Today (August 15) the Cabinet held a public meeting/Q&A via Discord. To start the meeting, I delivered the following report, which I've copy and pasted here both to provide an update on MoD activities and to provide an opportunity for those not on Discord or who missed the meeting to ask me questions in this thread.

---

Since the last Cabinet meeting, SPSF has been active in the field and I have a few behind the scenes updates.

SPSF aided in the liberation of Nasunia, a role playing region, on July 25. 10 SPSF Personnel assisted in the liberation, with SPSF Officer @឵Luca setting triggers for the operation for all liberating forces. This liberation was particularly significant because the original raid was only successful due to an act of espionage against our allies, 10000 Islands, and this show of strength by SPSF and our partners has demonstrated that efforts to interfere with our allies are futile and will be met with firm response. I wrote about the operation here: https://tspforums.xyz/thread-9471-post-2...#pid219210

SPSF also led the liberation of Chaylia, a new social region using the non-executive founder feature to experiment in regional democracy. 12 different SPSF personnel participated across two updates. Additionally, SPSF Officer Luca set triggers for the operation and I headed foreign coordination and outreach efforts for the defender coalition. Commander @Witchcraft and Sorcery and @Quebecshire were also involved in leadership. I wrote a special report on the operation here: https://tspforums.xyz/thread-9631.html

In terms of personnel, we're pleased to announce that @Conexia has been promoted from Trainee to Soldier. Conexia has been in the SPSF a while but has recently started attending update regularly, and we're happy to have them more involved. Additionally, @Moon has begun training to become an Officer.
In terms of infrastructure projects, these had stalled out due to RL obligations by myself. However, with Luca's assistance, the member-specific records project's release is imminent. After that, my goal before the end of the term is to do the SPSF Dispatch revamp, set up a system for members to produce their own SPSF promotional materials, and organizing the private SPSF sub-forum.

Finally, with the administrative ban of Melix, who was the Tidal Force coordinator, the program had stalled out. After remaining at home to facilitate our own Delegate transition, Tidal Force resumed its normal detag schedule in a joint effort between myself and the General Corps, and made a brief pause from that to help fortify Chaylia after its raid. At the moment, there is no obvious candidate for Tidal Force coordinator, so I will continue leading the project myself.

Minister of Foreign Affairs
General of the South Pacific Special Forces
Ambassador to Balder
Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

Reply

Unveiling of SPSF Member Records

South Pacificans,

It is with great pride that I am ready to unveil the release of member-specific SPSF Update Records. After reviewing all available update reports, compiling a spreadsheet with the data, and working with Officer @Luca who created a parser to convert the spreadsheet into the published reports. A thanks goes out to the General Corps along with former Ministers @Somyrion and @USoVietnam for their help with the historical research, and an even huger thanks goes out to Luca for writing the code to vastly simplify the process of compiling the reports for myself and future Ministers of Defense. The set up also enables us to publish a summary of each month's activity to the forum, in addition to updating information about all time SPSF member activity each month, all with a reasonable amount of record-keeping labor required.

You can view the forum copy of the new SPSF Member Records system here. The records are also available in Dispatch form, with the all-time records being found here and the most recent month's records being found here.

If you believe any records are missing, feel free to link them for me!

Minister of Foreign Affairs
General of the South Pacific Special Forces
Ambassador to Balder
Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

(This post was last modified: 08-16-2021, 03:13 PM by HumanSanity.)

Reply

Promotion Announcement

A warm congratulations to @Moon who has been promoted to an Officer by the General Corps.

Immediately upon joining the SPSF, @Moon demonstrated their determination, creativity, desire to learn, and potential as a military member. Despite a geographic location that is traditionally considered substandard, Moon can still achieve 1 second chase speeds that are effective for defending against the best equipped raids. In addition to portions of military gameplay focused on raw speed, Moon has invested considerable time and energy into learning rhetorical and strategic elements of defending.

Moon is already the 5th most prolific updater in the recorded history of the SPSF with a very very bright future ahead of him as a commanding officer.

Three cheers for Moon!

Lux veritas virtus.

