Getting Started

Welcome future Squadron Commander (CMDR), my name is LegionX, along with JetMech, Vapen Van’an and Robert Hogan, and we are here to guide you in what your first steps are to becoming a Squadron Commander! It is here where you will begin your training for the most pivotal role in the entire TIE Corps.

Becoming A Squadron CMDR

Greetings, future squadron leader, to what is going to be the most important University course in your career. In this course, we will be going over all the essentials needed to manage a squadron within any of the Battlegroups of the TIE Corps. Whether it’s an Assassination squadron or a Deep Strike unit, this course will cover the essentials to effectively leading and managing a TIE Corps squadron.

First Steps of a CMDR

First things first, are you sure you want to become a CMDR? While many would love to climb the proverbial totem pole of role advancement, this role may not be for everyone. Being a CMDR in the TIE Corps brings forth a new set of responsibilities that may feel overwhelming or blinding to many. You would be charged with the care, growth, and advancement of up to 11 other pilots who will look up to you for guidance. With this level of command position, you would also be expected to serve a tour of duty of at least 4 to 6 months. While this may sound “easy enough” on paper, it is often far from easy, but very rewarding. The first step before anything – are you prepared with yourself to lead?

After you’ve taken the time to think it over with yourself, and you are sure to walk this path, the next steps are to see if any positions are available. One cannot just simply decide to become one out of nowhere, especially if there are no squadrons that require a CMDR at all. Usually, when a position opens up, there are some factors to consider. Has the previous CMDR already chosen a successor? Has the Battlegroup Commander (BGCOM) for the specific squad opened up applications to become that squadron’s CMDR? Have you been reading up the squadron reports to see how each squadron is run, or how their own community is run? Becoming a pillar of said community will be beneficial in becoming a CMDR.

Even then, the possibility of no squadron CMDR availability will be a reality most need to consider. However, CMDRs step down from time to time for a multitude of reasons, and every pilot will always have a chance, but not a guarantee, of getting their time to lead. If there aren’t any vacancies, talk with your current CMDR about perhaps starting to learn the ropes as your current squadron’s Flight Leader (FL) and getting the feel of having at least some pilots under your command. Or ask to become a Squadron Executive Officer (SQXO), which also helps in learning the ropes on what needs to be done for a squadron firsthand.

Squadron CMDR Expectations and Realities

So let's do a little Theater of Mind here for a moment. You are now a brand new CMDR with a whole squadron under your command. What are the expectations required of your station? How do you maintain records of your pilots? How is your Chain of Command handled from this point on? How do you approach difficult situations? In the next few modules, we will be going over all the specific details needed for a CMDR to effectively run a squadron at a bare minimum level. Some realities to consider, however, are how you engage with your squadron and your new Chain of Command position. But above all else, you must understand that this position does not make you “king” above several others. You were given the role to help run a squadron and lead them to enjoy all the possibilities and mentor growth in your communities, NOT to keep pilots pinned down to unhealthy expectations.

Big vs Small

With three battlegroups, there are a lot of different squadrons in the TC; you’ll find 6-8 member squadrons on the same ship as 12-member squadrons. Running either can have its own unique challenges.

One of the biggest questions when it comes to expectations is what type of squadron you want to run. The easy answer, or at least for most of the time, is that CMDRs want to have the biggest, most active squadrons possible right off the bat so that they can have fun bringing their squadron together in the name of glory or for one of the big three yearly competitions… Though in reality, not all will be so lucky in getting that opportunity. Sometimes a new CMDR is taking over a squadron at half capacity with pilots that aren’t as active. This, however, should not be seen as a dead end, as most times, the greatest CMDRs can form a strong squadron from the smallest of squadrons. There are a few tricks to helping build up a squadron: offer ways to engage, know your pilot’s interests, and build a strong leadership team. A supportive and engaging SQXO and FL help build strong squadron communication and a sense of identity.

On the other hand, managing a busier squadron does take more time than a smaller one; with more pilots under your purview, you need to be comfortable delegating tasks to your SQXO and FL. Plus, with a squad of active pilots, the MSE process is going to take longer than smaller squadrons: more awards to recommend and more activity to track and properly award points for. Additionally, active pilots demand more than just time in administration but also in gaming. Pilots like to fly with their CMDR, and this can lead to playing games you don’t enjoy as much as others, but the benefit is helping to build a strong unit bond. One final note about big squadrons: the more people you have, the more likely certain personalities might clash. An invested and active pilot may also have a strong personality or opinions, and you will need to be prepared to manage any disagreements that may possibly arise (more on that later).

Now, let’s cover several of the core aspects to being a Squadron CMDR.

Engagement

Providing Opportunities

The TIE Corps provides a lot of opportunities for pilots to engage with. It is your responsibility (with help from your SQXO and FL) to inform your Flight Members (FM) of these various ways to engage. Some of the offerings are:

• Credit for completing missions in primary games
• Squad, BG, and Corps-Wide competitions
• Fiction and Graphics

One of the keys to maximizing returns from your efforts to encourage activity is getting to know your pilots. By knowing what games they play, what activities they enjoy, and if they are interested in the roleplay aspect of the club, you can effectively target the competitions you highlight toward your squadron. In this vein, if your squad plays a game that currently does not have a competition for it, that is also a perfect opportunity to make a squadron comp to provide another way for your pilots to engage.

Squadron Identity

Another way to get pilots engaged is to give them a way to identify with the squadron. This could be accomplished in many different ways; for example, a CMDR could run a competition to change the nicknames and mottos for the flights. This lets your pilots customize their flight, the most basic unit of the Corps, to their group's identity. Offering ways for your pilots to claim ownership of the squadron gives them more reasons to be invested in the group and continue engaging. Another idea might involve encouraging pilots to write fiction of their character and squadron and uploading it to the website or wiki page, building a history.

Sense of Purpose

Finding a purpose for your squadron to follow is a common, yet mostly successful type of goal. To start off with, what purpose are you wishing to achieve? For smaller squadrons, it could potentially be more recruitment to fill up the squad or more team building with the remaining members to be a strong team to contend with during Corps-Wide competitions. Or perhaps your squad favors one type of game over the others and wants to set up weekly squad-only meetups.

Another type of purpose is your role within the Squadron. You are their leader. The one they look up to. Your purpose for them is to be their mentor, coach, or role model. Your pilots’ purpose is to have fun and play games they enjoy with the group and a good Squadron Commander will help facilitate this to the best of their ability.

Above all else your role as the Commander of your squadron is to serve those pilots that are on your team. Servant leadership is a critical part of this role and going into it with that mindset of putting your pilots’ needs ahead of your own will help make you a successful Commander.

If you keep in mind the servant leadership mentality, and strive to do the things that your squadron finds fun and enjoyable, then the sense of purpose will begin to flesh itself out. Maybe your squadron wants to be a hyper-competitive Star Wars Squadrons group, or maybe they want to focus on writing fiction or making new Single Player missions. As you communicate with your team about what they want to do, it will become clear the direction in which you should be moving and growing.