My fellow South Pacificans,
It’s no secret that the South Pacific Special Forces are in an institutional slump. The flow of recruits into the SPSF has been clogged, and activity even amongst the officers has crashed. I am disheartened by the state of things.
If there’s one thing that gives me hope, it is that things are this way despite the flourishing of many of our allies, despite a surge in R/D activity setting all-time records these past few months and despite being one of the most storied militaries on the site, forging many of the best commanders the game has ever seen.
In short, this isn’t inevitable. I refuse to succumb to the doomed notion that it is.
With that in mind, my agenda (should you confirm me as Minister of Defense) is an inward-facing one, focusing on building the infrastructure, routines, personnel and culture to set us back on the right path. I’ve broken down this agenda into categories below for ease of reading.
Recruitment: Very little improves if we do not restart the flow of new Cadets into the SPSF. SPSF applications have not been processed in months; we are only shooting ourselves in the foot by not doing so. There are a number of obvious pieces of recruitment policy that haven’t been happening that I do intend to restart, of course, but part of my recruitment agenda will also be to make the SPSF a much more visible part of our community. The hope is that if we show new TSPers what we do, they may be more inclined to sign up than if they just read about it in the abstract.
To this end, as MoD I will:
- Assess the situation with applications, and restart the prompt response to them,
- Restart the publication of regular public reports,
- Use the posting of said public report to Discord as recruitment messages,
- Actively recruit via regional telegram, either on its own or in cooperation with the incoming delegate,
- Explore the possibility of an application method outside of the citizenship application that may be less awkward to established members of our community, and
- Hold regular small-scale events, such as livestreaming chase sessions to the Discord server.
Training: The road to a more active officer corps is not as simple as “appoint more officers/admirals.” It’s an involved, months-long process to get someone from a new recruit to an officer, and with activity where it is, there are not a great many candidates. I view Ensign training and Officer training as very different beasts that require different strategies to kickstart. I believe that one should spend as little time possible as a Cadet, beginning training upon joining to attain Ensign. Additionally, most of the training for Ensign can be done naturally by just showing up to update in Libcord. Training for Lieutenant and above is more difficult, requiring time to develop a more intuitive sense of update mechanics and not necessarily being trained naturally on Libcord unless someone is promoted into Update Planning. The Square Table, as a body outside the direct control of TSP, shouldn’t be relied on for Officer experience.
To this end, as MoD I will:
- Conduct an immediate personnel audit, talking with each rostered member to see who can be coaxed back to service, who is ready for additional training and who should be considered for promotion,
- Rewrite our training guides, as they are out of date, written for tools that have long since broken,
- Take a much more proactive than reactive approach to training, seeking out members that are ready for the next step rather than waiting for them to ask, and
- Explore in-house wargames and simulated operations, either on our own or with allies, as avenues for leadership training.
Military Culture: I want the SPSF to be an engaging community to be in, and I want people to feel recognized for their work within it. I am always a sucker for a little pomp and circumstance as well. It’s saddening to see essentially dead SPSF channels on Discord. It’s harder or nigh-impossible to fix this sort of thing directly; my hope is that the sense of camaraderie and pride can grow with greater people in activity. However, there are some things I would like to bring back/start.
To this end, as MoD I will:
- Utilize ribbons again for month-to-month healthy competitive recognition,
- Recognize SPSF members for reaching significant milestones (their hundredth update, for example),
- Recognize SPSF members for service in notable operations, and
- Begin a project to chronicle the history of the SPSF with the aim of engaging interested newcomers with retired veterans.
Tidal Force: The Tidal Force, the SPSF’s reservist branch, has been all but completely neglected for months, and I’ve spoken to a couple of people that wish for it to return. I have a few ideas as to how a Tidal Force can be made useful in this day and age, beyond the rare pile we need to form or delegate transition. I likely would not seek to engage the Tidal Force until after our own delegate transition is complete.
To this end, as MoD I will:
- Conduct a similar personnel audit as mentioned previously to get a sense of who would respond to a call of reactivating the Tidal Force,
- Construct a Tidal Force detagging apparatus that would allow those not able to meet at update to participate in clearing the detag backlog,
- Leverage the Tidal Force as mock pilers for the above-mentioned wargames and simulations, and
- Look to appoint a reliable junior member as a Tidal Force Coordinator.
I’m hopeful with this concerted effort, we can set the SPSF back onto the right foot. It will likely take time, so my hope is that the fruits of this labor are observed in future terms. Thank you to Kringle for selecting me. Thank you to the Assembly for considering my confirmation. I will gladly answer any questions the Assembly may have.