Wing IX Report #26 From the desk of Colonel Rejili Holthaus...

FLEET NEWS
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1. WEEKLY NEWS ITEM OF THE WEEK THAT'S COMPLETELY INCONSEQUENTIAL AND UNIMPORTANT BUT IT HELPS FILL UP A REPORT
Sov forces will face of against the ATF in turn 5 of Imperial Storm. Hopefully they will both destroy each other, and we'll be able to pick up the pieces.

2. TOKEN TACTICAL OFFICE NEWS ITEM OF THE WEEK TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE WE ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT THEM
XWA-FREEs are up to 120, so those of you who've already flown the compendium have something to look forward to ;P

3. NEW IWATS COURSE
The TAC office released its new mission creation IWATS course, so for the mission creators in the wing it should be some easy activity!



WING NEWS
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1. WC ON LEAVE
I will be on leave from the 6th until the 14th of June. La'an will be the A:WC, so all CMDR BSFs should go through La'an to Oldham, so that we have some records when I get back. LCM Saul Rostek will continue to be the A:CMDR of Crossbow until I return. I won't have any email access at all, so if there is something urgent, take it to La'an, or up the chain of command if you have to.

2. CROSSBOW CMDR OPEN TO APPLICATIONS
All apps MUST be in by the 13th to be considered. Please list experience, plans for future squadron activities, how you plan to improve the squadron, recruitment, etc.

3. RECRUIT!
We need more active pilots!! Do your part and rope someone in with promises of loot and women!

4. DAN MALAKTOS SPOTTED ON IRC
That's right, the infamous qoute master Dan Malaktos has been frequenting the #ISD_Relentless IRC channel. Go there, talk to him, and meet a piece of history :P

5. WELCOME NEW PILOTS!!
We have three new pilots in the wing, *LCM* Crevent Thrawn, LT Thomas Allum, and CM Aragorn. Welcome to everyone, you couldn't have picked a better time to join.

6. IMPERIAL STORM UNDERWAY
See above for general IS news. So far no new missions for the TCBG, but hopefully that will change soon. (Otherwise it looks like we're going to lose... :P)


7. ZEKE FREEMAN EXPELLED
The man whacked another one of our pilots, and dealt a crushing blow to Crossbow. A very big thanks to Saul for volunteering to fill in as A:CMDR, he's done a good job so far.


8. WING COMPS STILL RUNNING...
-Recruitment Banner Comp: make a banner (or better yet, template) that I can use to send recruitment emails. We want to take our recruiting to the next level, and I think sending flashy recruitment emails with some GFX can help. The rules are: keep it appropriate, try to have a "strength in unity" theme, and most of all KEEP THE SIZES SMALL. I'll get in trouble if I spam people with very large files :P

-Email Wars: This is a comp to stimulate communications. Most points at the end of may wins. You get points by: 3 points for starting a new thread over the wing group, 2 for starting one over the squad group. These emails should be at least a paragraph, and have some substance. 1 point per reply to any of these emails. 2 points for starting a new (substantive) thread on the Wing message board, 1 point per reply. 1/2 point every time I (randomly) see you talking on IRC. If I've left out any comm forms, let me know, and I'll come up with points for them.


9. FREE WEB HOSTING
Mell has agreed to give all our squadrons free hosting on tcbg.net. CMDRs who have not yet contacted me about this, please do so. Also, remember that you may have to bug Mell a little bit, he's been kinda slow to reply to things lately :P

10. WEEKLY ACTIVITY
I want to see stuff I can submit to the EH newsletter to promote Wing IX. Each submission get's you a medal in and of itself, plus I'll offer ISM/PC if you send me enough stuff to merit it. This is something easy to do, the newsletter will publish just about anything, so let's get out there and make ourselves known.

11. ATTENTION FMs AND FLs!
I noticed on this round of MSEs that some pilots didn't have all their activity accounted for. Your CMDR keeps track of activity, but you can't expect them to know every little thing you do. When I start saying it's MSE time, I want you guys to send a report of your activity for the month to your CMDRs. This is more for you then for me, because if you tell us things that you've done which we haven't recorded, you're more likely to get better medals and rewards.


12. DRINK OF THE WEEK
Straight from the bar of the Stardrifter Lounge, and personally tested and approved by Lieutenant Colonel Rejili Holthaus, this week's serving suggestion ...

