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Thread: dauntasa - Commander Application

  1. #1
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    dauntasa - Commander Application

    Commander Whitelist Application
    Byond ID?
    Dauntasa

    Player Name You Use Most?
    Roscoe "FF" Carr

    Make a list of links to all of your applications and (job)ban appeals, including whitelist and staff apps, within the last year. Also, provide "Ban reason; Verdict" beside each (job)ban link
    Have you received any ban within the last month? How long was it and what for?
    No

    Do you understand that any player - even donors or staff members - can have their whitelist status revoked should they break our Server Rules or Roleplay Guidelines?
    Yes

    How do you view the tool of Battlefield Execution to be used? What circumstances do you think it would be necessary to BE a member of the crew? Where do you think the Battlefield Execution Mechanic Differs from regular Execution and why?
    I don't really like the Battlefield Execution, to be honest. I feel like it puts an end to interesting situations more often than it starts them. I think that its usage is far too broad, and that it often, IC, makes no sense as something the USCM would allow, especially when it's applied to civilians.

    Despite this, I do understand OOC why it exists. As for when I, personally, would use it: very sparingly, pretty much only in the cases of mutiny or lethal violence. People actively and maliciously attempting to harm others or undermine command through extralegal methods.

    On the difference between it and the execution outlined under Marine Law: There's little procedure to a battlefield execution. From what I understand, it essentially is an emergency execution, for when following the proper procedure could put lives or the mission at risk. It has less oversight(IC, anyway, I'm sure the admins pay plenty of attention to them), no warning, no last words, and the announcement comes afterward. It shouldn't be done in a circumstance where a standard execution is something that could be reasonably performed.

    How will your Commanding Officer run his/her ship? Provide a detailed explanation on how he would handle situations that might commonly occur such as, a insubordinate engineering staff, a Staff Officer who cannot do anything right, an Executive Officer wh
    Well, I've tried to work some of my own poor personality traits into the character for the sake of consistency. I'm stubborn and tend to remain committed to a course of action beyond the point where I should logically have cut my losses, and I can get pretty salty if I think someone is refusing to admit to a big mistake, or being unfair. You can expect me to display these 2 qualities while playing CO, and I hope these have come across in the story.

    That said, I like to think I'm always pretty patient with someone who is just honestly bad at something but trying to learn and get better. I can recall numerous occasions when I've had to walk someone who just genuinely has no clue through setting up TCOMMs in a lowpop round where they're the only engineer, and I can say with pride that I have never turned on CAPS lock in that situation before 30 minutes elapsed(everyone's got a limit).

    As for scenarios:
    As I see it, if someone's being insubordinate, there's 3 possible reasons. Recognizing which of the 3 reasons is responsible in any given case is important, and is part of being a good Commander.

    First is: they don't know how to do what I'm telling them to do. In that scenario, I'll explain it if there's time and they're willing to learn, find someone else or do it myself if there isn't, and in either event make a note not to expect much out of them in the future. If possible, reassign them to a less important task. For example, if one of the SOs really doesn't have any idea what he's doing on OW, and there isn't time to teach him(or he just isn't able to learn fast enough), I would have him OW the FOB squad in the hopes that he'd be able to pick up the knowledge in an easier environment, and I would pay close attention to that squad to make sure I would be able to respond to anything he might not be able to handle.

    Second is: they're willfully disobeying out of spite, anger, or whatever else. It can be good RP and OOC I often don't have a problem with it, but IC a CO can't have a lot of patience for this kind of thing. If it's minor and happens in briefing or something like that, it's enough to hit them with an NJP or even just chew them out a bit publicly. Enough to show that people aren't able to just walk all over you, without coming off as thinskinned or, OOC, blowing someone's whole round over a minor incident. If it happens in a mission critical circumstance, though, then it has to carry a strong punishment. If someone was to disobey an order purely out of spite, anger, or something along those lines, in a circumstance where it results in the deaths of marines or at least realistically could have, the response has to be very severe. MPs involved at a minimum, and if it was a real disaster this is one of the few occasions when I would consider the BE for something other than a mutiny or murder.

