Greetings fellow Praetorians, this is report #26 12/17/04

EH Homepage: http://www.emperorshammer.org/
TC Homepage: http://www.ehtiecorps.org/
Intel Homepage: http://intel.minos.net/
Intel Division Manual: http://intelmanual.minos.net/
Intel Division, Academy of Tactics: http://www.minos.net/~rebelkiller/
IWATS: http://www.ehtiecorps.org/iwats.asp
Praetorian Homepage: http://praetorian.rawx.net/
Praetorian Message Board: http://www.ehnet.org/mb/viewforum.php?f=112
EH Battle Compendium: http://www.ehtiecorps.org/battles/
The Science Office: http://www.minos.net/~sco/

News:
First of all congradulations to our own Deimos & Drak on their promotions to Major. FA Cyric was kind enough to grant my requests for you two. We no longer have any Captains in Prae now;p.

the run-on seems to have died and is dead on it's feet?! come on guys, show some effort here for former SDIR Jorddyn (Ice she threatened to shave your ears off about this too!) ;D.

think up some new motto's for flight one & two:
you all might want to start thinking about future comps, I'd like to arrange some large scale operations in the new year too;p. - all glory to Prae;p.

perhaps these old motto's can give you some inspiration?!
from the Prae site circa 2000':
flight 1 "Death comes in many forms..."
flight 2 "We will take you to hell and back..."
flight 3 "Force and terror acomplish that which reason and understanding cannot"

updated TIE Praetor description for the Fleet Manual (by LC Saris):
Created by Shadow Works under a secret contract with the Supreme Director of
Imperial Intelligence, the TIE Praetor is essentially an up-modded TIE
Advanced. While the specifics of its operational systems remain classified;
it is publicly known that the TIE Praetor is armed with two chin-mounted ion
cannons in addition to the standard 4 laser cannons in the wingtips. The
Praetor's hyperdrive and nav. computer are significantly modified, allowing
the craft to operate at extreme distances from its mothership without any
support. Its solid black hull coating makes the craft difficult to see and
detect on sensors. This, coupled with a comprehensive sensor suite enables
the Praetor to conduct reconaissance and inspection missions with ease. TIE
Corps pilots lucky enough to see the legendary Praetorian Squadron in action
say that the TIE is blindingly fast, and the few New Republic pilots that
have escaped death at the hands of Praetorian Squadron report being haunted
for months by the eerie red glow emitted from the TIE Praetor's special
interior lighting.

FA Cyric has begun several comps for the holidays: (lets go win a few IS's if we can) ; )

Tie Corps Christmas Holiday Bash (competition ID #1655)
You can view the competition's details at http://www.ehtiecorps.org/competitions/details.asp?ID=1655

&


Tie Corps Christmas Holidays Jingle (competition ID #1654)
You can view the competition's details at http://www.ehtiecorps.org/competitions/details.asp?ID=1654

several new battles & missions were released by the TAC office: XvT-TC103, XvT-TC104, FXWA114 & FXWA115. (a nice set- FXWA114 features us Prae's too!);p.

Flight Deck:
I'm going to post notices of bugged battles/missions here so nobody wastes their time attemting to fly the incompletable/impossible;p.
XWA-FCHG4 (mission 4 is bugged)- I've reported this to GN Master.
BoP-ID1 (mission 4 is incompletable)- I've reported this to VA Styles
XvT-TC#11... Mission 7 is completable (barely) but still horribly bugged (this just in from MAJ Dolsar Saris a few weeks ago).
and these new FXWA bug reports in from CPT Deimos this week:
XWA Free 25 -> There are not enough points to
match the current high score. I have tried all
difficulty settings, and the best score is only
about half the HS.

XWA Free 26 -> Not only is this mission rather
demanding, but the problem is in the escape buoy:
it is present for only a fraction of a second,
and it doesn't work, meaning the player is stuck
in region #2 and cannot finnish the mission.
I have tried this one on 'hard' only because it
takes a lot of time to finish. I can try playing
it on other settings, but somehow I (GN Master is working on fixing this one).

XWA Free 97 -> There is nothing to do but inspect
the 'exit buoy.' If that mission was supposed to
be a maze, I found myself flying outside of it.
This means the best (and only) score that I can
make is 250 points. I played that one on 'hard'
only.

