Rebel Squadrons

SotRS, 1.31.2009

By FA Sienn "The Rot" Sconn
Unit: The Rebel Squadrons
SotRS, Jan 31, 2009
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Well...okay, I've never written one of these before, so I hope you'll all bear with me. In addition to that, a fun fact; it's not the greatest thing in the world to vomit all over yourself during a work day and then get sent home to try to like...get better. Sleeping for almost 20 hours straight is pretty cool though.

Anyway, without any further ado:

I. Division News
II. Executive Staff News
III. In the Works...
IV. Job Openings/Postings
V. Personal Thoughts/Closing

I. Division News!

First, this is going to be minus the input from the Redemption Fleet, as RFCO Markus Jarnhann is currently residing in a Federal Disaster Area due to an ice storm. He's been without power for the better part of the week now, but I heard some good news from him this afternoon -- he's managed to get a generator working to power his freezer and is planning to hook his TV up later tonight, so at least he'll be able to watch the Super Bowl.

From Spokes, Castor and the PSG:
The PSG had more than 50% of its Pilots report on RS 2.01x and expects to have an increased turnout on RS 2.02x, which is being tested now.

We will be launching the separate PSG ITODs on both the X-Wing and TIE platforms this week and expect that these two Narrative-driven TODs will both increase activity and increase our numbers. These TODs are loosely based on the Grey Squadron Tours and Admiral Castor Efrata-Landis has pulled the addresses from all former members and is sending the opening Narratives for the TOD to them to spark some interest and get them back in the cockpit.

If any current member of the RS who remembers, or has heard of, Grey Squadron, then now is the time to return to your roots! Dust off these old games and join us on our campaign through the stars

From Kirghy and his VSG Command Staff:
The VSG has finished RS 202, and is currently waiting for 203 which is being playtested as we speak, as far as I know. As mentioned in a previous brief to the Rebel Squadrons, BGN Galic Mars has retired from the Rebel Squadrons, and his XO spot has been filled by LGN Chris Horn, AKA Kicks. Finally, on the squadron level, COL Jcmcgoo has taken over as acting Phalcun Squadron CO, and Kirghy is currently accepting applications for this position.

And from Michael Raven and my own home division, the ABG:

1. Great activity, just finished a 40ish hour long leg of the Unholy Alliance campaign, resulting in the death of Darth Raptus, a foil of the ABG for two years; and opening up the potential climax for the campaign as a whole.

2. New and returning members/GMs. Fiona makes full GM, Rhuryc comes back, Kyle Tobarn and Patrick Blastfire return from the grave to participate.

3. New Jedi update coming up with various other new balances/cool fixes/etc.

4. Multiple new systems in the works such as Shields (The physical ones), Droid PCs, and a solid non-overpowering version of Lightsaber Forms.

5. High member turnout for all ABG events, including the ABG raffle, and now MULTIPLE daily character sims for the past week.

6. The ABG CS is constantly working on new ways to improve the simming experience for all of our members and make the ABG a fun place to be.

On a personal note, if anyone sees anything in this division news that piques your interest, I recommend you get in touch with a member of the division or the command staff and ask a few questions, at the very least. If nothing else, you'll get some exposure to another unit of the RS, and if it seems like something you might want to participate in, it never hurts to find out a little more about what other groups here do.

II. Executive Staff News
There's been a lot happening on the Executive Staff front. We've established a mailing list for the RS Execs to have general discussion and bounce ideas off of each other, as well as for the RS Command Staff to be able to quickly get in touch with the relevant departments. I've ceded Logistics and Recruiting to Kirghy's purview, as he seems to have an interest in working with these executive offices and I don't mind the help at all. Galic's resignation lead to an overhaul in the Academy Command staff, and Eric Reagan is currently looking for instructors and an academy SO. The TacOps group has been a flurry of activity, working on the next set of missions for the RSTOD, and I've been trying to dive in headfirst, despite an obvious and demonstrated lack of...well, any ability to build missions whatsoever. Kirghy and I will be working on providing the outlines for the next few missions until a Logistics Officer is appointed, which leads me to my next point. I've been reviewing several applications and hope to have a choice made shortly. Meanwhile, the Council of Justice with newly confirmed Minister or Justice FA Dave Trebonious-Astoris has also been doing a lot of work; the CoJ proper has begun work on a "how-to" guide to the CoJ -- hopefully a resource for RS members to better understand the role of the CoJ and which cases should be referred thusly, as well as the primary Chain of Command and general FAQs. In addition that that, the CoJ members and others on the Judicial Review Taskforce have been discussing some possible changes and clarifications to section 5 of the RS bylaws, as well as more clearly defining the role of the Council of Justice. Former RSFC Sector Admiral Super has agreed to serve as RS Historical Officer and has been making periodic wiki updates as his personal life allows.

