I’ve recently found that I really enjoy military fiction, but certain personal political beliefs can make it difficult for me to just enjoy it straight, as it’s intended to be taken, without a speculative or historical (WWII or earlier) element to it. I’m looking for something like this:

• Human or humanoid protagonists facing human or humanoid threats - nothing cosmic.

• Folowing a single relatively small military unit, either an ultra-mobile infantry unit, based on a starship or using magic for transport, or one that engages in insurgency, counter-insurgency, or guerilla warfare.

• The characters do the kinds of bad things such units are typically associated with, but are easy to like anyway.

• Our protagonists are subordinates, with officers present but secondary characters - perhaps the MC is an NCO with the ear of his commanding officer.

• Two-thirds downtime, one-third action.

• If sci-fi, spaceships look like planes and act like boats.

In terms of comparisons, the ideal book would be: (sorry that most of these are games - I’m new to print science fiction, and not much of my experience of print fantasy is at all what I’m looking for)

A Song of Ice and Fire but focusing more on enlisted soldiers, less on politics or officers.

The Black Company but with fewer horror or epic fantasy elements.

Warhammer 40,000 but less so.

Mass Effect but smaller in scope

Traveller

I very much appreciate any suggestions.