I encourage the rest of Prae to participate in this section- send in info on known bugged battles/missions of all platforms.

Orders:
-Monthly flying requirements will be implemented after New Year's in January: It'll be a mandatory requirement to fly at least one battle or four free missions a month, I will allow you to fly MP matches in place of the missions if you wish (I'm easy to work with after all);p.
-Help create some Praetorian Trivia questions for AD Aseret the SDIR! (As needs some Prae related trivia for an ID comp- any help would be apreciated).

-Praetorian Trivia round III answers & results:
1. Mara Jade infiltrated Jabba's palace in the hopes of assassinating Luke Skywalker, what alias did she use? Arica.

2. Of all the inhabitants of Jabba's palace, this Chevin was an actual; friend of Jabba's. Who was this? Ephant Mon.

3. Where is the element Malium located? the planet Cerea.

4. Who hid the protoype Eidolon Strike-class cruiser on Tatooine? Sate Pestage.

5. Targeter is an alias of who? Winter.

6. This Shyriiwook word is used as a prefix to many Wookie names. It translates into basic as "gree", "Beautiful" or "
"valued" and is combined with one or more suffixes to form a complete Wookie name. What is this word? Malla

7. This Shyriiwook word is used as the suffix to many Wookiee names. It translates into Basic as "music" or "singer".
It can be attached to a prefix by itself, or combined with other suffixes to form a complete Wookiee name.
What is this word? tobuck

8. What does this phrase mean? "Tee ava un puffee lumpa?" this Huttese question literally meant "Is there a smoking section here?"

9. What does Waroo mean? "son of courage."

10. Waroopa is a common name among the what species race. Whipid.

participation results:
COL Morgan had 21/30 correct (good work, Morgan)
MAJ Evo Sarnojk had 17/30 correct (great work this round Evo)

COL Morgan has won this round of Praetorian Trivia earning himself a new IS-BR & the honor of hosting the next trivia comp;p.

-RECRUIT, our numbers are dwindling fast, remember our requirements for being accepted to take the Prae trials are the rank of LCM with 400 FCHG; however, for a full status Prae it's still CM with at least 500 FCHG.
http://praetorian.rawx.net/join.php (the only exception to this rule I'm allowing is former Prae's who served more than three months; however, they must still have the min required FCHG of 500). We are elite after all.

-work on improving your own personal FCHG levels- remember we do have a few squadron specific rewards related to this! ;p.

For every 10 squadron citations you earn for Prae I will recommend you for a ISM.

current citations listings:
LC Malik 16 citations
COL Frodo 1 citation
CPT Deimos 1 citation
CPT Drak 5 citations
MAJ Chris Cox 1 citation
COL Morgan 1 citation
LC Dolsar Saris 2 citations
MAJ Evo Sarnok 7 citations

current citation assignments:
(1-1)LC Abel Malik = TIE-TC 31, TIE-TC 32, TIE-TC 34, TIE-TC 38, TIE-TC 40, TIE-TC 42,

(1-2)COL Frodo March = n/a, fly what you want to.

(1-4)MAJ Deimos = n/a the only XWA battle left is the bugged XWA-FCHG4. fly whatever you feel like.

(2-1)MAJ Drak = XWA-DB 4, TIE-TC 11, TIE-TC 33, TIE-TC 36, TIE-TC 50,

(2-2)GN Andrzej Mezynski = TIE-TC 133, XvT-TC 7, XvT-TC 8, XvT-TC 9, XvT-TC 10,

(2-3)MAJ Chris Cox = TIE-TC 4, TIE-TC 6, TIE-TC 10, TIE-TC 13, TIE-TC 14,

(3-1)LC Dolsar Saris = XvT-TC 27, XvT-TC 32, XvT-TC 55, XvT-TC 56,

(3-2)COL Benjamin Jahou Morgan = TIE-TC 48, XvT-TC 12, XvT-TC 14, XvT-TC 15, XvT-TC 16,

(3-3)MAJ Evo Sarnok = TIE-TC 78, TIE-TC 171, TIE-TC 185, TIE-DB 15, XvT-TC 28,

These assignments will earn some citations (I'm aproximating since this citeboard program is about as useless as a vibroblade in a lightsaber duel);p.

