Giving Orders

Part of: STF Academy Textbook / Executive Officer Command Course

“Be willing to make decisions. That is the most important quality in a good leader.”

General George S. Patton

Giving orders doesn’t come easily to everyone. For you to be a successful XO you have to believe that you are the right person for the position. The structure of STF is based upon a military environment and as such you have both the rank and authority of your position to give orders…and expect them to be obeyed!

If you have given an order and it wasn’t obeyed, then you are entitled to an explanation. Don’t doubt your own authority. You have the position. You have the rank. Be confident!

Orders given as XO can be categorized into three main areas.

Independent Orders - this is where your XO character might have been left in charge of the ship or of a landing party. Your orders here come from your own instincts and authority. You are in charge. You are the senior officer. Make your decisions, but know that you will be accountable for your decisions later.
Delegation - This is where you assign a task given to you to a lower ranking officer. This might be just passing the CO’s orders down to your DH’s. It might well be you delegating an aspect of your own duty to a DH, like an inspection visit. Remember to pass on orders and tasks clearly. If necessary hold a briefing. Make sure you give all the information needed to perform a task.
Assisting the CO - This is both IC and OOC. OOC the CO might require you to help them with something that needs to be done. Remember, your authority as XO of a ship does extend OOC as well. Confirm what the CO wishes you to do first before making OOC demands on players. IC this could be helping to run the bridge while the ship is under attack. Think Riker issuing orders on the bridge of the Enterprise, whilst Picard commands the ship under attack. It is an emergency situation so give your orders. Any time you are giving orders to help to assist the CO they fall under this category.

A good example would be in a battle situation. You have reports of damage, hull breaches and casualties. The CO will be busy fighting the ship and issuing fire control orders. Feel free to order damage control teams and medical teams to those locations. Ask for damage reports. Report information to the Captain as it comes through.

The simple rules to follow in issuing orders as an XO can be best summed up using the adage of LADA (Look Assess Decide Act).

Action	Desciption
LOOK	What is going on around you? What information does your character possess? Where are you? Is the Ship in Danger? Is the CO incapacitated? Can you see a problem that is about to develop?
ASSESS	What does the information tell you? What is the situation? What can you do about it? How can you influence the course of events? Will the situation countermand your orders? Try to assess the consequences.
DECIDE	Make your decision. You are the one in the position of authority because you earned it. Make your decision based on the information you have at hand. Making no decision or hedging your bets is dangerous. Don’t countermand the CO!
ACT	Give your orders. Give them with confidence. Remember if you don’t believe in them, no one else will. So you might make a bad decision, but that is part of the job!

Finally, be respectful, be calm and be polite. Try not to scream and rant in character unless it is required character development.

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