Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / FieldPromotion

Go To

1%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1582306150054844700
2%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3%%
4[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/SchlockMercenary https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1rsz_schlock20160817.png]]]]
5%%
6->'''Radio Operator:''' Sarge, Command says air support is holding till they can assess our status.\
7'''Mal:''' Our status?! Our status is we need some gorram air support! Now get back online and tell them to get in here!\
8'''Radio Operator:''' They won't move without a lieutenant's authorization code, sir.\
9''[Mal rips a command insignia off a dead man's uniform]''\
10'''Mal:''' Here. Here's your code. You're Lieutenant Baker, congratulations on your promotion, ''now get me some air support!''
11-->-- ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', "[[PilotEpisode Serenity]]"
12
13A commanding officer -- who may be [[YouAreInCommandNow in command now]] or may hold the correct rank for his position -- sorely lacks in senior officers. Perhaps they're TrappedBehindEnemyLines. Or communications are shot to hell. Or the senior officers were treacherously invited to a NastyParty. Or he's piecing together something resembling a unit out of the shattered remains of an army. Any suitable disaster to remove them will do.
14
15He must brevet many juniors in order to maintain TheChainOfCommand. Expect some of these brevets to panic for at least a minute or two. May also inspire moments of grief because their predecessor is dead -- hopefully, no matter how beloved he was, not LosingTheTeamSpirit.
16
17If the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevet_%28military%29 brevet rank]] doesn't stick, it still tends to be an advantage for future [[RankUp promotions]]. And it often does, because mortality weeded out the senior ranks, and because the jump is often not that great. There is often a ripple effect: brevet a captain to major; brevet a lieutenant to captain to replace him; brevet a sergeant to lieutenant to replace him; and finally, brevet a private to sergeant to replace ''him''. Normally, under this trope, their existing ranks are not put out of order; the sergeant doesn't become the major over the head of a lieutenant, etc.
18
19A slightly less chaotic situation may result in actual promotions as needed to fill the gaps, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_promotion the actual field -- or battlefield -- promotions.]]
20
21Closely related to ClosestThingWeGot, and in fact many stories with Field Promotion also use that trope.
22
23If you have no one left to promote you, YouAreInCommandNow instead.
24
25----
26!!Examples:
27[[foldercontrol]]
28
29[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
30* In ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'', Reinhard von Musel (later Lohengramm) is promoted from Admiral to High Admiral by his superior, Fleet Admiral Gregor von Muckenberger, after winning them a great battle.
31* In the original ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', Captain Gloval (old tough veteran of the Unification Wars) laments the inexperience of his crew when the newly rebuilt and untested superdimensional fortress comes under sudden attack from mysterious aliens at the start of the series.
32* Captain Natora Einus got her command this way in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE'', jumping from raw lieutenant to command of the previously-mothballed ''Diva'' when she isn't remotely prepared for the position. In her case, however, the man who put her there was doing so to spite Admiral Flit (Ret.) and get rid of a bunch of "useless" personnel at the same time, not because she was the only officer he could find.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Comic Books]]
36* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': In ''Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield'', Caesar orders that the eponymous shield, which was stolen following his victory at Alesia, be found so that he can be carried on it in front of the rebellious Gauls as a symbol of his victory over them. He orders the Prefect of Arverne to find it and every Roman soldier in the city begin desperately searching the numerous coal sheds in town to find it. At the end of the book it turns out Vitalstatistix has it and the town parades in front of Caesar lead by him and Asterix, while the soot-covered Romans are left on the sidelines. Caesar promotes the only two clean soldiers in the city (a drunken Centurion and a slacker Legionnaire), who ducked out of the search, to Prefect and Centurion respectively and leaves, saying that [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain no-one shall ever mention these events or this town in his presence again]].
37* ''ComicBook/JudgeColt'': Mark Colt recieved a battlefield promotion while serving under General UsefulNotes/WilliamTecumsehSherman during the Vicksburg campaign in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar.
38* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': In the series ''The Pit'', the eponymous character promotes a cadet to full judge when the kid finds a stack of unpaid parking tickets in Fonzo Bongo's name.
39* ''ComicBook/SgtRock'': The eponymous Sgt. Rock, of course, started out as a buck private, and while many of his actions were considered worthy of promotion, Easy Company's TO was apparently full. Until a certain battle, whereupon as fatalities accumulated, he was promoted to PFC, Corporal, and finally Sergeant in short order. Not how he would have preferred to earn his stripes, to say the least.
40* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Star Wars: Empire: To the Last Man]]'' an Imperial Army column gets surrounded by native warriors and faces destruction. As the casualties mount, General Ziering promotes Lieutenant Janek Sunber to Captain and eventually Commander. When Lt. Sunber manages to get back to headquarters the only other surviving officer refuses to verify his promotion and he gets bumped back down to Lieutenant due to the other officer being envious of the man's bravery, competence, and favor with the general - he refuses to verify the field-promotions just to spite him.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Fan Works]]
44* In ''Fanfic/AvengersInfiniteWars'', this term could apply to how some of the Avengers have unofficially adopted leadership roles among the clones after joining the Clone Wars on the side of the Republic, despite not having any qualifications that the Republic would recognise. At least one Avenger (specifically [[spoiler:Matt Murdock/Daredevil]]) has to specifically clarify that he should just be considered another soldier during a mission rather than a commander, even as Sam Wilson and Rhodey act as leaders of a flight division and Captain America is treated as a commander when on missions with the clones.
45* In "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12490736/1/Come-Together Come Together]]", after Tom Riddle (''Franchise/HarryPotter'') joins the Howling Commandos (''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'') after being captured by Hydra, he is swiftly given the rank of Sergeant even though he’s only just turned seventeen and obviously hasn’t had any official military training as his skills as a wizard make him too valuable to keep out of the field.
46* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': Due to be cut off in the middle of enemy land Asuka became the chief of the deployed Avalon troops despite being only a Junior Lieutenant.
47-->Asuka blinked away a small headache of her own. "What just happened?" She pointed at the sizzling piece of Black Knight. "I'm betting that's not supposed to have happened, so what does it mean?"\
48Sergeant Bir gave Asuka a very weary look. "It means I think you just got promoted, ma'am."
49* ''Fanfic/AFeddieStory'':
50** General Revil hands over a set of captain's insignia to Jeannette Montange when the two meet, jumping her straight there from Sergeant. It's strongly implied the promotion is mainly for morale purposes: she and her tank crew are the only Zaku-killer aces in the entire Earth Federation Ground Forces at that point.
51** In an even more literal case, it's revealed that Revil chose, literally at the moment he held out his hand to Cat Stevens, to have Cat's disciplinary record wiped clean and restore his rank of sergeant.
52** In the next chapter, it's revealed Jeannette and her crew have been brevetted up at least one more rank; the EFGF has called up all its reserves and is recalling anyone who ever served, and desperately needs people with combat experience to fill officer and senior NCO posts. They're so desperate it's implied the only reason Ritchie Smith (who's been in the army for barely two and a half months despite his impressive record as a gunner) isn't commanding his own tank is that Jeannette talked someone out of giving him one; she thinks his quest for revenge would get him and any crew he commanded killed.
53* In ''Fanfic/FromBajorToTheBlack'', Kanril Eleya is brevetted from lieutenant junior grade to lieutenant commander by Captain Jay Yim after she ends up in command of USS ''Kagoshima'' due to [[YouAreInCommandNow being the seniormost officer still kicking]]. In "Fanfic/TheUniverseDoesntCheat", Admiral Arkad makes the promotion permanent.
