Hidden Identities

[Marion]

In the course of a CS chat the other day - the subject arose of just HOW secret are the identities of the Spectrum agents?
We know they use codenames - and rarely drop them in the presence of strangers - the exception being Andre Verdain (but even then the Angels kept their code names) I can't remember anywhere else on the TV series where this is done.
I do vividly recall a story from a comic, where Paul Metcalfe - off on his holidays - booked in for a commercial flight and the air hostess, fluttered her eyelashes and said 'Captain Scarlet, right?' - which isn't really very likely.
Now, our fanfics tend to assume that the only people who know about their identities/codenames are their families. Would this just be next-of-kin, or immediate family? Where do they draw the line?
Of course, Ochre and Magenta have even more reasons for wishing to remain anonymous and have their location kept secret - but there is always a chance they might be recognised from a TV newsreel. So - are TV companies allowed to broadcast any footage of the Spectrum agents? Or are all pictures of them automatically fogged - as Mary proposed in one of her stories? Is it just Scarlet who can't have his picture taken?
How do Spectrum justify their cost to the World Government if all they do is kept hidden?
Any ideas, anyone?

[Mary]

I'm working on it, I'm WORKING on it! Sheesh! Just wait until the planned and promised revision of "All the Colours of the Rainbow" comes out, you'll see...

Until then, let me just say I believe that this was all very thoroughly considered before Spectrum officially began operations. After all, WHY on earth would a supposedly covert organization as Spectrum parade its supposedly "secret" senior officers around in such VIVIDLY-COLORED uniforms??? Didn't they learn anything from the French and Indian War (I believe in Europe it is known as the Seven Years' War), or the American Revolution? Surely Scarlet, with his knowledge of military history, knows about the success of the Redcoats in the North American wilderness...

As with any security agency, Spectrum -- and the media reporting its actions -- would have a strict set of rules and guidelines to follow regarding what can and can NOT be reported to the public. Press statements and other planned official stuff would of course come through some sort of Spectrum Press Office. News footage would probably have to be subject to some sort of time delay, such as to allow for pixellating the agents' faces (or other sensitive information, such as the name of a location) on the telecast. I'm sure any disregard for the guidelines Spectrum sets would have severe repercussions, such as revocation of any broadcast permission. I'll defer to those more knowledgeable for the specifics here.

Another important thing to remember is that Spectrum DOESN'T just consist of color-coded officers with "secret identities." As we've seen in the series and elsewhere, there are the gray-uniformed Spectrum security personnel, plain-clothes Spectrum Intelligence personnel and so on. Like any other security organization, there must be levels of security clearance. Not EVERYONE in Spectrum knows EVERYTHING about EVERYONE in it. If they did, why bother with all the "top-secret" stuff?

[chrisbishop]

Mary - I believe that the choice of red for the British uniform was well thought off. According from what I heard, the reason behind it was to hide the view of blood to the enemies' eyes - so they would never see that the English/British soldiers are wounded...

In the case of Scarlet - maybe the choice of the colour was a fated one - that poor guy get wounded every other mission!

[Marion]

Yeah, I think that is the accepted reason, Chris.... from the days when warfare was two armies marching straight at each other across a battlefield. The 'Thin Red Line' and all that jazz.

[Clya Brown]

I confess I'd be instinctively rather sceptical of that explanation of why English solders used to wear red - it sounds rather like a classic piece of propaganda to me, to tell the world how fearless the English were in battle! Having said that, I can't think of an alternative reason why they should wear such a distinctive colour, unless the purpose was to frighten the enemy into fleeing when they saw the true size of the force opposing them. I believe I read somewhere that that was effectively the purpose of the busbies, i.e. the bearskin helmets that are still worn on ceremonial occasions by the British army, i.e. to make the enemy think the soldiers were taller - and by implication stronger - than they actually were. I'm also informed that the Romans wore silver armour for much the same reason, since it glinted in the early morning sun before a dawn attack, making a potential enemy realise how dangerous it would be to oppose them.

During the Jacobite rebellion, despite the obvious visibility of the English redcoats, I gather the accuracy of the rifles of the period was so poor anyway that wearing such a uniform didn't actually make you an easier target. Similarly at Waterloo, Wellington, who was easily identifiable, would certainly run the risk of being shot by riding within the range of Napoleon's guns, but not because anybody might try to target him: the French guns simply weren't accurate enough, and both sides knew it.

