| Minister of the Army Debate |
Minister of the Army Debate
Recruitment and Motivation | Missions Strategy | Assembly Relations Kris Montresor: Welcome ProfessorHenn and Distortilla. Thanks for agreeing to this debate. Today I want to speak about the Ministry of the Army and about your campaigns. ProfessorHenn: Thanks for having me Kringle. Kris: I want to discuss your current term, as a sort of introductory remark. Then I want to talk about the different aspects of your campaigns and how you might address different challenges if elected. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you have done this past term? Henn: Well, I wasn’t sure if it was obvious yet, but I’m ProfessorHenn, current Minister of the Army, that was elected halfway through the term due to CrimsonTideFan’s recall. Distortilla: My main qualification is the construction and leadership of TRF [The Red Fleet] I guess. A few years back I noticed a niche, insofar as there was no coordinated military movement amongst left-wing regions, and set about creating one. From this desire TRF was born. Kris: ProfessorHenn, could you explain a bit what your priorities have been this term and what you have accomplished? Henn: During my relatively short term as MoA, I’ve done several raids and liberations with fellow militaries, trained Ryccia, Darkstrait, Bonaugure and developed a really basic guide on how to R/D. My priority for this term was to try to either recruit our fellow TSPers, or at least help in the ability to recruit. My basic guide is a good rung in the ladder, if my analogy makes sense. I’ve also trained several RPers, and I find that [they] are a shockingly good source of recruits. Kris: That is quite interesting, thanks for sharing. Now I want to move on to the specifics of your campaigns, and what you plan to do this term, if elected. Recruitment Henn: The main issue that I see is a lack of incentive for people to join the SPSF. To put it bluntly, we’re asking people to give up their tens of endorsements for having to do work at otherwise unhealthy times of the day. I’d like to work with the MoRA to try to give people an incentive for joining, other than a rank. Now, as to how we can actually recruit, we have several tools at our disposal. Tsu’s telegrams, the RMB, individual telegrams, polls, telegram scripts, IRC, invadorecruiting. There’s a lot of ways to recruit, and I condemn myself for not properly utilizing them. Distortilla: The prime consideration is profiling those that have an inclination towards this aspect. My nation current holds 51 endorsements. If a quarter of those [nations], who obviously realise there is more to the game than answering issues, could be convinced to try TSP, then we would have a reasonable force in no time. Kris: One of the challenges has been precisely to convince them, particularly given the inconvenience of update times for possible recruits. To both Henn and Distortilla, how would you address that? Distortilla: With my WA being in TSP at the moment, I have send a TG to anyone who endorse me and encouraged them to consider joining the forum – this has been done from the view of getting more civilians involved in the forum, but could easily be adapted to the military. As before, they have to have the inclination – if they are in it for career advancement then it would be the wrong move. However, if they wish to be part of something that is bigger than the individual parts and awards on merit, with a sense of corps spirit, then it is something they should consider. Henn: Well, this is where my idea of incentives comes in. Without a sufficient reward for R/Ding, most people would not do it. A prime example of a person who did it regardless of the reward is I. Kris: What kind of incentives do you have in mind? Henn: This is where my brilliant mind ceases to think, hence the reason why I wish to work with the MoRA with this. One good idea would be an awards system on the forums. Distortilla: The awards is a tricky one – like Henn I was driven to do this regardless, to find out how to do it, and the success itself was reward enough. However, the logical extension is to be able to run missions oneself – effectively promotion. That in itself is a powerful incentive. Missions Kris: There is always a lot of debate about the missions we have. Often there will be some criticism if we do raids or if we liberate with this or that region. If elected, how would you determine what missions to do? Distortilla: When either a raider or defender attacks a region, sooner or later they will abandon it – the days when the FRA would ride to the assistance of a region and stay until it could stand on its own two feet are long gone. If TSP is going to truly enter this arena then there has to be a different approach. Then there is the question of which regions to aim for – TSP does not need to participate in every update, only in those where it is beneficial for us to do so. Such regions would be long-term projects (a late updating region as a jump point, for example) and as such would either be subject to a long consolidation process (piling) or a knockout approach. Henn: I feel in the R/D world, TSP is an Independent