54* Discussed in ''Fanfic/TheHonouredGuest''. When deciding which Konoha Genin will become Chūnin, Hiruzen notes that Naruto’s actions during the Sand-Sound Invasion make him qualify for one if he isn’t being promoted based on his performance during the Exams.
55* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'': After his soldiers finish evacuating Beacon Academy's students during the Fall of Beacon, General Ironwood decides to stay behind at the school to assist the heroes in the FinalBattle. As his final order, Ironwood promotes his second-in-command Winter from Specialist to Brigadier General, entrusting her to replace him as Atlas' military leader should he die.
56* In ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', [=ProtoMan=] talks Wily into putting him in command of the Robot Masters and operations in the interlude to episode 9.
57* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'':
58** The aftermath of the ''Rad Arc'' has Sharl [[YouAreInCommandNow becoming leader of the scouts]] after [[spoiler:Indriga's death]], as well as Bergen being promoted from sergeant to lieutenant.
59** Kyril gets promoted from knight to Lord Executioner for his efforts in the ''Rebel Scum Arc''.
60* In chapter 9 of ''[[http://web.archive.org/web/20031203155746/sfvskof.highervoltage.net/intro.php Nightmare Symbiosis,]]'' M. Bison's personal transportation flies through a massive storm/PillarOfLight [[spoiler:generated by Orochi]]. A pilot by the name of Stanton panics, which leads to Bison killing him. He turns to the next in the chain of command, a pilot named Amy Redding:
61-->'''Bison:''' ''[jovial]'' Miss Redding, I am delighted to inform you of your promotion~ ''[cold]'' Do ''his'' job better than ''he'' did.
62* The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12795131/1/Palinopsia Palinopsia]]" features a variation of this after Jadzia Dax is essentially brought back to life through a complex transporter accident. With Starfleet still trying to sort out the technical details of legally bringing Jadzia Dax back from the dead, Kira Nerys decides to essentially give Jadzia a position in the Bajoran militia, allowing her to resume her role as [=DS9=]'s science officer until Starfleet can sort out the issues at their end.
63* ''Fanfic/{{Ripples}}'': During the [[TheCoup Darkest Winter Night]], Phobos promotes Raythor from Lieutenant to Captain on the spot after he proves his loyalty.
64* Very odd example from ''Fanfic/TheWorldsGreatestChuninExamTeam''. Killer B is still a Genin but as he explains to Naruto, he was a genin during the Third Shinobi World War. At some point, he became a squad leader and started getting treated like a jonin. This happened for so long that the ninja in Kumo still treat him like one and have forgotten that they never made it official.
65* In ''Fanfic/XCOMFromTheAshesOfTemples'', The Commander is killed during Base Defense. The Council is [[YouAreInCommandNow forced to assign]] [[GenreBlind Central Officer Bradford]] as the replacement commander. Everyone including Bradford goes "OhCrap!".
66[[/folder]]
67
68[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
69* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
70** ''Film/ANewHope'':
71*** Davish "Pops" Krail, who flies with the callsign "Gold 5" is the only Y-Wing pilot to survive the first Death Star trench run. When he reports the situation to Red leader, the other pilot refers to him as "Gold Leader". [[RedShirt He doesn't get the chance to celebrate.]]
72*** Before making his trench run, Red Leader tells Luke to take Wedge and Biggs and stand by in case he fails. Just before he's shot down, Red Leader tells Luke to execute his run, and there's a huge musical cue symbolizing that Luke is now in command of the mission and what's left of Red Squadron.
73** ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'': One of Darth Vader's trademarks in the film. In one scene, [[YouHaveFailedMe he chokes the idiotic Admiral Ozzel]], and immediately addresses Captain Piett as Admiral Piett, [[YouAreInCommandNow putting him in command right then and there]]. And with the previous Admiral ''still choking in the background'', there's a very tacit reminder of the consequences of messing up. Meanwhile, the trap at Cloud City fails, but Vader's reaction is different -- more disappointment and sadness than anger -- so Piett goes on to be one of three Imperial characters to appear in more than one movie in the original trilogy. After all, it was not because of Piett's planning, plus he wasn't a jerk about it. Ozzel wasn't so smart when he decided that [[TooDumbToLive being arrogant to Vader was a smart idea]].
74** ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'': At the end of the film, Obi-Wan Kenobi is promoted from Padawan to Jedi Knight without facing the trials after defeating Darth Maul single-handedly.
75** Ancillary material later reveals that with the outbreak of the Clone Wars (as depicted in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''), many Jedi Knights are promoted to the rank of Master while Padawans are promoted to the rank of Knight. This is partially to provide leadership for the newly formed Grand Army of the Republic, but also because so many Jedi were killed in the initial battle on Geonosis. The repercussions of this decision would later be explored in media like ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. Examples include Jedi falling past the DespairEventHorizon due to being unable to reconcile their oaths as peacekeepers with the brutal necessity of war, Jedi suffering HeroicBSOD because they simply weren't prepared for their new positions, and more than a few examples of ThePeterPrinciple, where Jedi who are used to functioning as solo operatives or operating in small groups find themselves leading armies numbering thousands of troops.
76* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'':
77** Creator/JossWhedon seems to have [[FlipFlopOfGod changed his mind on the subject a time or two]], but there are hints in the film and its novelization that main character Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds got a brevet promotion up to Captain during the Battle of Serenity Valley. Certainly he was ''commanding'' as many men as a captain would by the end.
78** The series also did a very dark take on the more usual sort of Field Promotion. When Mal is trying to get some air support for himself and his men, he is told that the cover won't come without a Lieutenant's orders. Mal promptly walks over to the body of Lieutenant Baker, tears off the patch of his uniform with his authorization code, and hands it back to the person he was talking to, saying "Here, you're Lieutenant Baker. Congratulations on your promotion, now get us some air support!"
79* ''Film/TheDesertRats'': The British and Australians are trapped inside Tobruk and thus, yep, short of officers. The commanding general says that this is one of the best parts of his job, before promoting a bunch of officers, including protagonist [=MacRoberts=] to major.
80* In the Canadian ''Film/{{Passchendaele}}'', about the bloody UsefulNotes/WorldWarI battle of the same name, the senior commander of the Allied forces is forced to do this repeatedly as his immediate subordinate officers are being killed left and right by enemy fire.
81* Variation in ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'': Balian actually knights every single soldier in Jerusalem right before the final battle. [[spoiler:Which they lose, so it probably didn't help...]] This was TruthInTelevision: The real Balian knighted sixty bourgeoisie (middle class) men because there were a grand total of two knights in the city. The film portrays him as being extremely generous knighting freemen and serf alike, mostly for the psychological boost. [[spoiler:He wasn't trying to win the battle, he was hoping to hold out long enough for Saladin to negotiate instead of just trying to kill everybody.]]
82* In ''Film/SpaceCamp'', Andie boots Kevin from ''Atlantis'''s commander seat in favor of Kathryn for an important maneuver, after he revealed he "faked" his way through his training.
83* ''Film/{{Star Trek|2009}}'': It gets most of the senior officers of the USS ''Enterprise''-- including ''three'' captains-- into their billets in this way.