As far as Spectrum are concerned however, I can see no possible justification for wearing such a distinctive uniform. Whatever the accuracy of the guns at Culloden or Waterloo, it seems reasonable to suppose that the Mysterons would be capable of targeting an individual with 100% accuracy the second he was spotted - after all, we can almost do it now with smart missile technology. Not a particularly intelligent design!

[Mary]

Even if the guns were more accurate, Doc, there would have still been difficulty in hitting the targets. The Revolutionary War exhibits here point out one thing that nearly everyone forgets -- there was no such thing as SMOKELESS gunpowder at that time! Talk about the "fog of war"...

Cheers!
Mary
(CAPTAIN RUDDY)

[Marion]

Maybe - it occurs to me - the colour Captains are the visible face of Spectrum - the tall, handsome guys meant to draw attention from the insignifent little creeps - like Conners and his friends - who do the real nitty-gritty Spectrum jobs?
After all, there is nothing like some highly visible guys - and some tasty eye-candy - dashing about saving the world for dragging the interest away from boring Mr Average - even if what he does is far more IMPORTANT.
I can't help feeling that given that the Mysterons are so powerful, so malevolent etc etc, they go for some pretty obscure targets and even then they leave clues
What is Spectrum's real mission? I think we should be told!

[Marion]

Oh, and on the topic of why the British Army uniforms were red:
Red was the uniform colour adopted by the first permanent regiment of the British Army, the Yeoman of the Guard, (the Beefeaters), during the reign of Henry VIII. In 1645, this colour was adopted when the first permanent army was raised. Red was not used in order to hide blood stains. Rather, every army adopted certain colours as their national colours. French soldiers tended to wear blue; Russians wore green; British wore red.
(Royal Engineers website)

What they don't mention is that the Tudors claimed to be of the House of Lancaster - and the Lancastrian rose was the red rose...
Gosh, we British love our romantic tales, don't we?

[Mary]

Well, I can't comment about the romantic part, coming from a bunch of rabble-rousing Continentals but I can comment at least on one distinction US uniforms had: the branches within each individual service. In the US Army, artillery troops have red trim on their uniforms (and any Artillery trooper worth his salt wears red socks with his dress blues); cavalry (and the modern cavalry, the tank corps) wear yellow, and infantry is light blue.

[Cat 2]

Interesting and slightly related fact. Coloured uniforms were only Completely abandoned for battle dress in First World War, when machine guns and more accurate rifles and bombs meant that Death could be delivered on the grandscale for the first time.

Another theory I heard about the Red coats was that Red is the colour of danger. A lot of predators and insects in the wild use red to warn others of thier danger or poisoness nature. Thus the British Soldiers would look dangerous (doesn't explain why the Navy was blue though)

[Marion]

Bit of a plug here..

(Svenson said,) "Why else do you imagine we use code-names, and guard our identities so fiercely? It isn’t for the glamour of it; take it from me.”
“I did wonder,” Galvin said dryly. “I mean, those uniforms stand out like a sore thumb, so it’s not like Spectrum officers are inconspicuous.”
Svenson rolled his eyes; this question was asked repeatedly when they were on missions. He trotted out the official answer: “Spectrum Officers are the visible sign of the World Government’s determination to face up to and eradicate world terrorism. We’re meant to be seen.”

Excerpt from the (at long last) completed 'Wild Justice' - which is currently in 'Beta Reading'...

Whoops, there goes that flying pig again!

[Elentari]

Re the matter of keeping identities secret (at least from the public):

Recently, and tragically, there have been several Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Their photos and some details (if the families are willing) have been released to the media, however as many of them were in the SAS, scenes such as guards of honour or the funerals have many of the still serving members only shown from the back or their faces have been pixilated. I imagine the same could be applied to Spectrum as far as the media is concerned.

One would hope the public would respect this rule as well but I wouldn't bet on it!

[Cat 2]

There's also a degree of probability.
How often do you see someone walking down the street who looks like someone you know, but isn't them?
So if anyone saw Orchre or Magata, they might think that it looks like them, but knowing that they were in prison (or dead), most people would accept that as a case of mistaken identity or doppleganger. Failing that, as Thunderbirds are go reminded us, there is always beards ect