29OCT11 - Weekly Meeting

[Aryte]

[18:01:19] Aryte Vesperia: Meeting start. As a reminder: all questions, comments (etc) are to be held until given the opportunity to speak. When that opportunity is provided, be sure to raise your hands. Failure to do so may result in dismissal from the meeting.

[18:01:41] Aryte Vesperia: Statistics

Members: 308

Cadets: 8

Applications

New: 7

Accepted: 1

Denied: 1

Review: 5

Combat

Defensive: 122

Offensive: 17

Allied Assist: 0

[18:02:21] Aryte Vesperia: Diplomatic notes: no major changes to be mentioned this week. Relatively quiet across the board, more than likely compliments to BF3. Decent combat performance on our part—several solid raids. We fell a few short of our 3 a day goal, but that is quite okay. Defense numbers, strangely, are up. A notable rise in activity seems to be brought on by loose-knit or even somewhat coordinated attacks from smaller groups. Kudos to them. We look forward to more interaction.

[18:02:39] Aryte Vesperia: Unit reports this evening?

[18:03:01] Hollowmengitus Yifu raises hand for Terra.

[18:03:17] Aryte Vesperia: Mr. Yifu.

[18:03:24] Hollowmengitus Yifu: COHORS A:

> A-I, Invictus: Fairly solid week for Invictus! Much blood was spilt in the name of the Ordo Imperialis and we smelted the metal we picked up from our enemies’ guns to erect a statue of Aryte, but sadly the trigger happy night shift accidently shot an ODR at the transport truck of which Munitorum picked up the metal and used it for astra’s new fleet ship (way to go Astra >:/). Otherwise we will continue to raid next week to gather more scrap and hopes of crafting a new statue! Also we need more people to help gather metal so please do apply by talking to our current staff for the application process.

[18:04:14] Hollowmengitus Yifu: > A-II, Evalidus: Hello Ordo. Look at your men, now back to me, now back to your men and back to me. Sadly, I'm not them but pfft.. Who cares as long as I'm in Evalidus ! Look up, back down, where are we ? We are in a meeting room. Surrounded with lot of Ordo members. What's in my hands ? Nothing, but wait... Suddenly I have big ass rifle. Your life can be much easier when you have big ass rifle in your hands and bunch of trusty henchmen willing to fight along your side. Evalidus, we still have slots open so if you are interested, contact either Huttser Ishelwood or Awanken Wasp. I'm on a horse.....

[18:04:43] Hollowmengitus Yifu: > A-III, Insidiae: Overall activity was down this week (as it was with all of Ordo) but members of Insidiae were involved in several defensive operations. Overall Insidiae members partook in five seperate raids this week as well. There is nothing further to report at this time.

[18:05:08] Hollowmengitus Yifu: > A-IV, Praescius: Welcome Marc Gravois to the squad. We have nothing really new to report this week. Still waiting for the teleporter pads to be thrown in the lockers.

[18:05:43] Hollowmengitus Yifu: > A-V, Saevitas: Pretty good week for A-5, raids continue to go out as well as new members recruited. On a recruitment note, I'd like to welcome Constantine Giugiaro to A-5 as our newest member. Finally I'd also like to point out that Aryte's statue was NOT hit by an ODR, but was in fact eaten by Mark. The story was a poor attempt at a cover up.

[18:06:05] Hollowmengitus Yifu: COHORS B:

> Thatguy: Nothing much to report aside from a good week on Cohors B. I will start to hold bi-weekly B meetings for the Cohors B staff to make sure we're on the ball with a few things. Everything looking for and set up for more activity this upcoming week. Also, happy early Halloween.

MISC.: EVE is one hell of a drug.

[18:06:17] Hollowmengitus Yifu: That's all for Terra.

[18:07:06] Aryte Vesperia: Thank you. Next?

[18:07:36] Ethan Schuman raises his hand for Astra.

[18:07:56] Aryte Vesperia: Mr. Schuman.

[18:08:17] Ethan Schuman: Short but sweet report for Astra this week. The biggest thing to note is our increase in Palaestra traffic. Sebris an d his boys have run an unusually large amount of people through their training this week. Part of this is due not only to new members joining us, but older ones returning to active duty. I'm not quite sure on the status of the Malice training, but I do know that some classes are already being held. Another thing to touch on with regards to Palaestra is that we'll be seeing a new type of recruit going through the courses. Due to 39th's immediate need for an air superiority fighter, I've been working on an adapted version of the Predator for them to use. Their version has a few tweaks over ours in order to better suit their particular needs.

