Discourse!

I agree. It's the background that brings worth to a military character.

Another thing players don't often consider - the military is not made up of perfect troops. Too often, as a GM, I have to deny Colonel Sues. These are the ones that are crack shots, can diffuse any bomb, drive like stuntmen, seem able to operate any vehicle in front of them (including tanks, APC, and M35 2½-ton 6x6 cargo trucks), but have fragile moments ripe for "drama-trauma".

Failure in battle is an option. Let your sniper miss his shot but not go to pieces. Let your leg take a hit to her thigh, then allow her determination to blot out the pain as she continues her trek through the festering jungle - she might die from infection, but if she makes her objective and gives us an entertaining story, it's worth it. Please don't give us PTSD nonsense over a simple mistake.

So many military characters come across as Rambo. They strap on their gear, solo, a sour expression on their faces, and sit in the aircraft scowling like they own their environment. Cigar hanging from mouth (or earbuds cranking up music - usually with a link to said music because the player feels it's important) make for good 80s action movies but are not at all realistic.



Wasn't that boring as fuck? Yes. And it was real.


Tips for portraying realistic soldiers
1. You are only as strong as your buddy. Check his gear, have him check yours. The military, regardless of time period or nation, puts great emphasis on the unit rather than the individual.

2. Research your character, her MOS, and the knowledge she should already possess. She's a sniper? Research stories by actual snipers. He's a medic? Research those stories. Get into your character's shoes by making the effort to understand what she trained for, how she trained, and what skills she brings to the table.

3. Female Functionality: Yes, the tight uniform with short skirt is cute for anime characters. It also is impractical and limits your female character's effectiveness. Her flowing long hair may block her vision. Her large breasts might get in the way, limiting her reach. She may have to crawl through debris which will pose a laceration risk to her exposed arms and legs. A female isn't as strong as a male though she possess a lower center of gravity (something that's particularly effective for female fighter pilots). She is female, meaning she has a vagina. The enemy might rape her as a display of his power or dominance, especially if she's accompanied by male POW from her own squad.

5. Understand the soldier's basic mindset when he knows he's about to go into battle.

6. Soldiers are regular people, too. They don't go home and swagger like a soldier. They go home and flop onto the couch to watch TV, or go online to chat, or unwind with a beer and a video game. Ever meet someone online that was a "24 hour hooah soldier"? Chances are, they work a boring desk job.

7. Learn the difference between "cover" and "concealment". 


Writing for infantry
This scene from Saving Private Ryan was so realistic that combat veterans left the theatre because it brought on a PTSD moment (though they were younger and this wasn't their war.)  Please be aware that I don't play my characters in PL realistically (because players bitch) so, if you're looking to my writing for exposure to "quality combat", look elsewhere.



00:21 - soldier pukes due to waves rocking the boat or perhaps stress in general.
00:26 - an officer's hand betrays his stress and fear. He conceals it by grasping his canteen.
00:55 - a soldier pukes, then another (the human body is wired to do this - strong or drunk is he that holds his friend's hair back without also puking himself)
01:06 - officer reinforces the POA. There are not insults, no "Listen up, you maggots!" bullshit.
01:20 - a soldier slips into "the zone" as his mind comes to terms with what he's about to attempt.
01:30 - a soft boom from enemy artillery reminds them shit's about to get real - before they've even left the transport. Soldiers pray or cross themselves. Notice how nobody is blinking? Human blink rates slow down when they're scared. Pupils dilate.
01:55 - The "go" moment is also that moment when you have no option but to go forward. It's That Moment when your mindset decides your outcome. Hesitation may mean death.
02:00 - your ass is going to take fire, if it's heavy combat. The people around you may die before ever stepping foot on the battleground, especially if the enemy has the high ground.
02:20 - solders go forward, as ordered, stepping over the dead. They aren't processing those deaths yet. There's no dramatic dialog running through their brains. Poetry isn't going to happen. The focus is on staying alive.
02:35 - the environment around you has a nasty habit of trying to strip the gear off your body. MT units streamline things for this reason. Your Rambo character compromises himself if he's loaded down with ammo belts, a tac vest filled with extra magazines, too many weapons strapped to his body, etc.
03:00 - every moment a soldier is exposed to the enemy is a moment in which the enemy can kill them. (Notice how they've clumped to hold on to a buddy while trying to take cover?)
03:32 - want to add drama? Have the NPC "buddy" you've dragged along for the last few minutes take a round and die.
04:00 - soldiers can not dodge machine gun fire. Machine guns are set up to create kill zones. A kill zone is the area of a military engagement with a high concentration of fatalities.
04:18 - if the machine guns don't get you, the artillery will. The concussion makes walking/running difficult, the proximity of that concussion can potentially damage a soldier's ears or temporarily shut down his inner ear (he loses balance and flails)
04:25 - soldiers progressing at the same pace as the officer are finally in a position where they can use their weapons. Remember, the "go" moment was nearly 3 minutes ago.
04:45 - comprehension dawns. He's found a moment to call his own, and his mind begins to process his surrounds. 
05:15 - this really does happen in combat.
05:35 - Please note his hand. This is the protagonist of our story. This scene was only the arrival. There are fifteen more minutes of screen time/battle to go. He didn't make it this far because he's a badass. He made it because he was lucky. A good soldier never forgets that.

