I have decided to run for Minister of the Army for one reason and one reason only. As idle as it has become in the recent months, Activity that occurred April thru June got TSP recognized by the Game Playing world (both raiders and defenders) as a region and force to be worked with and respected. I don't wan't to see what was earned lost, thrown away or left to drift off in directions it doesn't need to go.

We had a good thing going, but I got married the end of May and Geomania got a new job and leadership disappeared. I am ready to try and step up and get it going again.

The issues of the SPSF are really very simple.

1. Lack of Participation. We need to get more people involved in the game play of Raiding and defending. Part of the problem was communications and getting people out for missions. 99.9% of the SPSF activity occurs at the major update at Midnight, EST. We can't just post on the forum or RMB "We're raiding region (Insert region name here). It gives away our intentions and knowing a raid is coming, it becomes easy to defend. We need to work on that.
Also, we have gotten past the "Are we Raider or are we defender?" debate by declaring ourselves "Independent" and we can do what needs to be done (not necessarily what we want to do...).
After discussions with several people, who's opinion I value. I am proposing, to get more people involved, the creation of three Groups within the SPSF, all headed by a General, and all the Generals report to me. Think of them as "Deputy Ministers".

Group one will be called the National Guard, Coast guard or something similar and will focus on the defending aspects of game play. It will deploy to aid other regions in defense of a raid and be ready to defend TSP, in the event we get raided or a coup attempt takes place. Ideally this group will become larger then the endo difference between the Vice Delegate and the Delegate so that should it be necessary, The Vice Delegate can be pushed into the Delegate's seat should a delegate go rogue or a attempt a coup.


Group two will be reserves. This will be for people who want to get involved but aren't around for the updates at midnight. Once we gain control of a region, we need people that can come in after and add further support and endorsements to the new delegate to aid ind keeping the region. There is even needs to have someone come in and assume and maintain the delagacy of a taken region. There is plenty of things to do.

Group three will remain the SPSF or "Special Forces". This group will be free to get involved in ANYTHING the game world needs it to be. Whether it be Warzone Raiding, Tag raiding enemy regions, or aiding other invasions/liberations/whatever that the game may dictate.

I will NOT demand nations declare what their roles will be, but they are free to declare their preferences if they desire. I will demand that the Generals communicate activity and whoever shows will be welcome. I see people joining the Army the night of a raid, not having to wait for days of bureaucracy to determine if your worth or not.

I have a region already where I park my puppets after missions. The SPSF has used this region in the bast for training purposes and we will use it again. We have a chat room, #SPSF on Espernet, where training mission will be posted in the Topic. Attendance and roster will be kept by people in the chat room during these exercises, not by a monthly roll call. I want to keep tabs of the people who show up, not the people who say they will.
Even if you have WA commitments and can't participate in a raid, if your experienced and a member of the SPSF, you should attend the chats to offer mentoring or even see how things happen and not have to actually participate.

I also started writing training material that is posted in the Special Forces subforum and just learned that only SPSF member can see it. I will work on getting these to a public area anyway, since I believe these should be seen by everyone to get an idea of what the SPSF entails and raising curiosity.

This is a vision I would like to see the SPSF grow into. If 1000 people show up wanting to raid and no one wants to defend, we can work on that area first while looking for more defender oriented. I will act as the catalyst, not the dictator. I want to start the growth with a vision, but if the vision changes, be open enough to go with it.

One other thing I would like to see, is that just like in real life, participation in the SPSF need not be limited to citizens. Just residents. Once you prove yourself and serve in the SPSF , it can become a path to citizenship. Participating in missions teaches you more about NS politics than anything else. You meet people from many regions with many ideologies and get to know WHY regions think the way they do.

Is the division of labor you outlined largely cosmetic, or will activity dictate which category an individual falls under?

How do you propose getting the participants for these endeavors? Do you plan on working with other members of cabinet?

(07-18-2014, 10:53 PM)God-Emperor Wrote: Is the division of labor you outlined largely cosmetic, or will activity dictate which category an individual falls under?

No, I have people in mind. The different factions of Game play have different people and one person is not usually accepted into both worlds. I have no issues with a General of the guard calling for a mission to held defend a region and the SPSF general calling for folks to help liberate someone. I have no need for total dictatorial control. I will come and go. The divisions will be around.
I also don't see indivduals having to pigeon hole themselves one way or the other at this point. If someone wants to liberate someone tonite and defend someone next week, more power to them.

(07-18-2014, 11:06 PM)Penguin Wrote: How do you propose getting the participants for these endeavors? Do you plan on working with other members of cabinet?

I plan on keeping the Cabinet informed. I am involved in the game play world and asked if I can get the SPSF or if I want to be involved almost every night I'm on IRC. SPSF activity comes up in a hurry and not every mission has time to go thru the cabinet or assembly, but Plans of the structure should be run past both for input.

What if someone just wants to raid?

(07-18-2014, 11:16 PM)God-Emperor Wrote: What if someone just wants to raid?

That would fall under the SPSF or Special Forces branch. There are 3900 people in the region. We get 4 or 5 to defend on an average mission. I believe we should provide opportunities for ALL aspects of the game. The Generals will announce missions, raiding, defending, liberating, whatever and anyone should be free to participate either side of the fence and not have to pick one,

What happens when the commander of the SPSF announces a liberation, and a raider refuses to participate?

This is one platform I can get behind. I will definitely vote for you.