STF

Discussion on Bill to Amend Fleet Command and Other Mundane Matters (FCOMM)

Posted July 22, 2019, 11:52 p.m. by Sarah M

Posted by Captain Kate O’Neill (FComm, Pioneer Fleet) in Discussion on Bill to Amend Fleet Command and Other Mundane Matters (FCOMM)

Posted by Fleet Admiral James Sinclair (President) in Discussion on Bill to Amend Fleet Command and Other Mundane Matters (FCOMM)

Posted by Commodore Steven Sigle (FComm, Meridian Fleet) in Discussion on Bill to Amend Fleet Command and Other Mundane Matters (FCOMM)
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
This is a proposal for an amendment to Fleet Command and Other Mundane Matters (FComm). Discussion will be open for 7 days, ending on 7/29/19. Helping with moderation of this discussion will be Sarah Hemenway.

Steve Johnson
Vice President


Proposed Change:
- Change requirements to be a Fleet Commander or Assistant Fleet Commander

Original Text:
(Under the section of “Fleet Structure and Command”, the subsection “Restrictions”)
The Fleet Commander must be a current or former CO of the fleet in question, or a current or former XO in the fleet in question with CO experience. The Assistant Fleet Commander must be a current or former CO or XO of the fleet in question.

Proposed Revision:
The Fleet Commander must be a current or former CO within STF, or a current or former XO within STF, with Assistant Fleet Command experience and a member rank of Captain or above. The Assistant Fleet Commander must be a current or former CO or XO within STF.

This text of this bill seems pretty different from what we were talking about before. Could maybe someone explain why?

– Joe

Personally I like the removal of the fleet restriction as per my original proposal/discussion to remove this. I also 5ink it will open up more potential people to the roles if the CO experience is removed for the FComm part but agree with others that there does need to be adequate admin and experience doing the sorts of things a CO has to deal with as a ship environment administrator.

I’m not sure I agree the club rank must be Captain however but that may just be me. I can foresee that resulting in people being promoted to captain to fulfil this role and we have had issues in the past where people holding this rank were out in charge of struggling ships with the assumption they had been COs before and actually had none of that experience which concerns me.

Possibly unrelated to this completely but almost an indirect tie in is we are assuming that having afcomm experience means that the person in question has been taught how to do the role properly. Now I know that as an afcomm who became a FComm rather suddenly I was literally in at the deep end and floundered while I tried to work out exactly what my job entailed because it is more than just filing the monthly reports. I know others have had a similar experience. Perhaps if we are making this change a further discussion is needed to establish the exact remit of the fleet commander and assistant fleet commander and what support is available in the club for these roles.

Cale

I fully agree with Cale this position doesn’t need the captain rank for a few reasons, but mostly I think cause for many years I think too much pressure has been placed on FCOMM/AFCOMM roles. I have held this position off and on for over 10 years, you just need to know how to run the admin page and read Fleet Command and Other Mundane Matters (FComm) to know your powers you are in charge of. This doesn’t need a degree from Yale, 5 years experience, and a recommendation from Bill Gates to take the role.

So many people want to step up but we make it seem so daunting and scary at times. If we open this position up to as many as we can we encourage people to help the club in more ways than before. It helps people from all levels in the club to give more chances to people to be able to assist the club wherever they feel capable. So for me, I am all for removal of this archaic restriction that gives us nothing more than headaches when trying to bring others into positions in the club.

~Steven Sigle

I liked the original proposed changes in the bill, but I have to say that both Cale and Steven have made solid points with regards to the rank requirement. I am aware, however, that there are many who want a minimum rank in place. I think a rank of Lt. Commander or Commander would be a good compromise in this circumstance. That way, it is still a rank that has to be earned through diligent activity in the club and a respectable time with the organization as well; but significantly opens the opportunity for newer members to apply and be accepted for future FComm positions, which is what we want to see.

James Sinclair
President

I agree with James that the rank of Lt. Commander and Commander should be more than enough experience to fulfill the role of FComm. It has been mentioned that the FComm approves the GM, XO, and CO spots for a ship and I understand the reasoning for that but as an FComm myself I feel it is far more important to trust the people of my fleet to know what is best for their ships. Yes while I do have the final say, I would never presume to know what a crew needs as a command staff or GM storyline. Every Captain knows their crew. I can read every thread yet for me to presume to know better than the Captain approaching me about how should be his XO or GM seems ridiculous to me and borders on arrogance to think I would ever know better than the Captain of their own ship. Being FComm should not be a position where people come to seek approval for things but one where the sole focus is to improve the role enjoyment for the fleet.

The second point is the when (and I have not had to perform this function yet) I am looking for a Captain my greatest indicator of who should fill that role would be information from the XO of that ship. Again it may not be the popular POV and the decision would ultimately be that of the president and myself, the XO should have as much input as myself. Again the idea that the FComm should hold any special veto power over the people that know a ship seems a bit odd. The FComm should only be there to make sure they support the needs of the crew and fleet. Their job to grant positions is merely a figurehead and a place to go to when issues arise.

The third point is this system all depends on the final view of the president. I am not saying any president would look at a perspective Captain with any bias, but it is his choice which leads to the bottleneck of what happens when there is no one that wants the job who holds the rank of captain. The greatest duty of an FComm is to ensure every person in the fleet has a voice and a place to explore their creativity or come to you with suggestions or concerns. This is why the Lt. Commander and Commander rank should be sufficient. When you hold this rank you are or have at least been a department head so you understand the role of ensuring people are happy and role-playing in a safe and fun environment. The site is filled with amazing, eager people who want to make the site a better place. They have worked up the ranks to earn the ranks of Lt. Commander or Commander but should not be penalized for volunteering on a site when possibly to no fault there is not an open ship to gain the rank of captain to satisfy some archaic rule built when the site was bursting at 300+ members and had people to spare. We do not have the plethora of ships from the past. Asking someone how is willing to volunteer their time and effort to wait until they are a captain to help out is ridiculous.

Captain Kate O’Neill FComm of Pioneer Fleet

My apologies if you and Steve have already seen this, but since it was posted simultaneously in a different thread I thought I’d point you that way.

There’s a summary of the reasoning behind some of this is here: https://www.star-fleet.com/core/command/command/notes/47816/

I believe Steve J. plans to address reasoning more tomorrow too. :)

Sarah


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