Osekiel - Commanding Officer Application

Whitelists Commanding Officer Applications
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Commanding Officer Application - Osekiel

What is your BYOND key?

Osekiel

What is your Discord ID?

Zirakeal

What is your timezone in UTC?

+1 UTC during winter and +2 UTC during summer (My timezone is CET)

Player Name You Use Most?

XO/SO: Sable White, Other (SL included) : Rain Bonteri

Ban Appeals, Whitelist and Staff Applications:

N/A

Have you been banned in the last 3 months?

N/A

If so, why?

N/A

Command Knowledge:

How familiar are you with command positions?

I know it all and can do it all.

I can solo run operations from CIC without help and get the marines ground side by 0:22 at the latest. I know marine law and SOP standards and am able to apply them effectively! I do acknowledge my low hours on MP, but I find the role itself to be rather boring. I don’t mind the appeals process as they can be quite fun and allows for good roleplay on my part as the XO!

For me the most important aspect of command is the ability to facilitate fun through roleplay or commanding abilities. Thus the thing I always strive for when in CIC is creating reasonable fun for those who are below and above me!

Hours in XO:

133

Hours in SL:

68

Character Information:

Why did your character decide to become the CO of a ship?

Sable White is a part of a prominent noble family from the southern provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. When the UPP were posturing to take over large parts of mainland Europe, her family chose to leave to the United States, bringing with them whatever liquid wealth they could get and quickly creating new connections within the American high class. Using this, they reestablished a strong presence in the banking and investment sectors trough shrewd deals and “timely” investments; her early members managed to carve a place for the De Wits name, which was changed later to “White”

However, time hasn’t been kind. Mismanagement, internal feuds and the slow loss of influence, left the current state of the family a shadow of its former self. While the men in the family chose finance related career paths, the women were generally more encouraged to play the diplomacy role within the family and Sable’s early life wasn’t that different. However after seeing the slow decline of the estate, she saw which way the wind was blowing and chose a different path, a rather unique one for her family

Sable chose to be a career officer, joined not out of patriotism, but out of reason and calculation. A career officer’s commission offered a lot, but most importantly, a chance to regain the honour and reputation the name had lost over the generations. Becoming the CO of a ship wasn’t a goal of hers, it was a milestone. Something that shows her that she is pulling it off.

That the White name still means something in this age.

How did your character attain the position of CO?

Sable White started her military career in Officer Candidate School, she found she had talent as a field tactician with a good sense of asymmetrical warfare and (human) Intelligence driven operations. Her early career saw her with intel and recon teams as 2ndLt, gathering intel from behind binoculars, by talking to the locals and informants and pouring over maps. Exposing cells, weapon caches or just the lone operative. Promotions followed, but rarely easily - she has a bit of a habit to speak plainly and directly when talking to those above and below her, Sable blames her Dutch rootes.

Sable’s career hasn’t been marked with popularity, but with the choices she makes. She is the kind of officer you could rely on to make the right call when things were going sideways or even upside down. When Command needs somebody to deal with insurgents, rebels or so called “freedom fighters” who are intertwined with the local populace they would call for Sable White and she would usually deliver with the results they needed. With the loss of a Major in operation: [REDACTED], a place opened up in the upper echelons. Thus High Command gave her the promotion she wanted and command of a vessel: The USS Final Courtesy.

Provide a short story of your CO.

Command Actions:

When do you believe it’s appropriate to pardon a prisoner?

Pardons in my opinion should be rarely given out, they are only to be used in exceptional situations that may call for them, as pardons supersede the dedicated appeals process we have. Pardons allow us the look past the facts of an arrest and weight them against the needs of an operation, therefore pardons follow I small checklist I have:

-Will the pardon lead to the certainty that the operation will be better off?
-What is the behaviour of the prisoner? Is he aggressive and dodgy or does he show some remorse and was cooperative with MP’s?
-What are the charges and the circumstances?

