Wizard McFee from “Changes”

[SerScot]

Why is a full Wizard running a switchboard?  Seriously, she’s a full wizard on the White Council and she’s running a switchboard?  Is there nothing more useful she can do with her talents?

Why, does the WC have a full wizard in this position rather than a vanilla mortal?

[Bad Alias]

Because they are secretive to the point of idiocy. While there are good reasons to have someone with enough talent to not be an easy target for an intelligence operation running communications at your headquarters, most of those concerns could be taken care of by just keeping secret who that person is.

[SerScot]

Why would a full wizard of the White Council ever agree to such a menial task?

[segaily]

Why would a full wizard of the White Council ever agree to such a menial task?

I would guess the job is on some kind of rotation and that everyone in the rotation gets out of some other duty that no one likes. 

[g33k]

There's also this:  different wizards have different kinds of talent.  It's possible that MacFee literally had no useful contribution in a crisis situation; note that, even with the older tech, she must have a very gentle, mellow gift, or she'd hex down the switchboard.  IIRC there's WoJ that a couple of the Senior Council have no significant ability for combat magic, for example.

Behind the scenes, we discover that the Senior Council was secretly considering it very much a crisis situation.

It's possible that there was nobody except a full wizard that they'd have trusted to run Communications Central in a crisis!
 
All that said:  yeah, it does seem a notable anomaly.  Dunno if any of my speculations are true... or are sufficient explanation if true!
 

[Avernite]

There's also this:  different wizards have different kinds of talent.  It's possible that MacFee literally had no useful contribution in a crisis situation; note that, even with the older tech, she must have a very gentle, mellow gift, or she'd hex down the switchboard.  IIRC there's WoJ that a couple of the Senior Council have no significant ability for combat magic, for example.

Behind the scenes, we discover that the Senior Council was secretly considering it very much a crisis situation.

It's possible that there was nobody except a full wizard that they'd have trusted to run Communications Central in a crisis!
 
All that said:  yeah, it does seem a notable anomaly.  Dunno if any of my speculations are true... or are sufficient explanation if true!

I'm trying to figure which Senior Council members have no combat skills.

Mai came along to Demonreach for a fight.
Listens-to-Wind showed he could kick a Skinwalker.
Eb was at Chichen Itza and did well.
The Gatekeeper and
Merlin together stalled the whole Red Court with a ward in Proven Guilty.
Martha Liberty went along to help evacuate the Trainees - not sure if she has direct combat skills, but I'd assume as much or she'd be hiding?

And the ex-Simon obviously was the leader of the Brute Squad.

This leaves only LaFortier and Cristos (abnormality though he is), of which I can't remember much about their fighting.

[KurtinStGeorge]

I'm trying to figure which Senior Council members have no combat skills
Mai came along to Demonreach for a fight.

I believe Mai is supposed to be an expert in making magical constructs like the stone temple dogs that were used to protect the Council meeting in the warehouse in Chicago in Proven Guilty.  Anything else she can do is something of a mystery.

Martha Liberty went along to help evacuate the Trainees - not sure if she has direct combat skills, but I'd assume as much or she'd be hiding?

Martha Liberty is supposed to be some kind of intelligence expert who has extensive contacts with the fae, and probably others in the supernatural world.  After that, I suppose anything is possible.

This leaves only LaFortier and Cristos (abnormality though he is), of which I can't remember much about their fighting.

Except Cristos was said to have distinguished himself in a war against a Rakshasa, so I think he must have some serious combat ability. 

[KurtinStGeorge]

The alternative to having a full wizard manning the switchboard would be having an apprentice or a team of apprentices handling incoming and outgoing calls.  The problem with this is the importance of her job.  It is not simply a matter of ensuring that information gets to where it needs to go, there is also the issue of wizards sending highly sensitive or classified information to the Council.  Would you really want apprentices to handle such information?  Probably not; the only exception I could think of might occur if Wizard McFee had an apprentice of her own, but one nearing being recognized as a wizard.

The situation is similar to Lt. Uhura in Star Trek.  She appear doesn't do very much, but without her it's impossible to communicate with other starships, star bases, alien planets or Star Fleet itself.

[SerScot]

The alternative to having a full wizard manning the switchboard would be having an apprentice or a team of apprentices handling incoming and outgoing calls.  The problem with this is the importance of her job.  It is not simply a matter of ensuring that information gets to where it needs to go, there is also the issue of wizards sending highly sensitive or classified information to the Council.  Would you really want apprentices to handle such information?  Probably not; the only exception I could think of might occur if Wizard McFee had an apprentice of her own, but one nearing being recognized as a wizard.

The situation is similar to Lt. Uhura in Star Trek.  She appear doesn't do very much, but without her it's impossible to communicate with other starships, star bases, alien planets or Star Fleet itself.

I appreciate that point but, at the end of the day you still have a full wizard answering phones.  That’s odd.

[g33k]

I believe Mai is supposed to be an expert in making magical constructs like the stone temple dogs that were used to protect the Council meeting in the warehouse in Chicago in Proven Guilty.  Anything else she can do is something of a mystery.

Dresden Wiki says

She has "precious little gift when it comes to actual combat magic"

There's a footnote but it points to the old-forum site, so the link redirects.  I believe there's WOJ, but don't know if this linked there or not.  Maybe @Serack can help track down my memory of a WoJ that cites Senior Council members with weak combat-magic?

[Mr. Death]

I appreciate that point but, at the end of the day you still have a full wizard answering phones.  That’s odd.

They're also short-staffed in general, especially with the war on.

At the weekly paper I worked at, I was the News Editor, just one step down from the Managing Editor that ran the whole office we worked out of.

But guess who the main number got routed to after the receptionist left for a better job.

[Kindler]

@g33k: That WoJ is here: http://wordof.jim-butcher.com/index.php/word-of-jim-woj-compilation/woj-on-magic-in-the-dresden-files-part-2/
(Ctrl+F "Ancient" will bring you right to it).

Mai is not a combat wizard. Neither is Rashid, by implication of an additional WoJ (later on that same page). The only real magical brawler on the SC seems to be Ebenezer; everyone else's power lies in Knowing Things (including where to stand when stuff is about to go boom, I assume).

[Mr. Death]

The only real magical brawler on the SC seems to be Ebenezer; everyone else's power lies in Knowing Things (including where to stand when stuff is about to go boom, I assume).

I feel like Wizard Joseph "I Can Turn Into A Giant Bear And Kick A Skinwalker's Ass Up Between His Ears" Listens-to-Wind should also be counted among the brawler ranks.

[Bad Alias]

I imagine that Senior Council wizards can "Kick Some Ass Up Between Some Ears" without being a brawler. Injun Joe, for example, might not have a lot of "combat" magic, but turning into a grizzly is going to win a lot of fights anyway. Additionally, his knowledge of genus loci was sufficient for the White Council to win the day, and that definitely wasn't "combat" magic. My point is that a lot can be useful in combat that has nothing to do with direct action.

Didn't find the one about the Gatekeeper, but he did manage to nearly take out Harry and his entire party in one shot in Turn Coat.

[Kindler]

Yeah, Gatekeeper sent them all to sleep, right? Even more impressive since they were on a boat (surrounded by running water, basically). It wasn't very far, but still.

I label "brawlers" wizards who would win in a one-on-one magical slugfest against Harry. Luccio (at least Original Luccio), Morgan, Ebenezer, Gatekeeper, Cowl, and probably the Merlin would certainly kick Harry's ass. That doesn't mean the others wouldn't win, I just think they'd probably not do it by tossing fire around.