Fan Casting Colonel Badass in Sort by Tropes

Imagine The Captain, but instead of a ship at sea or in the stars, they have a large contingent of ground troops. Still the most kickass guy around, powerful leader, outranks everyone else in The Squad, you know the type. Chances are, they're gonna be a colonel. (Which is pronounced "kernel," by the way) This is probably because "Colonel" is the highest military rank deployable in the field, the highest rank unlikely to be noticed and Rank Scales with Asskicking on TV. Theoretically, General Ripper and The Brigadier should have more Power Levels than Colonel Badass but star ranks are for pen-pushers and quill-drivers. That's why the colonel always wins (unless you have a Four-Star Badass or Frontline General lurking around). The fact that an Army, Marine, or Air Force colonel and a Navy captain are technically the same rank may also have something to do with it, or it may just be coincidental.