[18:08:29] Ethan Schuman: Because of the difficult nature of learning how to fly the Predator and fighters like it, I've invited Nohime to send some of 39th's fighter pilots to us to put through a trimmed down Palaestra crash course (lol pun) that focuses on flight itself while leaving the Ordo specific stuff out. This will be a test run for our eventual goal of a training program that is open to anyone with an interest in flying, including civilians and members of other militaries. I'm confident that we will see good results from this experiment.

[18:08:40] Ethan Schuman: Activity for Aquila and Reapers has been much better this week, and Letalis now has two open slots. Those who are interested should contact Addison or Scarlet.

[18:08:48] Ethan Schuman: That's all for Astra. Happy Halloween.

[18:09:59] Aryte Vesperia: Thank you. Any additional reports?

[18:10:01] Drasamax Python raises hand for the IEA.

[18:10:54] Aryte Vesperia: Ms. Python?

[18:10:59] Drasamax Python: From myself for The Imperial Education Administration:Schola classes still going at an okay pace but could use more classes as cadets are starting to pile up (Theres a cadet in here right now), little Armatura classes, and no Ludi classes held this week. Developmental wise its a bit quiet as of late. I recall the Heavy Weapons course is in need of rewriting however so that may end up on our plate of things to work on soon. Something that may interest some of you in the IEA. Zero Itamae recently changed jobs inrl so he now has more time to actually be around during the day here. :D (Hi Zero Itamae who was standing next to me now for once and vanished anyway.)

[18:11:13] Drasamax Python: If you sent in an application recently and have not heard back from us yet we're probably still processing your application as a note.

That is all from the Imperial Education Administration. Don't eat too much candy. :p

[18:11:51] Aryte Vesperia: Thank you. And yay, Zero.

[18:11:53] Aryte Vesperia: Next?

[18:12:26] Aryte Vesperia: Final call for reports this evening.

[18:13:12] Aryte Vesperia: Moving on, then.

[18:13:59] Aryte Vesperia: > Note: Jetbike /Hoverbike / Fast Attack Craft

[18:14:11] Aryte Vesperia: As a side note to the Munitorum message, I do want to highlight that our “jetbike” (or whatever you want to call it) has been completely modeled. I have rezzed a copy of it out in front of the podium for everyone to have a look.

[18:15:12] Aryte Vesperia: There are a lot of questions buzzing around as to who will be able to access the item, the cost (etc). Foremost, as it will have an altitude limitation and primarily be a close-in-ground vehicle, we will classify it as a general availability item—both primary combat divisions will be able to unlock it. Cost wise, we are looking for it to actually be fairly light in points. No more than 100. Reason being, we aren’t certain of the viability quite yet.

[18:16:39] Aryte Vesperia: There will be two versions: armed and unarmed. The armed will have a forward firing anti-personnel weapon, in addition to some sort of mine-laying (explosive in general laying) ability. Quasi-Star Craft. The unarmed version will primarily be a on-demand item that we will utilize in a non-unlock fashion, specifically, for non-combat events like races. We’ll provide the unarmed version as part of the unlocked one, but otherwise folks who wish to participate in races will be able to get a copy for that purpose, without spending QP.

[18:17:33] Aryte Vesperia: The item has not yet entered queue for scripting, but the actual process should be simple. It is unarmored, physical movement, so on and so forth.

[18:18:09] Aryte Vesperia: Name and classification wise, I am straying from calling it a “jetbike.” We’ll classify it as a RLAV. Reconnaissance/Light Attack Vehicle. Short name . . Talon? Sure. That works.

[18:20:21] Aryte Vesperia: > Usin’ the FAQ Thread

[18:20:38] Aryte Vesperia: If you have a question that isn’t necessarily private or implicating someone—especially if you feel it’d be something everyone would benefit knowing, use the FAQ thread! It hasn’t seen a lot of love. http://forums.ordoim...rdo-policy-faq/

[18:21:10] Aryte Vesperia: All you have to do is post there, I’ll see it, answer, and add it to the list. I’m a big fan of putting stuff in words so others can benefit from it, but I tend to get side tracked and never add questions I receive in private. So, help your resident Imperator and use that thread. It will make him happy.

