BATTLEGROUP III REPORT #25

February 3, 2026
AD Locke Setzer

Introduction

February is here, and with it, the 30th anniversary of the Challenge's commissioning! We'll have a few events ongoing this month in celebration, so let's dig in!

Battlegroup News and Competitions

Competition Announcement - 2026 Battlegroup III Winter Games

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the ISD Challenge's commissioning, I am pleased to announce the start of the 2026 Battlegroup III Winter Games!

(Any likeness or similarity to the 2026 Winter Olympics is purely coincidental...)

For those who were around for the 2024 Summer Games, this competition will run a bit differently. All of the events will be announced at the start, and we'll be including two arts events in addition to the four flying events. Both art events will focus on the 30th anniversary of the Challenge. All of the flying events this year will also focus on cumulative performance over the month, rather than individual matches.

The 2026 Battlegroup III Winter Game events are as follows:

• Highest Cumulative SP Score (all SP platforms) - Earn the most total points/score from SP missions over the course of the month!
• Highest Total PvP Kill Count (all PvP platforms) - Earn the most total kills across all PvP matches over the course of the month!
• Highest Total PvE Kill Count (all PvE platforms except Helldivers 2) - Earn the most total kills across all PvE matches over the course of the month!
• Highest Total Helldivers 2 XP Count (Helldivers 2) - Earn the most total XP across all Helldivers 2 matches over the course of the month!
• Best Long-Form Arts Submission - Create a work of art (whether that be fiction, graphic, custom mission, song, etc.) that celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the ISD Challenge's commissioning
• Best Total Run-On Submissions - Participate in the run-on in #bg3-runons celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the ISD Challenge's commissioning!

Long-form arts submissions should be sent to me directly via email or over Discord. Run-on entries should be kept to #bg3-runons. All other events do not require submissions. Since all the flying events involve cumulative score, I will do my best to post regularly (likely weekly) progress reports on each over in #bg3-competitions-announcements, to help give an idea of how the competition is shaping up.

Medals will be awarded to the top four pilots in each event. Competition will run for the entire month of February. For more information, please review the competition listing.

Happy Gaming!

Happy 30th Birthday to the ISD Challenge!

As indicated above, we have hit a major milestone: the 30th anniversary of the Challenge's commissioning as part of the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet!

On February 7th, 1996, the ISD-II Challenge was officially opened, welcoming Emperor's Hammer pilots for the first time. It remains the oldest ship in fleet with active pilots, as well as the ship with the longest cummulative time spent in active service in the fleet.

We'll pay honor to the Challenge this month in our Battlegroup III Winter Games Event. Thanks for being part of the ongoing history of this one-of-a-kind ship!

Competition Reminder - 2026 Trivia for the Challenged - Season 1

A new season of Trivia for the Challenged is ongoing!

Every Monday, a new set of four trivia questions is posted on the #bg3-competitions-announcements channel on the Discord server, with topics ranging from quotes, characters, ships, places and just about everything in-between! Questions remain open for one week.

This week's trivia can be found here! This week's trivia will run through end of day (EH/UTC time), February 8th.

For the month of January, congrats to the following top three trivia masters!

1. Typhoon Squadron's CPT JKast (22 points)
2. Scorpion Squadron's GN Stryker (20 points)
3. Typhoon Squadron's CPT Anthony Starr (20 points)

For more information about this competition, please view the competition listing for this season.

Good luck!

Battlegroup III Monthly Awards for January 2026

For the Battlegroup III monthly awards in January, congrats to the following:

• For Battlegroup III Squadron of the Month for January 2026, congrats to Tempest Squadron! This was a tough one, but I'm going to give it up to Tempest, which had the two most active pilots this month combined with some participation from other members of the squad. Congrats!
• For Battlegroup III Pilot of the Month for January 2026, congrats to Firebird Squadron's MAJ SirCaleb! MAJ SirCaleb managed to work through and overcome some significant technical difficulties to be the BG3 pilot with the most PvE wins in January! Congrats!

