TheGamer01 - Commanding Officer Application

Whitelists Commanding Officer Applications
1

Commanding Officer Application - TheGamer01

What is your BYOND key?

TheGamer01

What is your Discord ID?

bibby01

What is your timezone in UTC?

CEST, UTC+2

Player Name You Use Most?

Thomas Neumann

Ban Appeals, Whitelist and Staff Applications:

None

Have you been banned in the last 3 months?

Yes

If so, why?

1 EORG ban, (not counted AFAIK)

Command Knowledge:

How familiar are you with command positions?

Very familiar.
Playing as an XO I’ve got a solid grasp of the core concepts of strategic command, including generally leading and informing the marines using announcements, laying out a plan and briefing the marines, judging when to fire OB, learning when to be bold and when to stay on the defensive.
I’m familiar with, and comfortable using, all the mechanics at CICs disposal, including OBs, AA, overwatch, techwebs and any other machine present in CIC.
I’ve interacted with, and delegated to, various onboard heads of staff. I am aware of their dynamics, and what they can be used for.
I have general knowledge of each department, and would in cases of extreme manpower shortages also be able to assist each department comfortably.
Groundside I’ve had the pleasure of learning the importance of communication, cohesion and the tactical positioning of a squad.

Hours in XO:

77.6

Hours in SL:

54.2

Character Information:

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

From a young age Neumann was fascinated by military tactics and strategy, mainly exploring the wars of old back on Earth. The Sol Campaign started during his teenage years, and only fostered his fascination with military doctrine. He was especially interested in the doctrinal changes required to wage an interstellar war compared to a purely planetary one.
For this reason, Neumann joined up as an officer in the USCM shortly after the commencement of Operation Canton.
While he had an interest for tactics, his personal goal had always been to reach a rank where he could live out his true passion, commanding on a strategic level.
He had his first combat deployment during the brutal later years of the operation.

How did your character attain the position of CO?

After the conclusion of Operation Canton, Neumann continued participating in engagements mainly against the CLF. During these operations he was generally commended by his superiors for achieving slightly lower than average casualty rates, without sacrificing strategic objectives. It was for this reason rose through the ranks, and ended up as a Captain aboard the USS Strakonia.
By all accounts Neumann would’ve made a natural jump to Major in a few years time, if the events of Operation Sidewinder hadn’t occurred.

Provide a short story of your CO.

Operation Sidewinder details the last mission of Captain Neumann, and his ensuing promotion to Major.
Linked Deleted

Command Actions:

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

Pardons are a powerful tool in the COs toolbox, meant to allow a prisoner guilty of a non-capital crime to return to service, in the case they’re needed for the success of the operation.
I would reserve pardons for cases where the prisoner is a limited role and where they are genuinely remorseful.
In the case they’re critically needed I would consider a pardon as long as they show intent to return to work, and I believe they would not re-offend.

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

There’s only 1 doctor onboard who gets arrested mid-operation for getting into a fight with an MT. The doctor doesn’t seem overly remorseful. The medbay is piling up with people needing surgery, and there’s nobody else to do it. In this case I would pardon the doctor as long as I believe they would return to their dutie, and wouldn’t commit any further crimes.

A specialist gets into a fight during a briefing. It escalates into a (valid) assault charge. The specialist shows no sign that they’re sorry, but is instead expecting a pardon due to their status. I would obviously not pardon the prisoner in this case.
In the case where the assault happened further into the rounds, where casualties have piled up, and the specialist is acting genuinely repentant and remorseful after the fact (so the assault charge is still valid), I would likely grant a pardon.

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

I believe the main power of Battlefield Executions onboard the USS Almayer isn’t in the actual execution part, but that it rather lies in the threat of the execution.
For this reason BEs should be used sparingly, but one should not totally forgo their usage.
Onboard the ship I would in most cases prefer to let the MPs handle it, unless it’s a critical life-or-death situation. (Think mutinies, active shooters, saboteurs or similar)
On the ground, without MPs present, BEs would primarily be reserved for situations where groundside marines are trying to undermine my command or willfully endangering others or the operation. (Intentionally disobeying orders, repeatedly preventing me from leading, repeatedly throwing grenades when marines are pushing, and so forth. The BE would of course be preceded by verbal warnings directed personally at the offending marine)

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

Saboteurs and mass murderers not in custody would receive an immediate BE, shipside or groundside.

On the ground, leading a critical flank, a squad leader refuses to follow orders, preferring to give his own. This risks destroying frontline cohesion, jeopardizing the operation itself.
After repeated warnings he still refuses to follow orders, and for this he would receive a BE.
He had ample warnings to fall in line, and his insubordination is both delegitimizing my command at a critical moment, and putting every single marine, and the operation as a whole, at risk.

A marine is disturbing the briefing. In the case it’s just a minor disturbance I would have the MPs handle it, or if it’s very minor, probably ignore it.
In the case where it has escalated, and the marine is purposefully trying to prevent me from holding the briefing (Think shoving me or similar), I would likely BE them after a stern and direct warning.

