Commanding Officer Code of Conduct

The following is a list of rulings applied in effect by the CO Council to all whitelisted Commanding Officers. These rulings must be followed and not broken when playing as the CO of the ship. Violation of listed rulings can result in punishment from the Council.

If any rulings on this page conflict with Standard Operating Procedure, SOP takes priority.

This page will be updated semi-regularly when new rulings are made.

Compiled by Naut and Frans_Feiffer of the CO Council. Updated 03/22/2021.

UPDATE 03/2021: A rework of this page is planned for better formatting. More details will be released once it nears completion.

Punishments Clarification

Warning

A player will receive a basic WARNING for a breach in guidelines as a CO. Basic warnings will have a duration of THREE months, at which point they cease to become relevant.

Heavy Warning

A player will receive a HEAVY WARNING for a breach in guidelines as a CO if they already have an active warning OR if the incident justifies a heavy warning with no previous actions. Heavy warnings will have a duration of SIX months. After three months, a heavy warning will de-escalate into a regular warning, which will be active for the remaining three months.

Suspension

A player will receive a SUSPENSION if they already have an active warning/heavy warning OR if the incident is so egregious as to justify a suspension with no prior incidents (extremely unlikely). Suspension times may vary depending on severity, but will always be a week, 2 weeks, or a month. After suspension time is served, it will be treated as a heavy warning for the purposes of punishment escalation.

Removal

A player will have their whitelist REVOKED if, while still serving time from a suspension (in the form of a heavy warning), they’re responsible for a breach in the whitelist guidelines OR if they escalate to a suspension again after already receiving one in the past. Players may appeal their Whitelist removal after 3 months via PMing one of the current Council members with the filled out form found on the forums (Link). If a player has their whitelist removed twice, it will be permanent and unappealable.

Deployment

The Commanding Officer is allowed to deploy to the field if they feel it is either necessary or if they function as a better leader while on the ground. While deployed you must have an Executive Officer (XO) in the CIC to command in your absence. Several provisions are in place to prevent the CIC from falling out of line due to your actions, as well as preventing the unnecessary death of the CO. Failure to adhere by these guidelines will result in punitive action.

Commanding Officers who deploy automatically surrender tech webs control to the Executive Officer.

Deployment Conditions

Deployment is restricted to the following conditions:

• You may only deploy if you absolutely trust your CIC staff to run the operation in your absence. Do not deploy if you feel your CIC staff would be incapable of running the operation without your personal guidance.
  • Your XO especially must be able to run the CIC without you. Do not deploy if your XO does not wish to take over.
• All actions taken by the CIC in your absence is your responsibility. Any blame can and should be shifted to you should the CIC be incapable of performing its duties.
  • This is for IC issues only (such as mutinies). You won't be held responsible OOCly and your whitelist will not be endangered if your CIC makes a mistake.
• You must have an active XO in the CIC in order to deploy. You and the XO are not allowed to deploy at the same time.
  • If the XO moves into cryo, is incapacitated, arrested, or otherwise is incapable of leading for an extended period of time, you must head back to the CIC if it is safe and are able to do so.
  • The XO must be the proper XO. You cannot deputize an officer to act as an acting XO.
• While deployed your job is still to command and communicate frequently with both the CIC and marine crews groundside, not do combat. You are a leader, not a fighter.
• Do not voluntarily put yourself into positions where your life is in great danger, such as taking point in a chokepoint or moving into an area or position that leaves you vulnerable to enemy attack. Stay in safe positions at all times whenever possible.
  • Avoid being reckless. Take point if you have to but avoid needlessly charging into enemy territory headfirst. You put yourself at the risk of being killed, cut off, or captured in the process.

Pardons

Full information on pardons can be seen here.

Pardons should be used sparingly. If a pardoned prisoner commits a crime after being pardoned the CO will be held responsible and charged accordingly.

• When anyone of the rank Captain or above performs a pardon, they must know the crimes committed and roughly when they were committed.
• The person performing the Pardon must announce it, the reason to why they are being pardoned, name of the marine and the crimes the marine was pardoned from. As long as the announcement is made, the Captain does not need to be there for the release itself.
• When anyone of the rank Captain or above performs a pardon, they must know the crimes committed and roughly when they were committed.
• The person performing the Pardon must announce it, the reason to why they are being pardoned, name of the marine and the crimes the marine was pardoned from. As long as the announcement is made, the Captain does not need to be there for the release itself.

Additional notes:

• Capital crimes CANNOT be pardoned.
• Avoid using pardons for non-critical personnel.

Battlefield Executions

For further reading on Battlefield Execution (BE) guidelines, see the Marine Law section on BEs here.

• BEs may not be performed if the suspect is currently restrained or in custody. A marine is considered in custody the moment the cuffs are on.
  • An exception to this is during boarding, Code Red/Delta, or if standard containment or execution procedures are otherwise impossible.
• BE by proxy is defined as asking others, directly or indirectly, to kill, disable or seriously injure someone else. BE by proxy is prohibited; any attempts to perform executions must be done either in person by yourself, or with standard Execution procedure.
  • You may not perform BEs via orbital bombardments (OBs), mortar, or other kinds of fire support.

Medals

• Medals should only be given for acts of true, challenging accomplishment and feats, such as for good conduct, leadership ability, or eliminating enemy targets. They cannot and should not be awarded to people for trivial or joke reasons such as participation medals, cooking, or diversity.
• The Commanding Officer is not allowed to grant themselves medals - only flag officers (RADM and above) may award them for distinguished actions.

Equipment

• Your M46C rifle and your personal armor can be given out to deploying CIC staff at your discretion. Remember to disable the biometric lock before doing this.
• Your personal sidearm, due to its ability to perform executions, should not be given out under any circumstances.
• Your tablet should not be given out to non-command staff. Preferably only either you, the XO or acting Commander should be in possession of the tablet.

Announcements

• Announcements are to be informative to some extent, or in some way benefit marines. They are not for LRP remarks, or OOC information.
• Announcements should only link to known image capture sites such as Gyazo or imgur. Only still pictures of the tactical map are allowed -- no GIFs and/or pictures of content other than the tactical map.

SOP Modifications

For further details on Standard operating procedure please visit its respective wiki page here.

• Standard-issued equipment to Marines that can be found in their squad preparations and requisitions (such as the standard primary and secondary arms and attachments) cannot be restricted or prohibited in any way. Marines reserve the right to freely carry and use the equipment they are provided with.
• If helmet wearing is enforced, it should only be explicitly made mandatory to Squad Leaders, Specialists, or other vital and specialty roles. It should not be enforced on standard Marines.

LZ and Telecomms

• Your extraction point (LZ) and Telecomms should at the very least have minimal PROPER defenses. You may build a FOB at any area other than the LZ, or you may additionally skip the construction of a well-defended FOB at the LZ; just make sure that the LZ has at least some form of proper protection.
• Do not attempt to circumvent this by building flimsy wooden barricades or other rudimentary defenses and calling it ‘protection’. LZ defense must be able to at least momentarily hold off an enemy assault.