Commander Whitelist Application
Byond ID? Retrokinesis
Player Name You Use Most? Audrey Aulin (marine)/Evelyn (synth)
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? N/A
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? It's a tool to remove anyone you feel is a threat to the mission, with the sole exception of anyone currently in the custody of the MPs (at least as of when I submitted this application). "Threat to your command, persons, or the ship" is an extremely broad qualifier that you could bend to include almost anything, but I feel that a BE is a fairly extreme solution and should be used only when absolutely necessary. You are instantly and immediately removing someone from the round (permanently, assuming you stop anyone from reviving them). In many cases, allowing the MPs to handle it is better for everyone.
However, I'm not going to say that I would never BE anyone. There are absolutely situations where I would consider it appropriate, such as:
Someone shoots up briefing while screaming low-RP memes, then refuses to respond while being arrested. The BE is an effective tool for dismissing low-RP/low-effort shittery out of hand rather than wasting everyone's time with it. Likewise, I'd be less likely to BE someone who had a good reason for what they did and was RPing while in custody.
Myself or someone else is being held at gunpoint and is in immediate danger. More generally, I believe BEs intended to stop something from happening are more useful and justifiable than BEs designed to punish someone for something that has already happened. In the former, not acting is dangerous. In the latter, however, it has already happened and so is better left to MPs to punish as per Marine Law.
Although it must still be announced, a BE is significantly more freeform than a standard execution. The CO must perform it personally but it is not restricted to firing squads or lethal injections (in an extreme situation or with High Command approval), does not require a capital crime to have been committed, and doesn't require the condemned to be allowed last words. It's designed for use in situations where the proper protocols and procedures for a full execution cannot or should not be applied, hence the "battlefield" component.
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 Audrey is, fundamentally, a polite person who wants everyone to work well together. That's a nice ideal, but it's generally pretty unrealistic. She works well under pressure and doesn't let her ego get in the way of doing her job, and she expects the same of anyone under her command. Standard competition between squads or good-natured shenanigans are fine and expected, but armed violence or actions like grenading Req because the RO wouldn't give you an HPR will result in the full force of Marine Law (and, if necessary, the Mateba) being brought down.
As for insubordinate or incompetent crew, this is a very broad question with tons of potential answers but I would generally start by listening to them, because it's entirely possible they have a legitimate concern that isn't being addressed. If they're just deliberately ignoring my orders on purpose I'd warn them and then have them arrested and then have them demoted in that order for multiple offenses. If their disobedience is getting people killed I would jump straight to arrest and/or demotion, with a BE or regular execution considered if and only if they show clear malice or other ill intent and not mere disobedience.
If it's a full-blown mutiny, that still isn't an excuse to immediately break-out the rifle and Mateba and go to town. Mutinies rarely happen without a reason (or, in my experience, without the CO deliberately and actively provoking them) and it's entirely possible that they're not even angry at you in particular, merely someone else in command. An SO deliberately trying to kill their squad or an RO who refuses to supply anyone but their metabuddies are things you can handle without bloodshed and doing so could stop a mutiny in its tracks pretty quickly.
However, sometimes people can't be reasoned with. A mutiny happens for no valid reason or with unreasonable demands that you cannot in good conscience agree to or due to a situation completely beyond your control. That's when you refuse to go quietly, because pointless mutinies are something that shouldn't be encouraged. Tell the MPs to take people down nonlethally, but accept how difficult that is and that people are almost certainly going to die because you wouldn't step down. Toss the ringleaders in perma and consider executions if they show no signs of relenting, but get as many other people revived and healed afterwards with the goal of restoring order and normalcy as quickly and efficiently as possible. We're all on the same side here and there's no sense in doing the xenos' work for them.
In general, CO Audrey's highest priority would be to ensure successful mission completion with as few casualties as reasonably possible, while my priority as a player would be to help people have a fun round without worrying about whether command is going to arbitrarily murder them all for fun.
What do you think is the job of a Commander? I feel the CO's job is primarily three key parts: providing cohesion for the marines, encouraging shipside RP, and serving as a rallying figure. Cohesion comes first and foremost by ensuring the marines have an initial strategy for deployment. This doesn't have to be your strategy, as the XO will sometimes ask to take functional command of the operation. It doesn't even have to be a good strategy, as nothing other than an objectively perfect plan is going to survive intact once the operation is underway. As long as there is some kind of plan in place for the marines to follow and it avoids fatal mistakes like assigning the squad with no engineers to FOB, an average plan that everyone knows how to follow is better than an amazing plan no one is willing or able to obey.
The SOs and especially SLs ultimately have far more actual control over the course of the round, but the CO's job is to get them working as a cohesive whole. Make sure the SOs are talking to each other and keeping informed of the general state of the operation rather than just tuning everything except their squad comms out, ensure req is supplying squads with what they need, ensure SLs know what their squads are supposed to be doing, troubleshoot anything like incompetent or SSD personnel, etc. This also provides you an excellent opportunity for RP in the form of providing initial context to the mission, doing briefing as something more than copy-pasted instructions, handling the demands of the CL and researchers, visiting departments to ensure they're functioning smoothely, and so on.