    Third reason, and the trickiest: they think they know better than I do. This is the trickiest one, because they might be right. If a competent, reasonable person is not doing what you're telling them to do, it might be because you're telling them to do something stupid. Of course, if you yourself are also a competent and reasonable person, then it's also possible that they're the one who is wrong. In this scenario, if there is any time at all, I have to explain my reasoning for telling them to do it, in the hopes that, if I am right, they will understand and listen and if I am wrong, they will correct any misinformation that may have lead me to the wrong decision. In the event that there is no time, I have to simply make it clear that it is urgent and important and(as they are probably on the ground and I am on the ship) hope that their own judgment allows them to make the right call. If there is time to explain, and it comes down to a matter of opinion, then as CO I have to have the final say and insist that they follow the order or face consequences(though, privately, if they refuse and it becomes clear that the order would have lead to disaster, I may just forget to enforce those consequences).

    What do you think is the job of a Commander?
    IC, your job is develop and implement strategy, coordinate all the various departments so that they work together efficiently, maintain order and ultimately lead the marines to victory while minimizing losses.

    OOC, it's MOSTLY that, too, but there's an important caveat: as CO you can have the greatest influence on the enjoyability of the round of anyone on the marine side. It is your responsibility to use that influence to make the round more enjoyable. Some of this isn't that hard: be open to RP, don't abuse your position, etc. The hard part is that, sometimes, you're going to have to sacrifice some amount of strategic efficiency for the sake of the round. The obvious example of this is rushing. A lot of the time, a big rush at the start is the best option for success. The problem is, people don't really have that much fun when you do that. So, part of being a good OOC Commander is recognizing when a plan which might be very successful would also ruin some of the fun.

    As a player what do you think could be added for Commanding Officer to benefit the role?
    It'd be nice to have a non-Squad Overwatch console which would cover the Tank, IOs, Synth, and any other non-squad personnel which might go planetside for whatever reason.

    What do you think you could contribute by being whitelisted?
    I play a fair amount of lowpop. There's often no one playing CO, and sometimes no command at all. I can confidently say that I'm better than nothing, at least most of the time.

    Choose one of the following story topics to write about
    It was dark in the Provost Marshal's office. The staff had gone home hours ago.The marine working security that night was the Provost Marshal's personal favourite, the one he always made sure was on duty whenever he needed to have a sensitive discussion. The Provost had managed to secure him a medical waiver when a near miss with an artillery shell had left him with 2 burst eardrums and a hearing test score well below what the military considered acceptable. The marine stayed in the Corps, and in exchange, the Provost knew that what little made it through his damaged ears would never come out of his mouth. The Provost himself sat behind his desk, faintly illuminated by a small reading light. He could feel the growing impatience of the man across from him. The Provost was reading the file over one last time, both to ensure that he had it all straight and because he was not looking forward to the conversation to come. In the end, though, putting it off was only going to make it less pleasant. With the air of a judge passing sentence, he closed the folder and spoke.

    "Admiral Carr, we are here to discuss the end of your career."

    The Admiral responded to this as the Provost expected: with a show of pompous indignation. He raised a bushy eyebrow, leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and let forth a mighty harrumph which rustled the bristles of his moustache and carried with it all the certainty and arrogance of a noble scion who had never yet been failed by nepotism. Such a harrumph from the Admiral always acted as the opening shot in a salvo of bluster backed by powerful connections. Powerful connections which had, thus far, broken through mightiest shield of meritocracy that the military could raise. "Thus far, but no further", thought the Provost Marshal. The Admiral did not realize that he could not be saved this time. It was the Provost's job to make him understand. The Admiral, his harrumph concluded, replied.

    "What do you think you're playing at? The end of my career? There's not a chance. I'd be more worried about your own. When the Secretary of the Navy hears about thi-"

    The Provost raised a hand to cut him off. Briefly, he spared a thought for the fact that the Admiral had said "The Secretary of the Navy" instead of simply "My Father". There was probably a bit of insight into the man's character there, thought the Provost.