Get your sex thang' ready


Liqueur, banana 1/2 oz.
Rum, mango (Mount Gay) 3/4 oz.
Rum, orange (Bacardi O) 3/4 oz.
Pineapple Juice 1 splash



Mixing Instructions
Fill a glass with ice and add 3/4 oz. Mount Gay Mango Rum, 3/4 oz. Bacardi O, 1/2 oz. banana liqueur and fill with pineapple juice. Garnish with a flag.




THE WING IX MORALE OFFICE
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A Rant from the Desk of Colonel Steve the Cricket Bat ...


Leadership and the Death of Common Sense. (This is not directed at anyone on the Rel, it's just something that has been nagging me IRL that could be applied if needed to the TC.)

I'm sitting at my desk right now and reflecting on the day. I think about all the smart people I work with, but they all seem intellectually challenged to me. These people are brilliant, too. They have some of the highest test scores in the military, but you would never know that by talking to them. Why? Simply because they lack common sense. An effective leader must have common sense. Don't over-task your pilots if you know they don't have the time to complete a task. Sure, there are the exceptional few of us that can spare a lot of time. I used to be one of them, but however due to extenuating circumstances I can no longer participate to my full capacity. Does that mean give up and never send in an email? No, it means participate when you can, and do not be so hard on yourself. Also, to be an effective leader, don't be afraid to delegate authority. Sure honorary CMDR is nice, but give them a say in things, it will give people a reason to participate, and a reason to like you. And most importantly, do not be afraid to sacrifice pride if you are wrong. I've seen it too much where I'm at. People not willing to help out others because they have too much pride, and they know they are "right." And most importantly, use common sense in combat. If you think it has a chance, try it. If it's freakin outrageous, it will probably get you dead quick. Fly smart and play hard.

Col. Steve the Cricket Bat
c/o COL Tomax Drachen

ACTIVITY
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94 mission(s) flown
8 IWAT(S) passed!!
8 WSR's issued
2 Competitions Processed
4 High Scores

A decent two weeks. We lost two pilots, but picked up three new ones. Not only that, but a lot of the IWATS passed this week we're by the new guys, so kudos to them, keep it up. I'll be on leave, so I'm expecting a slow week next week, but remember to keep in shape for Imp Storm, we could have a battle comming up. Crossbow will be open for apps until I get back, at which point I hope to put the new CMDR in place. I'm proud of the work you guys did this month, and I'm right about to go write it up in the MWE!

POSTINGS AND PROMOTIONS
------------------------------------------
LCM Klyn Shanga to Hammer 3-2
CM Fahrer to Hammer 2-1
CPT Hermann to Hammer 3-1
SL Thomas Allum to Sword 2-2
SL Thomas Allum promoted to LT
LCM Crevent Thrawn to Sword 1-3
CM Aragorn to Shield 1-3


AWARDS
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Squadron of the Week: Hammer
Pilot of the Week: LCM Crevent Thrawn
IS-BR to MAJ Powerslave
IS-BRx2 to LCM Jonas La'an



COMPETITIONS
------------------------
Imperial Storm
Wing IX recruitment banner comp
Wing IX email wars



STANDING ORDERS
-------------------------------

-ALL MEMBERS-

Contact
All members are expected to remain active. Firstly, all members of the Wing will make contact with their direct superior whenever possible. However, a period of longer than a fortnight without contact and a declared LoA will result in the start of the AWOL timer. A further 3 weeks without contact will lead to transfer to the RSV’s. All such contact must be made by e-mail, to allow easy tracking of contact. This is the very bare minimum to be considered active in Wing IX. This contact should be made regardless of whether a pilot flies every day, or merely checks his/her e-mails every week



If you intend to be off of the internet for more then (5) days, email your Commander and let him or her know as a common courtesy. If you are taking a Leave of Abscense more then ten (10) days, notify your Commander -AND- the Wing Commander via email.



Activity

I view activity as essential to the continued wellbeing of this ship, and a requirement of every one of you. Forms of official activity are listed below.