Minister of Foreign Affairs
General of the South Pacific Special Forces
Ambassador to Balder
Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

Reply

Promotion Announcement

A warm congratulations to @Floptop, @LDS, and @Jay Coop who have been promoted to Soldier by the General Corps.

All 3 of these new SPSFers joined around the same time and have progressed and learned together. Each of them bring unique skillsets and background to the table and have had to overcome their own challenges as they refined their skills as defenders. As it is, I am confident in each of their abilities and the progress they have made. Even more than that I am excited for the future each of these members have in the SPSF and am confident in all of their ability to help the SPSF reach new heights in the defense of innocent regions abroad.

Three cheers for our three newest Soldiers!

Minister of Foreign Affairs
General of the South Pacific Special Forces
Ambassador to Balder
Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

(This post was last modified: 09-13-2021, 01:05 PM by HumanSanity.)

Reply

End of Term Address

Fellow South Pacificans,

As the current Cabinet term comes to a close, I wanted to take an opportunity to publicly reflect on the progress of the Ministry of Defense. In this, it is my intent to be incredibly honest about both the successes of the SPSF in the past term -- both on an institutional and infrastructural level and on the battlefield -- as well as the things that have been left unaccomplished and the shortcomings the next Minister must work with the General Corps to address.

Speaking for myself, this term has been incredibly challenging, and in ways that I had not anticipated at the outset. Areas where I originally believed I had the skill and competence to contribute to the SPSF's sustainable growth, I've found my current attitude and approach may have inhibited rather than furthered the SPSF's progress. Specifically, at times I found my personal approach was a little too "all business" for fostering genuine growth and community within the SPSF, which was the primary goal I set out to accomplish for the term. I take full responsibility for the adverse effects this may have had on the SPSF's growth and long-term trajectory. I will not be running for re-election as Minister of Defense in large part because I believe I am ill-suited to build a sense of SPSF culture, and that my continuing in office would allow these problems to fester rather than forward progress. These difficulties I would have in a second term as Minister of Defense are amplified by both greater restrictions on my availability for game update due to a shifted real life schedule and a growing sense of frustration I have had in the position in the past month.

Despite this, I do want to highlight some of the major accomplishments of this term. While there are many areas we did not succeed in, I want to highlight the areas where we did succeed, if for no other reason than it will provide guidance to the next Minister of Defense for what to build on:

• Since last term, the SPSF Roster was brought up to date by removing inactive members. Additionally, I have regularly updated the application with each new SPSF member.
  
• In terms of personnel, this term saw the successful promotion of @Moon from Soldier to Officer as well as the promotions of @Conexia, @LDS, @JayCoop, and @Floptop from Trainee to Soldier. Sadly, Conexia has retired from the Tsunami Force due to real life constraints, but will be welcomed back should his schedule ever re-open. We also have two new promising Trainees who are preparing to get more involved. This smooth process for training and intake has been due to the combination of faster processing of SPSF applications (hugely thanks to General @Witchcraft and Sorcery) in the past term as well as more structured and proactive outreach and training for SPSF Members.
  
• The Update Reports thread has been brought up to date and continuously updated throughout the term. This has been connected to a long-term effort to release the SPSF Member Records system, which includes update reports going back to 2016. This system will be easily updatable each month for future Ministers of Defense or their designated assistants. My thanks to @Luca for their assistance with this project.
  
• On the battlefield, the SPSF and its defender partners had several significant victories. In general, raiding activity was low throughout this term, however when raiders did appear, the SPSF and its partners were able to liberate their occupations with a great deal of success. My term began the practice of releasing Liberation reports, a practice I hope is continued by future Ministers of Defense. Specifically, we released Liberation reports on the liberations of Liberal Democratic Union and Chaylia.
  
• The SPSF also fulfilled its mandate to support anti-hate operations. Early in the term, we conducted a joint operation with our allies from The East Pacific and the North Pacific, as well as partners from The Free Nations Region, The Union of Democratic States, and Thaecia in order to occupy the region Confederate Army. Unfortunately, the founder of the region returned, so we were not able to successfully refound the region. Further, near the end of the term SPSF Tidal Force has been participating in the ongoing occupation of New Western Atlantic, a region which was associated with doxxers and fascists.
  
