Rebel Squadrons

State of the Rebel Squadrons, 19 August 2006

By FA Licah Fox
Unit: The Rebel Squadrons
SotRS, Aug 19, 2006
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State of the Rebel Squadrons
Saturday, August 19, 2006

I. Introduction
II. High Command
III. Renegade Fleet
IV. Multiplayer Competitions
V. Other News
VI. Recognitions
VII. Allegiance Battle Group


":)
Greetings, members of the Rebel Squadrons! A fair number of events have transpired since I last wrote, and many of them signal great things for the RS' future. In this State of the Rebel Squadrons (SotRS), and future ones, I will focus on those units and areas of the RS that have accomplished significant things, rather than a complete listing of everyone's status. This will keep the length of these newsletters down to a manageable size, I hope, although the Rebel Squadrons is a large and active club, and may require a lot of reading about. :) Without further ado, let's get on with things!


II. High Command

The most significant news from High Command is the creation of the "Alderman" system - see http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/news/read?id=820 - and the appointment of three officers to fill the positions for a term of one year. I received a large number of applications, many of which were highly qualified for the position, but after extensive discussion, the Fleet COs and I decided that, for this initial round of aldermen, we should employ people who had had previous HC experience, and had already demonstrated their service at the highest level of the RS. Those people are:
- Fleet Admiral Dave Trebonious-Astoris, former RSFC, RSXO, RF CO
- General Sienn Sconn, former RgF CO, RF CO, ABG CO
- Lieutenant General Danny "David Lee Japan" Qatar, former VFXO, AFCO

Congratulations to each of you for your appointment to the Aldermen position! And thank you to everyone else who applied; your qualifications and desire to improve the RS makes me look forward to a bright future for the RS.

The Redemption Fleet has had a change of command. RSXOs are generally expected to resign all Fleet CO positions, due to possible conflict of interest with High Command, and General Leonard Cable has agreed to follow this practice and cede his Redemption Fleet Commanding Officer position to the next commander. That person will be the current RFXO, Admiral Kaz Falcion, who is also a former RSXO and RSCD CO. Congratulations, Kaz, and may you see many new units and nurture each current one!

Other news from High Command:
- Bylaws section 2.3 updated to include aldermen.
- Discussion of possible alternative words for "aldermen", but it was decided that the word is fine.
- A consensus to make wings more optional for fleets that don't wish to have them.
- VF XO General Richard Gross (former VF CO) replaces LGN Danny "David Lee Japan" Qatar.
- PBF XO CMDR Eric Reagan departs for active service for the US in Iraq; no replacement announced yet.
- Current discussion of the RS Order of Battle, and the nature of wings and fleets, and possible future structure changes. Expect to hear more about this sometime in the near future.



III. Renegade Fleet

The RgF deserves special recognition this month for rising to the greatest height it has yet known in its single-player competitions. With 45 reports on RgF 4.10 submitted from a fleet of 54 members, the RgF accomplished 83% reporting, and eclipsed RgF 2.09 in 2003 by 5 reports for the highest total in RgF history. [See: http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/special/itod-participants .] This is an incredible achievement, and I am proud of each and every member of RgF for contributing to this landmark occasion. I can only hope that the RgF will continue to grow and thrive the way it has been recently. Recognition goes out to Squadron COs CMDR Rahvin, Red Dragon; MAJ Jair Karredo, Dragon; COL jcmcgoo, Ragnarok; and MGN Phil DarkFire, Resurrection, for leading their squadrons to such a high activity level. Wing CO BGN Anton "Ups" Nels also helped raise Scorpion to a new height, but perhaps the most fleet-wide credit goes to COL Rekio Corsair Tarentae, acting RgF CO and Guardian Wing CO, for quietly raising the level of the RgF to a place it has not been in many years at least. But, not to forget anyone, each and every pilot that participated in RgF 4.10 should be commended for their part in bringing the RgF to this height. Good work, all! ":)



IV. Multiplayer Competitions

Besides achieving on the SP end of things, the RgF also led the RS to its highest-ever finish in the XvT Week of War hosted at Battlestats, 2nd place! See http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/news/read?id=816 for more information. I flew often in the WoW a few years ago, and I never thought I would see the day when the RS achieved #2, but here we are! Good work to our pilots!

Now turning to Empire at War, I am somewhat amazed to report that our very own LGN Michael Raven appears to be the best that the Internet has to offer! While those who know Raven may not be surprised at his ability, it has still been quite a long time since we have had a player who is truly dominant at a MP game. In the recent Invasionweek II, hosted at Ecliptical Realms, Raven placed #3 with a 15-0 record, defeating all comers, including the #2 player multiple times, and leading the RS to a 5th place finish. See more at http://www.eclipticalrealms.com/wargames/reports/12/war-overallscores.asp?warid=112 . While our OO will award participation in this event soon enough, I would like to recognize Raven here, in front of the whole RS, for his skill, and I hereby award him with the New Republic Medal of Honor - ]]]<(*)>[[[ - ! Congratulations, Raven, and may you continue to lead our strategists in battle! ":)

The RS Commando Division finished a respectable 6th place in BF2's Flag Week 3, with 205 games played. Major Luren "DaLe" Ketan finished 13th, and many RSers helped contribute to the club's high game total. Their efforts have been rewarded by the Operations Office. Good work, Commandos!