    "The Secretary is aware. Painfully aware. That's why this is a discussion and not an arraignment. You can't really believe that he could protect you completely after a disaster of this magnitude. An entire fleet, and with no enemy in sight..."
    At the mention of his failure, the Admiral turned pale. That was the first unexpected thing he had done. The Provost had expected him to turn red and puff himself up like a blowfish, but instead the man just looked sick. Was that genuine guilt, or merely the dawning realization of just what kind of problem he faced? It made no real difference. The man's path was already laid out for him, and, whatever colour he was, the excuses which came out of his mouth were within expectations.

    "There was no way that I could- I mean, anyone would have thought in that circumstance that it-"

    "Admiral, please. We have the communication records between your ship and Admiral Manning's flagship, which show that he tried to contact you but you refused every hail. We have records of the orders you gave to the fleet through the fleet command system, and we have audio recordings of the radio transmissions between you and the Captain of the USS Honolulu after it had visual confirmation of USCM markings. We have everything. It's over."

    The Admiral couldn't manage a coherent response. He sat speechless, pale, his mouth closed and his lips tight. The Provost knew that he had begun to understand his situation. Nepotism had let the Admiral command a fleet in peacetime, and that had been accepted. But it was no longer peacetime. And there was no place in wartime for Admiral Carr. The Provost felt a wave of disgust wash over him. After a disaster like this, the Admiral should not be getting the deal he was about to get. But, though it might not be full protection, the Secretary of the Navy had made his wishes clear. It might be a more graceful exit than he deserved, but at the very least he wouldn't endanger any more lives. The Provost continued.

    "I have already worked things out with the Secretary. He wants to minimize the impact this has on him, and he wants your exit to be quiet and painless. Those records will all be suppressed. Manning was been pronounced dead this morning. Full blame will fall on him. He will be portrayed as having died in battle while trying to salvage his mistake. The autopsy report which indicates that his wound was self-inflicted will be suppressed. You will be held officially blameless. You will take an extended leave of absence due to 'injuries'. While on leave you will retire due to 'poor health'. From there, you're free to do whatever it is you like. Write a book, take 20 mistresses or just lounge around on your family's estate. After a few years things will have died down enough that you could probably even go into politics. But your time in the military has ended."

    To the Provost's surprise, the colour had returned to the Admiral's face. His eyes were narrowed, and his jaw was set. The Provost had seen this look before. It was the expression of a man who knew the smart thing to do, but was trying internally to convince himself to do something very stupid instead. The Provost's suspicions were confirmed when the Admiral spoke.

    "What if I refuse? What if I won't retire? I... I know that anyone could have done the same thing in my position. It isn't my fault. "

    The Provost sighed.

    "In that case, you'll be brought up on a litany of charges. Not as serious as I would like. The Secretary won't allow it. But serious enough. You'll be demoted to Captain, and you'll be reassigned to the least important, least prestigious command we can possibly find for you. One of those old barges we have out running errands for the corporations in the periphery, maybe. And there you will stay, until you give up and finally retire under a black cloud. If you have any grand thoughts about redeeming yourself, put them aside. Your career's life support has been pulled. The only choice left is whether you want to let it die a quiet, dignified death at home or roll it into a ditch and let the rats fight over it."

    The Admiral's expression didn't change. He stood and left without another word. The Provost hadn't been looking forward to this conversation, but the one he would soon have with the Secretary was now set to be even worse. Still, the Provost wasn't going to take the blame for this. It wasn't his fault if the man was too thick to take the only escape route he had. It was like a death row inmate getting a last second reprieve from the governor and then flipping the switch himself. The Provost made a note to clear his schedule for the next few days. Carr's stupidity may not have been the Provost's fault, but it was definitely his problem.

    Captain Carr walked carefully across the docking ramp and onto the USS Almayer. Carefully both because he was aware of his reptutation and knew that his every move would be under scrutiny, and because the floor was littered with broken glass and oil spills. He was greeted by a dishevelled man who smelled like gasoline and gave him a half-hearted salute. Carr was about to chew him out for failing to show an officer the proper respect when he spied the grime-coated insignia of a Lieutenant Commander on the man's uniform. This was one of the Almayer's senior officers. As the man introduced himself as the Chief Engineer, he overheard a conversation between two maintenence techs. They used that hated nickname that he'd earned: "FF". Carr's heart sank. The Provost had been right. He hadn't taken the exit they'd given him, so they'd thrown him into a pit so deep he'd never get out. Still, he had his pride.