• The SPSF began efforts to reach out to other parts of the South Pacific to increase its recruitment through events and public statements. For Defender Day, I wrote a speech on the importance of saying "no", the SPSF hosted a public "chasing" event, and I answered questions on the RMB.
  

It is my sincere hope that new leadership will rise to the challenge of reinvigorating the SPSF after this term. While great progress was made during my term, the next Minister has their work cut out for them, and I will be here to assist in whatever way I can. 

Faithfully yours,
HumanSanity

Minister of Foreign Affairs
General of the South Pacific Special Forces
Ambassador to Balder
Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

(This post was last modified: 09-30-2021, 07:50 PM by HumanSanity.)

Reply

I've decided to not procrastinate for once and finally update the member records upto December 2021, which you can find here (dispatch) and here ( TSP forum post). Couple of short notes here;

1. At least one member of the SPSF was present in 53 of the 62 updates last month, which stands as a new record. Probably.
2. 32 unique players updated bearing the SPSF flag last month, another new record.
3. The highest single update presence we've had was on the major update of December 21, with 22 people signing in to take back China from an invader coalition. You can find the magical report about it here.
4. @HumanSanity was last month's most prolific updater, attending 32 updates out of a possible 62.

Also, someone named @Moon has taken over Witchcraft and Sorcery as the fourth-most prolific updater in SPSF's recorded history, with 320 updates in his bag. If you see him, please make sure to throw rotten tomatoes at him and cuss him out for having no life.

And finally, you can find the overall member records here (dispatch) and here (TSP forum thread).

I wish you all a very happy day.

Lux Veritas Virtus.

Faithfully yours,
Moon,
Minister of Defense.

(This post was last modified: 01-28-2022, 09:49 AM by Moon.)

Reply

Fellow South Pacificans,

I would like to start by thanking you for reelecting me into the office of the Minister of Defense for a second time. I am delighted to see that an overwhelming number of my Legislator friends have deemed my work over the past two months as adequate enough and chosen to continue putting their trust in me to act as the civilian leader of the South Pacific Special Forces for the next four months. I hope that I am able to fulfil the responsibilities I have been entrusted with and live up to the high expectations you justifiably hold for me.

This is the third time I have been conferred with a ministerial position here. I have spent more than half of my time on this website as a member of the Cabinet of this region, in both domestic-focused and external-focused roles. Over the course of my service as the Minister of Media and the Minister of Defense, I have grown more than I expected, both as a player and a person, and have learned enough to look back at a slightly younger me and cringe at what I did wrong. And I did a lot of things wrong, things that I would definitely like to redo if given the choice (like the entirety of my time as the Minister of Media -_-). But the thing is, I would never be given that choice. It is stuck with me for the rest of my time on this website, perhaps beyond if people bother to remember me and my deeds. Every time I look at those mistakes of mine, my mind regretfully wanders to what could have been if I did not commit those said mistakes, what would have changed if I was just simply better at what I was doing.

And that, I believe, is entirely okay. It is entirely okay to look back at the past and cringe at your mistakes. It is entirely okay to wonder about the different possibilities, the things that could have been if you chased after it. It is entirely okay to be nostalgic of the past and simply accept that, well, shit happened. Whether it was due to your actions or something beyond your control, it happened. You cannot change what happened. The only thing you can do is to accept that it happened and learn from it, so that at least you can be prepared if something similar happens again.

And I believe myself to be prepared this time around, at least for the foreseeable challenges that are in front of me. And trust me, there are a lot of those. While our forces have grown at an exponential rate, those of our enemies grow even more. A resurging invader faction, no longer bound by their independent partners’ assets and thus their guidelines, threatens vulnerable regions all around NationStates on an almost unprecedented scale. Their newfound dominance is forcing us to review our current methodologies and modify those to adapt to these changing times. This term will also see the beginning of the dreaded summer season, a time where activity around the site remains historically low due to real-life concerns. It will be up to us to set the foundational blocks of how the SPSF, now a military at the very forefront of defenderdom, will fare over the rest of the summer. There always remains a very large pool of potential recruits for us to tap as one of the five feeders where new nations spawn, a potential which we have not historically been able to utilize on a constant basis until recent times. All of these, along with numerous other potential issues that I have outlined in my campaign and the game-changing Frontier/Stronghold update nearing closer, this will be an interesting term to say the least.

