Hello TSP!

I’m Moon (or Emodea) and I would like to ask for your vote for me as Minister of Defense. I’m running for the position because I believe that I possess the right skills and necessary dedication to take the SPSF to greater heights, and lead the charge as the SPSF continues to explore new, yet-to-be-seen horizons.

As you all might know by now, there’s a new wave of changes coming to gameplay, which will alter several long-lasting, fundamental aspects of the game forever. I wish to prepare the SPSF for this upcoming shockwave, so that we may continue doing what we do best: protect innocent, vulnerable regions from those who seek to harm them.

However, it’s one thing to promise something and another to actually go ahead and do it. I certainly don't expect to be all-successful this term, not with the limited time I’ll have on my hand if I get elected. That’s why I would like to focus on a set of realistic goals that could be achieved within the short time I’ll be given and promise that I’ll do my best to fulfill them.

Without further ado, here are my plans:

Continuing Civilian Outreach:
W&S had hoped to expand the scope of civilian outreach in his campaign and I hope to continue the good work he did here as MoD. We already had a test of this new apparatus during the recent Trovons liberation and while we did good, there remains a serious room of improvement regarding our turnout.

To this effect, I plan to launch a gameside program that targets new and eager players, something we’re in no shortage of as a feeder, to join our civilian volunteer reserves for exceptionally large liberation at hand. This is something that former MoD Phoenix ran with great success last year with the sieges of South Pacific and Smol Fur Empire, but it was ultimately an unsustainable thing as it was way too dependent on her. My plan is to create an infrastructure that is sustainable in nature, and can be used by future MoDs repeatedly whenever it's necessary. There's a community project at works that'll help coordinate them into a hopefully formidable force that could be safely relied upon for liberations and I hope to fully utilize this to its fullest potential.

I also plan to incentivize this volunteership, as to encourage further participation and reward those who have contributed. My initial thinking is to gift cards or special badges/ribbons, but this might be subject to change in the future.

Expanding The Tidal Force:
The eventual advent of Frontiers and Strongholds will increase the importance of pilers more than ever before, as R/D will gradually shift towards large-scale, long-term occupations and pile-offs again. Which means that the military with more pilers to call upon will gain a massive advantage over its counterparts. Furthermore, piling remains an easy, low-effort task that's enticing to players wishing to get themselves involved with military gameplay but not being able to fulfil the time commitment it requires from them. And they continue to serve as a viable pool to draw updaters from for big liberations. It’s thus logical for us to invest in the development of our military reserves to prepare ourselves for the upcoming changes.

Keeping this in mind, I want to expand the Tidal Force to such a level where we can feel confident piling off against any military organization in this game.

Building Culture:
Culture is often something that's overlooked by many while building up a military. Yet it remains probably the most important aspect one should consider while creating the foundations of a successful military organization. Culture is what makes a military enticing to prospective recruits looking to defend with a group of people they can vibe with and it is what makes those recruits stick around long-term and contribute to the betterment of the place they joined. Without the presence of a positive culture that draws people in, the SPSF will eventually stagnate and remain at a risk of losing its status as one of foremost defender militaries in the game.

However, I have to admit that developing a positive, attractive culture is a harder task than it looks at first glance. There remains no surefire method to success here and approaches vary wildly between different players. Each region has its own unique brand of culture heavily based upon the players residing there and oftentimes its military just adapts a modified, highly vocal version of the already present culture there.

So here's what I promise; I plan to continue the development of the open and friendly culture we already have here that people can vibe and generally be engaged with by encouraging people to be, well themselves. Because at the end of the day, it is very much upon the members of the SPSF to shape what our culture is and what it should. I, as the Minister of Defense, can only encourage and guide its development in a positive direction. Taking a blunt approach to something doesn't really sit right to me and I don't believe it would mesh well with something as delicate as culture-building. While I might not be entirely successful in my venture, I do hope to give it my best try and see where we go from there.

Hosting Wargames:
I plan to host semi-regular wargames with our allies and embassy partners should the opportunity ever rise. With the ebb and flow of R/D constantly changing, it means that our updaters might not get the necessary amount of practice they require to excel at the game. With a consistent schedule of wargames, our updaters will get more chances to hone their skills and shake their rust off, if they're coming from a particularly long stretch of inactivity.

Secondly, wargames can be engaging in nature if done right. It would obviously not be as engaging as raiders doing stuffs (immersion and all that jazz), but it could serve as a reasonable hook to generate activity and interest in the SPSF and in defending as a whole, and keeping people around here long-term.

And finally, wargames can serve as a powerful diplomatic tool that helps to deepen the bonds we share with our closest allies, as well as explore new relations with a myriad of regions out there. TSP has the the ability to play an active role in introducing new regions to defending and wargames can play a crucial role in that regard, along with outreach.

And that would be all! I'm open to answering any questions you might have about my campaign.

Conflict Of Interest:
I'm a Legislator in The South Pacific, as well as a Officer in the South Pacific Special Forces, a Senior Staffer in the Ministry of Media, a Junior Staffer in the Office of World Assembly Legislation, a Junior Staffer in the Ministry of Culture and the Ambassador to The West Pacific and 10000 Islands.

I'm also a Warden-Lieutenant in The Order of The Grey Wardens, a defender military-focused region and an embassy partner of TSP. I'll be preemptively answering a commonly asked question here that I'm fully confident in my ability to balance my duties and responsibilities in both regions and my full focus will be on the SPSF for the duration I serve.

Finally, I'm currently serving as the Councilor of World Assembly Affairs in Refugia, a medium-sized, internal-focused region that I joined on April 2021. I can safely say that my duties there won't overlap with my duties in TSP should I get elected.