Commanding Officer Application - Moonshanks
What is your BYOND key?
Moonshanks
What is your Discord ID?
Moonshanks
What is your timezone in UTC?
UTC+01
Player Name You Use Most?
Mateo ‘Buckwild’ Martinez, Viktor ‘Iron’ Mallard
Ban Appeals, Whitelist and Staff Applications:
All other appeals/applications are over a year old.
Have you been banned in the last 3 months?
No
If so, why?
Command Knowledge:
How familiar are you with command positions?
I am very familiar with command positions. I have played a significant amount of command roles and have around 30 hours in SO, and 23 in SL. As well as over the required hours for XO.
I understand the mechanics behind command, and the routine checks needed for each pre-op (OB, SLs, Briefing, AA, Altitude if you’re cool) I also understand the necessity in keeping consistent, concise and informational announcements coupled with occasional tac-maps.
On top of this, I have a plan of action for every single map and LZ. While I am flexible in my plans, I find that having these pre-planned routes can help significantly with the early-round organisation.
Hours in XO:
53.3
Hours in SL:
29.5
Character Information:
Why did your character decide to become the CO of a ship?
Mateo ‘Buckwild’ Martinez worked extensively within auxiliary support departments. Specifically, they worked for USCM intelligence as a field officer (IO) from 1st to 2nd LT.
During this time they were assigned a team in order to perform operations in the field, typically in information gathering but sometimes in strike missions behind enemy lines.
Mateo and their team were part of a strike team during the Canton Operation to eliminate AA defenses around key spaceports prior to the rival of the main USCM fleet. Though their team had heavy casualties, and they lost both dropships they came in on (needing to be extracted) they were successful in their mission, a feat that Mateo was awarded the rank of Captain for, and mentorship under a major on an escort ship the USS Halsey, assigned to anti-guerrilla operations in the Neroid Sector. Eventually after proving themselves in hit-and-run tactics Mateo was promoted to Major and put in charge of a retrofitted cargo vessel the USS Damocles.
The USS Damocles was designed to appear outwardly as a normal cargo vessel on all scanners, it’s primary mission was protecting haulage vessels against piracy both in and out of port. The reason for the USS Damocles’ concealment was psychological warfare. The thinking in the USCM at the time was that because the USCM didn’t have the fleet power to protect or patrol all cargo lanes, instead it could convince pirates that any cargo vessel could be armed. The USS Damocles was not a ship fit for conventional warfare, it was both under-armored and under-gunned, however, as a vessel to perform stealth takedowns on pirate ships it was more than adequate, and its deployment in the Neroid Sector lowered piracy significantly.
The USS Damocles was finally damaged beyond the point of being worth repairing when it came into conflict with an unidentified pirate vessel, along with the TWE ship the HMS Beowulf, a much bigger warship in its own right that was unable to properly engage the pirates at the time due to sabotage onboard the vessel.
During this fight, Mateo sustained injuries resulting in them being fitted with a prosthetic left arm. It was after the loss of the Damocles, and the subsequent loss of the Almayer’s CO during Operation Tychon Tackle that Mateo was assigned to the Almayer. They were picked to be the CO of the Almayer due to their experience in anti-piracy and guerrilla warfare, as well as their battle experience in the Neroid Sector. However, doubts have risen amongst the upper brass about Mateo’s ability to lead a vessel as big as the Almayer, since both the USS Halsey and USS Damocles had significantly smaller crews.
How did your character attain the position of CO?
Mateo obtained the rank of CO through dedicated and specified work in informational warfare, and guerilla fighting/deep operations.
While they weren’t picked initially for a commanding role due to their tendency to fly off the handle (hence the nickname buckwild), they proved themselves useful in the new age of warfare that the USCM found themselves in.
Assigning Mateo to the Almayer is a gable by HC but the hope is that their experience in dealing with asymmetric warfare, as well as their extensive knowledge of the Neroid Sector, will assist Mateo in wiping out any CLF threat that arises once more.
Provide a short story of your CO.
Command Actions:
When do you believe it’s appropriate to pardon a prisoner?
The pardoning of prisoners is only acceptable when one or more of the following conditions are met:
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The prisoner is key to the operation of the round, while certain roles are limited, such as specialist or SL, that doesn’t mean they are key to the round. If the prisoner is in a limited role where there is only one of them awake, and that role plays a key part in the main combat loop of the round (say a squad with no appropriate aSL and the SL gets arrested) then I would consider pardoning them. The alpha specialist being arrested while all other specialists are deployed probably isn’t going to get a pardon.
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The prisoner is guilty of the crime they are charged with, and the sentence is appropriate for the crime they are charged with. If I have any suspicion that the prisoner is not guilty of the crime they are charged with, or the sentence has been misplaced for the crime they committed, then an appeal is in order. I would NOT pardon prisoners who are eligible to have their sentence appealed, since there is no reason to put myself at risk of being arrested by pardoning, instead of appealing.
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The prisoner hasn’t been LRP in any way (to the best of my knowledge) or isn’t known for being LRP. If the prisoner has shown signs of LRP or otherwise “goofing off” where not appropriate (disrupting briefing, ignoring indirect orders, breaking rules like netspeak, purposely soft antaging like going around and stealing everyone’s shoes) I wouldn’t be giving them a pardon, as the risk of them breaking another law, or otherwise causing issues once pardoned is too great.