Only one Prae needs to complete the following battles in order to gain a squadron citation:
TIE-TC 78
TIE-DB 15
XvT-TC 17
XvT-TC 28
XvT-TC 33
XvT-TC 39
XvT-TC 45
XvT-TC 47
XvT-IW 10
XWA-TC 34
XWA-TC 36
XWA-IW 7
XWA-IW 8
XWA-DB 3


Prae Activity:

AD Gelton Torr- "Soulforged"- mIrc activity

LC Malik "Irek"- CMDR stuff, flew TIE-TC25, TIE-TC39, TIE-TC40 this report, e-group, e-mail & mIrc activity.


COL Frodo March "Frothy"- Frodo's experiencing some technical difficulties, hopefully he will have his pc back to normal soon! e-group, e-mail & mIrc activity.

MAJ Deimos- Communications activity. e-group & e-mail activity.

MAJ Drak "Drak" - flew TIE-TC39, XvT-TC69 & FXvT30. e-mail, e-group & mIrc activity.

GN Andrzej Mezynski "Ice"- Communications activity. e-group & mIrc activity.

MAJ Chris Cox - no contact? let me know what's going on with you CC.

LC Dolsar Saris "Black Sheep"- flew XvT-TC41 & XvT-TC45, went on holiday leave. e-group, e-mail & mIrc activity.

COL Morgan "Ballabal"- participated in round III of Praetorian Trivia. e-group & e-mail activity.

MAJ Evo Sarnok "Raven"- Evo's having some XvT simulator problems (technical difficulties with XvT), which I hope will be resolved soon, he participated in round III of Praetorian Trivia answering all of the questions correctly. e-group, e-mail & mIrc activity.

Competitions:

Participate in FA Cyric's comps.
Participate in Intel meeting trivia Sunday if you can attend, trivia is held every week and PoC's (usually a PoC gl for 1st, PoC-sl for 2nd & PoC-bl for 3rd) are offered to the top 3 trivia participants. Most likely the trivia is held by VA Scrier, on occasion CPT Mandalore (aka Slowbacca) will host the comp.


Transfers:
n/a this week

Medals/Awards/promotions:
Deimos was promoted to the rank of Major (MAJ)
Drak was promoted to the rank of Major (MAJ)
MAJ Deimos received a Praeorian Brotherhood promotion (classified info)
COL Morgan recieved a Praetorian Brotherhood promotion (classified info- if you have to ask you'll never know;p.)
LC Saris gained command of flight three (the FL spot)

Praetorian Roster:

FLIGHT I - TIE PRAETOR
Nickname: Styx Flight
Motto: ?
1) LC Abel Malik (ezwill@famvid.com)
2) COL Frodo March (fcjt914@yahoo.ca)
3) TBA
4) MAJ Deimos (deimos_001@yahoo.com)

FLIGHT II - TIE PRAETOR
Nickname: Charon Flight
Motto: ?
1) MAJ Drak (drak18_uk@yahoo.com)
2) GN Andrzej Mezynski (morgoth@op.pl)
3) MAJ Chris Cox (dodgygeeza98@hotmail.com)
4) TBA aka the Traitors spot (ask Frodo this is kind of a TAC related joke);p.

FLIGHT III - TIE PRAETOR
Nickname: Hades Flight
Motto: "And lo I saw a pale horse, its' rider was Death, and hell followed with
him."
1) LC Dolsar Saris (darkfinn@hotmail.com)
2) COL Benjamin Jahou Morgan (w.j.aigner@netway.at)
3) MAJ Evo Sarnok (mmilli_esq@hotmail.com)
4) TBA

Squadron Citations: up to 123 citations (up 2 from last week).

Optional: (Prae history tutorial this week);p.