The MST is being a general nuisance on the ship, breaking lights, windows or similar. This would obviously be handled by the MPs, and wouldn’t not be BE’ed.

Someone intentionally kills Jones. They shall receive an appropriate punishment in the form of a .454 to the head.

2 Likes
2

Just a question I’ve got from your BE answers. How would you go about BEing an SL who was on the ground?

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3

Hi Moonshanks! Thanks for the question.

You’re right, that’s a bit unclear. By “on the ground” I meant I would be deployed alongside them in close quarters.
If the flank is geographically spread I wouldn’t go sprinting to the other side of the map to execute them either. I envisioned something like the central caves entrances on LV-624, with the SL pushing west, when the plan is to push the center to support east.
My apologies for not being super clear!

I hope that answers your question :slight_smile:

4

Good, I wanted to check that you weren’t thinking about doing a remote BE, or BE via AOE weapon which is the most common CO mistake I see as Admin.

Thanks for answering :blush:

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5

I’ve been assured that you are a competent individual, despite me being unable to see you in game.

Every part of your application looks a-ok, and I see no real pressing issues regarding answers etc.

+1

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6

I’ve seen you a few times as XO in-game, but don’t believe I’ve ever CO’d with you under my wing to my recollection. Overall, I find you to be rather… unremarkable, for that reason. As in, I rarely find you to stick out as something or someone special, be it through strategy or roleplay.

With that being said, I want to dig a bit deeper at some of your answers here, starting with pardons.

This one confuses me because it contradicts itself. You state the Doctor isn’t showing remorse for committing the crime, likely adopting a negative attitude towards MPs as well while doing so, yet you “hope they wouldn’t commit further crimes”? Behaviour like that when asking for a pardon is a huge red flag in most cases. Remember that even if you were to pardon the only doctor on the ship, if they’re a dick and re-offend they will DEFINITELY endure Brig, and you as well, meaning they effectively collateral you and take out potentially the only officer in CiC by doing so (since this scenario usually only happens on lowpop).

Be aware that this is also an OOC issue at the same time, so after performing the BE you should find the time to issue an ahelp about the SL. Squad Leads are OOCly forced to obey the CO’s direct orders (note: assigned aSL are not).

Finally, I want to ask you two questions of my own.

Beyond Pardons, how would you choose to intervene/interfere with the onboard MPs during an ordinary, mid-to-highpop round, if at all? This assumes that you have a fully-staffed CIC with an XO and two SOs present to fill in for you should you be required outside of the CIC.

And:

What would you do if, at the start of a round, you felt you wanted to deploy? What would your decision to actually do so depend on, if anything? Give a few examples/reasons that would influence your decision-making, if there are any.

2 Likes
7

+1 Application is up to standards, the story is good.

Haven’t seen you in person too much though.

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Hi Misti!

I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting each other in the CIC yet, so it makes sense we wouldn’t have interacted on an RP level. I do try my best to interact with everyone in the CIC, and with the rest of the marines over comms, but it can get busy at times.
Strategy wise, I do like trying risky and experimental plans at times, but it’s more the exception than the rule.

Now, for your questions:

  1. I wouldn’t necessarily say it contradicts itself. Just because they aren’t acting remorseful doesn’t mean they’ve adopted a hostile attitude. You can be accepting of your punishment and act in a respectful manner, without necessarily being sorry for what you did, and without intending to re-offend.

In a real round the situation would have a lot more nuance, which would allow me to make a proper judgement. (Their previous behaviour, their general demeneaour when talking to them)
In addition I wouldn’t "hope they wouldn’t commit further crimes”. I would only issue the pardon if I’m absolutely certain the doctor wouldn’t commit any further crimes.

  1. I tried to keep the example limited to IC behaviour, but you’re absolutely correct that this is an OOC rulebreak, and in hindsight it might’ve been wise to add a blurb about that to the example.

  2. If we have a fully staffed MP department with a CMP and Warden I would likely keep inteference to a minimum. If the XO is taking the helm on the operation I would assist with appeals when requested, and tend to anything the CMP might require, but I don’t see a need to interfere in their work.
    If the CMP is absent I would periodically check up on the department to make sure ML is being correctly enforced, and that protocol isn’t being broken.

  3. First of all I would determine if there’s actually a reason for me to deploy, deploying just to deploy doesn’t make any sense.
    Off the top of my head, reasons for deploying at roundstart could include:
    I’m planning a risky/experimental maneuver that requires a central leader to succeed. CIC is staffed, and the XO is confident he can run the operation from the CIC side of things.
    The CIC is fully staffed, the XO is competent, but there are a few missing/greenhorn SLs. In this case my expertise would be better used on the ground, helping to guide the SLs and marines.

Depending on how the round develops I might decide to deploy at a later time, but that’s out of scope for the question.