84* In the film version of ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' the protagonist's unit is all but destroyed during the initial invasion. Reforming afterward under a new commander, the protagonist is promoted not once but ''twice'' in one day, going straight from grunt to lieutenant and commander of the unit. All of this with only basic training. He then proceeds to hand out yet more field promotions, despite the fact that his most senior members have only have two actual experiences in the field. For info about how things happen in the book, see the Literature tab below.
85* In the movie ''Film/WhenTrumpetsFade'', set in the battle of the Hurtgen Forest in 1944, the main character starts the movie at the rank of PVT (E-2). Due to the extreme attrition (33,000 Americans were lost in the battle), he is involuntarily promoted to Sergeant (E-5) and made a squad leader on the promise that should he survive he will be evacuated for battle fatigue and given a Section-8 discharge. The evacuation and discharge never happens, and then due again to attrition and the mental breakdown of his platoon leader, he is involuntarily promoted to 2Lt (O-1). This is an example of Truth in Television, as the Battle for the Hurtgen Forest in reality lasted 5 months (the longest battle in US military history) and was enormously bloody with greater than 25% casualties suffered by American forces and many smaller units entirely annihilated. Men who entered the Forest in September of 1944 as privates were almost guaranteed to leave at significantly higher rank if they survived until the battles conclusion in February 1945. Two entire US divisions, the 4th and 9th Infantry could not even use battle field promotions to replace all of the lost NCO's and officers, and were forced to withdraw from combat to rebuild.
86* In ''Film/{{Patton}}'', Patton does this during the Sicilian campaign when a local commander is directing his troops too slowly for his liking, promoting an executive officer to commanding officer. If he doesn't make it through in one hour, he's fired too.
87* In ''Film/TheLongestDay'', [=BGen.=] Norman Cota (Robert Mitchum) finds that the highest ranking Army engineer on Omaha Beach is Sgt. John H. Fuller. He promotes him to Lieutenant and puts him in charge of demolishing a concrete barrier.
88* ''Film/TheBoysOfPaulStreet'': Done with children in G-rated street gangs that play-act at war. For Nemecsek's bravery in jumping on Ats and stopping him from liberating his comrades in the shed, which decided the battle, Boka promotes him to general. Nemecsek, who has been hallucinating and running a high fever, collapses right after this.
89* ''Film/{{Days of Glory|2006}}'': The film is about a unit of Algerian Muslims fighting in the French Army in World War II. Leroux and Martinez, two pied-noirs (Algerian-born people of French ethnicity) with the unit, are promoted to staff sergeant and sergeant, respectively. The Africans, who know that they'll never get promotions, aren't happy to see this.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Literature]]
93* Happens a lot in Väinö Linna's ''Literature/TheUnknownSoldier'' - due to AnyoneCanDie. Usually to conscripts, but also to officers. Usually connected with YouAreInCommandNow.
94* ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'': Several examples:
95** There is one bit where fresh-out-of-the-Academy Third Lieutenant Juan Rico recommends a couple of field promotions be performed on the way back to base, to fill out his platoon. Juan's captain explains why you never promote on the way back to base (higher headquarters will grab them, to fill empty positions elsewhere).
96** Earlier, Rico is breveted from lance-corporal/Assistant Squad leader to sergeant/Assistant Section Leader (skipping corporal/squad leader). The officer in charge feels that it makes more sense to leave as many squads as possible with their squad leaders, since the MI mostly operates by squad, and things have been rough lately.
97** It's also mentioned that Rico is breveted to Sergeant a week before he leaves for OCS, but that this is less of a promotion and more that Lt. Jelal is giving him shiny new stripes to show off for a week as a "going away"-present.
98** A subversion happens when Rico is at OCS. We find out one of his fellow officer candidates received a battlefield commission as a 1st Lieutenant some time prior (In case anyone didn't realize it, graduates of OCS start out with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, so Rico's classmate would actually be ''demoted'' after graduating, assuming he gets that far.) The reason he's attending OCS is to become an officer "properly" - as a battlefield commissioned officer (with no higher education), his chances of rising higher than Lieutenant are very small. With Academy education and field command experience, his prospects are suddenly very good indeed.
99* Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'':
100** In ''Literature/TheWarriorsApprentice'', Miles Vorkosigan accidentally finds himself Admiral of a fleet, during which he puts all his original companions in high positions whether they can handle it or not.
101** In ''Literature/TheVorGame'', Miles assigns his personal bodyguard to the emperor; when the man says he hasn't been trained for it, Miles can only say that it's a common problem in the situation.
102* In David Feintuch's 1994 science fiction novel novel ''[[Literature/SeafortSaga Midshipman's Hope]],'' as the last surviving ship's officer dies of melanoma, the eponymous midshipman is promoted to command.
103* ''Literature/OldMansWar'' by John Scalzi, where the main character is promoted three times. First, he moves from private to corporal after his boss is killed. He jumps all the way to Lieutenant for reasons that are essentially hand-waved (ostensibly to do a liason mission). Finally, after performing heroically in this mission, he gets another promotion to Captain. [[LampShadeHanging Lampshaded]] when the character notes that if anyone noticed that he'd gone from corporal to captain in a month, no one said anything. Unlike his prototype, Heinlein, Scalzi's world doesn't include specialized officer training or other qualifications.
104* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''
105** The ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' series by Creator/DanAbnett:
106*** In ''Ghostmaker'', Gaunt has just gotten a large portion of a regiment off Tanith before its destruction. When his men tell him that the officers were all on planet and dead, he appoints the man who told him (and did most of the talking in the meeting) as Colonel, and the man who came with him as Major, and told them to appoint appropriate junior officers. He does this partly because those two men were chosen by the other soldiers to approach him, and so clearly command some sort of respect among their peers. He's also well aware that at least one of them hates his guts and wants to "keep his enemies closer."
107*** In the series's backstory, the current Warmaster Macaroth was promoted to his position by Warmaster Slaydo during the liberation of Balhaut. Slaydo, who was mortally wounded, specifically named Macaroth, who was a relative unknown, as his successor. Though nobody is exactly sure why he chose Macaroth, many scholars believe that Slaydo did so in order to prevent the other senior officers from fighting over his position.
108** The Literature/CiaphasCain novels by Creator/SandyMitchell:
109*** The series begins with the Valhallan 597th being pieced together from two regiments torn up in combat with Tyranids, with the rush of promotions that situation implies. Some regiments are worse off than others, though - mention is made of a Lieutenant promoted directly to colonel, [[YouAreInCommandNow by default]]. Even worse, her second-in-command Major Broklaw, who had considerably more combat experience than Colonel Kasteen (Kasteen's 296th was a garrison unit while Broklaw's 301st was a front-line combat unit), lost out on the promotion because she had ''three days'' seniority over him (which, in context, meant that it took his superiors three days longer to get killed, requiring a junior officer to be promoted into their position, than hers did). And of course, merging an all-female regiment with an all-male one brings its own problems. Fortunately, Cain's management skills are up to the task, and Kasteen and Broklaw are FireForgedFriends by the end of the book.
110*** In ''Death or Glory'', he promotes a lieutenant and a sergeant to manage his ramshackle army, and two artisans are assigned to help their only engineer (they end up becoming lay brothers of the Mechanicus cult later). The book also notes that these promotions would have to be finalized by the actual army since Cain as a Commissar is not inside the chain of command. However, denying promotions handed out by a Commissar would likely bring the attention of the Commissariat, which no one really wants...
