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.