We have a Belgian napoleon that gets to Dutch events. His staff numbers between four and a dozen men - All in rich, showered-in-gold uniforms. One of them has the uniform of a naval captain (I mean, really?). They also have a mamluke who has the cheapest and most inaccurate version of a mamluke uniform ever. He's also white as milk and fat. Really really fat. Like, target-practice-for-a-gun-ship-fat. And, last but not least, he's a dick.
The problem with staff officers is that regiment-groups generally don't want them playing the boss over them. And why would you? These 'staff'-groups are, in the eyes of a ranker-re-enactor, made up of men who think themselves too great to be wielding a musket. And face it, they generally are. So these men start playing famous characters, which results in event organizers calling them in (Cos every event need a boney).
The only good 'staff' re-enactors tend to be those who portray such a rule in the regiment they started in as a ranker (and most of the time, still are). These men are trusted by the group, which mean there is no 'emotional' barrier into following them. A staff officer can be the greatest officer in the world - Groups that don't know him won't follow him as much as those who do. It's the general 'You're not in my regiment, so I don't have to listen to you' (Which is kinda true).
I'm just happy Napoleonic re-enactment is really tight and friendly. People know exactly where they stand, so conflicts and drama are kept to a minimum. Though I do expect one of the French groups to fall over in a few months.