Rambo would have made it up the beach in 20 seconds of screen time. We don't get a sense of danger with Rambo. It's cheap action. It's taken 5.5 minutes to reach the beach in the scene above. The tone is set. We understand the dangers characters are facing. We see the horror through their eyes and through the camera's lens. We're left wondering if they'll survive much longer.

Quality of work
Assess the quality of your work, especially what transpires before your character ever gets into a position to fire. Draw your fellow players and your readers into the scene by giving them something to invest their emotions into. Nobody gives a shit about a Rambo Sue Soldier.

These same principles are applied to FT battles. Your 40K Space Marine may be conditioned, but he'll still experience the grit. Don't cripple him by making him nothing but badass action. Allow him to smell the blood in the air, and to taste copper as he inhales through his mouth. Layer it with the stench from heated weapons and sweat. Let his body shudder as something large explodes near him. Give his ears the treat of a chainsword's cruel whine, or even the sensation of his own pulse thrumming in his neck and head. The senses are what draw the reader into that character. Ever read a boring, long-winded text wall? The writer is all about guts and glory, and has starved his readers of sensory perception.

Another common mistake is writing for a vehicle, especially a mech. Yes, the machine is "one" with its pilot, but it's larger and the body will be effected by lurches, shock waves, impact, or debris. Movies sometimes give us an insight into the cockpit when an alarm goes off - the pilot has kept one eye on that instrumentation the entire battle. If you drive your car down the road without occasionally glancing at your speedometer, you're doing it wrong. The pilot is mindful of heat, pressure, etc.


Badassery
Can you have a badass character that doesn't come across as a Sue (or worse)?

Yes.

Avatar's Colonel Quaritch is a prime example of badassery. He goes from cockpit to mech, leaps from the transport as it explodes, lands hard, gets his bearings, and then - after losing his canopy - he holds his breath to kick ass.

Colonel Quaritch was also alone, sans any backup, and possessed an ungodly high skill set as well as experience. We don't get that background in the movie. However he earned the right to be a badass and pull off an impossible feat.

Before his tour of duty on Pandora, Quaritch served in numerous military engagements without injury, most notably three tours in Nigeria with First Recon. He was the chief of security for at least two years. He was responsible for the security of the Hell's Gate facility and its personnel, which necessitated keeping the Na'vi in check. He had his own Dragon Assault Ship, which was personalized with an orange-colored Chinese dragon painted below the cockpit. On his first day on Pandora, an encounter with the wildlife dealt him a trio of trademark scars to the right side of his head and face. Given the option to return home for reconstructive surgery he opted to stay on Pandora. With his impressive record, he was eventually chosen as the chief of security of Hell's Gate.

Quaritch looked and acted like a lifelong military man. He wore his hair short and was covered with battle scars, most notably a trio of claw marks on the side of his head which he sustained during his time on Pandora. He only respected brute force and dominance, and showed little respect for the Na'vi or their home. His long-running military career was representative of his personality. He regularly worked out to off-set the low gravity on Pandora so he didn't get "soft". He was in outstanding physical condition, despite being middle aged, and he was known to leave his exopack back in his base for short periods when entering combat in the poisonous atmosphere of Pandora when he felt the situation demanded it. An expert with his AMP suit, he was still familiar with combat techniques as demonstrated by his marksmanship, hand-to-hand and melee combat skills.

He was not in his 20s. He acted his age. He did not have a pristine body. He did earn his men's respect. He possessed leadership skills. He didn't engage in the petty things that take precedence in the lives of people aged 16-25.

My recommendation, if you seek to play a badass, is to bring maturity to the table and convey seasoning through mindset, speech, and mannerisms. Round the character out by learning things he would know, even when he was still a rookie.

In honestly, we've had a lot of military characters in PL, and very few of them carried an authenticity to them. The most believable is Septimus Item, and he isn't military. Septimus isn't a badass - he was a butcher. He isn't strong in hand-to-hand, but he's seen shit and experienced brutal, Confederation-style combat. He's not a military god, but he did command forces. He's made threats but had the backup forces necessary to carry those threats out. He doesn't grunt and put on a combat face - he faces combat and inwardly recoils because he's danced this waltz before. He's ancient (in mind, though no longer in body) but he does have his silly moments because he is, in fact, not a soldier. That is why, when he picks up a Klingon pole arm in the heat of battle, he doesn't excel in its use but does keep his wits while using it. Septimus survives battle by pure luck. That, as any long-lived combatant will tell you, makes up at least 60% of a war veteran's background.

/ramble. Got to go pick up Swith.