I hope that clears things up :smile: , if not, feel free to ask a followup question and I’d be more than happy to answer :slightly_smiling_face:

9

A good answer. I was intent on seeing how far, if at all, you thought to push yourself in this direction given that you, as the CO, are the ‘highest authority’ with regards to ML on the ship, capable of overruling the CMP on pretty much all matters. However, it is not our job to do an MP’s job, and if there is a CMP especially, delegation is of great use. You made a good mention of wanting to observe, listening in and checking how they are performing. If you notice that the CMP is not performing well in coordinating his MPs to stop crime on the ship, step in and discipline them to get their act straight, or just overrule them outright.

Remember that you are above the CMP in both ML and Rank and that their only hope of countermanding your will is a fax to HC. If a CMP fails to protect your ship and crew, though, definitely don’t be afraid to be firm. Your MPs are the one, always loyal department on the ship as CO.

Mhm. You said what I wanted to hear. There have been some cases where COs deploy only to later find out they left the CIC in the hands of a rather inexperienced or unfit team of Officers. A good recommendation is to first check in, at least, and talk to your XO and SOs. See how they behave, talk and how confident they seem in themselves. If an XO goes out of his way to ask you “Major, I can lead the operation today and come up with a plan if you like” then you’re probably on a good path to guessing they’re able enough to be left alone in CIC with the SOs. Unless direly needed, try not to deploy if you don’t have a clue who you’re actually leaving in charge of the ship in your absence.

On an extra note, I like that you are someone who wouldn’t want to deploy just for the sake of it. That’s more of a personal pet peeve of mine though, and I know some of my fellow COs view ground deployment in a different light.

Your answers are satisfactory and you demonstrate that, at least in terms of OOC knowledge, you have the mind and capacity of doing the right things. As said, though, I have not seen you much in-game yet, and so I will withhold my vote for the moment until I’ve seen you in CIC with my own eyes.

2 Likes
10

I had TheGamer01 several times as XO, capable in command and in roleplay, he would make good addition to WL. +1

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11

This is a very good XO. I (sadly) haven’t gotten to RP with them too much, but I’m confident that they can. Good applicant, good answers, good story.

+1

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12

Having had at least a small bit of time to RP and play with them as my XO now, I can confirm the previous claims and votes and give this man a confident +1.

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13

I haven’t had a chance to observe you as my XO in CIC. However, I’ve seen you plenty of time as XO while I was a Marine, I can say that you’re competent and pretty chill while commanding, I’ve seen a lot of XOs who got angry and lost control over the Marines, but I don’t remember you were one of them. However, I want to see you as a Squad Leader more.

Thanks to your answers to @LilPenpusher’s questions, I got an idea of your approach to some issues. They were very helpful in removing the question marks in my head.

You wrote an enjoyable and exciting story to read. Not just because it’s long, but I can see the high effort you put into. You have designed Neumann, Clark and Major Halsey excellent. As the story progressed, it was exciting to see how the characters make decisions in challenging situations, I really liked your descriptions. This story is definitely a big factor in my positive opinion on your application.

I think you definitely deserve a chance, good luck with your application. :slight_smile: +1

2 Likes
14

+1, I’ve had the pleasure of serving under you when you play queen, you’re a great leader, very competent, chill, and most importantly fun to play with! Demonstrated great roleplay and leadership qualities in a higher command position.
As a queen you already have access to the equivalent of BE, and you’ve demonstrated excellent judgement and restraint with regards to that kind of power from what I’ve seen.
I’ve also been queen and faced you as XO before, you’ve made a formidable opponent and I think you would make a great CO!

1 Like
15

This player is pretty awesome.
I’ve seen them notably play a good amount of command roles, CMO, SL, and XO.
I’ve had them as my XO as CO several times, this player being the only XO I’ve ever given a medal so far during my 128 hours of CO.
They are a good roleplayer, has command ability and experience, and know the expectations.
They have my +1.
I think it’d be good for you to play some MP to showoff more of your knowledge of ML though. And as for Misti’s comments about unremarkableness, you’ll have a great chance and easier time showing off anything special once you get the WL if those worries persist. I personally worried about this myself before my application, and often did pre-briefing activities on the ship, spiced up my character a little bit more, and made special efforts to avoid essentially autopiloting in the XO role. Hopefully that helps.

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While I haven’t had the opportunity to see you in action myself (June has been one hell of a month for me, I’ll admit), the Council and a lot of COs are willing to back you up in their own experiences. And I’ll chime in, too: your answers to the questions everyone asked of you were great.

A lot have given you valuable advice here, particularly in regards to the extent of the CO’s authority/responsibility as the top-of-the-chain leader of the operation, but avoiding micromanagement. I hope you can take note of what the COs have said and apply it to your own practice.

All that being said, the Council is confident enough in both their own observations of you, as well as the testimonials of COs, to give their vote. Our decision: to accept this application and approve your promotion.

Congratulations, Major Neumann. Welcome to the CO whitelist!

1 Like