A Brief Note About Yesterday

[Ethan Schuman]

To the soldiers under my command on the date of 08AUG12,

Those of you who have known me for some time know that from me, a commendation of any sort is a rare thing, with a written one even moreso. Today, I find myself in the unusual circumstance of having a few minutes of personal time, so I have chosen to forego entertainment or rest in order to write a letter to you all. Yesterday, we faced a few challenges, each of them difficult in their own degree individually. Together, the proved to be quite a stretch of adversity. As is customary after any operation, I will review the things I saw, and the things that I did not. I do this in written format as opposed to verbal to ensure that each of you receive this.

The challenges we faced yesterday came in three waves. First, we had to muster to defense quickly to prepare for an imminent 2142 raid which, despite never coming, was nevertheless enough of a threat to force us to put our current plans on hold and get an effective defense in place in a very short period of time. Second, we went to face Tyr, a notably difficult target with a sim that favors the defenders, and has repelled Ordo incursions before. Finally, a surprise Merczateer attack with us not in proper posture to bring our full force to the line immediately created an intense battle between us and them.

I now wish to conduct my review of what I saw and what I did not see. I will start with what was not present. During all three of the challenges, I did not see complaint. I did not see anger or rage or panic. I did not see incompetence. I did not see insubordination. I did not see cowardice. What I did see was bravery. What I did see was valor. What I did see was teamwork, professional combat, and the natural execution of tactics that we have trained repeatedly and constantly for situations just such as this. I saw a clear adherence to our rules of engagement, clear and concise communications, and adaptation to new tactical commands as each of the challenges progressed.

One not present yesterday may be able to write off the muster for the suspected incoming 2142 raid as simply doing what we're supposed to. This may be true, but I still feel that the speed and precision to which we assembled was notable, and worth an honorable mention. The raid on Tyr is an entirely different story. After our arrival and being forced to wait in the spawn until they had fortified their defensive positions, we attacked. Our opponents were entrenched in a sim design that heavily favors them, with numbers now near equal to our own. Yet, despite this adversity, we pushed forward, broke and routed their line, and were on their final objective within 20 minutes. That in and of itself is outstanding, and I consider it a victory on its own. But the true challenge had been lying in wait, and chose this time to reveal itself.

Tyr summoned additional reinforcements, bringing the simulator up to capacity and thus disabling teleports. Our raid force was wiped out save Mikeo, who was administratively teleported back to spawn as the defenders recaptured all points. Stuck back at the beginning of the sim without medics in a sim that many consider to be critical to victory, with a Sturm Korps member now shooting at us as we left the sim, we nevertheless attacked again. Without medics, we were forced to push forward on foot. Having to run from the southeast part of the sim to the objective in the northeast took a significant amount of time, and was only further exacerbated by the presence of the Tyr defense line now in the defensive positions they were in on our first push. Despite the distance we had to cover to get to the point compared to the defenders that simply had to jump over a wall, we finally broke through and took the point. But we weren't done yet. Xoza and myself put down medic pads to mitigate some of the travel time, and this allowed us to keep our attack force fresh to a degree, but not near the amount that our two dedicated medics (Salem and Nuzzy) were. After a rally and a strong push, we captured the second objective and began the fight for the third. The battle here became extremely difficult, but we eventually reached their third and final objective before being told that our time was up and asked to leave.

That, to me, is a perfect example of just how strong a determined Ordo combat force can be, and the ferocity we fight with. Other groups would have likely just given up at the loss of teleports, if they had even made it that far. But we did not. We chose to fight, and against odds stacked against us to a degree that many would consider to be impossible to overcome, we nevertheless prevailed. I have been a member of this community for over six years now, and that raid reminded me of just how good a battle can be. I am glad I took the time to take that raid, and honored that you all chose to fight that hard and win under my command.

Our day still had one obstacle remaining, and our realization of it came fast and hard as the Merczateers appeared in sim and were inside the center building only seconds after the alarms began blaring. Our forces were scattered across the simulator, but instead of succumbing to panic, or complaints about how the Merczateers were supposedly our allies and shouldn't attack, all forces reported into Teamspeak within seconds, and after a quick appraisal of the situation, I directed you all to positions to repel the invasion force. Because of your discipline, precision, and willingness to execute commands to the absolute best of your ability, we were able to funnel the Merczateer forces into a single building and confine them deep inside. The single Astra pilot we had in the sky was both fighting multiple enemy aircraft to minimize the impact of their bombs, and hitting ground forces who tried to break away to attack other forces with AGMs before they got near. Once we had them confined, we began to root them out, and despite their heavily fortified positions and extremely aggressive medic tactics, we began to remove them from their positions. After an hour and a half, they pulled out, and our control of the simulator had never once been even remotely threatened.

We faced a lot together yesterday. We faced more than I thought we would, and I'll confess that we did far better than I thought we would. You all, the soldiers of this group, never cease to amaze me with just how much fire you have inside you, and the amount of adversity you are capable of overcoming. Difficulty presents itself to us regularly, but be it tremendous or trivial, we always triumph in the end. Days like yesterday remind me of why I joined this group, why I accepted a command position, and why I stay. Take pride in the banner under which you fight, and the friends who fight alongside you, because you will never find anything quite like what we have here anywhere else. This group is unique and special, so be as glad as I am that you are a part of it.

I am proud of each and every one of you.

-Praefectus Ethan Schuman

[BlackSergal]

Was a good scrap last night with mercz. Nicely done all

[Heavy666 Bolden]

Absolutely, very well thought out.

[BcSamsquatch]

<3 i was medicing alot toooo lol >.>

Edited August 10, 2012 by chris poitier

[Guest Ruin Nefarious]

I was incredibly impressed. :} Good work.

[Tsume Xiao]

but not near the amount that our two dedicated medics

Boss Wolf Vesperia told me that like the tooth fairy and this strange fat man who brings gentiles presents, these "dedicated medics" you speak of don't exist. D:

(I am of course teasing. I wish I could have been there to help.)

[Xoza]

Everyone's a medic, we all understand that and we all were medicing, but a 'dedicated level' need protection and can't fight a whole lot, because they're only able to full fill their time with click > teleport > click > teleport 's.

[George Reisman]

ERRY MAN A MEDIC MAN

[BcSamsquatch]

ERRY MAN A MEDIC MAN

AHMEN BROTHA

[BlackSergal]

OORRAH MEDICAWW