I'd just like to remind you that the Inter-Club Training Event is still ongoing Saturdays in #outerrim on the Undernet, and you can earn RS-Wide merit points for participating in it. Nearly every SW MP game is allowed, so bring your favorite one and have some fun! For more information, see http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/icte/ .

Finally, it is my great pleasure to reveal to you that plans are significantly underway for a competition currently known as Outer Rim War III (ORW3). This is a multi-month, multi-club, multi-player competition that will follow in the path of previous ORWs, but even bigger and better! I am working with the Logistics Office to determine an appropriate location for the war, which will hopefully include all of your favorite clubs to MP against, such as the Emperor's Hammer, Dark Brotherhood, Star Vipers, New Republic 5th Fleet, Vast Empire, Force Elite Soldiers, United Pilots Alliance, and more! For full details, please visit our wiki: http://wiki.rebelsquadrons.org/Outer_Rim_War_III . I will be formally contacting each of these clubs within the next couple of days, so we will know for sure who will be participating soon. I and the Operations Office will continue to work hard on this event and hope to bring more news of it to you soon.



V. Other News

The Patriot Battle Fleet experienced a resurgence in activity last month, as the fleet posted its highest number of reports (34) on PBF 7.01 since PBF 6.04 in April 2005. The return of several very veteran RSers has helped to spark this activity. Visit the PBF roster for some names you may not have seen in a long time, such as MacMan, Jack, Juho, Jake, and more! Good work to Josh and Mac for sparking this upswing.

The Retribution Wing is now fully integrated with the PBF, and both the X-Wing and TIE missions are now part of the PBF Tour. For all intents and purposes, R2W can currently be considered to be just another wing in the PBF, equal to Hope and Crusader. TIE Fighter playing seems to be on the rise with the new setup.

The Commando Division has begun tracking its single-player MMOC reports on the RS site, and you can see firsthand the CD's activity at http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/itod/mission?id=278 . Activity is up and our BF2 unit is looking strong.

The Jedi Division is preparing to be reopened under the command of Admiral Kaz Falcion; this division will play Jedi Academy and Jedi Outcast, games for which we have not had a unit in some time. Contact Kaz via email, or post at http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1733 , if you are interested in joining.

Strategic and Tactical Command has reopened in the RF under the command of Major Jair Karredo. If you are interested in playing Rebellion, Galactic Battlegrounds, or Force Commander, please contact Jair and he will include you in the upcoming plans he has to make the unit active again.

The Fleet Commander's website has a new look! Thanks to Major Terrak "TJ" Jace, the Internet Graphics Officer, the FC site has been remodeled. Check it out at http://wiki.rebelsquadrons.org/Logistics_Projects , and also at http://wiki.rebelsquadrons.org/Logistics_Office . Vaughan is 99% completed with the main project that he has been working on for five months now, and he will hopefully see its conclusion in the next month. See also the LO website, which was recently updated, at http://wiki.rebelsquadrons.org/Medals , where Rekio, Sector Admiral Super, and myself have been working hard on making the best medals system that we can.

Internet Office: I've appointed Brigadier General Anton "Ups" Nels to the Internet Office as an Assistant Internet Officer; his duty is to update any squadron or wing websites that need it. If your squadron or wing website is out of date, contact Anton and he will assist you with updating it. This is an open offer to the entire RS.
As usual, dozens or even hundreds of updates the site have occurred over the past month, but it tends to be difficult for me to remember them without writing them down, so I'll just leave you to discover them for yourself, if you find them. One significant thing is a new site design, fc@rebelsquadrons.org - and Damon - lightwind134@yahoo.com - expressing your interest, and we will be happy to have you. Thanks!

IBG/RgF merger: The name planned for the new fleet is Vigilance Strike Fleet, and the merger is set to occur around the time that the current RgF and IBG Tours end. For more information on planning for this merger, visit the RS wiki at http://wiki.rebelsquadrons.org/Category:People . You can even add your own!

State of the Rebel Squadrons: Yes, this is a news item about a news item. I will be writing a SotRS each month, to be sent around the 15th or shortly thereafter. Most contributions will be accepted; if you wish to include anything in this RS-wide newsletter, please contact me at fc@rebelsquadrons.org before the 15th of each month to ensure that your item will be considered for the next SotRS. I will be happy to include any reasonable item that you want to share.