TIE Corps News and Competitions

Competition Reminder: TIE Corps in Battle Season 9 - Round #1

TIE Corps in Battle is back and we are halfway through the first round!

As a quick reminder, TIE Corps in Battle is a competition where each month, a battle is selected for TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance, and TIE Fighter Total Conversion. Pilots are then challenged to complete these battles with the best possible score. For each platform, the pilot with the highest score will be awarded 9 points, with the second highest pilot being awarded 8 points, and so on. Each submission will be worth at least 2 points. Any mission high scores will earn 1 bonus point, and any battle high scores will earn 2 bonus points. Points will accumulate for the season, with each pilots points contributing to their own total, their squadron's total, and their battlegroup's total!

Participants from the top battlegroup and the top three squadrons will receive awards. The top pilot at the end of the season will be awarded the title of TIE Corps Battlemaster - Season Nine.

Round #1 is currently ongoing and will run through February 15th, 2026. The battles are...

• TIE: TIE-TC 96: Deep Strike
• XvT: XvT-TC 48: Bravo Company: Training
• XWA: XWA-IW 1: Abyssi Ianua - Gates to Hell
• TFTC: TFTC-TC 14: Race Through Time

I try to share the bonus goals, along with some tips and tricks, for each of the battles in the #bg3-hangar-chat Discord channel. Definitely take a peek there if you're looking for help or advice!

For more information about this competition, please review the competition listing.

Competition Announcement: Brush Up On the Original Games: X-Wing and TIE Fighter

The TAC office has added the original campaigns for X-Wing and TIE Fighter to the Mission Compendium! This means, for the first time ever, pilots can get credit for flying and completing the base game campaign missions from X-Wing and from TIE Fighter!

To celebrate this addition, the TAC office is running a competition during the month of February to encourage pilots to go back and play these two original games. Pilots will be awarded 1 point for every original campaign mission they complete, with additional points awarded for mission and battle high scores. The top four pilots with the most points at the end of the competition will be awarded the appropriate Iron Star. An ORA will be awarded to each pilot for every four tours of duty/battles they complete. An IAR will be awarded to the first five pilots to complete each game.

Pilots should use new pilot files for this competition, and should ensure that they are running the base game, and not using any leftover installed EH content, such as custom battles or patches.

This is a great opportunity to go back and enjoy the original games that started this whole operation! For more information, please review the competition details.

Happy hunting!

Competition Last Call: Halt, Motto and Name Please!

Only a few days left for this competition! The Recon Office is looking to find a motto and nickname for their ship, the D-CRV Doomsday, and is inviting all pilots to submit any ideas they may have!

Running through February 9th, pilots may submit as many suggestions as they would like. At end of the competition, the submissions will be put up to a vote to determine the best motto/nickname for the D-CRV Doomsday!

Iron Stars will be awarded to the pilots with the top two mottos and the top two nicknames. Any pilot that submits at least one motto and one nickname will be awarded an Imperial Achievement Ribbon.

Pilots can submit their suggestions via a Google Form, or send them directly to RA Jai Thorne (ehjaithorne@gmail.com) (fanta_zero on Discord). For more information, please review the competition listing.

Competition Announcement: Bucket Bash

COL Alexandre Morgan has kicked off a competition for the month of February challenging pilots to create and submit their custom helmet designs!

Pilots should create their own custom helmet design and submit it to COL Alexandre Morgan via email (ossusplayz@gmail.com) or Discord (ossusplayz). Helmet must follow TC regulations. Pilots may submit multiple entries, but only the most recent submission will be considered valid.

Pilots are welcome to submit their pre-existing custom helmets, if desired.

For assistance in creating your own customized helmets, please consult the following helmet customization guide here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JGAzTkUA410s4VUKaYfhAIhlm2iQB1Ip

Winners will be determined by a vote held for the entire TIE Corps after the submission period ends on February 28th.