111*** Jenit Sulla gets a variation: instead of a straight promotion, she gets breveted to the position, which gives her a trial run (if she fails, it doesn't leave a demotion on her record). To Cain's surprise, it sticks, and Amberley Vail's footnotes state that Sulla ultimately became the only woman in Imperial history to reach the rank of Lord General Militant.
112*** In ''Cain's Last Stand'', he brevets the commissars-in-training as commissars. At the end, he ensures that all the survivors actually hold that rank.
113** ''Literature/BloodAngels'':
114*** In Creator/JamesSwallow's novel ''Deus Encarmine'', the grief-stricken Rafen, seeing Sergeant Koris, his mentor, brought down by the Black Rage, is ordered to take Koris's place in command of the squad.
115*** In ''Deus Sanguinius'', at the end, he is offered a field promotion to a captaincy as a reward. He declines it as he has not earned it, though he does end up as a Sergeant.
116** In William King's Literature/SpaceWolf novel ''Ragnar's Claw'', after Ragnar [[YouAreInCommandNow gives orders to Space Marines who, he later realizes, included his commander]], and his sergeant was brought down, he is put in the sergeant's place.
117** In Lee Lightner's ''Wolf's Honour'', when Sven reports to Mikal that their pack's leader is down, Mikal asks who should be in charge; Sven says, by rights, it should be Freyr, but Mikal overrules on the grounds that Freyr is not there, reporting to him, and puts Sven, who is, in charge.
118** In Creator/JamesSwallow's Sisters of Battle novel ''Hammer & Anvil'' Sister Imogen dies during her squad's infiltration of the Necron crypt, her last words to Miriya were to complete the mission, essentially making her a squad leader (again). This is despite the former's distrust and dislike for the latter due to the events of the previous book. Similarly, Verity is told by the convent's canonness that she is now a Sister Militant, no longer a Hospitaller, as the convent is assaulted by a massive Necron force, and is given a master-crafted bolt pistol to start her off.
119* Literature/{{Sharpe}} has lived this trope, fighting his way up. By the end of ''Waterloo'' he's passing out promotions like candy (there are a LOT of vacancies).
120** In ''Sharpe's Rifles'', he field promotes Harper to Sergeant.
121* Numerous characters in Creator/JohnRingo's ''Literature/PrinceRoger'' series. In the fourth book, only twelve survivors remain from the entire Empress' Own Regiment, and the senior (a company sergeant major) is promoted all the way to full Colonel in one jump to fill the obvious gap. Prince Roger himself, in the first book, is [[RoyalBrat a callow youth]] in severe need of discipline and training. So his bodyguard CO, a captain, field demotes him to second lieutenant (As a member of the royal family, he is technically a Colonel of The Empress' Own) and hands him a platoon. The captain does this partly because he needs someone to command the platoon, but mostly so he can gleefully watch the platoon sergeant's stunned reaction. It also has the added advantage of keeping Rodger safer by giving him a fixed position. Yes, putting him directly on the firing line is safer than letting him [[LeeroyJenkins decide what to do on his own]].
122* Jim Butcher's ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has this.
123** In ''Furies of Calderon'' Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, gives a variation. He promotes a then-trainee Cursor Amara to full nobility with the title of Countess before sending her on a mission in his name. While not strictly military, it would have the same gravitas as a military rank.
124** In the third book ''Cursor's Fury'' Scipio, [[spoiler:who is an alias for Tavi]], jumps from Third Subtribune Logistica (junior supply officer) to Captain of a Legion in more of a YouAreInCommandNow but he starts handing out field promotions left, right and center to fill holes in the legion's absolutely shattered command structure. The fourth book reveals that most of them stick too.
125** In the same book, [[spoiler:the bad guys planned for this by having a mole higher up in rank and nobility than Third Subtribune to take over when the other officers are removed. The mole would then have made a withdrawal and allow their plot to continue]].
126* In Jim Butcher's other series, ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', Harry is first forcibly recruited into the Wardens after their ranks are reduced by almost three quarters in a single battle, to give him legitimacy in the immediate battle, and force him to help in the ongoing war against the Red Court. By the end of the book (i.e. the very next day for him), he's a regional Warden Commander for the Eastern United States, and ''de facto'' Commander of the entire US, mostly because the other regional commander was promoted at the same time as him and has far less experience. While his comparatively vast combat experience and ability make him more than qualified (when his responsibilities are listed, he points out that he does all of those things anyway), it's not so much a demonstration of badassery as desperation, showing how desperate the ongoing war has become. The Captain who drafts him also [[spoiler:points out they lost so many because of a mole. If Harry doesn't join, many will start to think he ''is'' the mole]].
127* In ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad Polgara the Sorceress]]'', Sergeant Torgun has to go a little beyond his orders to head off trouble at one point. When he reports:
128-->'''Torgun:''' ...Is it all right that I did that, my Lord?\
129'''Kamion:''' Perfectly all right, Captain.\
130'''Torgun:''' Ah -- I'm only a sergeant, my Lord!\
131'''Kamion:''' Not anymore, you aren't.
132* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''
133** In ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'', Maladict gets a field promotion to corporal.
134** ''Literature/MenAtArms'' features a number of field promotions in the A-M City Watch, some of which are actually official. (As recruitment into the Citizen's Militia goes critical, some people are promoted by officers who don't strictly have the right to do so, and others are under the impression you ''decide'' what your rank is, based on how many other people you've recruited.)
135** And in ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Moist tries to cajole elderly Junior Postman Tolliver Groat into telling him about the secrets of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office with an implied promotion: "You tell me right now, ''Senior'' Postman Groat!" Later, Devious Collabone finds himself field promoted from university researcher, to doctor, and then again to professor, in the span of a few minutes. Mainly because a civilian tried to gainsay him in the presence of Unseen University's Archchancellor, Mustrum Ridcully, a firm believer in Retaliation By Promotion.
136** Sergeant-At-Arms John Keel (actually a time-lost Sam Vimes) in ''Literature/NightWatchDiscworld'' promotes then Corporal Colon to Sergeant during the Siege of Treacle Mine Road. In the opening scene, the present-day Sergeant Colon mentions this, adding that while he was made a Corporal again once the crisis was over, it gave him the confidence to believe that he could make Sergeant again.
137* In Anthony Reynolds's ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novel ''Dark Apostle'', Captain Loren is promoted to ''acting'' colonel. The adjective is emphasised to lend weight to the reason: there is no one else.
138* In Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Squire'', from the ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'' series, Keladry is serving as squire to a knight who is also commander of the King's Own, a military force. She herself is given a field promotion of sorts -- put in charge of a squad despite not technically being a member of the Own, because the higher-ups know its actual leader can't handle the job. What they end up fighting is a giant robot insect thing PoweredByAForsakenChild, and it turns out that the best way to kill it is to trap its head and open a hole in it, so the child's spirit can leave. She gives a field promotion to the soldier who figures this out, even though earlier he'd almost started a mutiny over her being put in command at all.
139* In Joe Haldeman's ''Literature/TheForeverWar'', Mandella starts as a private, and ends the war as a major commanding his own ground force. Not because he's particularly suited for command, but because he's adaptable, and it looks odd for someone who's been in the military for 500 years not to be an officer.
