Presidential Edicts

August 1st, 2010 to January 1st, 2011

Every president must have a motto


Introduction

On August 1st, 2010, Anthony Martin took office as the President of STF, succeeding Jen Herr. On January 1st, 2011, the next STF President, Jack Dipper took office.

Summary of Edicts

Edict #1
  • 2 August 2010
  • President Martin's Cabinet announced
Edict #2
  • 3 August 2010
  • Edict Herr #39 rendered null and void
Edict #3
  • 13 August 2010
  • Fleet Commanders 4, 5, and 6 announced
Edict #4
  • 23 August 2010
  • Sharon Miller appointed Marketing and Advertising Coordinator
Edict #5
  • 12 September 2010
  • Cale Reilly appointed FComm-2
Edict #6
  • 14 September 2010
  • Lindsay Bayes promoted to Captain and appointed CO, USS Athena
Edict #7
  • 19 September 2010
  • Michelle Higdon promoted to Captain and appointed CO, USS Polaris.
Edict #8
  • 11 October 2010
  • David Wondley appointed as CO, USS Crusader
Edict #9
  • 17 November 2010
  • John Robert Lucas assigned as CO, USS Apollo
Edict #10
  • 17 November 2010
  • Fleet Captain Lee Bridgeford appointed Engineering Director
Edict #11
  • 28 December 2010
  • Jacob Seime promoted to Captain and assigned as CO, USS Lexington
Edict #12
  • 28 December 2010
  • Julia Kuhlemann appointed as CO, USS Rogue
Edict #13
  • 28 December 2010
  • USS Columbus recommissioned as the USS Thor, NCC-88754, Viking Class
Edict #14
  • 28 December 2010
  • Rear Admiral Katherine Dedul reprimanded
  • Rear Admiral Jack Dipper banned from Command for 7 days
  • Captain TJ Morgan banned from Command for 14 days
Edict #15
  • 28 December 2010
  • Barret Vogtmans assigned as CO, USS Ark Angel
Edict #16
  • 28 December 2010
  • Sharon Miller promoted to Captain and assigned as CO, USS Curie
Edict #17
  • 1 January 2011
  • Anthony Martin stands down as President
  • Jack Dipper to succeed as President

Summary of Bills

Bill #1
  • 6 August 2010
  • Clarification of promotion limits

Full Text of Edicts

Edict #1:

Posted 2 August 2010 - 4:43pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #1

"Janie, make a note. We need to schedule more events where somebody gives me a really big fish."

Well, folks, here it is! (My Cabinet. I'm talking about the Cabinet.)

Katherine Dedul is hereby retained as Academy Commandant;
Helen Hosick is hereby appointed as Personnel Director;
Jack Dipper is hereby retained as Internet Director;
Andrew Robinson is hereby retained as Engineering Director;
David Wonderly is hereby appointed as Gamemaster Director.

Sidney Parker is hereby retained as Commander, Fleet 1;
Chris Grinder is hereby retained as Commander, Fleet 2;
Jim Hosick is hereby retained as Commander, Fleet 3.

Despite repeated attempts to reduce this number over the last 48 hours, I am left with a probably-unprecedented three Cabinet openings. I plan to have new FComms-4, -5 and -6 by August 12, and to that end I will officially post the openings for application later today.

I sincerely thank Emily Stephenson, Kevin Harbison, Krystelle Bromilow, Geoff Joosten and Sy Silvester for the time which they so selflessly devoted to helping run the club.

In the case of the two departments that have changed, and the three Fleets that will be changing hands, the outgoing Staffs are charged with completing their respective July 2010 reports. I further request that they keep the lights on for the new folks, and also that they conduct a "hand-off" in the manner they see fit, to ensure the incoming Staffs are up to speed on Fleet/Department events.

All members responsible for July 2010's Reports to Command are given a one-time, two-day extension, to August 12.

All Cabinet members named in this Edict are to name their staffs in Command by August 16.

The Internet Department is directed to make all changes made necessary by this Edict, by August 9.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
August 2, 2010

Edict #2:

Edict #2
"Back, and to the left... back, and to the left... back, and to the left."

