I appreciate your description. Since I haven’t read the comics, it was cool to learn some of the differences.
However, an observation: There’s been criticism (in this forum) about Kate joining the military in the first place. I.e., why would a gay woman want to be part of an organization that doesn’t want her? Well, in the TV version, there’s a plausible explanation. Kate never envisioned the military as permanent; it was a means to an end. So as long as nobody “asked” and she didn’t “tell,” she might skate through. But how did that work in the comics? If Kate (as you say) wanted to be a
career officer, does that mean she was not yet out and/or in a kind of denial? And if so, getting expelled was actually a crucial/personal turning point, yes?
Happy to ramble far more than necessary about things I enjoy
Unless I am forgetting anything, the only reference to her sexuality during the initial Rucka/Williams III stuff chronologically prior to that point is her being grossed out by a boy liking her as a kid. I reference their run in particular here because they're the ones who made the major backstory decisions and everyone else just adds stuff around it, so it's the closest equivalent to the showrunner putting together their own backstory without anyone getting a chance to retcon them. Plus Andreyko's run is pretty awful and the Detective Comics stuff is in one ear and back out the other and I don't remember if either of them added anything. I want to say maybe Andreyko's vampire girlfriend plot that should be burned may have had backstory when they were teens but I can't quite recall. Bennett's run is generally quite good but I'm getting off topic. The point is that I don't seem to recall the run that established that explicitly made her away of her sexuality prior to the military. As a result, one possible reading is that she didn't actually know before her time in the military. It's not what I would lean to, but it's an option I could see.
However, whether she did or not, I think her choice makes sense due to the childhood she has, which is part of why I'd lean away from during West Point and towards prior to that. She grows up in a military family, and one of the first scenes of her backstory is her missing her dad as he's off on deployment. When she's kidnapped, who does she see come to her rescue? A military group. I feel like there's a clear throughline here where I can see why she'd associate the military with certain ideals. It is a crucial turning point, and I'd argue one of the three essential moments in her backstory, and the impact ripples out through the rest of her development as Batwoman as she initially frames it to her dad as getting a chance to serve. It also serves to double back to the point that part of all of this is wanting to be closer to the only person she had left between her father, mother and sister.
As well, and this is running into speculation territory, the new 52 section where J.H. Williams became writer as well as (every second volume) artist, he gives her a villain in a government agency, the DEO run by Director Bones. They serve as the main antagonists of the run, appearing from start to finish. They force her into working for them as more or less an agent/soldier.
To me, the arc feels like it's building to a change in her perspective on the matter of the military/government, as the arc makes sure to associate the villains with her desire to join up. They aren't interested in the law, otherwise they'd arrest her and everyone they threaten to, they're interested in having an asset they can exploit until she's no longer useful. They're even willing to offer the release of a killer in exchange for her unmasking Batman. However, the arc was cut two issues short, and the conclusion written by Andreyko is a poor replacement, so we'll probably never see what the actual plan was. But I always thought it was an interesting choice to make her biggest adversaries in the New 52 run to be the government she wished to serve, and that choice feels like it was intended to further complicate the idealized version of the military her childhood had given her.
My problem with the TV version is now that section doesn't actually matter the way it thinks it does. If it's a stepping stone she never intended to be permanent, then it's more of a minor complication. Though she also takes it personally in a way that I don't think feels consistent with that. Not that it isn't bigoted and wrong, but when she says stuff to the extent of "They don't want us here, let's go," I'm left scratching my head why she chose to be here at all. They said it up front. For me, this motivation change is basically like if the new Batman movie opened with his parents dying in a car crash because Thomas was tailgating. Looking at an outline, the same point is accomplished. She's expelled, his parents are dead, but the alterations made change what that moment means. And, at least in one case, it's for a vastly inferior version.
These two versions (TV vs. comics) strike me as interesting variations. In one, Kate is out as a young teen; and in the other this occurs (apparently) in early adulthood. In one, the military was never the final goal; in the other, it was. But in both, the paths eventually get us to “Batwoman.” That said, it’s not obvious to me that one version is intrinsically better than the other.
Back to Jacob. In a prior discussion, it was suggested that
not clearly identifying him as ex-military was a significant flaw. But of course, this depends on which interpretation one is referring to. In the comics, Jacob being military seems rather relevant to the backstory. In the TV version, it’s far less so.
Anyway, good to talk to you.
Obviously, I disagree with the last bit. While the comics version holds a sentimental place to begin with, I feel like the TV version has lost everything I enjoyed in the character and those around her. They don't feel like the characters I fell in love with. From the actors, to the writing, they feel vacant of anything compelling. The only reason I keep watching is because my favourite comic character doesn't exactly get a lot of adaptations and I'd rather just know what they do with it for good or unfortunately mostly bad rather than wonder. But even as it's own thing, I just don't think this is very good. Three of the main performances are awful, there's nothing compelling to these characters, their relationships still feel broad, the self-serious tone makes the bad writing stick out more, and the plot's meandering and feels like it's already struggling to sustain the length.
It's not relevant to the TV version because it's seemingly not there, and I think that has a negative effect on the characters.
And to you.
I'm just saying what I found, so take that any way you want. IMDb also lists him as Colonel, if you want a third source, and considering that's what he was in the comics then that is what I am going with until shown otherwise in-series. Feel free to think otherwise...
Or about a new/spinoff superhero being redundant or derivative. 
