Commanding Officer Code of Conduct

system · March 15, 2023, 7:51pm

Commanding Officer Code of Conduct

Important CO Wiki Pages

Conduct and Expectations

Every Commanding Officer is to follow the standards for the role set out below if they are to retain their whitelist. These rulings are mandatory for every whitelisted CO and violations will result in punitive action.

Commanding Officers are the leaders of the Marines and must act as role models in both roleplay and setting the atmosphere of the server. You must look, dress and behave with a mentality befitting the setting and role.

Standard Operating Procedure

The Commanding Officer may modify Standard Operating Procedure, with the exception of the Non-Modifiable sections. Any such modifications must be made with caution and must not be abusive, unreasonable, or open to exploitation.

SOP changes must be publicly communicated via announcements.
Modifications may be reversed or belayed by discretion of High Command.
Any modifications to the Standard Operating Procedure must serve the overall benefit of the Marines, the ship, or the mission. SOP changes should not impose unreasonable restrictions on equipment usage or hinder operational effectiveness, such as ‘no shotguns’ or mandates like ‘all Marines must walk’ are not acceptable.
Any change to the SOP that conflicts with server rules will result in the Staff and the Council taking action against you.
Server Staff and CO Council have the final say on whether an SOP modification is acceptable or not.

Pardons

The Commanding Officer may pardon criminals by name, and the crimes they are being pardoned for. Only Minor and Major crimes may be pardoned. Capital offenders may not be pardoned except in special circumstances with the permission of High Command.

The Commanding Officer does not have to be physically present to issue a pardon announcement, as long as they are aware of the crimes committed and roughly when they were committed.
A pardon must be investigated by the Commanding Officer to be valid.
Ideally, a prisoner should have been through an appeals process before issuing a pardon; however, this is not mandatory.
Pardons must be officialized via full announcements
Pardons should not be given en masse to multiple prisoners. Each is an individual case.

Cancelling Arrests

The Commanding Officer may invoke their pardoning authority to cancel the arrest, or warrant of arrest, for a person before they are placed in the ship’s brig. This follows standard procedure in the same way as if a pardon was conducted normally from the ship’s brig.

The cancelled arrest must be announced.
They are subject to HC appeal.
The Commanding Officer takes full responsibility for the actions of the perpetrator being pardoned.
- If the person whose arrest was canceled via pardon reoffends, MPs may request the arrest of the CO.

Arrest cancellations can only be issued if the Commanding Officer is in the same general vicinity as the person who is being arrested.

For example, if the CO is on the ground, they may only issue such a pardon to people who are on the ground with them, and vice versa.

Arrest cancellations may not be used on suspects who are in the process of committing a crime, have resisted or are resisting arrest, or are already interned in the brig (in the latter case, a regular pardon may be used instead).
Arrest cancellations may not be used to cancel or prohibit the enforcement of a warrant/order of arrest from High Command.

Discretionary Arrests

A discretionary arrest bypasses Marine Law standard restrictions on who can be arrested as the need for Marine Law to have been broken, and is immune from the Prevarication charge unless overturned by High Command. Military Police must comply with discretionary arrests ordered by the CO under penalty of NoD. They may fax High Command if they believe it to be a misuse of power.

The CO can DA anyone below their rank. They cannot attempt to order the arrest of equal or superior rank
COs can issue DAs on top of ML-related crimes as a way of extending their brig sentence of a crime. For example, a Marine can be arrested for NoD but brigged indefinitely as part of a DA.

It is up to the CO to decide the duration of the DA, the default time is permanently. Inform the Military Police of the duration if applicable.

If the CO who issues a DA is permanently killed, incapacitated, or goes to cryo, the acting Commander or the CMP will all be able to release DA’d prisoners.

Arrest Immunity

The Commanding Officer may not be arrested for crimes committed without written authorization from High Command. An arrest is only considered valid if a warrant can be procured and presented directly to the Commanding Officer for deposition. USCM general officers, field officers acting under a general’s authority, Provost Marshals and above are the only ones able to immediately order the arrest of a CO without a written warrant.

Should an invalid arrest attempt be made on the CO, the attempt is to be declared as Sedition, and the CO has the right to defend themselves to an appropriate extent.