I also know in essence that I assume the responsibility of the actions of the pardoned person when pardoning. Making sure that this person won’t break any more marine laws is quite important to me as CO.

Give some examples of when you would or would not use pardon.

Would NOT pardon

  1. A marine broke into REQ to demand their equipment from the QM, a bit later he also steals some of the equipment he wants from. The QM calls for the MP’s and the marine goes willingly with the MP’s. He gets arrested for “theft” and “trespassing”, in the appeals he asks for a pardon as he argues that no harm has been done and has been cooperative. Sable does NOT give a pardon as while the behavior has been good on the prisoners part, his pardon will not lead to the certainty that the operation will be better off. She simply tells him that next time he waits in line with the rest of the marines for their equipment from REQ.

  2. I wake up as CO and find that my XO has been arrested for “NOD”. When I arrive at the brig I hear from the CMP that the XO has eaten a pie made out of a XX-121 corpse which the XO had specifically asked for over the telephone to the kitchen. They even modified the access card of the chef for him to be able to get into research for a XX-121 corpse. While the XO shows remorse, acknowledges the wrong doings when I talk to him, I would NOT pardon the XO as his behavior described by the CMP gives me the feeling he might do it again or break some other SOP rule or marine law when I pardon him. A XO should be held to a bit of a higher standard of marine law than the average marine.

  3. A FOB doctor gets into a fight at REQ line, he gets arrested and starts screaming over comms that I should pardon him as he is the FOB doc and important to the operation. I would not pardon him as his behaviour is rather lacking, rebellious and he isn’t essential to the operation. I would also believe even if I pardon him there is a good chance he will re offend.

WOULD pardon

  1. After cryo and equipping themselves two marines are in a scuffle in the hallways which leads to a shootout, a Squad leader who walked by gets hit hard. The squad leader returns fire and at the end of it 2 marines and the SL are quite injured. MP’s come by and arrest all 3 involved, they all get charged with “Assault with a deadly weapon” and “Disorderly Conduct”. They all ask for a pardon, Sable would deny the 2 marines the pardon as they are the ones who started it. The SL however argues he was scared this fight would spill over or hurt and maybe even kill a marine who wasn’t even involved as he himself was also shot. Making apparent that he did understand what the consequences were and was remorseful for his actions. Sable WOULD pardon this SL on the grounds that the SL did it out of fear of his life and other people’s lives. The SL shows remorse and she can be certain he would lead to a better outcome for the operation in general and that he won’t break marine law again. However she will tell the marine next time to find cover, not break marine law again and let the MP’s handle it. In Sable’s eyes he broke protocol, but not principle.

  2. Over the radio I hear a PVT being arrested for “assault with a deadly weapon”, at the brig I meet with the CMP. The CMP explains to me that the PVT has shot somebody and the injured person is currently being treated in medbay for their wounds. I WOULD pardon the PVT as he is clearly new and needs some help. I would see if I can get somebody to help them like a SEA or contact a mentor.

  3. Researcher is in brig, he has been arrested for giving access to research to an IO without the CMO consent. On comms the Normandy Pilot is screaming about how there are 6 hugged coming up going late stage and I notice that medbay is understaffed. I would pardon the researcher as medbay is overwhelmed with hugs and needs the extra help.

When do you believe it’s appropriate to use a Battlefield Execution?

In my eyes BE’s are a tool given to the CO whitelist to uphold roleplay standards. I would use it only in cases where there is an immediate threat to my command/life/marines which can’t be solved through ordinary means or when there is very LRP behaviour. I believe it should be sparingly used and with measure, as there are usually 10 other ways to solve something before round ending somebody. Each case should be looked at individually as each one will be unique.

Give some examples of when you would or would not use Battlefield Execution.