Flying – This is an XWA Vessel, but all platforms constitute flight activity

MP – Freeworlds, and other MP Platforms will be recognised as long as evidence is provided

MB – All posts count as activity, as long as they are made on official EH boards

E-Mail – Contact with CMDR’s on a daily-fortnightly basis is a prerequisite, and the minimum activity required

Uniform Update – Not frequent, but clearly shows a pilot has been active in editing their uniform

Competitions – Expected from every pilot, participation in competitions is essential

IRC/MSN – Counts as contact with CMDR and upwards

IWATS – Obviously activity

Miscellaneous – Graphics, fictions, newsletter submissions etc. All count as activity



All these cover a wide range of activities, each with its own time and skill requirements. However, they all count toward activity – the more of these you are involved in, the more active you are – reflected in MSE’s and the continued existence of the ISD Relentless.


-COMPETITIONS-
-Any pilot of the Wing may personally submit comps as Squad or Wing comps, to include on their personal record, providing that:
--If a squad comp, the CMDR is notified and approves.
--If a Wing Comp, the WC is notified and approves.
-Also, the pilot must clearly indicate in the submission form whether the medal TBA will be an IS-BR (all squad comps) or an IS-SR (all wing comps). Flying comps should use IS-BW's and IS-SW's.


-TRANSFERS-

If you're already in Wing IX:
- Talk to your current CMDR and your new CMDR, and make sure they both approve the transfer.
- Then email me and not the FO
- I will double check all the approvals, and then send the request to Cyric myself

If you're recruiting someone from outside of the Wing (legally of course :P):
- Talk the the pilot, have him send a letter to his new CMDR in Wing IX, then make sure the Wing IX CMDR in the squad he wants to transfer to approves.
- CMDRs should then fwd me a copy of the transfer request.
- I will confirm that all the superiors on both sides approve the transfer.
- I will then send the request to Cyric myself.

-SQUADRON COMMANDERS-

Weekly Squadron Reports (WSRs)
WSEs will be submitted NLT 12.00PM each Thursday by email to the Wing Commander, Your Squadron, and the Wing IX Email List. Also, each report must contain statistics for Total missions flown, and IWATS passed. Late reports with no viable excuse are not acceptable. If this is repeated 2 weeks in a row, a formal reprimand will be publicly given. A third or fourth week with late reports, or no report being made, without reason, will result in a CMDR losing his position.

Monthly Squadron Evaluations (MSEs)
MSEs will be submitted to the Wing Commander at any point in the last 3 days of the month. It should cover activity throughout the whole month, to the previous MSE.

AWOLs / MIAs / Reserve Requests
If you have found a pilot to be AWOL (no contact in 30 days), or MIA (bad email address), or a pilot has requested to go the reserves, you WILL NOT make the database request yourself. Forward the relevant information to the Wing Commander, who will verify the information, and make one last effort to 'save' the pilot before he or she is removed from the wing. This is NOT to take authority away from the CMDRs, but to allow the flags to ensure that a pilot really wants to leave. A good example is a pilot whos pissed off at his CMDR and has requested the reserves, when it's entirely possible the pilot would be happy in another squadron.

Flight Leaders
EVERY Flight Leader position in the Wing will ALWAYS be filled. If your Flight Leader leaves the squadron for whatever reason, you will appoint a new Flight Leader immediately. The Flight Office requires that all three flights have a leader in order for new pilots to be placed in that Squadron. We will not miss any opportunity for new pilots!

Designated XO
Every Squadron will have a designated XO. This person will know what he or she needs to do in the event that you are unable to come online, specifically in the area of filing a report for you. This is now a requirement aboard the Rel, and i expect XO’s to fill in as required without prompting from the WC or myself.




QUOTE OF THE WEEK
-------------------------------
AD_BubbaX: wait
AD_BubbaX: You haven't taken it before?
COL_Laan: i thought i had :P
COL_Rejili: me too :P
COL_Rejili: meh
COL_Laan: but the roster seems to disagree
COL_Rejili: we'll just have to expell you ;P

~La'an's confession that he's never passed SM/3



In service of the Empire,

Colonel Rejili Holthaus
NHolthaus@Gmail.com - "Baron de Menari"
WC/COL Rejili Holthaus/Wing IX/ISD Relentless
PCx5/ISMx3/MoI/MoT-1gh/IS-2BR-2SR-1GR/CoL/CoB/LoA/OV-4E [PLDN]
{IWATS-AIM-BOT-CBX-CSS-FZ-GFX-IBX-ICQ-IIC/1/2/3-JS-LIN-M/1/2-MP-MS-RT-SM/2/3-SWGB-TLN-TM/1-TT-VBS-WM-WPN-XAM}