Medal Issuance

Commanding Officers are the sole officers in their unit who are able to directly bestow a medal upon a person, civilian or military, for extraordinary acts in the line of duty.

Medals should be given for special occasions or actions that are above and beyond the typical duties and responsibilities of the awardee. Examples include self-sacrifice, exceptional ability or talent, or ingenious strategy.

Medals should not be awarded to personnel who are simply doing their job. The mess technician, for example, should not be awarded a medal for simply cooking food.
Medals should not be awarded for unusual but unremarkable actions as well. They should be reserved for special moments that would be deserving of a medal in a real-world scenario.
Giving medals with a demeaning intent (such as to mock a Marine for poor actions) is strictly prohibited.

Demotions or Relief of Duty

The Commanding Officer is additionally able to remove or relieve someone of their position or title, enlisted and officer, up to and including the Executive Officer, without necessarily ordering their arrest. This should be done for very serious circumstances only, such as severe negligence, insubordination, or misconduct.

In the event of a demotion, the Commanding Officer may demote the person in question to Rifleman, to which they are afforded no more privileges than a Marine enlisted as a Rifleman to begin with. Their ID should be updated to reflect this change.

Personnel may also be relieved of duty altogether, during which they are stripped of their rank and role entirely and confined to the ship as a passenger. Personnel relieved of duty can also be stripped of their right to bear arms and may have personal weapons taken away. Their ID should also be terminated or reduced to guest-level access.

Battlefield Executions

The Commanding Officer may perform Battlefield Executions. This means they may personally execute anyone under their authority on the ship or Area of Operations without warning or procedure unless in MP Custody, provided their words or actions fulfil one of the following conditions:

High Command, Provost Marshals, Regimental Command (CO Council dispatched by staff) and Event Characters (as defined by the event running admin) inherit the power to Battlefield Execute following normal guidelines.
A threat to your command. Credibly attempting to or threatening to undermine your command, or attempting to remove your command through illegal means. (Minor insults, disagreements, or being faxed about to High Command is not undermining your command. Countermanding or refusing to follow orders is.)
A threat to persons. Credibly threatening and attempting to do harm to the Commanding Officer or to someone while in the Commanding Officer’s presence.
A threat to the ship or operation. Credibly threatening or attempting to do damage to the ship, the USCM, or operation while in the Commanding Officer’s presence.
Battlefield Executions should not be done in such a way it creates collateral damage or risks involving innocent parties or persons, they should be performed in person and target each individual individually. For example, the Orbital Cannon may not be used for BE’s. Upon completion of a Battlefield Execution, an announcement must be made within a reasonable time explaining why the person was executed and noting their name and position. The Commanding Officer may not Battlefield Execute a person in custody of the MPs (securely restrained or brigged) unless performing a normal execution is not possible (such as during a Delta Alert). Additionally, the Commanding Officer may request permission to execute prisoners in ways different from Firing Squad or Lethal Injection to High Command or authorize nonstandard methods of execution in emergencies where the normal procedure is impossible.
The presence of Military Police does not forbid the use of a Battlefield Execution. If the offense is severe enough and the individual has not been restrained or taken into custody by the Military Police, a Battlefield Execution may be carried out at the Commanding Officer’s discretion.
Aside from the conditions outlined above, Battlefield Execution may also be issued to punish LRP behavior, out-of-character or meme references, and explicit adult content, in order to preserve the integrity of the roleplay environment. Whitelisted Commanding Officers are entrusted with this authority and are expected to exercise sound judgment. The use of Battlefield Executions is monitored by the CO Council, and any abuse of this privilege may result in severe disciplinary actions, including removal from the Whitelist.

How to Perform a Standard Battlefield Execution

These steps apply to a standard BE performed using an execution-capable sidearm such as the CO’s Mateba or Desert Eagle.

Wield your execution-capable sidearm (Mateba or Desert Eagle). Make sure high-impact or high-impact armor-piercing ammunition is loaded.
Aim for the head. Make sure you are on harm intent.
Fire. If successful this will begin a wind-up with a message (“X aims at Y’s head!”). After a few seconds, your sidearm will fire, executing the target.
A BE is successful if the message " [target] was EXECUTED! " appears in red in the chat, and (if a medical HUD is equipped) their status indicator immediately switches to the dead icon (skull) or heartbroken icon.
Announce the execution via announcements, alongside the reasoning.