As such, I have already sprung into action to execute my vision, deciding to start with small, quality-of-life improvements and placing the foundations of the upcoming big projects in this month. The things I plan to accomplish within February are:

• Set up a master SPSF forum account which would be used to maintain the resources present here. This is to avoid having single players monopolize something intended to benefit the wider community.
  
• Continue talks with allied militaries about finalizing wargames details. This got punted back to a later date due to different unavoidable circumstances and I would like to return it back on track to be held soon.
  
• Discuss the operational procedures of the Tidal Force with the General Corps, and settle on a fixed direction for it. TF has been stuck in a weird transitional state for a while now after its previous coordinator was administratively banned from the region and I intend to provide a clear heading for its members to follow as soon as possible.
  
• Review our training methods and materials and identify things that we can improve upon. These will include the issues and ideas I have already stated in my campaign, as well as some new ones. Of course, feedback from our members will be a crucial part of the process, as we would not be able to do anything at all in this regard without their valued output.
  
• Reach out to the Ministry of Media for talks about SPSF promotion in its media outlets. While the ministry is currently a bit disorganized right now, I have faith in Wizard that they will be able to turn this around and return it back to activity. Once it is back, I intend to use its mediums to promote the good work we are doing at both home and abroad, increasing our interregional visibility and potentially attracting players looking to get involved with our unique flavor of military gameplay.
  
• And finally, figure out new recruitment strategies to utilize to expand our roster with the assistance of the Generals Corp and the Ministry of Engagement. I do not actually expect this to be a simple thing and would likely require lots of experimentation along the way, so it might take a while to function in the way it was intended.
  

While it is entirely possible that I might fall short of some of my goals come March, I remain positive that I possess the necessary drive required to complete these objectives within time and get some headway on the long-term projects that I intend to pursue.

We have got a lot to do this time around. Let us get to it.

Lux Veritas Virtus.

Faithfully yours,
Moon,
Minister of Defense

Reply

February 2022 Monthly Update:

 

Fellow South Pacificans,

It’s been a busy month for the SPSF, both on and off the field. Recent invader resurgence means that updates have been buzzing with activity, giving our troops more opportunities to hone their skills and bond with other present defenders over various topics, ranging from discussing questionable food tastes to discussing questionable sleep schedules. I didn’t know that there are actual people out there who eat raw pasta or put ketchup over everything they come across, but now I do and I’m not sure how I feel about it.

Significant events in the battlefield from the previous month include:

• From February 8 to February 17, The Mystical Council was besieged by a broad coalition of defenders and independents after the Brotherhood of Malice occupied it with the help of The Black Hawks, Lone Wolves United (LWU) and others. While we were unable to liberate the region due to unfortunate circumstances, the SPSF managed to pull thirty eight unique updaters over the course of the entire operation, all of them being a part of either the Tsunami Force or the Tidal Force. The SPSF was the second most numerous force for this operation, just trailing behind our friends in TGW’s contingent of thirty nine updaters. With how incredibly fast we’re progressing, I hold in my mind no doubt that we’ll soon pass them for the title of the largest defender organization in the game. Thanks to General @Nakari, General @Witchcraft and Sorcery and Commander @HumanSanity for the assistance in running the sieges and organizing the SPSF soldiers for it, we couldn’t have done it without your help!
  
• The SPSF, along with the RRA, TGW and LDF, deterred a significant occupation attempt by LWU on the minor update of February 26. We mustered six troopers at a moment’s notice to do so, including General Nakari, who provided valuable guidance to the troops present despite being WA-locked for the moment. A huge shoutout to her for the help and we can’t wait for your return back to updating!
  