    The sound of a grenade exploding echoed down the hallway from Requisitions. None of the Maintenance Techs even looked up. The Chief Engineer rolled his eyes and set off down the corridor. Carr followed, his resolve set. This might be the worst ship the USCM had to offer, but he wouldn't give up. There had to be a way out.

  2. #2
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    I've had a few opportunities to play with / for him in CIC during lowpop. I've had no issues with him, and the story was quite enjoyable to read. For what its worth -- +1.

    Although, I haven't seen your XO orders be quite as "stubborn" as noted in the app. I don't see that as an issue as during lowpop those kind of orders can be very deadly very quickly.

  3. #3
    Senior Member VortexGaming's Avatar
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    Alright, so being honest with you. I think you went above and beyond. +1 this is one of the better examples of what a CO app should look like.
    Kaitlynn Lawson The Captain: https://cm-ss13.com/old/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=18802
    Alicia The Motherly Synthetic: https://cm-ss13.com/viewtopic.php?f=149&t=17406
    Ja'akir Aki The Messenger of the Gods: //showthrea...or-Application
    Staff history:
    Spoiler Spoiler:

  4. #4
    The Helllbanian CO
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    The following post is not meant as negative skepticism but rather as positive food for thought on improvement;

    Why is every applicant affraid of the BE mechanic and claim that they willnever use it yada yada. I don�t want to hear that. BEs are there to be used.

    BEs exist for a reason; When they were first introduced they were called an �OOC way of dealing with IC issues that come as a result of LRP from the person interacting with you.� hence why it of course doesnt make much IC sense.

    Naturally the use of a BE in cases of being threatened or undermined is undisputable, but what I wish to look into is your judgement and insight for what you could consider such cases and at what point to apply the BE? Where do you draw the line?

    Another thing is your quirk, basically being stubborn and clinging to the same strategy at the price of your men dying. As a CO you�re expected to be a competent and effective leader. Adapting to whatever situation is thrown at you is a quality that increases the performance of a CO. Simply being stubborn about a strategy that proves to you that it doesnt work at the cost of your men is not the brightest thing to do.

    And last but not least I have the one most imporant question. Why should you be a CO?

    I dont want to hear that �I play low-pop� excuse. You can do all of that shit without a CO whitelist as an XO or SO. Im not taking that for an answer.

    I know you�re smart. I know you�re competent. But I want to hear some confidence. Show me some personality, some character. Some motivation. What makes you deserving of a CO whitelist?
    Last edited by Arbs; 03-04-2019 at 11:47 PM.

  5. #5
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    Alright Roscoe. I am going to be honest. I been seeing a lot shy away from a mechanic that was put in the game to be used.

    Apop put the BE mechanic in to allow us to deal with shitters and LRPers on the fly without going through the painful and lengthy process of setting up an execution. So if its more feasible and progresses the round. I would reccomend using it. It honestly doesnt mean much to me whether or not you ever use the mechanic but so long as you can understand its application and when to use it.

    The second point is your quirk. Being stubborn is fine and all but throwing away the lives of your needlessly is incompetent. We do not want you to intentionally sabotage the mission because of pride/arrogance/stubborness. Its just soft griefing in a way.

    The story and the rest of the app looks pretty good. But I will wait to comment on this after the councillers had said their peace.