region. What does this mean? We’re free to do both raids as we see fit and liberations as we see fit. I find myself preferring raids to liberations, but I would not let my personal feelings get in the way of what kinds of missions we do. If anything, I feel that the soldiers, not the higher-ups, should determine what mission we should do at update. Distortilla: I agree on this point. The Assembly needs to be mindful of the practicalities of any operation – the numbers involved, the availability, the fallout. Any plan will not survive first contact, and interference in the op can be fatal. Kris: I remember Henn mentioned reaching out to allies in order to organise missions. Does that mean, at least for the time being, that the SPSF will not organise missions on its own? Henn: We will organise missions on our own, definitely. However, the power of our allies is not to be understated, and I feel that in the beginning, when we don’t have such a large military, we should be working with our allies a bit more. Especially Lazarus and other allies with whom we haven’t worked much recently. Distortilla: We do however need some lead from the Assembly – who are our allies, their sphere of influence and who are affiliated to those that oppose us. We have to be careful not to become a catspaw for our allies – if involvement in their mission is not conductive to our objectives, then we should not become embroiled in them – Fandom Alliance is a classic case of being led into something we should not have been involved in. Kris: What are your relationships with the leaders of allied militaries? Do you have good working relationships? Have you had prior contact? Henn: I have contact with most GCR military leaders, especially our allied militaries. Distortilla: I have limited cooperation with the big guns, but I am sure our paths have crossed a few times. Assembly Relations Kris: You both mentioned the Assembly. What are your views on Assembly oversight over the SPSF? Henn: I have no problem with Assembly oversight. I do not want their ideas to be implemented without any input from the MoA, however. Distortilla: The Assembly has to consider our sphere of influence – if TSP is seen to be prepared to act to protect its interests, and that those interests include coming to the aid of their allies, then being a friend of TSP will have appeal to those who are the usual prey of the R/D adherents. If the Assembly wants to direct such moves then I too have no issue, but training missions will be required. SPSF may also have to take military risk that would not necessarily comply with usual procedure, if the Assembly interferes. Kris: Do you have any ideas as to what the first Assembly report will say or recommend? Would you go to the Assembly with some concrete ideas on how to work together? Henn: I feel the first report will be about recruitment. I’ve already got some concrete ideas about recruitment, so I don’t feel it will be too bad. Distortilla: I could quite easily work with Henn, and have several ideas about how to reinvigorate the SPSF, although the structure I propose may be too gauche. But in answer to the question about the report, it can be summed up in one phrase: training takes precedence. Kris: Now, for some concluding remarks. Henn, why should people vote for you? What makes you the better candidate? Henn: I feel I am the better candidate because I can make update, know about R/D, have contacts throughout the world, and am relatively easy to work with (I hope). Kris: Distortilla, why should you be given a chance at MoA? Distortilla: The emphasis on the update as being of paramount importance is one of quantity over quality – to attend one update that has a lasting and decisive result is much better than to attend twenty where the result is inconclusive or easily overturned at the next one. Planning is essential, and should not be dictated by arbitrary elements such as update – we strike when we are ready. I have done it before and am quite prepared to break a few eggs to do the right thing for the SPSF, TSP and NS. Kris: Well, unless you guys have anything to add, I think we are finished. Thanks both for taking the time, and best of luck in the election. Henn: Thanks for having me, Kringle. Note: this interview has been edited from its original version to make edits in terms of grammar and ortography. Southern Journal does not necessarily share or endorse the views expressed in the answers of those being interviewed. Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System
I'm guessing Darkstrait couldn't make it? Would have been good to hear from all candidates, but I do think this was a good debate again, well done.
Darkstrait has busy, and instead we scheduled a later interview with him.
Former Delegate of the South Pacific
Posts outside High Court venues should be taken as those of any other legislator. I do not participate in the regional server, but I am happy to talk through instant messaging or on the forum. Legal Resources: THE MATT-DUCK Law Archive | Mavenu Diplomatic Archive | Rules of the High Court | Case Submission System | Online Rulings Consultation System |
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