All, here are three command news items to keep everyone up to date:
An audit of our blog revealed that we never announced both of these October 1, 2020 changes of command in this forum: Captain Akeno Misaki of the USS Wayfarer and Captain T’Brei Sheridan of the USS Sunfire.
Captain Sandy “Ghost” Shannon assumed command of the USS Sunfire on May 1, 2021. A special thanks to Captain Sheridan for leading the Sunfire for seven months.
Captain John Wells will assume command of the USS Eminence on June 1, 2021. A special thanks to Captain Polto for leading the Eminence over the last 11 months.
What a great way to close out a dreadful year: with monthly awards! Before we reveal the winners, I want to announce a change for next month’s awards:
Starting in January, we will be awarding two Best Posts each month: One for a single author post and one for a joint post. Sim Commanding Officers will be eligible for the joint post version. This is a result of your feedback and several discussions over the last few months. We heard you!
Now, on to the the December winners:
Best Post
Lt. Cmdr. Tyroh Vantic Chief Security/Tactical Officer USS Liberty
While there were multiple excellent submissions for Best Post this month, it’s clear that this writer is very familiar with the post’s subject matter: martial arts. It’s one of those rare posts that truly develops a character, providing a great baseline to be used in future missions.
Funniest Post
Lt. Anna Thesia & Lt. Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell Chief Medical Officer / Computer Systems Specialist USS Liberty
The Liberty’s intrepid Doctor built upon her Rookie award last month and has engaged every player onboard for a joint post, drawing the already tight crew even closer together. She is motivating, engaging, and a lovely person to write with.
Lt. Cmdr. Tyroh Vantic Chief Security/Tactical Officer USS Liberty
Vantic returned from a leave of absence with a delightful 4 posts, jumping straight into the organic and detailed storyline without hesitation. A seasoned player from the old days of IDF, it is an honor to have him back onboard.
Rookie of the Month
Lieutenant JG Steven Wright Encryption Specialist USS Chuck Norris
Joining at the beginning of December, Wright made a great impression with both Captain and crew through his posts and shows great promise for future growth.
Recruitment
None this month!
Thanks again for another great month, and don’t forget about the change with Best Post for January. You can read more about all of the awards here.
With Fleet Admiral West’s retirement and my move into the role of Commander-in-Chief, I’ll need to make a few shifts of fleet leadership. The following changes are to take effect immediately:
I have reluctantly accepted Rear-Admiral Sadie Stanton’s resignation as Director of Art due to her real life time constraints. We thank Rear-Admiral Stanton from the bottom of our hearts for the outstanding work she’s done to give IDF a unique look to fill our niche within the community. She was recently awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for her service.
Vice-Admiral Ken Gillis is hereby promoted to Admiral and will take on an updated title: Chief of Technology. This new rank and role reflect technology’s ever-growing importance in fleet operations. Tech is the backbone of our fleet, and it’s all been Admiral Gillis. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Medal last month.
The Chief of Fleet Operations position that I vacated will remain unfilled. Since our fleet is still small, all sims will continue to report directly to me. Rear-Admiral Bolak and Rear-Admiral James “Rook” Mirtoh will also continue to report to me.
IDF has traditionally not had an official Executive Officer (XO) position. Instead, usually a Deputy Commander-in-Chief or Chief of Fleet Operations fills the role as a de-facto fleet XO. Given the rise of technology’s importance as outlined earlier, Admiral Gillis will fill this position in his Chief of Technology role.
Captain Abe Polto officially assumed command of the USS Eminence on July 1st after Captain Caymen Greener’s resignation. We thank Captain Greener for helping us create this wonderful game and look forward to the new adventures Captain Polto will lead.
Starbase Mikia has left the fleet. Their final post was on May 1st.
In administrivia news, as of August 1st, all prior fleet bans and censures will be officially overturned. The third and ninth censures are hereby overturned immediately. While such lists served their purpose in the past, they are simply no longer needed today. Individual sim membership will be left to the sim COs.