I'm sure it's nothing new for a President to be unhappy about having to issue "this sort of Edict" in their first week, yet considering the frequency with which it happens, it seems a fact of Presidential life.

Two days ago, President Jen Herr issued an Edict to promote Captain Sidney Parker to the rank of Fleet Captain. However, by the time much reaction to the Edict had come in, I was the President. The question was whether the Edict should be considered valid based on interpretation of the following statement from Member Order and Organization (MOO), under "Promotions Limits":

"Beyond the rank of Captain, no member may be promoted more than once in any eight month period. Members may only be promoted in this manner to the next highest rank as outlined in the Chain Of Command."

A look at the immediately-preceding section, "Promotions Guidelines," shows the exact language "beyond the rank of Captain" used in a context that includes promotions to the group of ranks from Fleet Captain up to Admiral. Therefore, I feel that a promotion to Fleet Captain is a "promotion beyond the rank of Captain" and is subject to the limits established in "Promotions Limits."

As a result, given Sidney Parker's promotion to Captain on December 18, 2009, his further promotion to Fleet Captain on August 1, 2010 was not within the aforementioned guidelines. My own interpretation of the Bylaw, combined with the opinions of Vice President Jack Dipper and the EGO council, leave me with a single course of action.

Edict Herr #39 is hereby rendered null and void.

For information, Sidney Parker's member rank is Captain, as per Edict Herr #4. He will become eligible for promotion on August 18, 2010.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
August 3, 2010

Edict #3:

Edict #3
"You can't give the order. You've been shot!"

Well, I've done a last bit of sanding on my Cabinet, and installed the door handles and trim pieces.

I must say it really was a challenge making these choices out of the candidate fields - but in the end I think that's a good thing, even if it is more work for me. ;) I thank all the applicants for their interest in helping out with the dreary admin aspects of the club :P, and I encourage those that I haven't selected, to apply as AFComms, should the openings arise.

Robert Spicer is hereby appointed FComm-4;
Steven Sigle is hereby appointed FComm-5;
Emily Stephenson is hereby appointed FComm-6.

The above are advised to name their assistants by August 20.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
August 13, 2010

Edict #4:

Edict #4
"Hahaha! The good guys are here."

I don't want to make this Edict too terribly verbose, but I do need to recognize the interest that I witnessed from several very dedicated members, all of whom I could tell genuinely desired to be our next Marketing and Advertising Coordinator. I can be sure of one thing, at least, no matter who I had chosen - I would have had a MAC who was very driven.

In the end, though, I was (obviously) required to narrow that field. With the whole lot showing the sort of eagerness I wanted to see, it ended up coming down to a very recent string of instances where I saw this member taking the initiative in just the sort of way I think the Marketing position needs.

My heartfelt thanks go out to all applicants. At times like these, I think a difficult decision is preferable, and you certainly made it so.

Sharon Miller is hereby appointed Marketing and Advertising Coordinator.

Congratulations, Sharon. As usual, please name your Assistant in the next 7 days. The Internet Department is directed to change e-mail forwards, etc. as soon as possible.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
August 23, 2010

Edict #5:

Edict #5
"I'm a combat pilot, Will. I belong in the air."

Short and sweet.

Cale Reilly is hereby appointed Commander, Fleet 2.

Congratulations, Cale. I hope you learned a lot from John and Chris, and that you'll continue in their tradition of running a great Fleet.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
September 12, 2010

Edict #6:

Edict #6
"Someday someone's going to have to explain to me the virtue of a proportional response."

This took far, far too long to get to this point. And it's no one's fault but mine. And yes, this is going into the record, because it's only fair that everyone know why there was a delay of well over a week in getting such a deserving person into the Captain's chair.

On the advice and recommendation of Captain Jim Hosick as Commander, Fleet Three, I hereby promote Commander Lindsay Bayes to the rank of Captain with immediate effect.

I further appoint Captain Lindsay Bayes as Commanding Officer, USS Athena.

