Thanks for the reply about the veterans, I did manage to find that info somewhere on the internet this morning (was it reddit?), to be honest I don't think I mind it too much, it has a shade of realism to it: you join the army as a regular, get your experience than move on to the special corps. I think though that it should definitely be explained to new players, there are quests introduced to make you chose your special abilities, could do the same for this system.
As for the emblems I'm still trying to figure out all the ways you can get them. I found out that, having enough reputation with a village, if a nearby village is in need of recontruction, you might be able to chose a quest that allows you to bring humanitarian help to the village in need. Than you have to sit there for a couple of days, fending off bandits and protecting the population, and than go back to the original village to receive an emblem as reward, along with xp and standing and money of course.
There might be some other way aswell, I just wish there was a list of all possible sources.
Anyway, the important thing is: now I know how to get a proper army, no more front line soldiers dressed cloth in armor.