Commanding Officer Application - Cobraman
What is your BYOND key?
Cobraman
What is your Discord ID?
cobraman
What is your timezone in UTC?
UTC−05
Player Name You Use Most?
Aden McClymonds
Ban Appeals, Whitelist and Staff Applications:
Cobraman - Commanding Officer Application | Previous CO app, denied in Jan.
Have you been banned in the last 3 months?
No
If so, why?
N/A
Command Knowledge:
How familiar are you with command positions?
I have 30 hours as an SO, and 15 as CMO. To appease Xenocord, I also have 47 hours as Queen.
Hours in XO:
128
Hours in SL:
57
Character Information:
Why did your character decide to become the CO of a ship?
Aden McClymonds worked his way up through politicking to what he thought would be a cushy job as an officer. Instead, he found himself on the wrong end of a influencing scheme that sent him to the front to assist the Dust Raiders from 2175 until their evacuation. He had hoped accepting a promotion to CO would land him back in an office, but he was very wrong.
How did your character attain the position of CO?
Despite not being a seasoned combat veteran like many of his fellow officers, McClymonds loved history. The first space wars between America and then what was called “Red China.” He learned about the great Space Marines such as Nelson Armstrong III of the HMS Rose during the Battle of New Washington, and Col. Alfred Mays USCM who lead a detachment during the Venusian Gas Wars.
During the withdraw of the Neroid Sector, McClymonds became acting CO of a the USS San Antonio when the Command Officer was killed by a CLF boarding party. McClymonds was handling an appeal when the Red Alert was called and led a force from the Brig to capture the CLF. Unfortunately, the command had been decapitated. Despite this, McClymonds used his knowledge of historical orders to clear the rest of the ship and move it into a safe position. For saving the vessel and the marines onboard, McClymonds received a field promotion from Captain to Major.
Provide a short story of your CO.
The son heaved a box of his Dad’s belongings. The hospital had said that whatever he was exposed to on Trijent Dam all those years ago had finally caught up to him. High on oxy, his father was now almost always asleep. Before the end, Aden told his son that, in this box, were some unfinished selections of an autobiography. Carefully, the son unboxed the handwritten manuscript, and turned the first page.
Aden McClymonds was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth. His parents were wealthy enough to not only live on Earth, but own several acres of woodland. This was in large part due to his father’s position in the legal department of the Weyland-Yutani corporation assisting in weapons sales to the USCM. Aden grew up around, but never in the military. Instead, he was sent to private Catholic institutions, as his father hoped he would never take a shine to the military. Unfortunately, Aden had already been corrupted by illusions of power. He had seen the even more opulent lifestyle of the "Military Advisors’’ which Way-You paid when he had to visit them with his father to help build a “transactional relationship.” There was even talk about an arranged marriage between him and one of the advisor’s daughters. Aden, instead, elected to join the USCM himself instead of being trapped in a loveless money marriage.
His father begrudgingly agreed to help Aden’s military career. In no small part because he saw the value in having his son be a member of the USCM. Now Cadet McClymonds went through a somewhat modified ROTC program provided by an elite university. His program indeed had physical fitness in the morning, at 0830. Revelry was at an “early” 0800. Waking up before 0600 was simply unheard of and might have caused a riot. These cadets were not working class people who were going to University on the military’s dime, but instead influential and powerful individuals who wanted a familial military connection. They did indeed study battles, tactics, drills and the like, but only so far as to give the impression they were anything but a military social club.
Cadet McClymonds successfully completed both college and ROTC and thus, commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in 2172. He was originally assigned to the Heinlein Memorial Shipyards, and worked with his father to facilitate weapons transactions between Wey-Yu and the USCM (He was not involved with any Almayer transactions). In 2175, however, his Alma Mater was investigated and shut down due to a congressional investigation. While congress declined to charge any of the students, McClymonds was removed from his post and sent onto the USS San Antonio, where he served as a 1st Lt. SO.
1st Lt. McClymonds was not a terrible SO. He was generally fed orders by the XO or CO and communicated them to the men on the ground. He was not a tactical genius, but he understood that the marines needed to stick together and follow the larger plan. Being somewhat of an oddity as a 1st Lt. SO, McClymonds became the XO of the USS San An by 2178. Many of his operational plans he “borrowed” from other XOs/COs or historical battles. He also kept in regular touch with his father, suggesting new weapons systems and needs for Wey-Yu to sell the USCM. As time went on, however, McClymonds became more suspicious of Wey-Yu and his father, eventually deciding to only help them when it helped him. McClymonds was characterized as either extremely careful or extremely aggressive depending on how he thought the fight was going. He himself rarely deployed or fought, and then never when there was great danger, and so placed great emphasis on what his SLs thought would be best to do.
His career was good, but unremarkable. His break came during the Dust Raider evacuation of 2181. A number of CLF, posing as USMC FORECON survivors, managed to attack the San Antonio’s CIC. An SO managed to swipe for Red after the initial blast went off and called for help. McClymonds led a detachment of MPs and Marines from the Brig to surround the CIC and slowly clear it and the vessel. The fighting was fierce, and ship and crew were heavily damaged. Acting CO McClymonds managed to limp the San Antonio back to drydock. This was the first time McClymonds had managed tactics all on his own, without checking out a holobook or two first. When high command heard the story, they offered to promote Capt. McClymonds to Major McClymonds. He accepted, hoping to be stationed back near Earth, instead he was sent off to the USS Almayer.
