Basic Trope: A military force aligned with the protagonists is depicted as being easily defeated.
- Straight: Jack Starblade calls the Galactic Defense Force to help him fight the Xeno Empire. They are defeated in minutes.
- Exaggerated: A whole battalion of GDF soldiers are slaughtered by one enemy Mook.
- Downplayed: The battalion of GDF soldiers did get annihilated to a battalion of enemy Mooks, but despite overwhelming odds, they managed to inflict heavy losses on their enemies as well to delay their progress.
- Justified:
- The GDF is poorly trained and fighting against an advanced civilization.
- Alternatively, the GDF troops are Made of Plasticine so each single shots from enemy forces can easily decimates them
- The GDF units that patrol space are little more than disorganized punks who happen to have been talked into taking the job. Trying to actually coordinate between them is difficult. The main fleet that patrols around the base are all trained soldiers and easily some of the best fighting forces around, but as they are primarily guards most of the combat the GDF sees ends with loss of GDF "troops".
- The GDF troops know that they can't retreat without revealing Jack's stealth infiltration and thus give their all in what they know to be a doomed to fail assault to give Jack the stealth cover he needs.
- The GDF is facing against a Person of Mass Destruction, Humongous Mecha or kaiju that is capable of wiping out armies in seconds.
- Inverted:
- The GDF deploys and swiftly wipes out the enemy forces.
- Men of Sherwood
- Subverted: The GDF is such an effective military force that ninety percent of the time they do all of Jack's dirty work..
- Double Subverted: …Until the Xeno Royal Guards show up and put them in their place.
- Parodied:
- Not only do the GDF actually wear red shirts, but they are perfectly nonchalant about their impending demise. When it actually happens, it's comically stupid.
- The GDF logo is a red target.
- Zig Zagged: The GDF is easily defeated in first encounter. However, they were just taken by surprise, and next battle they wipe out Xeno. Next battle,... and so on.
- The GDF is a highly competent, well equipped force with good leadership... but it is quite simply doesn't hold a candle to the current foe.
- Averted: Friendly military forces (if they exist) are shown to be competent.
- Enforced: "The Hero needs to take center stage, and the bad guys should be established as merciless and threatening".
- Lampshaded: "These guys are getting wiped out!! Who would even bother sending them anyway!?"
- Invoked: General Nova warns Jack that the GDF will take losses on a large scale in the next battle.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: "We're not going down without a fight!"
- Discussed: "We will help you complete your mission in any way we can. We would even put our lives on the line if it came to it."
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed:
- Due to its inability to adapt to the Xeno's ruthless tactics, superior numbers and fanaticism, the GDF suffers such immense casualties that it ceases to exist as an army and human space is left undefended.
- Sick of being used as cannon fodder, the GDF revolt against The Federation.
- Reconstructed:
- However, the surviving military personnel rally together and form an underground movement in occupied space that complicates the Xeno's plans. In the end, they help Jack save the day.
- That they know they're outmatched and fighting a losing battle and yet fights on anyway is a true mark of courage, making them Badass Army.
- Played For Laughs: There are plenty of units always trying to help against the empire. At one point Jack looks at a Red Shirt and notices he's the same person who died before. When asked, the red shirt notes "Yeah, where do you think they get all the troops?"
- Played For Drama: The horribly low survival rate of the GDF is a point of fear for many, due to being targets for everybody and even those who aren't in the empire, the "budget" ships that are given to most patrols and the lack of proper training. When Maggie, Jack's girlfriend, joins the local patrols Jack starts to worry about her constantly.
- Played For Horror: After ninety minutes of roaming the territory of an incredibly sickening and alien (in more ways than one) enemy, the appearance of the GDF is yet another brutal Hope Spot.
7500 people died to get back to Red Shirt Army