140* ''[[Literature/TrailOfGlory 1812: The Rivers of War]]'' by Creator/EricFlint has a number of these. In one case 21 year old Captain Sam Houston (bumped up from Ensign by General Andrew Jackson for his heroism in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Horseshoe_Bend Battle of Horseshoe Bend]]) and 32 year old Lieutenant Patrick Driscol (more-or-less browbeaten into accepting a commission after losing his arm during the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chippawa Battle of the Chippawa]]) both end up in Washington D.C. in time to rally several hundred leaderless troops (more or less against orders) and defend the Capitol from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_of_Washington invading British troops]]. Not long afterwards ''Colonel'' Houston and his XO ''Major'' Driscol were dispatched at the head of the First Capitol Volunteers to reinforce New Orleans.
141** The funny thing is that the person who recommended them for that field promotion was the commander of the British forces - being defeated by a Colonel is far less embarrassing for a Major General than being defeated by a brevet Captain who was only there by chance.
142* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/StormOverWarlock'', at the end, Shan Lantee finds he's been given a cadet uniform at the end, although he's a casual laborer -- and then finds that he's been appointed cadet.
143* Shortly after the French landings in Britain at the beginning of ''[[Literature/{{Temeraire}} Victory of Eagles]]'', the high command got word of local militia west of London defeating several french foraging units (by some accounts even making use of unharnessed dragons that had wandered from breeding grounds in that direction) and sent a messenger with a battlefield commission of Colonel for whoever was in charge. Temeraire accepts with alacrity, to the surprise of all humans involved.
144* Happens to both the Americans and the Soviets in Creator/TomClancy's ''Literature/RedStormRising'': amongst the viewpoint characters, Sergeant Terry Mackall gets promoted twice, after his lieutenant and then his unit XO were killed in action, while FourStarBadass Pavel Alekseyev--the main Soviet POV character--receives a series of promotions from senior aide of CINC-Southwest to essentially commander of Soviet forces in Europe (as the situation grew more and more desperate, the Politburo began taking a progressively [[YouHaveFailedMe Vaderesque approach]] to its commanders). Also {{deconstructed}} somewhat, when discussing the state of the Soviet Army. Since NATO doctrine was to go for the unit commanders first, by mid-war many of the leading Soviet formations were led by junior officers who were field-promoted out of necessity--thus, captains leading battalions, majors leading regiments, and colonels leading entire divisions were not uncommon. The attrition rate on the officer corps had a very serious effect on the Soviet war effort, since the junior officers were almost always inexperienced men.
145** Bob Toland, a Navy Reservist intelligence officer, gets breveted (or "frocked", as the Navy calls it) to Commander, to give him a little extra clout when speaking to the ''USS Nimitz'''s officers. It's noted that frocking confers all the responsibilities of the rank, with none of the pay.
146* In Creator/JackCampbell's ''Literature/TheLostFleet'', Geary mostly just puts the officers in charge of ships, but some get promoted as well.
147* In Creator/JackCampbell's ''[[Literature/TheLostStars Lost Stars]]'' novel ''Tarnished Knight'', Iceni promotes both Marphissa and Kontos.
148* Happens everywhere in ''Literature/TheThinRedLine'', the most prominent example being two [=NCOs=] ([[spoiler:John Bell and "Skinny" Culn]]) who get a commission.
149* Firestar did this when Whitestorm, the [=ThunderClan=] deputy, died during the final battle of the first ''Literature/WarriorCats'' series, naming Graystripe deputy rather than waiting to hold the usually performed ceremony.
150* ''Literature/TheWayOfKings2010'' (first book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): Kaladin saves an army from an ambush partly by doing this. [[BavarianFireDrill Note that as a slave, he has less authority than the horses]].
151-->"You’re promoted," Kaladin said. "If anyone asks, you’ve been given a field commission as commander of the rear guard. If anyone claims to outrank you, send them to me."\
152The man started. "Promoted...Who are you? Can you do that?"\
153"Someone needs to."
154* In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Solo Command]]'' Wedge gives "Face" Loran a field promotion to brevet captain because Wedge decided to retake command of Rogue Squadron, and Face's previous rank of lieutenant is too junior for him to command Wraith Squadron. By the end of the book, the rank is made permanent.
155* In the epilogue of ''Literature/TheFlightEngineer: The Independent Command'' General Scaragoglu gives Chief Petty Officer Paddy Casey a field commission as a favor to Commander Raeder, so that Casey can legally propose to his officer girlfriend.
156* How {{Literature/Kydd}} is elevated to the quarterdeck. To elaborate, his commanding officer, Lieutenant Monckton, was knocked unconscious by the passing of a cannonball during the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camperdown Battle of Camperdown]], forcing Kydd to take command of his division.
157* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': In ''Mockingjay'', [[spoiler:Boggs does this to Katniss before expiring from his wounds.]]
158* In ''[[Literature/TowerAndTheHive Damia]]'', after Afra psychically rescues Damia from getting shipped out on an outbound freighter, [[DaChief Peter Reidinger]] tells him that there's no way he could pull that stunt off (hearing Damia's distress call, pulling her out and nearly yanking the entire freighter from The Rowan's psychic grip in the process) as a mere [[PowerLevels T-4]]. He promotes Afra to T-3 on the spot and tells him they'll talk back pay later. Later books in the series mark Afra as a T-2, just below a Prime/T-1.
159* In ''[[Literature/FortunesOfWar Dreadnought!]]'', during a meeting between [[BigBad Rittenhouse]], the other captains supporting him, and the senior officers of ''Enterprise'', Rittenhouse basically slaps Kirk in the face by giving Captain Nash a field promotion to Commodore for the remainder of the time they are trying to apprehend ''Star Empire''. Kirk stays calm, but Bones and Scotty are both outraged at the blatant disrespect shown by Rittenhouse.
160* ''Literature/TheirsNotToReasonWhy'': ''A Soldier's Duty'' mentions that TheFederation's military only lets you earn command rank by impressing senior officers enough as an enlisted soldier that they give you a battlefield commission, as Ia indeed does at the end of the novel.
161* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': In the final book, Hollein is promoted straight to general and made the second-in-command of the Argonathi army after one of the generals gets attacked and poisoned.
162[[/folder]]
163
164[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
165* Happens quiet frequently on [[Series/TwentyFour ''24'']], usually due to the CTU Director being killed, incapacitated or forced to step down. On Day 2, Tony Almeida is promoted to CTU Director after [[spoiler: the death of his superior, George Mason]]. On Day 6, Nadia Yassir is similarly promoted to CTU Director when [[spoiler: Bill Buchanan is forced out.]] And on Day 8, Chloe O'Brien takes over as Director of CTU New York when [[spoiler: Brian Hastings is forced out.]] Interestingly, on Day 3, Jack Bauer gives ''himself'' a FieldPromotion by taking over as CTU Director [[spoiler: when Tony Almeida compromises the ongoing operation.]]
166* ''Series/TheBill'': In a law enforcement capacity, Sergeant Dale Smith has been Acting Inspector on a number of occasions, while other characters have been Acting Sergeants at times.
167** Sam Nixon spent much of her earlier time as Acting Detective Inspector, but now has the rank permanently.
168* On ''Series/{{Community}}'' the first appearance of Officer Cackowski, he's a mere Greendale security guard. A couple episodes later (and in all subsequent appearances), he's a local police officer.
169** Chang gets a field promotion to chief of campus security after the current chief has enough of the insanity and quits. The Dean gives Chang the position because he is the only security guard left. The college is broke and all the other guards quit when they are told that in lieu of pay they can attend classes for free.
