Are Blair and Maniac best friends?

[QuailPilot]

Fine, but why did he received the rank of Colonel when he was cleared of the charges that made him lose Rank? On WC2 and SO1 I was under the impression that Colonel was his rank to being with, and that he lost it due to the Tiger's Claw destruction.

If I remeber correctly, he was demoted to Captain.

 

[Quarto]

Fine, but why did he received the rank of Colonel when he was cleared of the charges that made him lose Rank? On WC2 and SO1 I was under the impression that Colonel was his rank to being with, and that he lost it due to the Tiger's Claw destruction.

He received the rank of Colonel because he had just single-handedly destroyed an enemy base along with all of its defences, as well as shooting down Prince Thrakhath. Basically, his rank wasn't merely restored, he was also promoted.

 

[Delance]

He received the rank of Colonel because he had just single-handedly destroyed an enemy base along with all of its defences, as well as shooting down Prince Thrakhath. Basically, his rank wasn't merely restored, he was also promoted.

So Tolwyn was so happy that he did all that on the spot, the moment he landed? Upon landing, that's the gamet dialogue, according to Wedge009’s Wing Commander:

Angel: Maverick, you mad fool! You were magnificent!
Maverick: That’s my job.
Tolwyn: Blair! You have a lot to answer for, pilot! Disobeying orders, dereliction of duty, theft of Navy property, endangerment of personnel… Nice work… Colonel Blair. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m proud to serve with you on this ship, Maverick.
Maverick: Thank you, sir.
Angel: I have new orders for you, Christopher, and you’d better not disobey these! Report immediately to my personal quarters, with a bottle of champagne!
Maverick: Aye aye, ma’am!
Tolwyn: Three cheers for Colonel Blair!

It seemed to me he was simply restoring Blair to his previous rank, since he was cleared of all charges. Well, I suppose he does deserve a promotion after single-handedly taking out the Kilrathi HQ. Unfortunately, we do not have an image of Blair on trial that shows a rank.

 

[Quarto]

So Tolwyn was so happy that he did all that on the spot, the moment he landed?

Yep, he did. Mind you, it was a field promotion, and as such it wasn't entirely valid - Blair only officially became a Colonel a few weeks later, in SO1. There's a conversation at the start of SO1 where Tolwyn tells Blair that HQ has confirmed his field promotion.

 

[Delance]

That's right, then. It's noteworthy that Blair got a promotion to Colonel for actually benig a Maverick.

 

[ChrisReid]

That's right, then. It's noteworthy that Blair got a promotion to Colonel for actually benig a Maverick.

Well, it's not like it's for just one thing. He was an incredible soldier for the amount of time that he wasn't offline, and had he not been falsely accused, that sort of rank would have been appropriate for someone with his time served and his record. Any random new pilot who showed up and did the same wouldn't automatically get promoted to colonel. On the other side, simply by being cleared of the whole Jazz business, Blair probably would've been in line for a big promotion before long.