• Dissatisfied with their performance before, LWU again set out to occupy something…and they succeeded, taking Furry Antifascist Alliance under their control. Fortunately, that lasted about 12 hours as 50+ defenders strolled into the region (despite the site trying to screw us all as usual) and kicked them out of there on the minor update of February 28. Despite being notified of the upcoming liberation just an hour before, ten brave SPSFers showed up, eager to end the furry-on-furry battle. Once again, General Nakari was at the forefront despite being WA-locked, luring people in with promises of red pandas and doing the majority of the work that went behind that. I’ve run out of congratulatory adjectives to describe how much we appreciate you (my vocabulary wasn’t that big to begin with), but to adequately compensate please have an image of a cute guinea pig that I ripped off Pinterest:
  
  
• Tagging has returned back to life once again, with both raiders and independents partaking in it on a regular basis and the SPSF has taken this opportunity to prepare ourselves for the big defenses. We’ve also found some pretty good successes in defending against these raids, with the major update of February 26 being especially notable for having five updaters casually wandering in the battlefield and defending 21 regions from the Europeian Republican Navy’s tag run.
  
• Overall, the SPSF has maintained a very strong and consistent presence at updates throughout February. At a possible 53 updates where military operations were conducted in Libcord, at least one SPSF personnel was present in 49 of them, or in 92.45% of all possible updates. Pretty nice if you ask me, but I might be slightly biased.
  

While on-field things are cool and flashy, we’ve also started working on improving ourselves off the battlefield too. Remember this thing that nobody read? Well it’s judgment time to see how much I’ve accomplished:

• @Pronoun and @Wizard Ferret have begun their training to become Officers. Soon I won’t be alone languishing in the officers’ lounge…
  
• A master account has been created to serve as the OP of all the SPSF forum resources, named SPSF General. No more outdated thread OPs due to players who created them being inactive! Now only if I could be punctual enough to update them…
  
• Talks with allied militaries about wargames are still progressing, albeit at a much slower pace than expected. TMC sieges diverted our attention for a while, but it has gotten back on track recently and there are some nice positive developments, so things are looking pretty good on that front.
  
• Rank requirements for Officers and Commanders have been updated to properly reflect on the current dynamics of R/D and to prepare our prospective leaders for guiding the SPSF in the upcoming days. What’s that? Do I meet the requirements myself? Hahahaha…moving on.
  
• An agreement has been reached with the Minister of Media Wizard Ferret about SPSF promotion in its media outlets. I believe this will be beneficial for everyone involved and hopefully we get some high-quality articles out of it!
  
• Due to Purple Hyacinth’s resignation, talks with MoE has stalled out, although I’m still hopeful that we can continue the talks under a new Minister.
  
• A discussion regarding the direction that the Tidal Force will take has been initiated and it is currently an ongoing process, something that I’ll talk more in length in the next update once specific details have been agreed upon.
  

And that would be all for now! We’ve done some good stuff in the previous month and we hope to continue doing good stuff in the next month too. While my activity on NS might see a drop due to RL commitments over the next couple of weeks, it should be a miniscule issue that’ll sort itself out with time. I think. If not, y’all have my full permission to vehemently recall me from the Cabinet for my transgressions.

Wish y'all a very happy March!

Lux Veritas Virtus.

Faithfully yours,
Moon,
Minister of Defense.