Congratulations, Lindsay - and welcome to the best Fleet around. :P

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
September 14, 2010

Edict #7:

Posted 19 September 2010 - 7:26pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #7
"If this works, you get to be Postmaster General."

It's time to fill another CO Vacancy! Hooray!

On the advice and recommendation of Captain Cale Reilly as Commander, Fleet Two, I hereby promote Lieutenant Commander Michelle Higdon to the rank of Captain with immediate effect.

I further appoint Captain Michelle Higdon as Commanding Officer, USS Polaris.

Congratulations, Michelle! I hope you use your familiarity with ship and crew to your advantage. ;)

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
September 19, 2010

Edict #8:

Posted 11 October 2010 - 1:48pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #8
"There was only one assassination attempt on me. You had three."
"Two. The woman in Phoenix doesn't count. She only had a starter pistol."

On the advice and recommendation of Captain Steven Sigle as Commander, Fleet Five, I hereby appoint Captain David Wonderly as Commanding Officer, USS Crusader with immediate effect.

Congratulations, David, and welcome back to the big chair. You'll find your new Captain's Club Discount Warehouse membership card on your ready room desk.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
October 11, 2010

Edict #9:

Posted 17 November 2010 - 1:30am by Anthony Martin

Edict #9

On the advice and recommendation of Rear Admiral Katherine Dedul as Academy Commandant, I hereby appoint Fleet Captain John Robert Lucas as Commanding Officer, USS Apollo.

This appointment is effective retroactively to October 30, 2010.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
November 16, 2010

Edict #10:

Posted 17 November 2010 - 1:46am by Anthony Martin

Edict #10

As per his intent to resign the position, Commodore Andrew Robinson is hereby released as Engineering Director.

Andy is thanked for his time put into the position, and it's regrettable that our friend "real life" has made it so difficult for him to continue in the role.

Fleet Captain Lee Bridgeford is hereby appointed as Engineering Director.

Please make every reasonable effort to name an assistant within 14 days.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
November 16, 2010

Edict #11:

Posted 28 December 2010 - 10:38pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #11

On the advice and recommendation of Captain Cale Reilly as Commander, Fleet Two, I hereby promote Commander Jacob Seime to the rank of Captain, with all its normally-accorded privileges, effective immediately.

I further appoint Captain Jacob Seime as Commanding Officer, USS Lexington.

Well done!

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
December 28, 2010

Edict #12:

Posted 28 December 2010 - 10:40pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #12

On the advice and recommendation of Captain Cale Reilly as Commander, Fleet Two, I hereby appoint Captain Julia Kuhlemann as Commanding Officer, USS Rogue.

Frohes Fest! (I know, I'm a little late.)

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
December 28, 2010

Edict #13:

Posted 28 December 2010 - 10:50pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #13

On the request of Captain Mike Montemayor as Commanding Officer, USS Columbus, and with the approval of Captain Bob Spicer as Commander, Fleet Four, I hereby rechristen the USS Columbus, registry number unknown off-hand and frankly irrelevant, Viking-class, as the USS Thor, NCC-88754, Viking-class.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
December 28, 2010

Edict #14:

Posted 28 December 2010 - 11:41pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #14

The following URLs are examples of the actions that I am responding to in this Edict. It is not comprehensive.

http://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/341629
http://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/341635
http://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/341646
http://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/341649
http://www.star-fleet.com/webb/node/341654

Without going too much into what I personally think about it all, I must note that I am more than a little disappointed in the actions of... I could say "nearly everyone" if I wanted to broaden it enough. However, for the scope of this Edict, I am addressing the actions of three people specifically - all of whom are members of my government, and two of whom are both Cabinet members and flag officers of no small repute.

In short, several people lost their cool in a bad way, and individuals who should know far better than to drag Command down into a mire of personal scratching and clawing, experienced a serious lapse in judgement. No one is perfect, and I would not expect perfection from anyone, but all the same, it rests with me to provide some consequences for what was said in the above, and other related, posts.

