Robert A. Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" Quiz

Answer: Filipino

Rico and a fellow trooper are loosely discussing history when he makes a comment in his native tongue. Rico explains that he has just spoken Tagalog, the language of Philippine Islanders.

Answer: Marauder

Powered armor gives the Mobile Infantry the ability to move faster, hit harder, and survive longer in environments that would kill the unprotected man. When you have spaceships that can traverse stellar distances in a lifetime it's really ignorant to equip your soldiers with Twentieth Century technology.

Dragoon, Fusilier, and Guerrilla are not the names of armored suits.

Answer: Skinnie Homeworld

Rico was an Assistant Section Leader when he dropped on the Skinnies. He was promoted over a man called Ace which led to problems later on. Chronologically speaking Rico's first combat foray took place on Klendethu.

Answer: Hendrick

Ted Hendrick received ten lashes and a Bad Conduct Discharge for striking Zim. When ordered to freeze Ted dived on top of an anthill. Immediately he began to brush them off thus disobeying a freeze command. When Zim tried to straighten Ted out Ted "hung a shiner" on Zim's eye. Although struck by a recruit Zim loved Ted and only wanted Ted punished for breaking freeze. Ted indicted himself when he tried to explain why he disobeyed the freeze order.

Answer: He was shot by a skinnie

Rico and Ace tried getting Dizzy to the retrieval boat but, still in his armor, he was too heavy. Jelly came to the rescue, and with Rico and Ace, got Dizzy to retrieval only to be scolded by the pilot because she missed rendezvous with the Roger Young. Dizzy died from his wounds on the way back.

In the film adaptation Dizzy appears as a female. In the book there are only females in the Navy.

Answer: He launched a simulated atomic weapon which would have killed his troopers.

During powered armor training Rico launched an atomic missile that would have killed his own troops had it been real. Zim was outraged, he immediately cut power to Rico's armor. Rico received the maximum administrative punishment of five lashes.

Answer: Dutch Bamburger

Rico got his first taste of war in Operation Bughouse, an unmitigated disaster for both the M.I. and the Navy. Half of Rico's platoon was killed in the drop tubes and of those that made it down only a handful of men made it back from the fight. Dutch was killed just before the M.I. were ordered to withdraw.

Answer: Willie's Wildcats

Rico begins the book in Rasczak's Roughnecks a short time after Rasczak was killed in combat. However his first combat unit was Willie's Wildcats. The Wildcats were disbanded after the Battle of Klendethu because too few survived to form a platoon.

Answer: Sir Arthur Currie

Sir Arthur Currie is considered one of the best commanders of World War I. It was his assault on the Vimy Ridge that secured him a place in history. Rodger Young was the paradigm for the M.I., a mud foot in World War Two (not WWI as asked in the question) who was killed assaulting a Japanese machine gun nest. For his actions he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Audie Murphy and Ernest "Smokey" Smith were also well known veterans of the Second World War.

Answer: a communist civilization

Heinlein was a strong anti-communist. Many have criticized "Starship Troopers" as being an anti-communist treatise thinly disguised as a novel. While an anti-communist theme is present in "Starship Troopers" most fans feel it does not asphyxiate the novel.