Trip to the Past: Each month, I will be including one snippet of long-ago RS history in the SotRS for your education and amusement. Check out MacMan's recruitment page / join form from 1996! http://ho.rebelsquadrons.org/files/join/ We may not have been technologically advanced in those days, but man we had passion. I hope we can bring alive that passion even to this day.

Monthly SW Humor: View this 46 second video for some serious laughs! The real reason why officers didn't want to work with Vader.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K698uM0083Y

Site Donations: You may not realize it, but our website is an expensive affair, clocking in at $50/month. We are extremely fortunate to have Rear Admiral Snappleguy, former Internet Officer, to support the website when we have no donations coming in, but I ask each of you to help out by contributing $5 or $10 towards the cost of the website via Paypal. Snap has now donated $769 to our club, which we should all salute him for, and I think it would be nice for him to have some assistance in paying for the site. You can make a donation at http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/finances . Again, just $5 or $10 from many of you will significantly lessen the load on Snap. You are not, and never will be, required to pay anything to be in this club, but it is a gesture of caring to contribute what you can to the future well-being of the Rebel Squadrons. Thank you! ":)



VI. Recognitions

This month's list is rather shorter than last month's, but rest assured that many officers are performing duties worthy of recognition; these three people in particular have done work that has gone unrewarded, and I wish to rectify that.

First of all, the IBG Commanding Officer, Brigadier General Anton "Ups" Nels, has done a significant job in looking after his various duties in the RS, including the IBG, RgF's Scorpion Wing, the RID, and his new appointment in the Internet Office. For his good work, I hereby award Anton the Excellency of Duty - - ! Congratulations.

If you followed our historical link above, you know that Fleet Admiral Mike "MacMan" McEwen must have been quite the skilled recruiter back in the day. I am pleased to say that he's still got what it takes, and has drawn many members back into the PBF, especially into Blue Squadron. For his tireless work in recruiting members, be they new or old, I award MacMan the Eye of the Jedi - -- o -- - ! Nice to see again the people you've brought in, Mac!

I had intended to promote our Logistics Officer, Commander David Vaughan, at this time, but once again, I have beaten to the punch. But his new rank of Commander is certainly deserved, and I recommend you all send Vaughan a word of thanks for his amazing efforts in the Logistics Office. Thanks, Vaughan! ":)

Finally, I would be remiss in not recognizing the accomplishments of one particular member of the Rebel Squadrons, Colonel Rekio Corsair Tarentae. Rekio has, in RgF CO David's absence most of the summer, brought his fleet up to record levels of activity, and has also been volunteering his time in the Medals Office, the Logistics Office, led the way in the RgF/IBG merger, and more. For his dedication and service, I hereby promote Rekio Corsair Tarentae to Brigadier General! Congratulations and well deserved, Rekio!



VII. Allegiance Battle Group

The last action of General Leonard Cable as Redemption Fleet Commanding Officer, before sending official notice of the change in RF command, was to send the following email to High Command:
>> Greetings, esteemed members of High Command. I come before you today not as Rebel Squadrons Executive Officer, but as Redemption Fleet Commanding Officer. This will likely be my final presentation to HC has RF CO (ironically, exactly one year after I was instated as RF CO), but I wanted to make it an important one. All of you are familiar with the Allegiance Battle Group and how they were downsized to a wing in my fleet nearly two years ago. Well, just this week, they managed to increase their numbers to fifty, and that is my threshold as RF CO to be considered for reentry as a fleet.
>> Therefore, I call a vote to reinstate the ABG as a fleet as per Bylaw 3.2 Paragraph 2. I have personally witnessed the increase in activity within the fleet throughout the past 365 days, and their numbers conform with the guidelines I set upon entry into office as RF CO. If majority vote is reached, ABG will be readmitted as a fleet and current ABG command staff will be placed on High Command with all privileges forthwith.
>> General Leonard Cable
>> -Redemption Fleet CO

I am extremely pleased to report that High Command voted unanimously to accept the Allegiance Battle Group back to Fleet status, so the Rebel Squadrons now stands at seven Fleets once more! Excellent job to ABG for achieving this once more, and Lieutenant General Michael Raven for leading the unit to where it is today. It's good to see the ABG flourishing, and the rest of the RS as well.

Let's all continue to enjoy ourselves and make this the best place that we can!


":)
Rear Admiral Licah Fox
Rebel Squadrons Fleet Commander

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The Rebel Squadrons.
A H.I.E.R. Organization -- Honesty, Integrity, Equanimity, Respect.
http://www.rebelsquadrons.org/
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Comments

FA Mike "MacMan" McEwen - Sat Aug 19 2006, 8:05pm
Thanks, and congrats to everyone else! Yeah, even you Kaz ;)
2LT Darikysh Ekre - Wed Sep 06 2006, 2:23am
After reading this I feel even better about joining the RS! Makes me look forward to many good times ahead.