  6. #6
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    Well, let me talk some more about the BE, since you both mentioned it. I don't fear it, Arbs, and I don't misunderstand it, Bancrose. I'm not going to hesitate to deploy it in circumstances where I feel it is justified. It's just that I have a narrow view of when that is. I don't feel that it makes any amount of sense IC to gun a man down for anything short of mutiny or willfully causing the deaths of marines. I feel like using the BE too freely, in addition to potentially blowing someone's whole round over something comparatively minor, renders the entire MP department superfluous. They exist for a reason, and their reason is to deal with relatively minor shittery which needs to be addressed but does not require summary execution. If said shittery is met with summary execution, not only do I think that it wasn't warranted but now you have an entire department basically robbed of its reason for existence. However, since I play a fair amount of lowpop, as I said, and since that often means no MPs, I'll clarify here a bit. In the event that someone is being actively disruptive to the round without fulfilling the criteria I have described, and there are no MPs to deal with them then, after a clear warning, I will use the BE for the good of the round as intended OOC. I don't like doing it, I don't think it makes IC sense, but as the CO you have a responsibility to The Round and that has to come first for the sake of the other 150-odd people who it might affect.

    On the same note: stubbornness. Characterization comes second. Not ruining the entire round for up to 200 other people comes first. By a long, long way. It's a personality quirk, not an excuse to soft grief or intentionally fuck up. I hope that satisfies you both on this subject.

    Now, Arbs, you've asked me why I think I should be CO. Let me tell you, culturally I am very much inclined to humbleness and self-deprecation. To talk yourself up as you seem to expect me to do is, well, not something I'm accustomed to doing. Talking at length about how great I am is not something I would ever be comfortable with. What I can say is this: if I wasn't confident that I could do a good job as CO, I would not have put in the application.

    EDIT: I realize I forgot to put in specific BE examples for Arbs after he asked for them, so let me throw a few in here. Mutiny and Murder are both obvious, so here's what I would consider edge cases.

    An RO who bought a drug crate and is moderately high, but is otherwise doing his job adequately: I would not BE this man.

    An RO who spent all the supply points on drug crates and is drunk off his ass: In the absence of MPs I would BE this man.

    A marine who spends all of Briefing fire extinguishing himself around on a rolling chair even after being told to stop: I would not BE this man, MPs or no.

    A marine who bashes his way through the Briefing glass and starts continuously slamming the briefing flasher and flooring everyone: He gets a warning. If he does not stop, and the MPs aren't dealing with him, I would BE this man.

    A CAS PO who launches on a flyby, mistakenly or out of habit, after being told he needs to pickup the marines at LZ2 urgently: I would not BE this man.

    A CAS PO who launches on a flyby intentionally, while shouting that he called dibs on CAS and shouldn't have to land, after being told he needs to pickup the marines at LZ2 urgently: I would BE this man.
    Last edited by dauntasa; 03-05-2019 at 05:14 AM.

  7. #7
    Admin Taketheshot56's Avatar
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    I think You've provided well detailed answers with a solid all round app that checks off all the boxes for me.

    +1
    Former member of the Commanders Council, PM me if you want help with making a whitelist or have a question.

  8. #8
    The Helllbanian CO
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    Dauntasa, in line with my previous experiences of seeig you ingame I already had a good impression. After your answers you have earned your CO Whitelist.

    This is a defined and well earned +1 coming from me.

    Best of luck to you and enjoy it. I�m sure you�ll be doing great and I�ll look forward to seeing you ingame.

  9. #9
    Senior Member scsnv's Avatar
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    I wanted to wait to let the Council ask their questions and get a better feel for your app before I jumped in with my (comparatively minuscule) opinion, but it looks like that process is more or less over.

    First of all, your app is pretty damn good. The answers, the story, all of it were well-made and interesting. I actually quite enjoyed reading your story. I was a tad skeptical of your BE and "low-pop" answers, but I understand where you were coming from with both answers (because I'm of a similar mindset myself), and your clarification wiped away any concerns I had.

    Solid +1 from me. Please avoid destroying any more fleets from now on.
    Trial Moderator: 4/18/19 - 5/2/19 / Moderator: 5/3/19 - 10/1/19 / Senior Moderator: 10/2/19 - 12/26/19 / Trial Admin: 12/27/19 - 1/11/20 / Mod Manager: 1/12/20 - 4/18/20

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  10. #10
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    Great application and you will make a good captain *salute

    +1
    Former staff, also former Synthetic senator.

    Now just a shitposter and lurker.

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