A call came from the hospital. His father was alert, possibly for the last time. Quickly, he rushed to the hospital to be with his father, bringing the book with him. When Aden say his autobiography, he began to explain himself, “Son, I need you to know that that book isn’t entirely true. Yes, factually it is true. Your grandfather was a weapons salesman. I did help him. I was a coward, and even a bad commander in my own eyes. But that’s just it, this book is from my own eyes. If it seems negative, it is. Years of service after the Neroid evacuation left me disappointed in why I originally joined the Marines. Every action, until I proved myself on the San An all those years ago, I can’t help but think as being motivated by my father. Perhaps if my CO, or one of the fellow marines, or even your mom wrote this it would have sounded different. There isn’t time for me to ask them. I wrote these sections shortly after learning about my promotion to CO. High Command saw something in me that I did not see in myself. That promotion is what’s killing me now, but it’s also how I met your mother and how I was able to get away from Wey-Yu. I would not have been sent to the Dam if I wasn’t CO of the Almayer, and I wouldn’t have deployed if I felt the need to prove myself. Learn from my mistakes, and tell the grandchildren your father’s story.”
The beep of a medbot signaled a new injection of Oxy, and his fathers eyes closed for the last time.
Command Actions:
When do you believe it’s appropriate to pardon a prisoner?
It’s appropriate to pardon a prisoner when at least two conditions (A and C), but preferably all three are met:
A) The prisoner shows remorse and plans to make amends and not commit the crime again.
B) The victim, or the CO standing in for the USMC as a victim of certain crimes, is amiable to the idea of the pardon
C) Keeping the marine imprisoned would have negative consequences to the operation.
Give some examples of when you would or would not use pardon.
The Charlie Smartgunner and Delta Smartgunner get into a chair fight during briefing. Both are imprisoned but are respectful to the MPs and do not vandalize the brig. Upon interrogation they are willing to apologize to one another. Meanwhile marines have deployed and are fighting. I would pardon them as they meet all three criteria.
The Delta SL, infuriated by the arrest of his SG, attempts to break into CIC and begins harassing Command over the radio. His squad has a Spec set as aSL while he is arrested, but the SL does not change his demeanor. Despite the impact to the operation, I would not pardon the SL because they are not reformed or remorseful from their actions, a key end of justice.
In a different scenario, a maintenance tech breaks into the CLs office in order to steal her smokes. The CL catches the MT and the MT is arrested. The CL does not want to drop charges, but the arrested MT is the only MT awake, shipboard decon has been authorized, and has been a model tech otherwise. The tech promises to fix the CL’s door he hacked and to not break into places again. Despite failing to meet condition B, I would judge in these scenarios that the use of a pardon would still fulfill the ends of justice while taking into account the needs of the operation.
When do you believe it’s appropriate to use a Battlefield Execution?
Battlefield Execution is the supreme judicial tool of the CO, unilaterally taking someone out of the round and also reducing his force size. They should only be used when the crime is so serious as to warrant immediate execution, or, when someone is so disruptive to the RP of a round that, for the sake of others, the character needs to be removed from the story. Battlefield execution is as much of an OOC punishment (being taken out of the round) as it is an IC use, and thus should be treated as such.
Give some examples of when you would or would not use Battlefield Execution.
Where I would not use BE:
The Pilot Officer is told to use his own belief when to evacuate planet side. The queen begins to board the Alamo, and so the PO panic locks the ships and takes off, leaving some Marines behind. I would not use BE here because the PO was following orders and attempted to do his best, even if it wasn’t perfect.
A delta marine deconstructs all the chairs at briefing then breaks into the bubble and replaces all the chairs with beds. I would not use a BE here as, while low RP, this does not rise to the level of a serious crime. I instead would let the MPs handle the issue.
Where I would use BE:
A PO, seeing alien forces besiege the FOB, begins calling for marines to evacuate despite orders against it. He leaves several marines behind by leaving, intentionally against orders, far too early. Here the PO is not trying his best, and his negligence rises to the matter of a serious crime, as well as ruining the round for others. I would use BE here because it is proportionate to the negligence and/or malice of the marine involved, as well as rising to the occasion of an OOC punishment.
A delta marine is standing in front of the bubble before briefing. He has stolen the hanger megaphone, and is using it to seriously insult myself, my command staff, my plan after being told to stop, and disrupting briefing. This would rise to the level of a Battlefield Execution. The marine is seriously undermining the marine’s confidence in me, attempting to counterman my plan, and is generally being Low RP. In character, a BE would make sense as a show of force against any possible rioters while it is a fitting OOC punishment for disrupting the round.
A doctor creates a stimulate which has some major negative side effects, such as addiction. He deploys this stim without telling me or the CMO. Upon hearing that he has harmed marines, he is unrepentant and continues to make and distribute the drug. In this case, I would use a BE as the crime is so serious and the disregard for other marines so great as to rise to the level of immediate execution. It is also a fitting OOC punishment, provided there is no RP reason for him to have done this. If there was an RP reason, for example he was actually a CLF saboteur, I would consider arresting him in stead for the sake of roleplay.
