Primary Structural Changes: Praetorian Guard – At a Glimpse

[Aryte]

>> The Ordo Imperialis

>> Primary Structural Changes: Praetorian Guard – At a Glimpse

The Praetorian Guard operational structure will be taking a dramatic shift. As per the suggestions of the Guard itself, the notable additions and revisions to the existing set up are thus far (subject to change):

I. Praetorian Guard members will no longer be considered ‘unranked;’ the internal positions within the Guard will have rank equivalency. Praetorian Cadets will be equivalent to [E-7]; Praetorian Guardsmen/Guardswoman will be equivalent to [W-1]; Praetorian Evocati will be equivalent to [O-2]; Praetorian Praefectus will be equivalent to [O-3].

II. The Praetorian Guard will be separated into separate individual units (lodges/camps—name not yet determined), consisting of [1] Evocati and [2] Guardsmen per. Each unit will have an overlapping goal, but with specific areas of focus. The currently proposed fields are: a. Servitus: combat/administrative focus; b. Aquilas: material and structural design focus; c. Mundus: personal protectorate/adjutant focus.

III. Overall standards of expectations for the Guard will be dramatically increased. Training routines will be quasi-rp based, with emphasis on indoctrination and procedural instruction. The Guard will have a lengthy academy/classroom course.

IV. Appearance standards will be implemented: the Guard will have unusual regulations—some of which would be considered overbearing and unreasonable for other units.

V. Recruitment for the Guard will remain selective, but the principle of ‘you are asked’ may disappear. Selection will be based more on minimum qualifications, application, and strenuous review. Think the SEAL Team: anyone who meets the qualification may apply, about 1/100 make it. This will remove any sentiments of the Guard selection being restricted to builders and Aryte’s best friends.

VI. The Guard will adopt the expectation of a stoic personality. In Agares’ words: “In short, stoics do not complain, they do not get angry, they do not blame others. They achieve. They work to fix problems, rather than wait for others to tell them what to do (generally). This ideal, to it's core carried by the Romans, has a strong place inside of the guard”

VII. There is a strive to determine what “special” niche the Guard can fulfill, rather than simply overlapping with existing departments of authority.

[Agares Tretiak]

:D

[Cygna]

:o

[Zero Itamae]

Sounds pretty awesome, looking forward to seeing this in action! =o

[Streak Bender]

I agree, sounds like a good revamp! Well done!

[Williamca Zenovka]

Sound's very nice , The revamp as of so far seems to be a rather smooth transition and more unstanding now.

[Aryte]

(Thank people like Agares, 90% of that is his idea.)

[Desereck Creeggan]

=D!!

Had to add an emote since all the other cool kids were doing it too. Looks amazing so far, well done Agares and Aryte

[Firefox Breed]

(Thank people like Agares, 90% of that is his idea.)

I could tell

[Agares Tretiak]

Just to clarify, and if I'm wrong, the Imperator can bitch slap me like a recalcitrant street-worker who's not got enough cash from the night's earnings.

But I digress.

The rank equivalency concept is so that people outside of the Guard know the approximate position they are holding in regards to the normal rank structure. Furthermore, Praetorians still remain under the direct control of the Imperator, and thus do not have command authority, aside form OIC (following the normal lines of succession for assuming OIC). Essentially this means an 0-2 cannot order a Praetorian beyond basic defensive actions as an OIC or if that Praetorian, for some terrible, terrible reason, has stepped outside of the realms of acceptable behavior. Likewise, unless otherwise made by the Imperator's decree, Praetorians will not be able to generally order around Enlisted and officers (Though as is the tradition, they can always offer suggestions) beyond the normal constraints we're well aware of, regarding the Authority of members of the Guard.

I'm bringing this up, because there was a question raised, and I realized others may have the same questions.

[Kytec Switchblade]

Epic

[Jayce Iredell]

I would also suggest alist of pre-requisites that a person would require before being eligible to apply for the Guard, wouldn't want to see a cadet fresh from schola applying for the guard.

[Agares Tretiak]

That, I'm sure, will be worked out in due time.

[Crash Silverfall]

Wow, looks nicely made :D. GL

[Zerowinged Vasiliev]

o.O

Nice work Agares and Aryte.

[Gulliver Carpool]

What Jayce said. Prereq's. Time served, Curia/Frumentarii vetting, letters of recommendation, admission essay, etc.

I'm glad to see this happening. Even if it is as selective as it should be, opening it up to application at least removes weight to any accusations of nepotism and favoritism.