III. In the Works...
As previously mentioned, there are some bylaw revisions being looked at, specifically sections 3 and 5 of the RS bylaws. In addition, we've been looking at a new proposal regarding the early ranks from LJG to COL written by former RSFC Licah Fox, and hope to have that worked out for some kind of presentable proposal to HC sometime in the month of February. I'll be working closely with the Operations Office to bring some inter-RS competitions to the fleet, and there's discussion on the RS Execs group about making it easier for RS members with non SW-related gaming interests to get in touch with each other and play some games.

IV. Job Openings/Postings
I am still accepting applications for the Logistics Officer position, despite working through an interview process with a few applicant who seem promising.

As previously mentioned, the RS Academy is looking for a new Second Officer as well as more instructors. I would encourage people to apply to BGN Eric Reagan -- the Academy is our primary means of retaining new members and integrating them into the RS as a whole, and serving as an instructor is a great way to get RS leadership experience as well as providing vital assistance to the club.

Super has mentioned that he wouldn't mind sheparding some assistant Historical Officers if there are any in the club who feel so inclined.

Finally, some support positions that may not be glamourous, but are vital to the day-to-day functioning of the club. We're always looking for mission builders, and many of the current TacOps builders are definitely feeling the strain of keeping our fictional missions coming out in a timely manner. If you're worried about your ability to craft missions, I know that at least with XvT, Heavy D has written a comprehensive instruction course that could teach someone even as technologically inept as me.

In addition, it's come to my attention that the IO staff could perhaps use some assistance on the coding front -- if you've got experience with PHP, I encourage you to apply.

All of these jobs can be applied for at the RS Jobs Database (or by contacting me): http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/jobs/

V. Personal Thoughts/Closing

This job is more overwhelming than anything I've done in the RS before, but I do feel, even after just one month, that it comes with a lot of reward to it as well. I'm very much encouraged by the discussion on HC, the RS Execs list and the TacOps group, as well as the assistance I've been receiving from former RSFCs and other longtime members as part of taskforces and bylaw discussion groups. On the other hand, I do feel somewhat compelled to address an issue of RS general membership. Looking over the rosters, it's...very obvious that the club itself is not as large as it once was, and it does seem like a lot of the work is being done by a lot of the same people. While I have no issues with competence of any of our staff, I guess what I'm trying to get at is that if we want to keep making progress forward and to continue having worthwhile and fun experiences here, we all need to step up and make investments in the future of this club. RS and Division Command Staffs and Executive Officers can't do the work they do without assistance, and I don't mean that everyone needs to start building missions and writing code. Something as small as an hour or two of work with academy cadets can have far reaching impacts on the lifeblood of the RS. Volunteering to write a narrative or two for the RS storyline is something one person can do that many people can enjoy. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I joined this club to have fun, and to have as much of it as possible. In recent years, I've had to scale back some activities, and my focus has shifted more from having my own fun to attempting to heighten the experience for other people. But...for those of you out there wondering what else you can do, man...grab your RS experience by the horns and go for it. Sit in on an ABG Sim and just observe what they do. Got an idea for something goofy? Grab the Operations Officer and propose a competition. Small bumps in activity create ripples that can enrich our overall experience, and I can personally say that I'll be doing everything I know how to do to keep the wave of fun going. I'd just like to encourage y'all to grab your boards and drop in.

Also, one other thing...I've been documenting my FC activity at blogs.rebelsquadrons.org/amsconn/ ...so...if you're ever wondering what's going on, feel free to check it out.

I don't have any inspirational quote to close my first SotRS out with, so...I'm just going to end it. Thanks for reading, and thanks for your continuing support.

-RA Sienn Sconn
RSFC

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