Would BE

  1. I’m groundside commanding in the caves on LV624, I’m looking through my binos and TACMAP. With this I have identified a xeno death ball amassing on the flanks threatening a marine wipe. I start giving orders to fallback and fall out of caves to a more secure position. Meanwhile a SL started countering my command by telling the marines to hold, saying things like that the CO is a coward and not to trust him. For this I would BE him as he is undermining my command and may cause a full wipe of the marines at the front if the flank happens.

  2. My XO is leading briefing when a fight breaks out due to some round start shananings between the squads, MP’s swoop in and try to break it up. However even after arresting the most provocative marines the fight still continues. I give one warning by shooting my matabe into the air and telling the marines that this is the final warning. If they continue I would BE one of the aggressors as clearly control has been lost by the MP’s and this is the only way to get things back on track.

  3. I do my rounds on the Ship, when I hear hissing and roaring coming from the research containment area. I would go in and find out that the researcher have grown a corrupted hive without informing me or the CMO.I would BE the researchers involved creating a credible threat to ship and undermining my command.

Would not BE

  1. I’m groundside at Big red, approaching the locks of Lambda. I’m in the center of the marine push when the Queen swoops in and scree’s. While I’m help intenting the marines up to counter the Queens scree, I get blasted from behind going almost down to crit. While I’m thinking about BE’s I would check his name and rank and see that he is a PFC . He would say something along the lines of “my fault” or “sorry”. I would not BE him as its true he almost killed me and pissed me off at the end of the day. I do know everyone makes mistakes, and this is one of them.

  2. I’m in CIC when giving orders, when shit hits the fan and it all goes down hill. It’s chaos. In the middle of this the SO in CIC starts blaming me and insulting me. Saying I caused the operation to fail and losing the marines their lives with my shit orders. Now, I’m not going to BE him, as he is not undermining the operation and not a threat to my life. However I would have him pulled out of CIC and arrested for DASO and Insubordination after telling him to get back on the OW console. I would also talk to him after the fact about where the line between critique and outright disrespect is.

2 Likes
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Honestly, my only spot of feedback is that sometimes you make announcements or radio things in a way that sort of feels really…desperate for meta reasons? Like knowing you’re on the brink of snowballing the round and winning if you can just get marines to do X. And it’s actually really common with XOs, so no shame there at all. But i do think your character and her entire background is super interesting and there’s something to build off of there. I guess i just wish announcements had a little more personality! Even if it was calculated to align with her tactician background, maybe that means less allcaps, etc. Or if you want her to have a chip on her shoulder, play into that. But i read your flavortext and was instantly like “wow this character idea is actually super different and cool”; i’d like to see it come out a little more.

Otherwise, though, you’re one of my favorite XOs; i see you at the head of an op and i know i’m in for a good, fast-paced, no-holds-barred type of round with rare energy in it; the kind of rounds that make me want to play this server.

all said, still a hefty +1 from me, for what it means; and i think the refinement of character stuff is the easier part to pick up. making an atmosphere is the harder part, and to me, you nail that.

2 Likes
4

+1 Serious XO and good player.

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5

Competent XO, if occasionally a little uninformative on the comms, and good RP.

+1 from me.

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6

Hey there Osekiel!

Thanks for taking the time to engage with the CO WL.

I’ve just finished reading your application, and I want to preface my overall comment by saying how impressed I was with the formatting of your CO story. Truly some of the coolest usage of google docs to have graced the WL in a long while.

While some might not think much of it, I know firsthand how much of a pain it is to have google docs cooperate when formatting, and I think it reflects the high level of passion and effort you’ve put into your app overall.

High praise in that regard!

In regards to your BE and pardon answers, I think you’ve done a great job of capturing the spirit of CO WL provisions, especially with this line here:

I was hoping I could provide you some challenge questions for you take a stab at (which you arent obligated to answer) so we can get a sense of your actions in specific situations.