Ammunition Information

High-impact ammunition on the Mateba and Desert Eagle will knock down and stun whoever you fire it at for a period of time – this can be used to close the gap between you and someone you are chasing and will stack – continually firing at someone will keep them stunned until you run out of ammunition (or they blackout). The stun time can be reduced with stimulants but not removed altogether. High-impact ammunition will stun regardless of the target’s armor.

Guest Commanders & Their Rights

Guest Commanders are individuals recovered during an active patrol or combat operation. These commanders are afforded the standard privileges outlined below.

A Guest Commander is not in the Chain of Command or Line of Succession for a ship’s operations command unless the current acting Commander (CO or XO, whoever is higher-ranking) explicitly allows. Guest Commanders are not allowed to forcibly take over an operation without the consent of the acting Commander unless the latter is deposed, arrested, incapacitated, or goes to cryo. Should a proper Commander be absent for the aforementioned reasons, the Guest Commander can retain temporary operation command until a proper Commander is assigned or wakes from cryo.

A Guest Commander’s authority is derived from that of the acting Commander; if the acting Commander believes them to be fraudulent or otherwise unable to verify their identity or connection with the USCM, they will not be afforded authority to issue general orders and may be treated like a civilian.

Guest Commanders such as those recovered from the ground,have the following rights afforded to them by default:

Arrest immunity. Guest Commanders may not be arrested without the explicit authorization of High Command and the procurement and presentation of a written warrant issued by HC to said Commander. This is the same procedure as the ship’s Commanding Officer.
Privileges afforded to all officers. Guest Commanders retain the rights of a senior-ranking officer, including the ability to order the arrests or NJPs of personnel.
Rights by rank. Guest Commanders ranked Major (O-4) or above remain the highest-ranking officers onboard the ship. They are permitted to order personnel around for general orders (such as leaving an area) but may not do so in an official or operational capacity, as they are not in the Chain of Command.
- A Guest Commander, for example, can demand to be let into a particular area or have personnel leave them alone; they may not, however, order around troops in the area of operations, or issue orders that affect anyone but themselves.
The right to self-defense. Guest Commanders retain their ability and weapons for Battlefield Executions and may perform so if they feel the life of themself, and themselves only, is in danger.
Authority over their own squadrons. Guest Commanders who retain command of several personnel are allowed to exert full authority over them; examples are the Commanding Officers of recovered Marine platoons or squadrons. This extends to Guest Commanders being able to perform battlefield executions on personnel directly under their command.

Guest Commanders cannot issue tactical orders or perform battlefield executions, pardons, or other executive action on Marines not under their command. Guest Commanders are, however, allowed to handle standard appeals for personnel; however, they should ideally not be the first pick for the job.

Should a Guest Commander be appointed as the acting Commander due to the absence or authorization of the ship’s Commander, they may acquire all privileges afforded to that of the ship’s Commanding Officer.

Guest Commanders may be permitted to deploy back into the area of operations. Should they do this, they are afforded only the level of authority of that of a Staff Officer or Squad Leader; they may order Marines around them, but should not be influencing the operation unless explicitly allowed to by the acting Commander.

Guest Commanders are allowed to avail of any weaponry available to them; this includes the special-issue Commanding Officer equipment available in the ship CO’s own quarters, of which permission from the ship’s CO is required to enter.

Visiting Officers & Their Rights

Visiting Officers are brought on board the Almayer independently of any combat operation or rendezvoused with for an outside purpose, their privileges are separate from Guest Commanders

Visiting Officers are non-combatants and foremost observers, they at no point should be deploying, giving orders or taking control of the Operation from any Command Staff or Duty Officer.
In the event of a Hijack or a Delta Alert scenario, Visiting Officers are not required to leave but may if they wish. During a Delta Alert scenario the Visiting Officer is allowed to take up arms and assist in the defense or evacuation of the ship, they should not be fighting alone.
They should not be using the onboard CO’s weaponry (Smartgun, M46C). They may use the locker to purchase sidearm ammunition, clothing items or armor.
Visiting Officers are not afforded the same arrest Immunity rights as the Acting Almayer CO, Guest or Regimental Commanders.