SOO Report # 17 (2013-09-15)

This report was submitted by SOO/FA Jarek La'an/TC-2/ISDII Hammer


STRATEGIC OPERATIONS OFFICER
Report #17, 15 September 2013

Opening Comments

Despite a quiet month the MSEs have shown a steady undercurrent of activity from a few key pilots, the challenge as we proceed through September and beyond is supporting these pilots and dragging more of you kicking and screaming back into the fold. The delay to the latest Karana phase (TIE) has been unfortunate but symptomatic of the situation we find ourselves in, the club is smaller now than in the past and where we rely on a single person we can create just a single point of failure. It's not great, but it's also not particularly avoidable - we'll do what we can to mitigate this and get things back on track. The buck stops here, so any issues or further queries, please mail them on to myself or Dan.

Database work proceeds and I am happy to note the increasing confidence we have in its ultimate success, as well as this I am glad to see a much more active mailing list over the previous fortnight due in no small part to a few big names that have rarely been seen in these parts for a while. Welcome back to Admiral Mell Kerrigan, a name I remember from the heady days of 2004ish when I joined, currently looking into a potentially viable SW based sim. Fingers crossed on that one! The Phoenix command crew, namely their COM and WC the Frodo/Tempest tag team, are equally welcome in providing their unique experience, wisdom, and pithy putdowns. Joking aside its good to see so many of you using the list as intended, for all manner of queries, communications, and abuse... banter... bullying... lets go with chat...

Fleet Status

A quiet fortnight broken by two LoAs on my part, apologies to those of you who noticed. Contempt for those that didn't! Things are continuing at a slow but steady pace, Karana updates will hopefully follow.

Weekly Orders

Having departed Caris Alpha last week our shakedown cruise has progressed as expected, crew morale and efficiency remain high despite recent events and I am happy to say no further evidence of enemy action has been detected. However as always now is not the time to drop our guard and heightened security measures will remain in force until this conflict's conclusion. As part of our continuing role in patrolling this area of space for Void Raptor activity we will be heading back to the operations area on completion of our final assessment. The last month has seen few confirmed sightings of Raptor craft or personnel and we can only guess at their current condition due to an ongoing shortage of intel. To this end our priority will be recon flights and missions across our patrol area, with short-notice orders and assignments to minimise risk of leaks or enemy intel gathering efforts.

The dearth of Raptor activity should be encouraging to us, whereas we can crush a sovereign planet or state in hours or days an insurgency is a far more difficult beast to tame. As we draw the noose around their necks they wriggle free, and like any cornered animal they have proven dangerous even when the odds are against them. To defeat a non-conventional enemy we need to adapt and adopt non-conventional tactics of their own. They cannot replenish the capital and escort vessel losses they have suffered no matter what force is ultimately supplying or backing them, however as previous experience has shown a handful of snubfighters and the pilots flying them can make a mockery of even the grandest technological terrors. Until Val Duquesne and her forces are broken utterly we will not have completed our mission here.

To that end we will be continuing in company with the Phoenix, all other escorts will disperse to cover their own assigned sectors. The pilots of the Phoenix will be running a number of dummy attacks and drills against us so be ready for taskings and debriefings. While they are Reservists do not be fooled as they represent dozens of schools of tactical thought, both conventional and... alternative, and by their sheer survival a frankly ridiculous level of blind luck in many cases, they will come out on top until we adapt to them and take these small-ship tactics into our fight with the Raptors.

All squadrons are on duty, flights will be rotated through alert status and CAP. Threat level remains heightened, with simulated training and weapons active on all fighters, normal weapons and payloads carried and ready in the event of a non-simulated combat.

Conclusion

They're old but they'll teach us new tricks,

In Service,

FA La'an, SOO
ISD Hammer

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