[18:22:17] Aryte Vesperia: > Halloween

[18:22:23] Aryte Vesperia: Halloween is lame this year, falling on a Monday. We will be open for the day, but I’ll put the sim on no-damage for the evening. You may wear costumes throughout the day, regardless. We’ll invite other groups over and generally have fun—maybe go “trick or treat” at other combat groups. I don’t get home until fairly late that night, so I’ll have Keller do the no-damage thing around 5:00 PM SLT. Nevertheless, you are all more than welcome to have a party or what not.

[18:24:42] Aryte Vesperia: > Keynote

[18:24:48] Aryte Vesperia: This evening I would like to talk a bit about career advancement and methods thereof. Specifically, individuals looking to obtain high (or relatively high) stations within the Ordo—command positions, officership, Guard, Consul (etc). There isn’t any one line of advice that I or any other member can really provide, but there are certainly some characteristics that will help you obtain any goal you so desire.

[18:26:14] Aryte Vesperia: First off: be willing to explore your options. By that, I mean . . . it isn’t so linear as to ride the wave of ranks up to O-1 (or whatever position you wish). With each step higher, the number of competitors increases, as does the level of scrutiny that is involved. To be sure: high stations, especially officer ones, involved competition. We have a lot of qualified individuals who’ve completed their OCA—but we take appointments to officer based on merit and performance. Not merit, as in, your award “merits,” but your positions, experience, history.

[18:28:23] Aryte Vesperia: To put it into perspective: if member X and member Y both pass their OCA (or whatever exam for insert whatever position), it will come down to asking “which of these two individuals has demonstrated commitment, experience, and an ability to adapt?” If member X has successfully participated in the IEA, IAC, Curia, and Tactica . . but on the other hand, member Y has only ever been a combatant, member X starts to pull ahead based upon the level of experience he or she has.

[18:31:30] Aryte Vesperia: That is not to say you need or should be involved in every single division—but don’t be afraid to try out another job if your intent is to eventually reach another. You are building, for all intensive purposes, your résumé. The more areas you show success in, the more command personnel you’ve interacted with, the more individuals will be attesting to your excellence.

[18:33:36] Aryte Vesperia: Secondly: the Ordo is not a “my way or the high way.” The Ordo is a continuous story—everyone adds their own paragraph, sentence, chapter, etc. Contribute, give your ideas, offer your input. However, do not be afraid of the word “no” or “that may not work” or whatever negative reply may come. If we accepted absolutely every idea that came our way, we would really have no direction or cohesion. However, even if your idea /isn’t/ accepted, it will be read, it will be seen, and it will be noted that you are giving proactive contribution. That’s huge.

[18:35:12] Aryte Vesperia: Third: do not sweat the small stuff. You can’t put more than two humans in a room and some sort of drama not happen. I work with . . like six people at my branch offline. And oh my God, the drama there is so high. Comparatively, we’re numbering three hundred, with a 70% activity level on membership . . . and I’d judge our “drama” levels to be considerably lower. But it happens. You will butt heads with someone. Tempers will rise someday. Someone will get offended at someone else. It. Happens. Brush it off, move on, come back the next day with a clean slate. Life goes on and the matter will pass as quickly as it came.

[18:37:43] Aryte Vesperia: Lastly, and most important: be persistent. I can’t stress this enough. The group’s been here for years and years. I’ve seen people go from E-1 to O-5. I’ve seen people do amazing things—after being told “no” a hundred times. If you are persistent and you genuinely care for this group, you can do anything. I don’t say that just to be peppy. I really mean it. I’m old and grizzled. I’ve been around the block a few dozen times now. Make the most of your time, make friends, don’t be shy, have a good time, and be persistent. If you want O-5, it’s only a matter of time. And dueling Hollow to the death. :}

[18:39:10] Aryte Vesperia: That said. Thank you all for coming this evening. I would suspect (hinthint) some raid activity after we conclude. I will be running off for about an hour to eat, but I'll be on for the remainder of the evening. Promotions will be up tomorrow-- don't forget to recommend comrades for merits! Just send me a notecard. You have until midnight.

[18:39:18] Aryte Vesperia snaps his fist to his chest, presenting a brief salute.

[18:39:17] Aryte Vesperia: Otherwise. You're dismissed. Have a good night.

[18:39:21] Maverick Garfield salutes. May God lead us to victory.

[18:39:24] Shizzerk Kostolany salutes!

[18:39:24] Kaska Czarny: /ds

[18:39:26] Vain Composer salutes sharply, proudly claiming: "Glory to the Imperium, Pro Patria."

[18:39:26] Kaska Czarny salutes and speaks. "In peace we make samovary, in war we make samopaly."