Perhaps the most important job of the CO is to be the fixed point the marines can always count on. When PFCs scream about being captured and left behind, when SLs rant about incompetent command, when SOs call their squads to the CIC for a mutiny, and when the XO blames everything on you being out of touch, your job is to compose yourself with proper decorum and be the marines' rock. The CO insulting the marines who died under their command or obviously not caring about what's going on absolutely ruins morale, encourages mutinies and early cryos, and is easily avoidable. However, you're not a synth and things are going to get heated sometimes. For the sake of morale, the CO should attempt to keep these moments confined to private discussions with the CIC staff and not doom-and-gloom rants over command announcements.
Rallying the marines groundside with orders (both in text and the actual Issue Orders command) is also the only reason I'd generally deploy as a CO, not just because I felt we needed another rifleman with a nice hat.
As a player what do you think could be added for Commanding Officer to benefit the role? I feel that, in terms of mechanics, the CO role is an excellent place right now. The changes to OBs and supply drops were a huge boon to command and the tactical map is so phenomenally useful I don't know how I managed to play SO without it for so long. I do think managing the Longstreet and its TCs was a fun type of coordination that I miss, but I understand the balance considerations around its removal.
The recent overhaul to the CO code of conduct and the CO's position with regard to Marine Law are also a welcome change. I never experienced any major conflicts with the MPs as command personally but I've seen enough CO/CMP fights and heard enough horror stories to agree it was a problem that needed to be solved.
The thing I feel is really missing is the sense of the Almayer being part of a larger USCM structure. Right now, it really does feel like the CO is the highest authority in the universe and there's absolutely no support or presence from the greater USCM, unless an admiral shows up and decides to randomly BE half the crew. What I'd like to see is some kind of system where the CO can request additional support for the operation, although it would likely need an automated component with limited options so it functioned when no staff was around to respond IC as High Command.
What do you think you could contribute by being whitelisted? I strongly believe that I can help make rounds fun and interesting for people, and that doing so is the ultimate purpose of being a CO. Winning is nice but not something you actually have all that much control over and not something that should be pursued to the exclusion of everything else. Likewise, as CO you are neither an antagonist nor the main character and the round doesn't revolve around you.
I feel that one of the things that makes this game fun and exciting is how every round, despite having the same basic setup and progression, feels completely different based on who decided to play what role that time. I'm glad that there are COs who play very differently than how I would because everything being the same every round is dull and I love to see how the story of each round develops, both highs and lows. I've delivered briefing as a synth, been aCO as the CE, led glorious(ly doomed) charges as a SL, steered the marines to crushing defeat as the sole person in the CIC, and had fun doing all of it.
I have strategies that I think might be interesting and would like to try out, and believe I'm pretty good at thinking on my feet and adapting to the moment, but I certainly won't claim to be a tactical genius that is going to constantly be reshaping the meta. I've played SO extensively and consider myself quite good at it (it was the first non-PFC role I played and where I feel Audrey really became a character and not just a name) but wouldn't say I'm a world-class XO or SL. All of my XO rounds have been in lowpop and, if I was accepted, I suspect many of my CO rounds would be as well; I enjoy the challenge of being short-staffed and having to work with who and what you have available. I don't think my mechanical skills are in doubt as I can play all roles to at least an acceptable standard and I pride myself on putting effort into any role I play and my RP regardless of role.
Choose one of the following story topics to write about **INCOMING USCM TRANSMISSION**
Subject: CDR A. Aulin Review
CC: CDREs Feiffer, Jackson, Meuller, Moore, Shoe
Enclosed is the service record for Commander Audrey Aulin, currently under consideration for promotion to O-6 (Captain) and Commanding Officer status. Direct testimony regarding CDR Aulin's performance has been included where available.
Summarized Relevant Service History:
- enlisted via WY Corporate Exchange Program
- completed basic training at Luna Base
- assigned as Squad Medic (LCPL) to Charlie Squad, USS Sephora.
- completed Officer Candidate School and commissioned Lieutenant (LT) w/ WY recommendation. Assigned as Staff Officer, USS Sephora.
- commended for exceptional service during the Orion Abyss incident [details classified; please contact the WY Government Relations Department for access].
- in light of previous commendation, and with additional WY input, Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) grade skipped. Promoted directly to Commander (CDR). Assigned as Executive Officer, USS Almayer.
Selected Commentaries:
"You can tell she started her career as a medic; a switch flips when she's under pressure and she goes from bright and cheery to laser-focused like I've never seen" - SGT Owens, Alpha Squad Specialist, USS Sephora
"Aulin? What a joke. She wouldn't have made it higher than LT if mommy and daddy weren't pulling strings. Fucking corporate brats" - PFC Wayne, Delta Squad, USS Almayer [enlistment currently under review due to multiple charges of insubordination, insulting a superior officer, and theft of the CO's cat]
"My assessment of CDR Aulin is that, in the inverse of most marine personnel, her demeanor becomes progressively more professional the more stress she is subjected to. This suggests a deeply-ingrained desire to enforce order and stability on a chaotic environment. Taken in combination with her personal and service history, I would suggest Aulin feels a need to 'prove herself' worthy of her position on her own merits" - Bernard, Synthetic Unit, USS Almayer
"An outstanding example of the success of the Corporate Exchange Program and the benefits of a Company education. Truly, Commander Aulin is a shining beacon of our shared values and one of the finest officers in the USCM. The Company would very much like to see her in command of a vessel" - Ms. Judith Stone, Vice President, WY Government Relations Division
This document remains the property of the United Americas Department of the Colonial Navy and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Archives and Documentation Act 2176, Section 30. If you have received this document in error, you are requested to contact the sender and destroy the document.
**END TRANSMISSION**
Originally Posted by ChengChan
