Bravo Fleet
Quietly sat in a far corner and away from the rest of the crowd, recently promoted Rear Admiral Zack Marshall-Bennet had his back to the rest of the pub from where he sat. Having a table to himself in The Gate Inn, the brand new Chief of Staff for the Fourth Fleet was using the escape from his office and from his new life on Starbase Bravo to catch up on some reading. It wasn’t reading for pleasure, it was reading for his new job. He had a ton of reports to get through and every time he sat down to read one of them he would be interrupted by one of his many aides to share with him an update from one department or with an incoming call from someone important.
The life of an admiral was certainly different from the one he had got used to as a captain. Though his stint in leading Starfleet’s forces in the Delta Quadrant had been brief, less than nine months, he had found the work rewarding as well as challenging. When Fleet Admiral Ramar had approached him in becoming the new chief of staff for the fleet, Bennet had agreed after several days of considering it. The fleet commander had been upfront and blunt about why he wanted Zack. His experience as a captain working in deep space had been sold to him as a strength that he could rely on in his new role. Along with the that, his can-do attitude and work ethic were other factors.
That said, Bennet wasn’t sure if his experience in the field as a captain was helping him. Far from it, he had said to himself after his second meeting with the fleet admiral.
Instead, Bennet had felt his experience from being a Chief Diplomatic Officer was helping him more in this new role. Juggling the various departments, playing mediator between them all was a challenging task, so taking a brief respite from it all was a welcome change of pace. Not that he would get many of these breaks, he was certain if one of the other senior admirals found him here they would probably pile on more work. Nevertheless even taking a moment away from everyone that worked for him was a welcome change. He had never encountered a such a bunch of efficient paper-pushers that always appeared to be on top of everything.
While reading a recent classified report from Vice Admiral Beckett, Bennet enjoyed the feel that came from The Gate Inn. The smaller establishment, compared to the likes of Vandorian’s Bistro, was rarely busy but it was also a place where his staff didn’t consider looking for him. That said, he knew his time at the pub would be short lived as someone would end up ratting him out. But for now, while taking his short break he knew he could catch up on everything that needed his attention and he would return to duty with a fresh perspective and a to do checklist that was completed (for now).
One thing that Bennet was enjoying at the bar was the food. Terry, the proprietor of the joint, seemed like a friendly enough character and cooked a mean cheeseburger (even if it was replicated).
“There you are, sir.” spoke a familiar feminine voice.
Peace was shattered.
Turning around, Bennet saw his senior aide, a Bajoran who had a fascination in talking…a lot! “Careign, what can I help you with?”
Stepping forward, the slightly older woman, who held the rank of Lieutenant Commander, extended her right hand and passed him a PADD. “Latest information for you from Fleet Admiral Ramar, he needs you to review these promotion updates.”
Smiling at her, Bennet took the PADD, thanked her and then dismissed her. He now needed to find a new hiding corner.
Maybe trying the bistro wasn’t a bad idea after all?
Rank/Promotion Criteria Updates
Since taking on the reigns of the Office of the Chief of Staff, my first few weeks have kept myself and the rest of the OCS team very busy with so many awards to review and approve. So first off a big well done again to everyone who received an award after the Fleet Action and big thank you to our incredible OCS team. They are an awesome bunch!
My first announcement as Chief of Staff is around our ranking system that we use to celebrate our members and their achievements.
While reviewing the system we noticed that some of the phrases used for the criteria for some ranks needed to be updated to reflect recent changes or new exciting features we have (e.g.: the Mentoring Program and World of Warships). We also noticed that the wording around some ranks and how long people had to be in their previous rank was a bit wordy or needed more clarity, so we have made improvement on them all.
Our Cadet ranks (Junior, Sophomore and Senior) have all been adjusted so new members are required to engage with the Bravo Fleet Academy and one other activity that our great community offers. Beforehand they were just required to pick one from a list, but this way we feel they get a good flavour of everything we offer, so when they reach the rank of Ensign and complete our New Members Program and ensure they authentic their user details on our Discord server, they truly have an idea on what to get involved with. The rest of our junior ranks have pretty much remained the same as before, with just a few updates/corrections here and there.
The senior ranks have been updated, including the move of Lieutenant Commander into this category. We felt as it unlocked some of our great features that it should be in this group to reflect this significant change in someone’s Bravo Fleet membership. We have also expanded on each criterion from Commander upwards to ensure that when someone is striving to those ranks everyone understands what the Office of the Chief of Staff would expect to see in the recommendation.
Another matter we noticed was that unlike our awards where someone has to hold a particular leadership position to be able to nominate, only a few ranks had this criteria and others didn’t. Now all ranks have a set nomination process on who can send the promotion request into the OCS.
Finally, our rationale on the rank page has been revised to reflect these updates and to ensure that it is really clear on how someone progresses through our great community.
If you visit this page, you will see all of the improvements by looking at each rank.
Now we love it when we get to recognise our players for all of their hard work and efforts in enjoying themselves in Bravo Fleet. I know that a bit of praise can make someone’s day, so we hope the updates make it easier for everyone to be involved in the process one way or another (be it being the one sending it in, if you can, or being the person receiving the promotion)!
Remember, if you need any help with a submission (be it promotion, awards, competitions, etc.) please do reach out to anyone on the OCS. We don’t bite…hard!
Thanks Bravo Fleet!