For more information about this competition, please review the competition listing.

Competition Reminder: Recon Office Presents - Rally the Troops

The Recon Office is running a competition over the next three months encouraging pilots to produce a social media post promoting the Emperor's Hammer and/or any of its subgroups. The goal is to receive the most positive feedback on the post as possible.

Any social media platform is acceptable, but the Recon Office recommends utilizing Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter/X. Emoji reactions are worth 1 point, comments are worth 2 points, and shares are worth 3 points. The social media post that earns the most points wins!

Friendly reminder to follow the Code of Conduct, keep things PG-13, and be mindful of what you share online, particularly regarding other members.

Iron Stars will be awarded to the top three posts, with the winning pilot earning the title of "Reconnaissance Specialist 1st Class". All participating pilots will be awarded an Imperial Achievement Ribbon.

Screenshots of your social media post should be sent to RA Maston Dane via email (ehmastondane@gmail.com) or Discord (maston_dane). For more information, please review the competition listing.

Competition Reminder - Ace of the TIE Corps 2026: Season 1

A new season of Ace of the TIE Corps event has begun!

As a quick reminder, Ace of the TIE Corps provides regular awards to the pilots that fly the most in a month and in a season. Iron Stars are awarded monthly to the top ten pilots, and seasonly to the top fifteen pilots who earn the most points in each category (SP, PvP, and PvE). Points are determined by platform used for completing missions (SP) or winning matches (PvE,PvP).

For more information on points per platform and awards, please view the following competition listings:

• SP Ace of the TIE Corps 2026 - Season One
• PvP Ace of the TIE Corps 2026 - Season One
• PvE Ace of the TIE Corps 2026 - Season One

Season 1 will end on April 30th, 2026. Best of luck to all our pilots this season!

Battlegroup III Awards and Stats for January 2026

Battlegroup III Monthly Stats for November 2025

Stats of the Month:

• PvE was the primary activity type this month, both by most unique pilots and most activity submitted in total.
• Helldivers 2 was the platform with the most activity submitted and unique pilots.
• Platforms used this month (from most unique pilots to least) included Helldivers 2, TIE Fighter Total Conversion, EA Battlefront 2, TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, Star Wars Squadrons, and Star Conflict.

Battlegroup III Rank and Flight Certification Promotions in January 2026

Congrats to the following officers!

	MAJ SirCaleb - Flight Certification raised from 16th Echelon to 17th Echelon
	LCM Thalios - Flight Certification raised from 8th Echelon to 9th Echelon
	LCM Reece Torenn - Flight Certification raised from 6th Echelon to 7th Echelon

Battlegroup III Combat Rating and FCHG Advancement in January 2026

Congrats to the following officers!

Battlegroup III Awards in January 2026

AD Locke Setzer	(21)
COL Jagged Fell III
CPT JKast	(2) (3)
LCM Reece Torenn
LCM Artanno Lach'Beria
GN Triji Boliv
MAJ Prost Varsis	(2)
MAJ Anthony Starr
CM Marlore Julren
MAJ Morgoth
CPT Iam Thinking
MAJ Sid_amos	(3) (19) (108)
MAJ Grendel	(3) (13) (100)
GN Silwar Naiilo
GN Stryker	(2)
CPT Prot Azar	(2)
CM Evil_Edgar	(4)
LCM Thalios	(7) (35)
LCM Dash Ardaan	(2)
MAJ Xylo Pethtel	(2)
LCM Superpak
LT Silas Prince
GN Master	(2)
MAJ SirCaleb	(11) (109)
CM An'ya Kuro
LT Yuria Vanagandr
LCM Tax	(8)

Conclusion

As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about things going on in Battlegroup III, the TIE Corps, or anything else. My email is locke.f.setzer@gmail.com and my Discord name is LockeSetzer. My door is always open!

In Service,

BGCOM-CAPT-TOA/AD Locke Setzer/Battlegroup III
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