First Days

Cutting right to the chase: your first days as a commander can be important for a couple of reasons, but primarily because your pilots will judge you on how you perform in those days. If you talk but can't walk: you might see people lose interest or even disappear entirely; but! If you're actively pursuing your squadron and making a real effort to get things underway, you'll earn their respect as well as their trust. So let's look at a few ways we can put you on that path:

The Squadron Topic and Intro

Once you're a commander, you'll find that you'll be writing up many, many pages for people to read and use for everyday use; they can be stories, AWOL checks, or even- squadron topics. Your squadron topic is what you might think of as your home base or headquarters: you're in charge of the upkeep, you define the rules and you pay the janitorial staff- with interest... Indeed, between you and your XO, you will be moderating this topic to ensure that people are treated justly and that the CoC is followed accordingly, but also to keep things lighthearted- all business and no fun will turn your topic into a bore: tell a joke if you have to. It's also a place to discuss future or current projects like stories, websites, etc. You may choose to go into further detail over IRC, but if you can keep much of the planning on your squadron topic: everyone can be there to chip in and share their two cents. But remember also that your squadron topic is in the public domain; what's visible to you is visible to everyone else, as will so many of your actions and conversations. So- with the power of command vested in you, spare no time in letting people know what you think about disrespectful behavior and misconduct: you are the authority. You can let people know that, though, before you ever have to punish or censure anyone by use of your squadron topic's introduction post... Let's take a closer look, shall we?

When you first create the thread (on the Navy Main, of course) you'll want to breifly introduce the squadron in your opening post. In that post you'll want establish a few items: 1) announce both yourself and your XO (and any other FLs you might have); 2) lay down some ground rules; and 3) let people know what to expect in the coming days as well as maybe give some orders.

1) Nothing like a little formal introduction to let people know who's in charge; this is one way you can help to make an impact and let people know who they'll be answering to. If you just kind of do projects without any official appearance: you may become more or less lost in the crowd- so you need to stand out when you can. Don't be high and mighty of course- but people like to see their commanders be somewhat official. Not only is it more fun for you in a way, but the pilots like it as well: adds to the excitement of an event. Why have ranks or positions if you can't show them off a bit?

2) Ground rules are probably the most important part of an opening post; they establish exactly what you expect out of your men and women during their time under your command. It's here that you'll want to address the issue of reports (when they're due and to who they shall be sending them), and the treatment of fellow pilots both in and outside of your squadron (no disrespectful behavior is to be tolerated, really). You could also include rules like "no arguing in public" as you might think that it would reflect poorly upon the group, etc. I also like the much appreciated: "No going number 2 in the squadron toilet..." *Cough* Of course, the rules are yours to make and enforce.

3) If you're preparing a story (which I highly suggest), you'll want to inform your members of when that will be available to post on. If you have other projects going on, you could certainly tell them about those. Since people will be twiddling their thumbs in the meantime, you may want to ask if anyone has experience in the projects you're working on (website creation, wiki page editing, etc) so that you can get them involved. Or, if you're a brand new squadron, it's likely you don't have a motto, so you might assign people to come up with one of those. The squadron motto, by the way, can be the center of much controversy... And hilarity. If you're not new squadron, you can still give people some assignments, such as updating their wiki profiles (or making one if they don't already have one). You can always suggest that your members get to know one another better by jumping onto IRC as well; from there, anything can happen.

Squadron Introduction Letter

Kind of in-line with what the previous section was trying to accomplish, the squadron introduction letter is sent to new members (fresh out of the academy) via the message center to acquaint them with their new fighter group and to give them their first orders. You'll need some of the elements previously explained to be pervasive in this text as well: you want to be official and you want your members to know who they're answering to. But! At the same time, you want to be welcoming and show them that they're going to have a great time in your squadron, so- 1) Tell them about your basic ground rules and 2) order them to report to their flight lead. And that's the extent of your part. You'll also want to make sure, however, that your FL is doing his job and makes sure to update the new pilot and work them in. They might need some help from you if you're in an awkward part of a story or half-way through a competition, but your FL will do the majority of the orientation process. For your part, be mindful of how long you make these things as well; post and page length are always an issue if you want people to thoroughly read what you've written. Keep it short, sweet and to the point and your letter, as well as your introduction post, should go off without a hitch.

Squadron Channel

You'll want to register a room for your squadron on an IRC channel so that they can easily meet each other and jump right into conversation; this is also where you would hold squadron meetings if you so chose to conduct one. Also, though you may choose to ignore the hidden benefits of IRC, you can help to keep your members updated by updating the "topic" in your squadron channel. Not sure of how to make a squadron channel? Ask one of our VENA staff members or even someone on IRC- most commanders have a fairly good knowledge of doing this and will be willing to help you out. Not comfortable asking other people for help? Too bad! You'll need to get used to it since, when a commander is between a rock and a hard place, it is his ability to call on the assistance of others that ensures success, not his independent nature.

Talk to your squadron

Above all other things, it is vitally, vitally important that you ask your pilots!... "How's the weather out in Oklahoma?..." Well- maybe not exactly. But in all seriousness- talking can really improve your morale, even at the very beginning, and help you to find ways in which you can get your group working together. One of the questions you might want to put out there is: what games do folks have? If you can find a good number of people who play a certain game, then you're already doing a great service to your squadron- get them playing that game together. This where you, the squadron commander, become the networking, go-to guy in the squadron; you'll find that you're full of fun roles like that. Another, more broad question, might be: what do your members want to see out of the squadron? Any story or competition ideas? Really, if you ever get the opportunity to speak with your members on an individual basis, besides chit chatting, you can find out a lot about them and maybe go so far as to ask what their goals are in the Navy. Do they want to command? Win pilot of the century? Work for no pay at the VENA? *Hiccup* Remember, also, that you can't be working all the time either- don't be so busy with things (and hopefully this program is helping you) that you're not out there talking with people. This is a great way for you to continue making friends; you can even help your recruits make new friends by introducing them to people! The ideas go on... Either way, the benefits of listening to and sharing your own experiences with other members are endless- so talk with your squadron!

Closing

From here- things are up to you; you've really got to keep that mentality that your pilots must always be busy, and that means being just a little bit ahead of them with stories and competitions. You'll win their respect here and make sure that you're getting off on the right foot, but we want this to be habit forming: always be outgoing when it comes to your squadron and make sure that you're having fun. The rest, as they say, is history...