I like the idea of veterans having the command, though it makes a certain amount of sense that the survivors of real battle and combat 'out there' would be heeded by raw recruits once they had their heads cracked a bit. I expect that the training methods are brutal because orcs are headstrong and fierce, so the training is draconian as a result.

Uniform of a red-painted sleeve sounds good, as does getting redder with rank.

I'm okay with the idea of NPC squads and so forth, I'm just trying to figure out how to work that into the narrative. We'll get back to that.

My other thought is that the Company hasn't seen major combat yet...the story will start when, for the first time in six years, they get a job that isn't terrorizing peasants and guarding caravans and otherwise being big, scary orcs. Someone is desperate (crazy) enough to hire them to fight a real battle. There's a twist, of course, but I'll keep that one to myself.