Welcome to the first Relentless report of the XWA era!

Those of you who have been here for a while know that one of the hallmarks of the Relentless over the years has been meeting challenges head-on; and winning. Our conversion to XWA is one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced since the closure threat, and I am confident that we’ll come through this as well. It was a change that was inevitable, and one that I think the ship is ready to master.

What does this change mean? Well, for one, it means that our recruits will now come from Charlie Company on the Daedalus. It also means that our competitions will now use XWA missions, although we can still do some TIE missions on special occasions (which means I have to approve those comps personally). There will also be something of a learning curve. We’ll have to learn the ins and outs of combat on a new platform. I haven’t flown much XWA, but from what I’ve seen there are some marked differences in both the AI and the way the game itself handles. It also means that we’ll have a new partner. The Immortal is the other, long-standing XWA ship in the Battlegroup, and her pilots have already made some friendly posts on our MB. I look forward to working with the Immortal and Wing XI, and trust that you all will do the same. There’s much we can learn from them about XWA.

Now I also need to say something about another trend I’ve noticed of late. Aside from a few people (Shae, Powerslave, and a handful of others), flying is down. I include myself in that category. I know some of you (myself included) have been dealing with a myriad of technical issues, but there are others who just aren’t flying (or doing much of anything, for that matter). Be warned: that behavior will no longer be tolerated. The XWA conversion also means that CMDRs will be aggressively AWOLing again. Personally, I’ve flown two XWA free missions in the past two days, and hope to fly some more this weekend. I challenge every Relentless pilot (CMDRs and the WC included) to fly at least ONE free mission this week. That’s it: just one stinking mission. It doesn’t even have to be XWA. If you can’t find time to do that, maybe you should take a closer look at why you’re here in the first place.

Now that conversion is settled, inactivity will no longer be tolerated. If you can’t fly, take an IWATS course (say…XWA mission creation) or do some posting on the MB. If you’re no longer interested in taking part, or for some reason feel that you don’t have to do anything other than grace us with your presence, request a transfer to another ship or the Reserves. We don’t need chairwarmers – we need active, interested pilots.

One final word: RECRUIT! We need to do a better job of getting “the word” out about the Relentless and what we have to offer. This is especially true now that we’re XWA. One of the Challenge’s officers (LT DarkEagle) has been making some interesting posts about how the TC could improve the way we deal with cadets. He makes some very good points, and I’d challenge each of you to read what he has to say and apply some of the lessons to your own recruiting efforts. For one, we need to get it out there that the Relentless and Wing IX are now officially XWA Single Player. “So what does that mean, sir?” Sit down, LCM Bespin, I’m getting to that. That means that Charlie Company cadets now have TWO fine ships to choose from in the BG instead of just one. Let’s make sure they know that. The Immortal isn’t the only game in town anymore. I’m open for ideas about how to do this, and am prepared to reward outstanding efforts.

If any of you have ANY questions about the whole XWA conversion, don’t hesitate to contact me directly. Squadrons will be converting one at a time, and Spear was the first to change over. It should be followed by Crossbow, then Sword, with Shield and Hammer being the last to convert.

And now, a few words from our sponsor, CSM Lohr Zadash. He’s got a few things to say about some things, and it’s stuff that needs to be said.

COM/RA Krax Tarnisar/ISD Relentless

How Sharp is your Attitude?

Attitude. Quite a simple word that rolls off the tongue once you have uttered the first syllable. The word is sometimes a slight paradox because of it’s many possible definitions. Attitude can mean many things, such as “a cocky or arrogant manner” or “a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state”.

But how does that tie into you or me?
Something I’ve taken note of lately is the seeming lack of “enthusiasm” in all quarters of the ship. The “talkers” of the wing have slowly quieted down and those whose personalities determine that they sure as hell aren’t socially inclined have grown even quieter metaphorically speaking.

A little proverb of sorts comes to mind that told to me by a wise person a while ago. It goes something like this:

There are three kinds of people:
People who MAKE things happen
People who WATCH things happen
And finally people who WONDER what happened.

What kind of person are you?

In writing this I have to say there are quite a few people on this ship that truly do have the proper attitude towards things when it comes to the Tie Corps and I’d like to take the time to thank and commend each and every one of them. You all know who you are.

I recently took a look at the competition results between Iota Squadron of the ISD Colossus and our own Hammer Squadron. To boil it down the bare unequivocal truth, Hammer received a sound spanking from Iota squadron. I have my own opinions on why one of our best lost to our brethren from another ship. Teamwork! From the results I saw at least two pilots from Hammer didn’t fly. Is this a result of an attitude problem? If so, how will we begin to approach this problem? Those of you who are squadron Commanders, how well do you know your pilots? How much of the time you devote to the TC do you spend on your people, getting to know them as best you can on a personal level? Nothing kills a pilot’s attitude any faster than a leader who appears to not care. In the same breathe sure, this organization is populated by pilots who want to enjoy themselves the best way they can; otherwise they wouldn’t be here in the first place. I can only imagine the frustration that must result when they put in serious time and effort showing pride in what they give to their squadron only to be let down by a fellow warrior when their squadron’s pride and name is on the line.

For a squadron such as Hammer to lose a competition when a full and complete effort has been put forth squadron-wide isn’t a big matter. But to be disgraced when some of your comrades just couldn’t be bothered, points to a big underlying problem. Squadron Commanders need to be on top of these things and rooting them out as quickly and efficiently as they can. These principals to nurture enthusiasm and a general positive attitude must carry on up and down the entire chain of command. It would be foolish to think that little effort and time is required to accomplish this. At the same time even the most positive and spirited person can become a little run down at the mouth at times.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Take time to think about this passage and what it means. By applying what it says the attitude of those among us who are feeling a little empty, will vastly improve.

Sergeant Major,

FM/LT Lohr Zadash/Crossbow 1-2/Wing IX/ISD Relentless