadron members being said to be ensigns. Leaving aside that this seemingly underranks everyone in the main cast except Yuuya (who is a rookie, though a talented one, at the start of the series) and possibly Yui Takamura,[[note]]First Lieutenant (''Rikugun-Chūi'' 陸軍中尉) Takamura is probably not underranked for her age and time in grade, but probably ''is'' underranked for her responsibilities. Additionally, a war as long and bloody as the fight with the BETA has been would probably result in more rapid promotions for combat veterans like herself [[YouAreInCommandNow due to superior officers getting killed]].[[/note]] he's (again) said to be in the Army and thus should be a second lieutenant. Ditto the other characters in his squadron (all of their countries follow the standard NATO rank system), as well as [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets Red Army]] ranks ([[AlternateHistory the Soviet Union still exists]] in ''VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative''): the Scarlet Twins should both be ranked junior lieutenant (''mladshy leytenant'' in Russian) rather than ensign, and Zhar Battalion CO Fikatsia Latrova's rank should be lieutenant colonel (''podpolkovnik'') rather than commander (which wasn't even a rank used in the Soviet ''Navy'': the equivalent in the USSR and most ex-Soviet countries is captain 2nd rank). The titles are actually correct for the Japanese characters, however, as Imperial Japan also still exists due to the AlternateHistory.
** Various {{fanservice}} incidents would in real life be grounds for a very swift CourtMartial for sexual harassment. Trying to peep on your superior officer bathing in a hot spring comes to mind, as does that officer's own superiors making her take part in a swimsuit photoshoot. (The ''Franchise/MuvLuv'' franchise started as an {{eroge}} series.)

* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': General Ross pretty much embodies the ArmiesAreEvil Trope in one man. It not only takes Artistic License but a ''lot'' of SuspensionOfDisbelief on the part of Marvel fans to assume the U.S. Air Force wouldn't have court martialed him, reduced him in rank, and sentenced him to life in Leavenworth after the property damage and civilian casualties his obsession with the Hulk has caused.

** ''Mostly'' averted in ''Literature/TheHuntForRedOctober'': Creator/TomClancy got so much about submarine operations right that he was briefly investigated by the Department of Defense to make sure they didn't have any leaks. That said, there are still some mistakes.

* Creator/SMStirling and Creator/JamesDoohan got the Navy and Marines entry-level officer ranks mixed up in Literature/{{the Flight Engineer}} trilogy. Second Lieutenant Cynthia Robbins should be an ensign, and the two Marine pilots assigned to [[TheHero Commander Raeder's]] command in ''The Privateer'' are ensigns when they should be second lieutenants.

* Avalon Hill's ''Magazine/TheGeneral'' magazine Volume 25 #3, article "Riding With The Best". In a fictional account of a U.S. Army Sherman tank crew on a mission, the recon platoon leader ends a radio conversation with "Roger, over and out".

* {{Justified}} in ''Literature/Aeon14'', which has little distinction between SpaceNavy and StandardSciFiArmy, with various "Space Forces" using a mishmash of army and navy ranks apparently based on occupational specialty. For example, in ''Outsystem'', main character Tanis Richards holds the Terran Space Force rank of major as a counterterrorism operator. The InUniverse explanation is that a hard administrative division between service branches is considered CoolButInefficient by most factions because the "army" is dependent on the space force for transport and logistics, though the TSF and its descendant the ISF notably still maintain a Marine Corps sub-branch.

* ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'': General Ross pretty much embodies the ArmiesAreEvil Trope in one man. It not only takes Artistic License but a ''lot'' of SuspensionOfDisbelief on the part of Marvel fans to assume the U.S. Air Force wouldn't have court martialed him, reduced him in rank, and sentenced him to life in Leavenworth after the property damage and civilian casualties his obsession with the Hulk has caused.

** There can be a failure to understand the difference between "line" officers, and "staff" officers who are usually non-combat specialists like doctors, dentists & lawyers. Line officers on the other hand are able to take command of a unit if required by casualties or other circumstances, but staff officers are generally speaking, not even eligible for commanding forces with lower ranked line officers taking control in a combat situation.

