Bravo Fleet
I feel like Commodore La Forge revealing the Fleet Museum’s reconstructed Enterprise-D as I open the docking bay doors to a new program available at Bravo Fleet Academy. After extensive research, feedback and instructional design, I’m proud to announce the Task Unit Leadership Program (TULP).
Development
The origins of a training program for leaders of task forces and task groups date back to David’s earliest blueprints for the Academy. Ever since I took over as Academy Commandant more than two years ago, this has been a long-term project of mine. The first step was to create the Competition Leadership Program. Including everything a task unit leader needs to know in a single program proved daunting, and so I designed CLP as an intended prerequisite for the TULP. CLP was also a smaller-scale project that stretched my instructional design muscles and deepened my understanding of creating courses in the Academy’s Moodle website.
Amid the Academy’s daily activities –instructing programs, staff training, preparing Starbase Bravo missions and story roulette — I’ve been quietly constructing TULP in Docking Bay 12. Leveraging David’s original learning objectives, I dove deep into Bravo Fleet’s wiki and called upon the wisdom of Bravo Fleet’s Senior Staff. I dug into the archives of my own experience as a Task Force Executive Officer and Commanding Officer. Even when I thought the program was nearly complete, the Engineering team delivered incredible improvements to BFMS at slipstream speed, and I worked very closely with the Operations Office to ensure the program reflected the current expectations of task unit staff.
I’m absolutely indebted to Operations Officer Callen Varro, Deputy Operations Officer Varen Wyll, and Academy Staff Assistant Cressida Brennan, whose combined operations and academy experience were essential to enriching the program you can see today.
Prerequisites
Throughout the development of the Task Unit Leadership Program, the senior staff have discussed how and when to make the program available to Bravo Fleet members. In the interest of transparency, we’ve decided to make it widely available, even to members who aren’t currently in task force staff positions. As long as you have a genuine interest in the science and the art of how Bravo Fleet operates, you are eligible to take the program (with a caveat).
Like some of our other advanced programs, TULP assumes its cadets already have a baseline of knowledge and experience, and so we have set prerequisites. Before taking TULP, cadets must complete the New Member Program, the Command Management Program, and the Competition Leadership Program, as these skills won’t be taught again in the new program. TULP is also designed for members who have at least reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander, to ensure that cadets have experienced the full range of member experiences firsthand. This provides much-needed context for how and why Bravo Fleet operates the way it does.
Learning Outcomes
Any member who successfully completes the Task Unit Leadership Program will be awarded the Task Unit Leadership Program badge. Because this program has not been limited to task unit staff, it’s important to note that completing the program will not guarantee members a staff position, nor will it be the deciding factor. This program is offered as a learning experience and a training tool. The staff selection process remains unchanged.
By completing TULP, members will identify the resources and build their confidence to:
- Maintain a roster of active members
- Nominate promotions and awards
- Enable storytelling through task force assets
- Engage with members
- Lead a task force to victory in fleet actions!
To successfully complete the program, cadets will be required to:
- Pass an open-note quiz on Bravo Fleet Operations
- Write sample nominations for an award and a promotion
- Write a sample task force report
- Consider and write reflections on member engagement and fleet action strategies.
This program is longer and has more requirements than many of the Academy’s introductory programs. It will take several hours of reading, drafting, and rewriting samples of what our task unit leaders do every day. This time will likely be spread out over a few days or a few weeks, as Academy staff will grade each assignment along the way to ensure cadets are on the right track before going forward.
As always, our goal is for these programs to be meaningfully tied to the activities our members enjoy. These programs aren’t offered as sources of information, nor as a checkbox to complete. You can find information on the wiki. Like the others, TULP is a learning experience that challenges cadets to stretch themselves and try something new. We expect our cadets to go boldly and demonstrate an eagerness to practice new habits, as our instructors offer bespoke feedback tailored to your unique skills, opportunities and experience.
To enrol in TULP, visit Bravo Fleet Academy today! On Discord, Academy staff members are available to answer questions in #academy-help, and students are encouraged to discuss their progress in each program in #academy-workshop.