  1. After a lengthy ground battle in which you were deployed as a CO, you are forced to return to the Almayer as your CMP informs you a green hive has been created, and has killed several members of staff. After killing the moderately sized corrupted hive, you round up the researchers responsible, but several people have gone to perma. You demand the researchers explain themselves immediately, and they insist that they received authorization to begin the project from the XO while you were deployed. Who is held responsible in this situation?

  2. While you oversee a FOB siege from CIC as the CO, you receive a comms transmission from the CMP, informing you that they have discovered a large amount of contraband weaponry in the Req department, stating their intent to arrest the only active cargo technician for illegally modifying the ASRS system to source shoddy and unreliable weaponry for the Marine front. As the CMP begins their arrest, the CT calls to you over comms, saying that Req was “out of supply budget!” and they sourced black-market goods to “assist the faltering Marines at the FOB!!”. How do you deal with this situation?

  3. During a pre-operational briefing in the hangar, an SL suddenly shouts above your orders and stands in front of you, obfuscating your text. They state: “The COs plan is going to get us all killed. I refuse to deploy until the CO is removed from command, for the good of the Marines”. The MPs present at the briefing quickly move to apprehend the SL, and place him in handcuffs while he continues to shout for marines to disregard your plan. Would you BE the SL in this case? If so, why?

2 Likes
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Hey thanks for the questions! The situations you have laid out for me are certainly interesting, so to give more insight on how Sable would act I will try to answer them to the best of my and her’s abilities!

  1. In Sable’s opinion resposibility would follow the Chain of Command. If it’s true that the XO did give the order then the XO would be held liable for the deaths he caused, if not then the researchers would be held liable. At the end of the day DEATHS were caused by the choices made and somebody needs to answer for them.
    Sable would say something along the lines of if the XO is held responsible.

"The researches are naive. The XO on the other hand? He was negligent and dereliction at this level is a neglection of duty to the USMC.

  1. First, we are in a FOB siege, that means one thing SUPPLIES MUST FLOW. Thus I would commend the CMP for following protocols and looking out for contraband, but immedialty arresting without ensuring a replacement risks the entire operation. The marines groundside don’t care about who is in cuffs and who did what, the ycare about metal, ammo and meds. So I would ask the CMP to delay the arrest and wait until the XO can assign somebody who can cover REQ. Sable would however also see that responsibitly is SPLIT. The CT should have notified command earlier that the budget and situation was getting desperate down in REQ, but desperation isn’t a defence to source shody and unreliable weapons from the blackmarket (Sable also has a reputation to maintain in this regard). At the same time, CIC also holds partial responsibility, as they need to be aware of the REQ budget and the happenings on the ship. This wasn’t neglice of duty, but more a failure of coordination between everybody.

  2. I would not BE him, MP’s already have him sorted and are dragging him away to the depths of brig. I would however take this chance to give a speach to maybe counteract any damage the SL has done to the marines trust of me. It would probably look something like this!

"Look, I understand the SL, I too have disagreed with higher command over decisions that got people killed. But what you just saw was not courage, it was fear. I won’t lie to you, every operation is dangerous and things have a tendency to turn into deep holes of shit. But I don’t send you into hell unprepared, Every move and order, even any breath has been worked into my calculations and plans. I do not promise that all of you that you will live trough this. But I will promise this, I will never waste your lives. Now get ready to do what mariens do best.

Follow orders, watch eachothers back and make sure the enemy regrets being born today.
Dismissed"

2 Likes
8

I decided to hold off on my -1 to see whether you had improved since I last played, but this past round (27856) has confirmed that I still don’t think you are a good XO. Every time I see you play, you give non-descript and frankly, oftentimes, spammy or tactically irrelevant/outdated information. It seems like you wait on the announcement button during critical situations only to say things like, ‘Queen on CO!’ (nobody has a CO tracker), or ‘Throw flares!’ in a desperate skirmish where you could, instead, hold your announcement until you have something useful to say. Here’s some examples of what I mean, and what I think you could do to improve them.