Praetorian Squadron

Introduction


Prepared in conjunction with the Logistics Office's overall historical project for the Emperor's Hammer, this is the semi-official history of Praetorian Squadron. Assigned to the DGN Lichtor V, Praetorian is one of four elite squadrons in the TIE Corps, as well as the leading fighter element of the Intelligence Division's fleet arm. This document attempts, however imperfectly, to capture and record this history for future pilots and leaders in the EH.
Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt (Everywhere that Right and Glory Lead). This is the motto of Praetorian, and throughout the years it has lived up to that dramatic motto. Through its actions, Praetorian has built a reputation for excellence that may be unrivaled in the TIE Corps. 'Deeds, not Words' would be another fine motto for Praetorian. Flying one of the most advanced fighters in the Corps, the TIE Praetor, Praetorian Squadron has, through very selective membership and rigid standards, maintained a consistent level of performance that many Wings cannot equal.
A project of this magnitude could not have been accomplished by one person. Thus, I would like to thank all those who contributed so unselfishly of their knowledge, expertise, and records. Chief among these is CPT Darksaber (now AD Darksaber), who was kind enough to go through his large archive of Praetorian e-mail and forward some excellent tidbits.
I should also mention that any errors in this document are the responsibility of the author alone. Persons with corrections are urged to contact either the author or the Logistics Office.

CMDR-LOA/Commander Krax Tarnisar, commanding Spear Squadron, Wing IX, ISD Relentless


Praetorian Organization

General Overview
Like other elite squadrons, Praetorian Squadron is centered around three flights of four fighters each. This gives the squadron a total strength of twelve fighters, all piloted by the pick of the available pilots in the Intelligence Division.
Elite squadrons are different from other squadrons in the TIE Corps in that membership is by invitation only. They tend to be composed of the best pilots of a particular segment of the fleet. In the case of Praetorian, it is the Intelligence Division that provides pilots for Praetorian. It is the fleet combat arm of the Intelligence Division, and as such takes part in many covert operations in addition to normal patrol duties.

Command and Control
The differences between a line squadron and an elite squadron become most clear in the command structure. A line squadron is typically commanded by a Commander, and will not be led by an officer above the rank of Colonel. This distinction vanishes with the elite squadrons, where commanders can be up to General in rank. Since membership is by invitation only, the average flight member and flight leader ranks tend to be higher as well.

Squadron Types and Missions
As Praetorian is a single squadron, composed of the usual three flights of four fighters each, there is little to say regarding the type of squadron. As an elite squadron it is more or less exempt from specific mission types, and is used as its parent organization (in this case the SDIR) sees fit. Equipped with the special TIE Praetor, Praetorian Squadron is a strong strike force, as well as an excellent covert mission unit. Its operational uses remain, for the most part, under the highest security classifications. For public purposes, they are declared as Special Operations and the SDIR's Escort.

Conclusion
It is difficult to make generalized conclusions about any of the elite squadrons. In the case of Praetorian, its service speaks for itself. With a list of battle citations that would make any wing jealous, Praetorian is highly active and motivated. How it came to be perhaps the premiere squadron in the entire fleet is examined in the next section.


Praetorian History

Praetorian Squadron is Formed
Praetorian Squadron came into existence at a time when the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet was growing by leaps and bounds. New Star Destroyers and their attendant fighter wings were being commissioned into the fleet, the Phare System had just been conquered, and new capabilities were being developed for fleet elements on what seemed to be a daily rate. One of these new additions was the creation of an elite squadron that would operate in conjunction with the Intelligence Division.
The first actual mention of Praetorian Squadron in the official records can be found in the Emperor's Hammer newsletter from July 1996 (issue #34). This issue contains the first roster of Praetorian, which shows that the squadron contained only two assigned pilots (a copy of this roster is in the Appendix). At the same time a number of other special operations squadrons were created within the Intelligence Division's Naval Corps (the squadrons of Vision and Sonic Wings), but it is Praetorian which concerns us now.
By Issue 36 (Oct. 1996) of The Dark Sentinel, Praetorian Squadron was almost full. It still lacked a commander, but it contained more pilots than the three other squadrons in the ID's Naval Corps combined. Already Praetorian was well on its way to cementing its elite status and becoming one of the proudest units in the fleet.


The Middle Years
Like many of the TIE Corps units, there are gaps in Praetorian's history. In this case, the period between late 1996 and mid-1999 is missing. Hopefully later editions of this history will be able to fill these puzzling and frustrating gaps.
Praetorian was obviously active, and many of its squadron traditions and operating methods most likely date from this period.