170* Happens in ''Series/DoctorWho'', with the character of John Benton. According to backstory, Benton enlisted in the British Army as a private in 1967, before being promoted directly to Corporal (2 ranks) in 1968, where he serves with the recently promoted [[TheBrigadier Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] fighting the Cybermen in London alongside the Second Doctor. By the time the Third Doctor is exiled to Earth and goes to work with them at UNIT, Benton has been promoted to Sergeant (completely normal), and remains at this rank for the next 4 years. At the time of the Doctor regenerating again, in the serial "Robot", Benton suddenly appears onscreen wearing the rank insignia of Warrant Officer Class 1, (a 3-rank promotion) to fill a gap in the Brigadier's staff; he should have a captain and a major under him, but can't due to financial constraints imposed on UNIT; instead, Benton is appointed as Regimental Sergeant Major, the highest non-commissioned rank there is. This all in the space of (apparently) some 7 or so years.
171* A darkly comedic version happens in the first episode of ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. A soldier named Baker is trying to call in air support to fight off the enemy that's been sieging them for weeks, but requires a lieutenant's code. Mal rips the rank insignia off a dead lieutenant and gives it to Baker, congratulating him on his promotion. This probably wasn't legitimate since Mal was only a sergeant (though he himself had earned [[YouAreInCommandNow several such promotions during the course of the battle]] to the point he was essentially the acting ''general'' of the remaining soldiers) but the point is moot since the war would basically end a few minutes later.
172* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': A cook is promoted to chef during a party, after the original one had enough of Frasier's and Niles's contradictory micromanagement.
173* This happens to Rimmer in ''Series/RedDwarf'' inheriting the title of "Commander Arnold 'Ace' Rimmer" from an alternate version of himself, once that version dies.
174* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
175** General Martok was originally barred from being an officer by Kor because his family was not from a noble line. The "Mark of Kor" left him unable to even enlist as a common soldier. Left with no choice but to sign on as a civilian laborer on a Klingon military vessel, he earned a battlefield promotion when he helped repel a Romulan invasion and rose through the military ranks. His father had not lived long enough to see that, and Martok nursed a grudge against Kor for many years.
176** Likewise Nog still a cadet at Starfleet Academy when the Dominion War broke and he was promoted to Ensign.
177** Deconstructed and taken to the logical extreme in the episode ''Valiant'' in which all the actual officers on a training ship trapped behind enemy lines died. The captain field-promoted a cadet to acting captain just before dying and the acting captain field commissioned all the other cadets into officer positions. The crew was shown to be talented but not conditioned for war and not experienced enough to plan for contingencies.
178** Kira was given a Starfleet commission and rank of Commander late in the Dominion War. [[LaResistance Her experience in guerrilla warfare]] against the Cardassians made her the prime candidate to [[{{Irony}} teach the Cardassian Resistance how to wage guerrilla warfare against the Dominion]]. The Starfleet commission was meant to temper any pre-existing hostilities.
179* ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': Despite having never been commissioned, Aditya Sahil faithfully mans the Federation relay station for over forty years as a civilian liaison. When Commander Michael Burnham arrives, she gives him a field commission to Acting Communications Chief, allowing him to act with the authority of the Federation. When the Emerald Chain is defeated, allowing Starfleet and the Federation to re-emerge from hiding, Sahil is formally commissioned as a Starfleet Lieutenant by Admiral Vance in appreciation of his dedicated service.
180* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
181** Picard gives [[CreatorsPet Wesley Crusher]] a field promotion to acting-ensign, but not for a lack of officers. He had already demonstrated exceptional intelligence and was already interested in Starfleet Academy, so Picard offered him the position as a sign of good faith and which allows him access to the bridge without an escort. Later he was promoted from an acting ensign to a full fledged ensign, as he passed up a transport to Starfleet Academy in order to help rescue Riker and the Trois, and Picard felt obliged to recognize his services to the ship.
182** And in the Season 4 opener. Picard is [[spoiler:assimilated by the Borg. Riker, who has just refused a third potential command, is field-promoted to Captain in his place.]]
183** In ''Disaster'' Picard is stuck in a failing turbolift with three children, whom he makes officers to prevent them from panicking. They promptly [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind mutiny]] when he orders them to leave him behind. The episode ends with both Riker and the 12-year-old first-officer responding "Yes, Captain" in unison when he addresses an order to "Number 1".
184** Picard himself earned his captaincy this way: after the captain and first officer of the ''Stargazer'' were killed in battle, then-Lieutenant Picard assumed command and acquitted himself so well that Starfleet let him keep the ship until its near-destruction over twenty years later.
185** Worf is given a promotion to Chief of Security in "Skin of Evil" after Armus murders Tasha Yar. He doesn't like the fact that he was given this promotion, as he considered Tasha to be a comrade-in-arms.
186* Invertedly PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' as [[spoiler: when Picard requests the restored ''Enterprise''-D to begin launch procedures, the computer gives command of the ship to ''Captain'' Picard instead of Admiral. Picard happily accepts this “field demotion”]].
187* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The premise of the show dealt with the Voyager crew having to integrate with a Maquis resistance group, due to circumstances being stranded from Federation space and loss of other crewman. Many of the Maquis are former Starfleet officers who opposed a border treaty with the Cardassians that endangered Federation colonies. This promotion is signified by slightly different lapel markings, and due to manpower shortage they selected the best people possible for the positions and gave them appropriate ranks.
188** B'Elanna Torres is made Starfleet lieutenant (j.g.) on Captain Janeway's authority as her skills in engineering mean she needs to be made chief engineer. She is chosen over Lt. Carey even though she left Starfleet Academy before graduating.
189** Chakotay is given his Lieutenant Commander rank back (and later promoted to Commander) and became Janeway's first officer. Combined with his being a Maquis captain, this was something of a demotion but he respected her authority on her ship.
190** Tom Paris, a legitimate but disgraced Starfleet lieutenant, was reinstated and placed as the helmsman. Later in the series, he got demoted for disobeying orders, and promoted later on.
191** Tuvok, who was serving with the Maquis as a double-agent, was reinstated to his Starfleet rank of Lieutenant, and was later promoted to Lieutenant Commander; however, this was treated as a standard promotion.
192** And poor Harry Kim gets to be the aversion, despite seven years of harrowing and dangerous missions in the Delta Quadrant and endless night watches, remaining an Ensign all the way to end of the series (then again, it's not as if anybody else got promoted past their initial commission either). It's continually suggested that he gets fast-tracked up the ranks once he's back home and made captain in less than ten years.
193** And then there's The Doctor, who gets promoted from "supplemental diagnostic tool" to Chief Medical Officer. He later tinkered with his programming to integrate a Command function in cases of emergency (his proposed scenario included the captain pips dramatically appearing).
194** Neelix was a Delta Quadrant local who came aboard the ship as a civilian volunteer, and took on roles as rec hall chef, morale officer and public relations as needed. In a few alternate timelines he would take on a Starfleet commission and join Tuvok's department as security.
195[[/folder]]
196
197[[folder:Music]]
198* Music/{{Sabaton}}:
199** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSvTAJiTUfE "Into the Fire"]] mentions this, as told from the perspective of a soldier in the Vietnam War. The lyrics to the second verse start with "Sarge is down, I'm in charge, [=VCs=] everywhere!"
200** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WsnRyzdTqQ "Soldier of 3 Armies"]] is about Finnish soldier Lauri Törni, who fought in the Finnish Army in the Winter War, then the SS on the Eastern Front, then the US Army in Vietnam, earning field promotions each time.