Rear Admiral Katherine Dedul acted in a manner so contrary to her better judgment, that IRC records even exist to show her declaring her intent to stop participating in the thread in question - which was followed within minutes by a post, from her, in the thread in question. However, given her long history of calm, controlled behaviour in Command and elsewhere in STF, I have decided that this reprimand, existing for posterity in the Edict Archive, will suffice.

Rear Admiral Jack Dipper, quite simply, failed to follow the "semi-written" rule of Command, instructing us to wait before replying to a post that upsets us, and a further break before posting a written reply, and, implicitly, as many other breaks as are necessary to prevent exactly what ended up happening in the Command board this evening. Ordinarily, I would say that his wrongdoing was on the same level as Katherine's, if to a greater degree.

However, Jack was Vice President of the club at the time, and furthermore, since I hadn't truly returned from my LOA, he was indeed acting President. It stands to reason, therefore, that he must be held to a higher standard.

Captain TJ Morgan, however, was as far as I am concerned the biggest player in the problem, if not the first one. While, to the best of my observational ability, it was Jack who first began to unravel, it remains that TJ is solely responsible for his own reprisals, which in my opinion did the greatest part toward prolonging this unwanted and unnecessary bickering.

Jack's posts, while not excusable, strike me as the posts of a man who is trying to set records straight - but simply too wound up to remain calm about it. TJ's posts appear largely to be based on assumptions and very incomplete information.

With all that said, all three have posted apologies in Command, and I have taken that into account.

Captain TJ Morgan is hereby suspended from posting in Starfleet Command for the balance of today, and for a further fourteen (14) days; he will next have posting privileges on January 12, 2011.

Rear Admiral Jack Dipper is hereby suspended from posting in Starfleet Command for the balance of today, and for a further seven (7) days; he will next have posting privileges on January 5, 2011. An exception exists in this case; should he assume the Presidency of Star-Fleet before January 5, 2011, his suspension shall be lifted at the time he takes office.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
December 28, 2010

Edict #15:

Posted 28 December 2010 - 11:45pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #15

This one REALLY slipped through the cracks. It is what it is, so I freely admit it. Without further ado:

On the advice and recommendation of Captain Sidney Parker as Commander, Fleet One, I hereby appoint Fleet Captain Barret Vogtman as Commanding Officer, USS Ark Angel.

Welcome back to the big chair that you've already been keeping warm for a while.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
December 28, 2010

Edict #16:

Posted 28 December 2010 - 11:58pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #16

On the advice and recommendation of Captain Steven Sigle as Commander, Fleet Five, I hereby promote Commander Sharon Miller to Captain, with all that rank's normally-accorded privileges.

I further appoint Captain Sharon Miller as Commanding Officer, USS Curie.

Congratumalations, Sharon!

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
December 28, 2010

Edict #17:

Posted 1 January 2011 - 2:42pm by Anthony Martin

Edict #17

Damn, I almost made it to my favourite number, 18. In any case, time to take care of one last bit of paperwork that I wasn't home for last night.

I hereby resign as President of Star-Fleet, effective immediately.

As I said (or at least implied, I hope) in my earlier "thanks for all the fish" post, I'm happy to have served STF, and obviously I wish I had it in me to follow through. As long as I didn't completely waste everyone's time in these last several months, I can come away happy-ish.

Happy New Year.

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
January 1, 2011


Full Text of Bills

Bill #1:

Bill #1

There has been recent debate on the interpretation of the section of Member Order and Organization entitled "Promotions Limits," which currently reads:

"Beyond the rank of Captain, no member may be promoted more than once in any eight month period. Members may only be promoted in this manner to the next highest rank as outlined in the Chain Of Command."

Following discussion in Command on how to prevent this in the future, and in the interest of solidifying the intention of the limits as they currently stand, the entire text of the "Promotions Limits" section shall be changed to read:

"A member may receive by Presidential Edict only single-step promotions in Member Rank. Upon receiving a promotion in this manner, the member becomes ineligible for further Member Rank promotion in the same manner for a period of eight months."

Fleet Admiral Anthony "Cerberus" Martin
STF President
August 6, 2010