Reply

PRESS RELEASE APRIL 2022 SPSF SERVICE REPORT New service ribbons and more! 1 May 2022 Fellow South Pacificans, The motto of the South Pacific Special Forces is lux, veritas, virtus — light, truth, virtue. Each and every day, our regional military strives to uphold these principles, bringing light to regions blackened by raider aggression, staying true to the democratic principles of the Coalition, and fighting with virtue on the battlefield. Today, we look back on the past month of April to recognize the efforts of SPSF personnel on each of these fronts. Lux — Light This month featured 30 different SPSF personnel, who deployed across 42 updates, or 70% of the 60 that took place this month. While these numbers have declined to some degree since peaking a few months ago, they nevertheless show a solid return to greater activity levels compared to 17 updaters and 30 updates in March. The biggest operation of this past month took place between April 5 and 9, when the SPSF besieged raider forces occupying EmbassyRegionia. Over six different updates, 22 different service members ranging from generals to civilian militia, in defense of yet another innocent region to be occupied by raider forces. Veritas — Truth One of the ways in which the SPSF upholds its principles of service to the Coalition is with a commitment to public transparency. This month saw an improvement over previous work in this regard with the introduction of the SPSF Data Portal, a new system offering all South Pacificans with a range of data on the activities of their regional military. Virtus — Virtue With the release of this report, the SPSF is also introducing a new range of service ribbons to better recognize meritorious efforts on the part of service members. The range of service ribbons available to earn and instructions on displaying earned ribbons are available here. Below are the service ribbons awarded for this month.
		For efforts to liberate EmbassyRegionia, April 2022 Awarded to 22 service members (view full list)
		For the most updates attended in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Killer (21 updates)
		For the second-most updates attended in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Pronoun (16 updates)
		For the third-most updates attended in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Perrysmarts (14 updates)
		For the most detags in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Pronoun (59 detags)
		For the second-most detags in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Killer (58 detags)
		For the third-most detags in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Perrysmarts (34 detags)
		For the most defenses in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Perrysmarts (10 defenses)
		For the second-most defenses in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @Killer (7 defenses)
		For the third-most defenses in a month, April 2022 Awarded to @HumanSanity (5 defenses)
If what the SPSF does looks interesting to you, we're always welcoming new members! You can apply here. Lux, Veritas, Virtus. Faithfully yours, Minister of Defense, Pronoun

Esfalsa | NationStates | Wiki | Roleplay | Discord

(This post was last modified: 04-30-2022, 03:01 PM by Pronoun.)

Reply

PRESS RELEASE MAY 2022 SPSF SERVICE REPORT 1 June 2022 Fellow South Pacificans, In my service report last month, I introduced the motto of the South Pacific Special Forces, lux, veritas, virtus — light, truth, virtue. Each and every day, our regional military strives to uphold these principles, bringing light to regions blackened by raider aggression, staying true to the democratic principles of the Coalition, and fighting with virtue on the battlefield. Today, we look back on the past month of May to recognize the continued efforts of SPSF personnel on each of these fronts. Lux — Light During the past month, 15 different SPSF personnel deployed across 45 updates, or 73% of the 62 that took place during the month. Despite a smaller number of updaters than in the previous month, there was a significant increase in the number of both defenses and detags completed. While a decline in the number of unique updaters is somewhat expected in a month without a major liberation operation involving civilian recruitment, a two-fold increase in detags and a nearly eight-fold increase in defenses reveal improved performance nonetheless at update. Veritas — Truth This month also saw the notable participation of SPSF personnel in an interregional anti-hate raid on the Confederacy of Layem. Participation in this operation reflects the continued commitment of the SPSF both to its own authorization under the Charter to conduct offensive operations against regions espousing hateful ideologies, and to interregional unity in doing so. Virtus — Virtue Last month, the SPSF introduced a new range of service ribbons. The range of service ribbons available to earn and instructions on displaying earned ribbons are available here. Service members may also now view the service ribbons that they have earned with the new Updater Lookup tab of the SPSF Data Portal. Below are the service ribbons awarded for this month.
		For the most updates attended in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @Killer and @Pronoun (19 updates each)
		For the second-most updates attended in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @Purple Hyacinth (16 updates)
		For the third-most updates attended in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @HumanSanity and @Perrysmarts (10 updates each)
		For the most detags in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @Purple Hyacinth (155 detags)
		For the second-most detags in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @Killer (128 detags)
		For the third-most detags in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @Pronoun (76 detags)
		For the most defenses in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @Pronoun (91 defenses)
		For the second-most defenses in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @Killer (72 defenses)
		For the third-most defenses in a month, May 2022 Awarded to @HumanSanity (64 defenses)
If what the SPSF does looks interesting to you, we're always welcoming new members! You can apply here. Lux, Veritas, Virtus. Faithfully yours, Minister of Defense, Pronoun

Esfalsa | NationStates | Wiki | Roleplay | Discord

Reply