201--->''Started out as a reserve\
202Soon promoted, well deserved\
203And the legend has begun\
204With a bounty on his head\
205The Red Army wants him dead\
206Soviet enemy number one''
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
210* ''TabletopGame/{{Chess}}'': Pawn promotion. Get one of your pawns to the opponent's side of the board and you can promote the pawn to any non-king piece of your choice. [[InfinityPlusOneSword The queen]] is the obvious choice, and so picking any other is called "underpromotion". Underpromotion is considered a StealthInsult to the other player because it suggests that you don't see your opponent as skilled enough to warrant bringing the more powerful piece back. However sometimes underpromotions are strategically valid due to the complex nature of the game; knights are often valid picks for their atypical movement.
211* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
212** It is general practice for the Grand Masters of the [[DemonSlaying Daemon hunting]] [[SuperSoldier Grey Knights]] to be chosen by the unanimous approval of the Chapter's seven other Grand Masters. Aldrik Voldus however was appointed to the position of Grand Master of the 3rd Brotherhood by Supreme Grand Master Draigo himself after the [[FlyingDutchman cursed Chapter Master]] witnessed his courage and [[TheArchmage psychic might]] first-hand.
213** When the Chapter Master of the Raven Guard was slain during the Damocles Crusade, Shadow-Captain Kayvaan Shrike was promoted to the rank of Chapter Master in his stead, as the campaign was still raging and not only was he the most senior officer left, but also the one who commanded the most respect out of the remaining Raven Guard.
214[[/folder]]
215
216[[folder:Video Games]]
217* After the leader of his team [[StealthMentor defects to the enemy]], [[TheDeterminator Kyosuke Nanbu]] of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars OriginalGeneration'' is [[YouAreInCommandNow temporarily made into acting leader.]] [[spoiler:When his next superior, Ingram Prisken reveals himself as TheMole, he is given a field promotion to Lieutenant and official battle commander by {{The Captain}}s of the {{Cool Ship}}s, the Hagane and the Hiryu Custom.]]
218* After the events of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'', the player character gets promoted all the way from SAS Sergeant to Captain in five years.
219** That's not too unusual. A rank soldier in the British Army can recive a commission as a "Late Entry" officer (as opposed to a "Direct Entry" officer who went through Sandhurst). From there it is fairly realistic to go from 2nd Lieutenant to Captain in five years.
220** Done in traditional fashion with the player character (Lt. Nick Reyes) during ''VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare'' when a plan to ram an enemy carrier goes south and the captain of the ''Retribution'' ends up dying in the ensuing impact. Upon arriving on the bridge, Reyes is promoted to the rank of "Captain" by his CO and takes formal charge of the ship.
221** Happens in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'', when, after Sgt. Sullivan is killed during the Peleliu beach landing, Roebuck is promoted to Sergeant, taking command of Miller's squad.
222* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' has this happen to protagonist Marcus Fenix via radio after Kim gets [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath run through]] [[MadeOfIron by RAAM.]]
223* [[PlayerCharacter The Force Commander]] in ''[[VideoGame/DawnOfWar Dawn of War II]]'' is a rather young SpaceMarine who has never met the Chapter Master, yet he has his rank because the Blood Ravens had their manpower seriously depleted because of the Kaurava Campaign (which Cyrus doesn't want to speak of). Thaddeus is also on the young side for a Sergeant and it shows, he's naive about many things and his fellow sergeants point it all out for him.
224* During ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' the player is promoted from squire to knight in quick succession. When one of the other knight objects he is reminded that he was knighted in the mud surrounded by an army of orcs.
225** The reason this may not make much sense is because the objection was to lack of a suitable ceremony, not the rapid promotion. Even that is because the intended ceremony was attacked.
226** Depending on what path the player takes, earlier they could have been promoted from city watch Guardsman to Lieutenant ''on their first day'' right by the smoldering remains of their first watch house after the thieves counterattack. The later promotion to squire is not quite a battlefield promotion but it ''was'' thrown together in less than a day when a political emergency came up, so it still fits metaphorically.
227* The player character, John Cooke, in ''[[{{Videogame/Battlezone1998}} Battlezone II]]'' receives several field promotions by the local GeneralRipper, as their task force is totally separated from Earth's chain of command. When the player [[spoiler: kills [[DefectorFromDecadence Major Manson]], he is promoted to [[KlingonPromotion Major]]]].
228* In the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' franchise, generals can be placed in command of armies, but are often expensive. If an army has no general but pulls off a spectacular victory against a superior force, its commanding officer can be promoted or adopted into the player's royal family.
229* ''VideoGame/TreasurePlanetBattleAtProcyon'': When Lieutenant Jim Hawkins volunteers to recover Vice Admiral J. Nelson's missing crews and ships, the Vice Admiral promotes the Lieutenant to Captain, calling it field promotion.
230* In ''[[VideoGame/KingdomRush Kingdom Rush: Vengeance]]'', this is the ability of the Troop Commander enemies that [[VillainProtagonist your dark army]] fights. They do a battle cry which transforms a nearby Linirean Recruit into a [[HeavilyArmoredMook Linirean Footman]], giving them armor and a HP boost which makes them more troublesome to kill.
231[[/folder]]
232
233[[folder:Webcomics]]
234* ''Webcomic/AmericanBeauty'': [[http://www.ambarb.com/?p=261 Two Tanks Omen promotes a junior to number two, and orders him to kill his predecessor.]]
235* ''Webcomic/CryHavoc'': Karcharoth is promoted from Sergeant to Assault Sergeant Major in a month after his lieutenant is KIA and a replacement is not found.
236* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
237** After Gil destroys the attacking Clank Army with a lightning rod, [[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071207#.YhE8VpZMFPY he demands]] to see the commanding officer, only to discover he killed him and his two highest ranking subordinates. Then the fourth guy tries to kill him, only to get killed by Dimo, who then asks if anyone else feels like a promotion.
238** Ironically given his quote above, Dimo himself [[spoiler:is promoted to one of the Jäger generals during a later TimeSkip when all the other generals are trapped in a stasis bubble]].
239* ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'': Alex Jardin, the SoleSurvivor of a scouting mission to make FirstContact with either the [[SpaceElves Loroi]] or the [[BigCreepyCrawlies Umiak]], gets one in a rather unusual manner. When the Loroi diplomat Tempo [[https://www.well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider061.html officially designates him as humanity's ambassador to the Loroi]], she also recognizes him as military attaché for his mission since he's the only one left alive, which comes with the honorary rank of Captain. The other Loroi take to addressing him as Captain, although this eventually chafes on him.
240* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'':
241** Early on, when Schlock helps the company reclaim the ship from food-service commandos.
242--->'''Kevyn:''' I think that the general alarm has distracted the guards.\
243'''Tagon:''' We have the element of surprise! Schlock, you are a ''genius!'' I'm promoting you to Sergeant, on the spot!\
244'''Schlock:''' Ummmm, I think the alarm might have been pulled by someone who saw me. I have no plan. This was an accident.\
245''[beat]''\
246'''Tagon:''' Okay, then. You can be a Corporal.
247** Captain Tagon's father complains that "when I was your age, I was already a colonel." Tagon retorts that there was a war going on back then, and half of high command got nuked from orbit. And then [[spoiler:there was a mass nanite attack, and Tagon Sr. was suddenly a general]].
