The name "Fleet Two" is probably a misnomer; historical accounts suggest that Fleet Two is older than Fleet One -- but nobody knows for certain, since the early history of STF has never been completely catalogued (although Jim Midyette's "No Regrets" is the best attempt made yet). In any event, Fleet Two was definitely one of the first two Fleets in STF, when roleplaying was first allowed in 1992.

Being the first isn't what Fleet Two is about, though -- it's being the best. Today, Fleet Two is up there among the leaders as part of what can confidently be called the best roleplaying organization on the Internet today. The history of the Fleet is long and, since it mimics in length the history of the club itself, intertwined with the tapestry of STF.

This page is divided into two sections: GWF on the WeBB, which catalogues the Fleet's current situation and progress since August 1998; and The Prodigy Years, which contains information on the GWF's origins on the Prodigy Online Service in the years 1992 through 1998. There are probably a few errors in this recounting; few records exist and most of this page is based upon memories. If you think you've found an error, please drop me a line and let me know. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

Author notes on this addition:
Much of this is compiled by authors other than me, I tidied up some language and nonsuch in some areas, but I wanted to maintain the bulk of the history because well, I’ve only been a member since I was reassigned to the Constellation in late 2005 and so I’m relying on what may or may not be numerous authors chronicling the long history of the Great White Fleet. There are holes, I am well aware of these, but you can help me by offering to fill them, drop me an e-mail at kdedul@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to add those changes.

STF2 has been around ever since roleplaying has existed in STF. Its early leader, Senior Admiral Jeremy Ormins, left STF in disgrace to start up his own club, the Imperial Klingon Empire, in 1992. Despite this regrettable stain, though, the GWF's early years were on the most part very positive. Admiral Jim Midyette, who was supposed to have gotten command of a different Fleet but joined the GWF instead, was the original CO of the Constellation. Later, Grace Larsen would take that job en route to a career cap as FComm-2. Other "big names" who RP'd in STF2 in 1992-93 included FComm-2 Julie Larsen (no relation to Grace) and future Lexington CO Churlsan Han.

Everything seemed to be going well for STF in 1993. Fleet Two, the largest of the three Fleets (with a whopping seven ships), was active with fully-staffed ships (though seven was then considered standard crew complement). These ships -- the Ark Angel II, Arleigh Burke, Apparition, Constellation, Lexington, Survivor, and Trinitron -- RP'd at a pace slower than even today's Fleet Two, but had fun with their adventures, and that's what was important. In the meantime, though, Mike Ballway and Jason Brocklesby joined; Matt Wolff, Jerry Phelps, David Brown, Scott Vandehey, Phillip Ballard, and Grace Larsen started on their paths to fame. "Sunnie" Larsen, as she was known, was promoted to FComm-2 that summer.

Sadly, altough STF2 had enough membership to support this configuration in early 1993, the next year would see membership decline from this peak and some ships would be decommissioned. In mid-1993, President Jim Midyette faced the prospect of having to retire one of the GWF's ships. As a gesture of good faith to crews around STF -- who would soon feel the heat on their own bridges -- and a sign that he would not be biased in his decisions, he chose to decommission his own former captaincy, the USS Constellation. Unfortunately, it would not be the last ship in STF2 to get the axe. By 1997, all of the ships mentioned above would have been taken out of service.

More ships were decommed later that year. The Lexington and the short-lived USS Sierra both fell to the axe. Even these two decomms weren't enough, though: In mid-1994, the bulk of STF2 followed them. USS Apparition CO Jason Brocklesby made a stir about his ship's recall and resigned. Small crews around STF consolidated into larger ships. The Ark II, Arbie, and App all exited the Fleet Two landscape, although the "Renegade-Constellation" protest by former Connie officers Mike Ballway, Churlsan Han, and Brian McGee guaranteed the only bright spot in that late '93-to-1994 -- the recommissioning of the former Flagship. A much smaller Fleet, consisting of the Connie, Trin, and Surv, weathered Jim Midyette's Presidential defeat that July and the Jerry Phelps months that summer. Adrianna West, David Brown, Scott Vandehey, and Mike Barclay would lead ships during these uncertain times in STF2.