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When you say, North, what do you mean by North? Such announcements should be said on COMMS to those who are in the area, instead of the entire marine force, most of whom are not south of wherever you meant by this.
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Marines have been fighting the Queen, on the frontline, for at least 10 minutes straight at this point. What is the purpose of spamming announcement after announcement with things like this? I would understand getting excited and yelling in comms, but over and over again actually detracts from tactical awareness of the marines.
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This is not useful for marines on the front, who are actively engaging the queen, nor the marines who are not on the front since the directions are so unspecific and laser-focused on the area which you were clearly focused on.

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The first 3 of these lines are all totally irrelevant and inappropriate for the game-ending situation where marines would need information on the Queen - which is good! You reminded them that the Queen would be mature, except for the fact that you did this 4 times in a row, making the information redundant and far more likely to be totally ignored.

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This is the epitome of what I’ve tried to express here. Tactically useless to literally everybody; the marines on the front who know where the Queen is know that she’s active, given that she just screeched them (this time you neglected to mention she was now mature); and the marines who are not on the front have no idea where she is other than that she is ‘closing in’. What?

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Finally, you meta evacced, which I frown on. I will not judge the strategic decision making here, as it is admittedly debatable given marines’ performance in this round.

All of these announcements are not necessarily unforgivable, but the fact that you did it over and over again (there were literally DOZENS of announcements I haven’t included) for the entire duration of marines fighting was not only deeply irritating, but strategically unsound as it makes announcements more and more useless to listen to. I can’t help but feel that the strategic awareness and maturity is just not there yet.

Aside from your in game performance, I don’t like your story for a few reasons. The grammar and spelling is bad, the first person format is awkward and doesn’t show off how her ‘calculated decisions’ are actually made (something also lacking in game), and the tone is obliterated by Sergeant Matt who continuously makes quips using modern netspeak (‘doomer’), which makes me doubt your English skills and ability to maintain a consistent RP atmosphere.

So, in summary, this is a strong -1 from me.

I will continue to try to watch you here and there, and should these things improve, would have no issue amending this to a neutral or +1.

1 Like
9

Thanks for the feedback!

So I will go a bit into depth in my mindset of using Command announcements and why I use them a certain way!

1- CIC always lags behind on information, there is always a 10 second delay on when I get information and when I publish it! That’s also sort off the reason they feel short and spammy I suppose.
2- Throughout my hours of CIC, I have been taught by good XO’s and CO’s to KEEP SPAMMING annoucements. Do not let it go off cooldown! CIC only purpose is to dish out information and keep the front supplied and informed of happenings around them.
3- My announcements always specify the biggest blob of marines and thus when I say “North” I mean north of the biggest blob. This will give the general info to the most amount of marines and keep it short! Like I said CIC lags behind and thus I need to keep short and sweet to keep marines informed.
4- Marines are DUMB, So I keep spamming. IE This same round 6 marines went down in marshalls. I posted 4 announcements TO ROTATE AND RETRIEVE THEM! Did you know what they did? Nothing, I had to call a SO groundside to get them to rotate. CIC needs to spam to get points across…

Meta EVAC? We were down to 15 marines maximum after the front got wiped and hive had a few caps. In the end I believed it would turn into a futile 15 marines vs 12 xenos FOB siege type of situation. REQ was out of money, we had no INTEL left and no more morale! We were quite frankly done, I did think about holding but it would lead to more deaths than needed.

Apologies, English isn’t my first language and running it trough AI isn’t allowed. I did have the council look trough it and they said it was fine

All in all, this operation had 4 Queens, Sadar gibbed the CO and it was a back and forth for 2 and a half hours.

Anyhow, If you need more information and insight from me, I’m happy to answer!

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As my personal feedback, please don’t repeat “Captain here!” every announcement. I am a big hater on all those that have some sorta copy-paste text the likes of the infamous ACHTUNG. It’s alright like once or twice in around, but if repeated I think it becomes annoying and just takes up valuable chat space.

2 Likes