248** During a [[FalseFlagOperation faked rebellion]] on Earth Lieutenant Sorlie [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2015-01-04 receives a field promotion to Captain]] along with orders to save the day.
249** [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2016-08-17 When an emergency happens]] and Massey (the only judge on payroll) has to recuse himself from a case, he promotes a random [[LawEnforcementInc Sanctum Adroit]] police officer who happened to be in the audience. Then, [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2016-08-19 two strips later]], he's got the hang of things:
250--->'''Avernebb:''' This looks complicated.\
251'''Landon:''' It's simple. Sign it, and then say "court is in recess until further notice."\
252'''Avernebb:''' "It's simple, ''Justice Avernebb''."\
253'''Landon:''' I'm sorry, I was out of order, your honor. Please sign it?\
254'''Avernebb:''' I'm glad we both learn quickly.
255* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick: Start of Darkness'' shows that Redcloak was a newly ordained acolyte when the High Priest and everyone else in the church hierarchy were killed by the Sapphire Guard. Fortunately the High Priest's Crimson Mantle acts as an AmplifierArtifact.
256[[/folder]]
257
258[[folder:Web Videos]]
259* ''LetsPlay/{{Mahu}}'': In "Frozen Flame" Prince Arius turns many of the horsemen of his army into knights. Blue blooded or not, they are all given the weaponry and armor they need and promised several lands close to the safety of the main colony.
260[[/folder]]
261
262[[folder:Web Animation]]
263* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': While they originally went to Beacon Academy to become Huntsmen and Huntresses and get their licenses, the fall of Beacon caused the school to close with Team RWBY and the remaining members of Team JNPR traveling the world to find the people responsible while most students transferred to other academies like Shade. [[spoiler:By the time they reach Atlas, General James Ironwood states that the dangers they've faced during the Battle of Beacon, in the wilds of Anima, and against the forces of Salem, means they're not functioning at the level of students, they're functioning as Huntsmen. Thus, he promotes them to fully licenced Huntsmen on the basis of their field experience even though they haven't completed their schooling.]]
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:Western Animation]]
267* Done in a Tear-Jerking fashion in the [[GrandFinale Series Finale]] of ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''. When Numbuh 1 must leave Earth for good [[spoiler:to join the GALACTIC Kids Next Door]], that as well as the fact that [[BigBad Father]] is on his way to attack him and the rest of the Kids Next Door, when saying goodbye to Numbuh 5, he gives her his Sunglasses and promotes her as the NEW Numbuh 1 of the Team.
268[[/folder]]
269
270[[folder:Real Life]]
271* One of the commanders of a Philippine resistance group against the Japanese during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII started out as a US Army lieutenant. By the end of the war, he had been promoted to major (via radio messages) but was effectively in charge of far more men than a major would normally command, spread throughout the islands. To facilitate this, he field/brevet-promoted men to be in charge of various cells, areas and islands. Since some of these were commanding hundreds or even thousands of irregular troops, he gave out acting promotions higher even than his own substantive rank of major. Luckily, General [=MacArthur=] was understanding.
272* Averted in militaries that don't have the rigid correspondence between rank and position, such as Russian Army in all its instances. There, the officer in command simply stays in his rank and continues to command his unit until the wheels of military bureaucracy turns and he gets actual promotion. During WWII there were Red Army majors that commanded ''divisions''. Yes, ''majors'', not major-''generals''. If a division was commanded by a colonel, they didn't even bother to promote him.
273* This happened a lot in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, because the Union Army was vastly larger than the Regular US Army before and after the war. Many career officers who lived through the war held high brevet rank that disappeared in 1865. (Similar to the AUS example below.)
274** "Fighting Joe" Hooker, for example, was a substantive major in the US Army at the same time that he was a major general of volunteers in command of the Army of the Potomac.
275** George Armstrong Custer was breveted from Lieutenant to Brigadier General during the Civil War, though would [[TooDumbToLive end his career]] as a Colonel.
276* Creator/AudieMurphy started as an [[ChildSoldiers underaged]] private, and was field promoted to Sergeant and later Lieutenant in a combination of his heroic actions and YouAreInCommandNow.
277* In UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, [[Series/BandOfBrothers Dick Winters]] started as a 2nd lieutenant. By the end of the war, he was ''Major'' Dick Winters. At least one of his promotions was a field promotion (1st Lieutenant to Captain).
278** Many of the men of Easy Company were promoted multiple times during the war. Special mention also goes to Carwood Lipton, who jumped into Normandy as a Sergeant, later became company First Sergeant (after the previous First Sergeant, James Diel, was battlefield commissioned to 2nd Lieutenant), and was given his own battlefield commission to 2nd Lieutenant after Bastogne.
279* A variation on this trope is the [[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Army_of_the_United_States Army of the United States]], the conscript (read: draft) force of the United States. When activated (thus far, it has only happened in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, and UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar), many of the officers are initially drawn from the regular Army and the Reserves, where they receive promotions to deal with the increased number of men they will be leading. Once the war ends, and the AUS is stood down, the officers go back to their previous jobs... and their previous ranks, since the Army of the United States is a separate organization from the Regular Army and the Army Reserves. [[note]]Of course, depending on how long they were serving in the AUS, they may have received promotions in the Regular Army anyways, though not necessarily to the level where they served in the AUS.[[/note]]
280* Though this is not technically a field promotion, Nathaniel Green was promoted from private directly to the rank of general (GENERAL) during the Revolutionary War. It makes sense then that he had several failures in this new position before he actually started to achieve victories.
281* Peter Ratcliffe, Regimental Sergeant-Major of the SAS during Operation Desert Storm, was promoted from RSM all the way to Major in one go in recognition of his actions in commanding a large SAS taskforce operating behind Iraqi lines. Slightly unusual in that the formal promotion didn't actually happen until some time ''after'' he ended up in charge of said taskforce. It was the first time in British military history that an officer was ''formally'' relieved of duty by an enlisted man, which tells you everything you need to know about said officer's competence.
282* Creator/JimmyStewart joined the USAAF and started as a private, but because of his education and expert flying skills and experience, he became a pilot. He flew full tour of duty on bombers, rising to Squadron Commander and eventually reached the rank of full Colonel, one of only four men to do so during the war. The only reason he wasn't assigned a Group to command was that the war ended. He was promoted to Brigadier General by UsefulNotes/RichardNixon.
283* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the German army at Stalingrad deep in the USSR was completely surrounded and without ammunition or food. Rather than grant permission to surrender, [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]] promoted (by radio) a generous amount of officers to higher ranks to boost their morale, including the commander General Paulus to rank of Field Marshal (the highest military rank). No Field Marshal in German military history to that point had ever surrendered: the promotion was a signal that Hitler wanted him to commit suicide rather than surrender. Paulus defied him and chose to surrender to the Soviets.
284* Lauri Törni, alias Larry Thorne, in ''three'' armies. He started as conscripted Private in the Finnish army, was made NCO in the Winter War, and later Captain. When Finland made peace with the USSR near the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Törni defected to German Army, started as Schütze (Private) and soon rose to Hauptmann (Captain), ''in less than one year''. After the war he moved to USA, where he joined the Army as a Private. Soon his skills were noted, and he was transferred to Special Forces. He participated in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, where he eventually made Major. He was killed in action, and is buried at Arlington Cemetery.
285[[/folder]]

Top