[Tenaki Kupferberg]

Looks good! The lodges idea looks neat. That'll give the evocati something interesting to occupy themselfs with.

[Cyphre Iredell]

I. With plans to have a rank equivalency (not that anyone knew there was anything other than 'Praetorian' and 'Praetorian division leader'), how will it effect current OIC standards and practice in regards to Praetorian leadership involvement? If there are to be ranked praetorians, how will it reflect on current etiquette standards when regarding an officer versus praetorians? Granted, all non-cadet ranks will be of officer equivalency, but as such it seems there are a different set of standards required if rank equivalency is anything other than simple etiquette.

II. Being moved into separate operating units doesn't make a lot of sense to me, especially without a more general usage for the division itself. As it is, in the past there hasn't really been a consensus on usage other than at times filling in for other leadership within the combat divisions. Beyond that, it has really only been regarded as 'Aryte's Legion' so to speak. So what is the purpose of these lodges and what are they going to accomplish that the whole of Praetorians is unsuitable for? You would first have to figure out what it is would be the specialized purpose to Praetorians, and any alternate additional purposes that would be divided amongst smaller operating units. Also, have the current members been tabulated to find out if those divisions can happen without drastically altering all of the given ranks? I'm unaware as to how many regular praetorian guardsmen there are in relation to evocati.

[Agares Tretiak]

Those are issues being addressed currently, in debates with the Praetorians. There are various propositions being offered at the moment.

As I had intended, with those parts I contributed, there's always been multiple ranks within the Guard, but they did not have very many differences or distinctions. All other descriptions aside, the Praetorians represent a specialized Paramilitary under the direct command of the Imperator, and an elite unit. Putting Praetorians under the command of Praetor Evocati creates a simple, but effective hierarchy that demands results and accountability on multiple points within the organization.

Your other questions all relate to what I feel has been a regrettable lack of understanding, regarding the Guard and their multi-purpose existence, something that exists not only outside of the Ordo, but inside as well. In past, they've always served as more than just bodyguards and soldiers, but in other vital capacities, filling in the gaps of the Ordo. Or at least, that was the theory. Given that what you currently see is only part of a much wider reorganization effort, many of your questions will be answered as we make progress.

To offer other answers, traditionally, there's only ever been 10 Praetorians, in this layout:

1 Praefectus

3 Praetor Evocati

6 Praetorian Gaurdsmen/Gaurdswomen

The Praetorians, being an elite combat unit, the best the Otdo has to offer in every respect, means a level of communications and teamwork unparalleled within the Ordo. Small teams of three are much easier to manage, and the format being used has real world analogs, which I've studied extensively in terms of how they function on a fundamental level.

The Praetorians have not had a major organizational update, in the years I've served. That's a very long time for the group to go unchanged, so we're rolling back, part by part, the years, in order to reform the guard to be contemporary.

[Cyphre Iredell]

No thats great, and I understand part of the intention, but if you were a specialized paramilitary unit under the direct command of the Imperator, there would have to be some sort of expeditionary assaults. They would have to act in that capacity to begin with for it to really be considered a paramilitary unit.

While there may have always been different ranks among the guard, there being no noticeable distinction means there was no notable difference in purpose to begin with. This also doesn't lead to any distinct purpose in separate operating units with Evocati leads, but I am guessing that part is worked on just the same as finding an overall purpose for operation.

[Tiridates Mikadze]

Das ist gut.

[Ragerat Sands]

I'm quite interested to see the Guard's Restructuring, just short of Aryte himself they are the symbolized persona of Ordo. Reestablishing that they are the best of the best, of the best; the Imperator's Greatest Warriors, I feel is a good move.

Maybe give them all Mk7 Power Armor and Bolters...

[Keystone Gray]

Incredibly intriguing. I'm happy that the Guard is getting a bit of a boost in the authoritative sense, because it'll make it easier for them to carry out their tasks and give them some elbow room. Wholeheartedly looking forward to the final implementation. So it's remaining at the traditional limit of ten Guardsmen, I take it?

[Agares Tretiak]

Sorry, I'm half awake and not sure what's going on after a 12 hour drive today D:

Essentially, Cyphre, that's exactly what we're working, in terms of redefining the Guard. It's just a step by step process,

The Guard used to be a very active, semi-autonomous unit, that answered directly to the Imperator. Butt hat changed, as the guard took on less combat roles and more administrative duties.

[Sera Otoro]

i dont believe its just that agares, its just that there are a few that prefer to be doing things elsewhere other than contributing to the guard... as sad as it is, i hope this revamp sorts things out for those that do want to do things though...