Maturity
There comes a time in the 'life' of all military units when they reach maturity; that is, their organization stabilizes, their methods and policies become firmly entrenched, and they develop a mystique all their own. By 1999, Praetorian Squadron was definitely a mature unit.
As an elite squadron, Praetorian was allowed to select its own members. This insured that only the best, most-motivated pilots would join Praetorian. But such pilots required good leaders. Officers with superb piloting skills and outstanding leadership qualities. It was Praetorian's good fortune to be favored with a succession of fine leaders.
One of the traditions followed by Praetorian, and one that may be worthy of consideration by other squadrons, is the Praetorian Merit System. This is, quite simply, a points system used and published by Praetorian's squadron commanders to ensure that medals are awarded on an equitable basis. For example, flying a Free Mission may be worth one merit point, a Battle from two to four, and so on. Merit points may then be converted into medals, with the point totals resetting after a predetermined time. This system allows pilots to compare their activity at a glance. A copy of the merit system from mid-2000 is abstracted in the Appendix for command reference.
Another of Praetorian's strong traditions is the earning of citations for flying TC battles. In examining e-mail records from mid-1999 through 2000, evidence was uncovered of a number of 'Operations' aimed squarely at amassing more citations. One example of this, from June 2000, was 'Operation Sneak Attack,' which the incoming squadron commander (CM Zorn Starn) praised as bringing Praetorian's citation count up to 62.
In this same e-mail, CM Starn also initiated another Praetorian requirement that may be of use to other squadrons: the mid-week report. This is simply an expanded check-in e-mail message that he requires of all squadron pilots. It announces what the pilot has done during the week, as well as his plans for the upcoming week, and is also abstracted in the Appendix. This high level of organized communication is another of Praetorian's hallmarks.
Praetorian, wisely, does not restrict its activity to flying. A competition within the squadron, first mentioned on July 1, 2000, required pilots to take as many IWATS courses as possible within a set time, the winner to be awarded an ISM.
Another interesting tidbit can be found in the Appendix. In an e-mail from the end of 2000, Major Jedgar of Praetorian published a statistical comparison of Praetorian and the other squadrons and wings of the TC fleet. It shows Praetorian with 183 citations, well ahead of the other elite squadrons, and with a FCHG average above some wings. This is a truly impressive testimony to the ability of Praetorian.
Another thing that sets Praetorian apart is a high level of command involvement from the DGN Lichtor V. One example will suffice: the launching of Operation Vigilance by COM-TCHC/RA Weasel at the end of August 2000. Operation Vigilance was intended to recover citations lost when pilots left Praetorian, and included the assigning of TC battles 40-80. By that time Weasel seems to have been acting as Praetorian's commander, but there is still a strong indication of interest in Praetorian's operations at a higher level.

Praetorian's history is still being created, with new elite officers coming in to replace those who have moved on to other assignments or gone to the Reserves. But there are a number of lessons that can be gleened from this elite unit and deserve wider attention within the Fleet. Through its performance and dedication to duty, Praetorian has become the standard-bearer for the ID's fleet arm, as well as the TIE Corps as a whole.

And we are a proud part of this history if anyone wishes to fill in more details feel free to help out there.

This concludes our report for this week.

In Respect, LC Malik Praetorian CMDR. Quo Fas Et Gloria Ducunt (Where ever Right and Glory Lead)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CMDR-TCHC-TCS/LC Abel Malik/Praetorian/DGN Lichtor V
[SSx4/BSx11/PCx10/ISMx15/IS-5BW-6BR-3SW-4SR-3GW-6GR/LoC-CSx5-Rx3/CoL/CoB/LoAx65/OV-3E][TMPR]
[GMoF][FoEWx2][MoAx2][ISC][CSMx3][PoC-gl-slx5-blx3-rlx2][OE][AoT-SPAG]
{IWATS-AIM-CBX-FZ-GFX-IBX-ICQ-IIc/1/2-M/1/2-MP-SM/2/3-TACS-WPN}
[TIE Praetor: Severence]
"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads & empty hearts can do that."

BTM/SBM Abel Malik/Black Omega/Ronin/Alvaak; P:DGM
GC/SCx2/SEx6/DCx12/BNx6/CR-2D-3R-3A-7S-3E-2T/CF-Rx1/LSSx2/DSSx31/CoL/OV
{SA-ESET-ISET-LDR-OBELISK-SFT-SITH}
Don't be all down on the darkside, y'know what I mean? ;p.