* Failure to respect TheChainOfCommand. While works might understand the hierarchy, they might forget that you can only go directly to the next step in the hierarchy. This means that you shouldn't see the President, even if he's Commander in Chief, giving orders directly to a private in the field. Nor should you see said private chafing under the orders of his direct superior going to the President to overrule him.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'' episode "Drones", a military officer bluntly admits his team accepts dropouts and delinquents, and the duo got easy access to the drone control center due to the crew's incompetence.
* The Navy presented in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' is rather... unique.
** Donald is addressed as "Seaman Duck," yet wears a (upside down!) petty officer third class crow.
** Admiral Gribbitz seems to be captaining the aircraft carrier (he should be the admiral overall in charge of its battle group, there's no ranked Navy captain to be seen who would normally be the ship's commanding officer).
** Why the hell does an admiral spend so much time with a lowly seaman? Fraternization/Favoritism!
** Aircraft carriers cannot open from the front to take in a submarine. Nor would they have room to put one in.
** It's definitely done for RuleOfFunny, but you can't swab an aircraft carrier flight deck (it's mostly a rough material called nonskid, swabs get stuck to it), nor would you really want to.
** Also, in at least one scene, Donald is PeelingPotatoes on KP as a punishment. [[DeadHorseTrope That isn't done any more.]] Mess halls have more efficient ways to do it nowadays.
** Donald's court martial more resembled a Captain's Mast/Non-Judicial Punishment Hearing (or Admiral's Mast one supposes), and is still pretty off. He had no JAG lawyer present, no JAG judge presiding, no jury. And to nitpick, a trial for treason would probably take over a year to put together, and he would have been put in the brig probably for close to life, not merely busted down and booted from the service.
* The episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' "Simpson Tide" takes Artistic License in ''lots'' of areas, as the show often does, but two examples could probably be chalked up to this trope. First of all, Barney's mother wouldn't be allowed an assignment on the submarine, as Navy regulations at the time forbid females from doing so. Second, the only way to be dishonorably discharged is to be court martialed, as Homer clearly was not.
* A "wrong rank" version happens in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold.'' The [[DrillSergeantNasty ex-military]] substitute teacher gives his rank as "Lieutenant Major." No such rank exists. Given that a flashback established him as the drill sergeant of Gerald's father in the Vietnam era, he was likely meant to have been a retired Sergeant Major.
* Bill in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is supposed to be a sergeant in the Army, with a barber MOS. He has never transferred, deployed, nor does the Army have a barber MOS.
** In one episode Bill, a sergeant, takes orders from a random corporal and calls him “sir.” Though it might just be to show how unassertive he is and how pathetic everyone else sees him.
* ''Franchise/GIJoe''
** ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' can go from surprisingly realistic military procedure to outright tomfoolery. Duke or Flint in the first season seem to be almost always in charge, despite being a first sergeant and warrant officer, respectively, with many members of the team outranking them. And Duke is explicitly stated to be higher in the food chain than Flint in Season 2 (at least by then they had a general leading them). Not even getting into how every member of the Joe team can expertly pilot the F-14 expy, among other things.
*** This was invoked InUniverse in one episode where Cobra hacked into the D.O.D. computers to elevate [[TechnicalPacifist Lifeline]], [[DidntThinkThisThrough Dial-Tone]] and [[TheSlacker Shipwreck]] to the rank of Colonel (instantly elevating them to just under General Hawk on the chain of command), in order to screw with the Joes' morale and field competence. This openly baffles the Joes they leapt over in rank, including field commander Beach Head:
--->'''Beach Head''': How is this possible? Shipwreck's not even ''in'' the army! Why not [[ScaryBlackMan Roadblock]] or [[AcePilot Slipstream]] or... ME!
*** Several members of the Joes sport facial hair (not just the ones who have Navy backgrounds), even though this has been against military regulations for some time. (Blame the action figure line, who did it as a selling point.) On the other hand, there are various exceptions on grooming standards for real-life special forces, too.
*** G.I. Joe team member Shipwreck is stated to be an E-7 at his introduction, but is pictured wearing "dungaree" uniform: blue chambray shirt and denim bell bottoms. While his rank insignia on his sleeve is correct for an E-7, this uniform would never have been worn by a Chief Petty Officer. Once promoted beyond the rank of E-6, the dungaree uniform was replaced by khakis.
** ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeRenegades''
*** The show has people calling Duke "sir", when he's a Sergeant.
*** This version of Scarlett is called a "Lieutenant" in the credits and dialogue, but no such rank exists in the U.S. Army. No, not even Army Intelligence, where Scarlett came from. There are 2nd and 1st Lieutenants, but simply "Lieutenant" with no modifier is a ''Navy'' rank. Although, given the aforementioned pronunciation errors, and the informal structure of their group, it was never mentioned if she was first or second lieutenant, and both 2nd and 1st Lieutenants are typically called "Lieutenant" when talking.
*** Flint is listed as Warrant Officer in the opening credit sequence but is a Lieutenant in the show. His original rank in RAH was Warrant, so probably a production snafu.
* While likely an intentional joke, the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' miniseries "Imaginationland" had the two Army soldiers in charge of the Stargate spoof simultaneously wearing senior Sergeant patches AND General stars. Sergerals?