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I am confident that the prisoner won’t commit another crime that they would be arrested for, for the duration of the operation. As mentioned above, if there is a significant risk that the prisoner will commit another crime then I will not pardon them, this risk can usually be assessed by asking: has the prisoner committed a violent crime? why did they commit this crime? was the crime committed in order to further the operation, or was it done for personal gain? was the crime committed as a joke?
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The crime that the person committed was done directly to assist or improve the operation in a way that couldn’t be avoided. If an SO, or SL, or other prisoner commits a selfless act that directly assists the operation but is also a crime, I would be far more likely to pardon them. For example, if an SO ignored procedure to assist marines deploying faster, or give them equipment that they wouldn’t otherwise have (I know we can’t hand out HG kits without HG DW I wouldn’t support an SO doing that) then I would be more likely to pardon them if I was sure they wouldn’t do it again.
Give some examples of when you would or would not use pardon.
I’ll give four examples, two where I would give a pardon, and two where I would not:
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A staff officer is arrested for assault as they punched someone once in the briefing as they walked past, they immediately started apologizing and did not resist arrest, I was a witness to their arrest but was not involved in it. When I go to their cell and speak to them they say they slipped and it was an accident. I would not issue a pardon. Instead, I would appeal the situation as assault requires “ill intent” in order to be assault, the attack being a singular punch and an accident suggests they had no ill intent, and is legal grounds for a pardon.
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There is no RO or CT present at the req line, Squad leader is arrested for breaking into req and attempting to distribute items to marines waiting in the req line, despite not having ID access. They do not resist arrest, and immediately leave the req room when asked to by MPs, they are arrested for FTFP and trespassing. I did not notice them being LRP at any point in the round, and they explain to me that they were only attempting to arm marines with gear before briefing as no CTs or ROs were present at the req line. I would pardon this marine on the grounds that they were attempting to assist the operation, they occupy a limited role, and they have not shown any signs of LRP, violence, or repeated offending.
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The CL hires a marine to defend them, and the marine signs a contract to do so. MPs get reports that the CL has a xeno in their containment cell and that a marine is refusing to deploy and claiming they’re the CL’s “bodyguard” in the CL’s office. When the MPs go to the CL’s office and attempt to intervene in the situation, both the marine and the CL become violent and assault the MPs in an attempt to stop either of them from being arrested. I would not under any circumstances pardon this individual: they’re in a highly replaceable role; they committed a crime for their own gain; they are arguably goofing off or acting poorly by assaulting MPs to attempt to stop the CL from being arrested; they violent committed a crime which suggests they’d be likely to commit another similar crime in the future.
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The synthetic is arrested for FTFP for taking equipment from req without asking req personnel first. When questioned their reasoning was that they failed to notice a change in the crew manifest that showed that the RO had awoken. They were arrested by an MP for this. I would first inform the council as even though this is clearly a simple mistake the respective councils have to be informed on WL violations. 2ndly I would fax HC to have the MP investigated for malicious compliance, the synthetic clearly didn’t take anything important nor did they do so with an intent to harm others or otherwise break ML, thirdly I would speak to the RO and assess why they wanted the synth arrested for this if the MP had arrested the synth on the ROs orders. I would also pardon the synthetic as they are WL restricted to not break ML and I would be confident that I wouldn’t be putting myself at any risk.
When do you believe it’s appropriate to use a Battlefield Execution?
Battlefield Executions are ONLY appropriate in specific situations such as:
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There are NO MP present to resolve the situation, or the situation presents such an immediate threat that the MPs will not respond in time to subdue it (someone pointing a gun directly at me or someone else with intent to fire)
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All reasonable attempts to deescalate the situation have failed, again if the threat is immediate this step may be skipped.
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The perpetrator has committed an act worthy of battlefield execution (Threatening someone’s life, destroying key equipment, being actively and repeatedly LRP toward myself or in a way that disrupts briefing, making 18+ comments towards myself.
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Someone is directly disrupting my ability to command or lead the operation.
Examples of the following below:
Give some examples of when you would or would not use Battlefield Execution.
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Really obvious first one, if someone points a gun at me and threatens lethality (i.e. it’s clear it’s not a joke) then they will be BE’d on the spot, including if there are MPs within the room. That is an immediate and very real threat that I have every right to deal with lethally. The same goes if they’re threatening the lives of others in the room in the same way. Obviously if an MP cuffs or otherwise restrains them before I get to battlefield execute them then I would immediately stop what I was doing.
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Someone is committing a major crime in front of me that is threatening the safety of others, such as explosive DTGP, assault with deadly weapon, someone attempting to cut power to CIC, and there are no MPs free, I have ordered them to stop with them ignoring me, and I have no stun weapons.
-someone makes any 18+ comments towards me that are creepy or otherwise sexualizing my character (I had someone ask my synth for sex before ;( )
- Someone for example is repeatedly pulling me out of the command bubble, in an attempt to get me to sign something (looking at you CLs) or to listen to them about something less important than the mission. I have asked them to stop, MPs aren’t present, I have resisted against them with equal force (shoving them back) and they continue to drag me out of the bubble. At this point they are inhibiting my ability to command and are failing to stop when asked, or resisted against, I would (if I did not have cuffs or stun weapons available) BE them.
