WING REPORT #1
Wing IX, ISD Relentless
“The Fighting Ninth”

Wing Commander’s Address: Greetings, members of the Fighting Ninth! This marks my first report as your Wing Commander. The wing has been through some rough times, and I’m looking forward to your help in bringing us back to our old glory. Those of you who’ve been with the wing for some time know what I’m talking about. And I’m counting on our veterans to show our new members what it means to be a part of the best wing in the fleet. I think our motto and our nickname sums it all up. We’re the Fighting Ninth because we don’t give up without a fight, and there is Strength in Unity. We proved that by upsetting ships with twice our numbers in the ECR. Let’s do it again!

I plan to bring these reports out every Saturday (or as close to that as possible), and they’ll be posted to the database as well. That way, if you miss one in your mailbox you can always check and see what’s been happening. Squadron commanders: I’ll need your WSRs before Friday. Otherwise it won’t appear until the next Wing Report.

TIE Corps News: It’s been a fairly quiet week in the Corps as a whole. The Avenger BGCOM stepped down to take over the Dark Brotherhood. The teaser for the next Star Wars movie was released in a number of locations and formats. A number of commander reports were released. The TAC Office has started the next FCHG mission competition. If you’re good at mission design, give it a shot. Some of us have already started working on missions…;-) For the latest information, check out http://www.tiecorps.org/news.asp.

Wing Bulletins: Thanks to the creative efforts of MAJ De’amon Narshay (Ret.), we have a new wing banner. Check it out on the roster page! It’s quite sharp.

Priority Alpha-One: Phase IV of the BGC should be starting soon. Make sure you’re ready to fly. If you can’t fly, let your proper commander know BEFORE the end of the competition. Remember: failure to take part in an Alpha-One competition without excuse is grounds for immediate transfer to the Reserves!

Many of you have asked about future plans for the wing. Rest assured that there are many ideas in the works. The first order of business is to finish (hopefully sooner than later) the BGC. Once that’s out of the way, we can turn our attention to rebuilding the wing. Our first order of business is going to be a public message board. I expect all of you to post early and often once it’s unveiled. Our communication has fallen off over the past months. That needs to change.

Next week I’ll be sending out my formal plan for the wing. There will be competitions, fun, talk, free Ewoks for kicking, you name it.

Our activity has been falling off in recent weeks. This is something we should all be concerned about. Fly if you can. Take an IWATS course. Every Flight Leader should be thinking about taking SM/II, and those of you with an interest in mission design should take the proper course (TIE Mission Design, XWA Mission Design, etc.). The IRC courses are informative and useful. Every pilot should think about taking TIE Tactics as well. Hop on over to the IWATS site and see what they’ve got to offer. You could also write a story for the NL. We’ve got some fine authors in the Wing, and it’s a good forum for showing your skills. In addition, I’ll be listing Wing IX submissions in this report. The same goes for graphics submissions.

Don’t forget – we have a cantina (the StarDrifter Lounge) on board the Relentless, along with a wing mailing list. A little chatter is always good…;-)

One final note: CHEATING! DON’T DO IT!

Squadron Activities: Let’s face it: the wing is understrength. Two of our squadrons are closed, and none of the four that are open are over 75% strength. But the Fighting Ninth has never been about numbers. That being said, our activity has fallen of late. This will change.

Future reports will use this section to mention current competitions being run by each squadron, as well as any comments commanders might like to submit. This time, though, I’d like to use it to summarize what I see in each squadron.

Sword: LC Ted continues to do a fine job with his squadron, even in the face of the loss of many veterans in recent days. His calm leadership led to a 100% participation rate in Phase III of the BGC. Our most veteran CMDR, Ted encourages his pilots to participate in all aspects of the Corps.

Spear: With my promotion, CM Ironfist is acting CO pending the appointment of a new CMDR. Spear has always been a steady presence in the wing, and I’m hoping they’ll continue that tradition. They also have one of the finest brewing facilities in the fleet.

Hammer: CAPT Jaruus takes over a squadron with a proud heritage in the Fighting Ninth. At one time (under the command of our current commodore) Hammer was the most active squadron in the wing. You’ve got big shoes (and a big…uh…posterior dent in the command chair) to fill, captain. But you’ve also got good people.

Shield: Our newest CMDR comes from outside the Fighting Ninth family, but he’s quickly showing he has what it takes to make it in this wing. CAPT Pavz has jumped in with both feet, setting goals and letting his pilots know what’s expected.

What the WC’s Doing: This is a new addition to the Wing Report. I wanted to let you all know that I’m working along with you; flying, writing fiction, and all that in addition to keeping the WC chair warm.
This week: flew FT167 - started flying FCHG 3 – did this report – communicated with squadron commanders

Promotions/Transfers:
MAJ Krax Tarnisar (Spear 1-1) to Wing Commander WEF 11/5/01
CM Trow (Sword 2-1) to Captain WEF 11/8/01
LT Zuckuss (Spear 3-2) to Reserves WEF 11/6/01

Education:
LT Tycho Ackbar (Hammer 3-4): IWATS M/2
LT Feagorn (Shield 3-2): IWATS TM

Medals:
None this week

Flying:
LC Ted (Sword 1-1) – flew TC170 and FTIE169 and 167 (pending TRF receipt)

Other Accomplishments:
Our new commanders have done well settling into their squadrons.

The above only takes into account what has happened since I took command of the wing. Obviously, other stuff happened before that. Those of you who did things before November 5 – good job! Next week’s report will be much more complete.

Strength in Unity!

Respectfully submitted,
WC/MAJ Krax Tarnisar/Wing IX/ISD Relentless