* A deliberate example occurred in the 1960's ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' show. Boris Badenov showed up at an American military compound and tried to seize control based on his seniority, claiming that he was a six-star general. When the general in charge showed that he, too, had six stars, Boris responded with "Yes, but yours don't light up". The rest of the base accepted this without question. Nobody points out that there is and has only ever been ''one'' six-star general in the US Army - George Washington, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six-star_rank who was given the rank posthumously in 1976]] so that he could outrank officers who held rank of five star general which was created in WWII[[note]]John J. Pershing was granted the equivalent rank of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_of_the_Armies General of the Armies]] while on active duty during World War I, but his insignia was four gold stars since the five-star rank didn't exist yet[[/note]], but used - which meant that at the time the episode was originally aired, both parties were claiming a rank that didn't even ''exist''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Colonel Gentleman claims to be former RAF, despite the rank of colonel not existing in the RAF. The equivalent rank is Group Captain.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGalaxyTrio'':
** Episode "Versus the Moltens of Meteorus". While Vapor Man is talking with his superior at Intergalactic Security (a military-style organization) he ends a radio conversation (where he received the message) by saying "Over and out".
** Episode "Galaxy Trio and the Sleeping Planet". When an Intergalactic Headquarters radio officer receives a signal he concludes the transmission with "Over and out", and when Meteor Man receives a transmission from Intergalactic Headquarters he does the same thing.
* ''WesternAnimation/Birdman1967'' episode "Professor Nightshade". A U.S. military officer addressed as "Admiral" is clearly wearing an Army uniform.
* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' gives us "Sergeant Saskatchewan", the most intently overly patriotic Canadian superhero ever. As he's based on a Mountie you'd assume he'd wear the [=RCMP=] sergeant emblem (Three chevrons pointing down with a crown above them) or at the very least the Canadian Armed Forces sergeant emblem (Same deal, just a maple leaf instead of a crown). Instead he wears the American staff sergeant emblem (Three chevrons pointing up).
* While the Enforcers in ''WesternAnimation/SwatKats'' are an entirely fictional organization, and more like highly militarized police than actual military, there's still a few noteworthy issues:
** The Enforcers' leader, Ulysses Feral, is stated to be a commander. However, in "The Wrath of Dark Kat," he addresses a subordinate as "Captain." The "captain" is a generic Enforcer pilot with no discerning rank insignia. Also, in real life, captains usually outrank commanders.
** Lieutenant Commander Steel is almost always addressed as "Lieutenant," except by himself and on his nameplate. The correct shortened form of address for a lieutenant commander is "commander." Steel is likely addressed as Lieutenant in order to avoid confusion with Feral.
** Sergeant Talon and most of the other generic sergeants have shoulderboards with one gold stripe apiece, almost identical to that of Lt. Commander Steel. The only real difference is that Steel's stripes are on the edges of his shoulderboards, while the sergeants' are in the middle.
** The sergeant who appears in "Enter the Madkat" and "Katastrophe" doesn't just wear two slightly different uniforms in each episode, but both are different from the other sergeants'.
** Evidence room clerk Smitty in "Katastrophe" has a sergeant's three rank chevrons on his sleeves. No other sergeant has these. Confusingly, they're on his dress shirt, ''not'' the jacket worn over them (presumably, anyway; Smitty isn't seen with his jacket on).
** Felina is a lieutenant, but lacks any insignia to distinguish her from Enforcers of other ranks.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'' had Private Public serve as second-in-command to General Specific, when in real life private is the lowest military rank possible aside from a recruit rank.
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': In the episode "Ghost in the Machine", Lex Luthor is showing off his latest invention, an anti-aircraft laser cannon, by announcing that two Sidewinder missiles have just been fired at the building he and his assembled guests are in. The AIM-9 Sidewinder is an air-to-air missile used to shoot down other aircraft. It's not used to shoot ground targets like buildings and its targeting system wouldn't be able to lock onto one in the first place as it uses infrared sensors to lock onto the thermal emitions of jet engines.
* The 1971 ''WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker'' cartoon "The Reluctant Recruit" has Woody tricked into joining the Foreign Legion. There are three errors in the cartoon:
** Woody is tricked into joining the Legion when a recruiting office, presumably in the United States, makes him think [[ItMakesSenseInContext it's a travel agency with free tropical vacations]]. The Foreign Legion does NOT recruit soldiers in their homelands. One has to travel to France to enlist.
** The sergeant in the cartoon constantly trying to stop Woody's escape? While his uniform is mostly correct, his rank chevrons point upside down. They should be pointing upwards.
** As for that sergeant's uniform, it [[OutdatedOutfit dates from WorldWar I]]. By the 1970s, the Foreign Legion had switched to the more modern olive drab, khaki or camouflage pattern uniforms.
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