When Midyette retook the Presidency in September, Matt Wolff was offered the FCommship. He did not respond, and Mike Ballway got the job. Later, in 1995, Midyette disbanded Fleet Three and moved two of its ships -- the Dresden and the Victorious -- into the Second Fleet. Unfortunately, membership demand coulndn't support five ships in Fleet Two, even with the influx of F3 personnel. The Survivor and Dresden were decommissioned during the FCommship of Mike Barclay in 1995. Midyette resigned in mid-'95 and took the CO Connie job, with Mike Ballway as his CE.

The "Command Crisis" of 1996 snuck up on Fleet Two and stabbed it in the heart: Jim Midyette left; Mike Barclay left; acting FComm-2 Becca Juarez resigned; and acting-acting FComm-2 Den Hannigan, primarily a Fleet One leader, disappeared. A new generation of leaders tentatively took charge, acting not from the executive offices of FComm or Prez, but from the legislative body known as the Officers' Council. These officers included Ken Marklan, Nick Oven, and Mike Ballway.

STF2 entered STF's "modern era" -- which started with the "new guard" ushered in by Randy McCullick's inauguration -- with a stronger FCommship of Mike Ballway and, in him and Vice-President/AFComm-2 Nick Oven, two strong voices in Command (incidentally, McCullick was also the first STF President since 1992 never to have served on a Fleet Two ship). Ken Marklan, who had CO'd the Trinitron until mid-'96, had unfortunately resigned. He was sorely missed, but Oven and Phil Bishop filled the void he'd left on the Trin. Adam Steiner, Alan Felts, and Owen Townes, meanwhile, held down the fort on the Victorious.

STF2 gradually lost members through mid-1997. By that time, Rebecca Juarez had rejoined and was roleplaying alongside Emily Braunstein on the Connie and Mark Wilson had joined the Trin but activity levels had dropped Fleetwide. President Hertzsch, who had ascended to replace McCullick in early 1997, made the shocking but not-so-stunning announcement that both the Connie and Trin would be decommissioned and merged into the Victorious. Nick Oven led what instantaneously became a fast -- though by the WeBB's standards very slow -- ship. STF2 remained simply Vicky until it moved to the WeBB in 1998. A few changes ocurred: Braunstein and Juarez never joined the Vicky and left STF in '97; Oven and Bishop eventually left; and Greg Hertzsch joined the Vicky crew. But all in all, under Mike Ballway's and Mark Wilson's leadership, STF2 remained relatively constant.

Mike Ballway’s tenure saw the assignment of a few COs here and there to the ships, Fleet 2 received the Constellation, Nautilus and Trinitron and the Victorious was transferred to Fleet 1. Due to time constraints on Ballway’s part, he resigned, and Mike Bourdaa replaced him and his ship then the USS Brooklyn was transferred to the fleet and renamed the Curie. The year 2000 also saw the commissioning of the USS Lexington.

In 2001, the Curie was moved into the new Fleet 7.

In December 2nd 2005, the newly elected President, Jen Herr changed the face of Fleet Two leadership by selecting Katherine Dedul as the new FComm-2. The leadership of the Constellation changed too since the new FComm had to assume command of a fleet ship in order for her appointment to be legitimate. The Fleet was in a bit of a mess, due to a whole host of issues that are neither here nor there. Her first act as FComm-2 was to replace the AWOL CO of the USS Trinitron with Robert McGuffin. She also assisted the new president in drafting an official edict outlining the alternate RPG area that was the Constellation. Three months into her tenure as FComm, she also made the difficult decision to decommission the USS Nautilus due to a lack of membership numbers throughout the club being unable to support a healthy ship. She also has the distinction of being the final FComm of the WeBB! She also was FComm for the first few months of Drupal.

August 3rd, 2008 saw a rather wide-spread shakeup in command with the election of Andrew Robinson to President. Most of the Fleet Commanders found themselves replaced, newly promoted Commodore Katherine Dedul among them. Her replacement was the very capable John Robert Lucas. As his time as FComm-2 is still relatively new (at the time of this writing, it was only a few months into the new term).