Originally Posted by
ScreamingIdiot
Sure.
1. Your first mistake was assuming the officer couldn't be charged with insub if he was manning the OW console. I'm not entirely sure if this was just poor wording but to clarify Insubordination constitutes any instance where someone fails to follow a lawful order from a superior person of rank or position or disrespecting someone of a higher rank or position that is not an officer, meaning that if the SO disrespected the CMP/MP at any time (even remotely or indirectly) they would have to be charged with insub. Your second mistake was not clarifying how you plan to determine if the charges were valid in the first place (since the SO denies committing insub), such as individually questioning the SO, MP, CMP, and any other witnesses to the crime in question. Finally, you did not plan to follow up on the SO's sentencing to make sure he would be fit to continue his duties as a commissioned officer due to the very clear conflict that has emerged between him and the MPs: for instance, if the SO orders the MPs to arrest a marine on the ship for insubordination against him, it is likely the MPs would either refuse due to their previous spat or try to circumvent his authority in some fashion and subsequently undermine him. To clarify, there were only a couple things objectively wrong with your answer, the rest only demonstrated a lack of initiative and foresight on how things might develop from the hypothetical situation. So even if your actions here wouldn't be considered Neglect of Duty or wholly incompetent, they are sub-optimal.
2. The primary issue here is assuming that the conflict between the PMCs and the shipside staff would be resolved by a single announcement, an optimistic gamble at best. Most likely this issue would require direct intervention on your part, likely with assistance by a majority of your command staff and the Corporate Liaison, which could eventually escalate into arresting and demoting the CMP and some of his subordinates for Sedition and/or Neglect of Duty for following unlawful orders. Furthermore, you would also likely have to properly inform and pacify whatever PFCs got caught up in the excitement as they are often very, very trigger-happy during tense shipside events like these. The rest of your answer is alright, though again it lacks any elaboration on contingencies and/or actions you would take to prevent the situation from further escalating out of control which may occur even after the PMCs have left the Almayer. Again, your answer demonstrates a lack of practical experience despite none of it being objectively incorrect, merely sub-optimal and naively optimistic.
3. This answer I found to be the most upsetting, despite the described strategy being entirely valid. By your own admission you would simply write off the operation without any attempt to re-organise your support staff to better assist the operation, as well as not even considering creatively utilising the resources at your disposal to revitalise DEFCON, Requisitions' budget, or groundside morale. To give a few examples, you could have sent the Synth and the CE to fix and man the tank so it would become fully operational again, recycled non-essential parts of the Almayer to resupply FOB materials and refill Req's budget, sent some of your SOs/XO to work on intel to bump up DEFCON, and/or personally intervene to make sure whatever needs doing gets done right. There are many other strategies and creative solutions you could've come up with here, and the scenario presented is certainly salvageable besides not even being all that dire compared to what regularly occurs on many actual rounds (CIC nearly empty, no Synth or CE, medbay nearly empty, no Req staff, lowpop blues, etc). In conclusion, your answer is again not technically wrong but speaks volumes of your lack of experience, initiative, confidence, and creativity as a commissioned officer, which is not something that you should be struggling with as a CO.
To echo myself and a lot of other feedback you've gotten, you need more experience to truly shine as CO. As is you'd make a decent XO+, but you certainly lack the chops to make a great CO.