Halfway and Status Reports

Well, it looks as though I have reached the halfway point with the Officer's Handbooks. I have three more to write; Captain, Tactical and Helm. In the original Officer's Handbook, these three sections were the ones that I focused on predominantly, however after considering how I have expanded the Engineering, Communication and Science Officer's content, I feel that the remaining three sections can definitely be added to and improved.

After scanning through the original content, the new content includes much more information on interacting with other bridge officers as well as with the Captain. In each of the new handbooks, I have included guidelines for giving a Status Report giving details on the information that a particular officer should provide to their Captain. I have presented them in a hierarchical order, with what I consider to be the most important information at the top, and have tried to ensure that no officer has the same information to report.

The Status Reports are guidelines and recommendations, and I wouldn't expect officers to use them in a strict manner. What I really wanted was to provide officers with a clear list of the essential information that they should and could present to the Captain based on the information available to them. The Status Reports are there to make the officer aware of what they need to focus on a report. In addition, it meant the Captain would know who to ask for particular information, and by making each list different nothing would be repeated; conflicting information and excess 'bridge chatter' would be reduced.

I am not sure which Handbook to work on now. I am going to leave the Captain's Handbook till last, as having detail on how to fulfil the other roles will dictate how a Captain will interact with and use those officers.  For the Tactical Handbook, I want to include details on weapons and how to employ them to maximum effect against an enemy. Although Tactical Officer could be considered a relatively straight forward role (just point and shoot), I think more experienced officers should be considering how the can effectively disrupt and destroy enemy vessels, for example by manually targeting specific systems. The Helms Officer role I consider to be the more challenging of the two to write about. I don't want to present a list of manoeuvres and positioning that the Helms Officer should follow, rather give ideas and guides on how to fly the ship more effectively, just like the Engineer's Handbook. I never wanted to provide a list of presets, but give ideas and guidelines to improve the Engineer's ability and effectiveness.

Anyway, that is all for now. To find all of the TSN Handbooks that I have created, follow this link: TSN Handbooks.

Thanks for reading!

Progress of The Comms Officer Handbook

The Communication Officer's Handbook is almost complete and I will be made available shortly. In writing it, I have realised that as Comms Officer you need great strategic and tactical awareness (as well as a little luck) to really fulfil the role to best effect. In a sector with multiple allied ships, a Comms Officer can be an immensely important member of the crew.

Most of the writing has been of a tactical nature, from effectively coordinating allied combat vessels (such as Destroyers) to anticipating the requirements of the ship and organising the production of specific ordinance. From personal experience, I have seen how an effective Comms Officer can influence the outcome of a mission and can recall several instances when they have done so.

As a Lieutenant-Commander, I recall a battle in a heavily contested sector. The enemy had launched a major raid against the sector, and the vessel I was serving on had been assigned to defend the starbases there. Our capabilities were stretched to the limit and multiple enemy fleets were closing on several different starbases. As we were dealing with one fleet and defending a base, a second enemy was manoeuvring to attack a base located a distance away from us. Our comms officer had already anticipated this, and had ordered allied vessels to move in to defend the base. Although some Destroyers were lost, the enemy were delayed long so that we could dispatch the first enemy fleet and quickly move to join our allies and defend the stricken starbase. The base was saved because of the comms officer and the fact that he had maintained an awareness of the situation and planned accordingly.

(Since writing this, I have completed and released the Communication Officer's Handbook on the Artemis Wiki)

TSN Handbooks

Science complete, now for the next Handbook

Yesterday, I managed to complete the update to the Officer's Handbook for the role of Science Officer, expanding the content considerably. I did receive a message regarding an addition that I could make; stating that the Science Officer should be able to comment on enemy capabilities such as weapon capabilities. It was a valid point and I intend to add the comment in a future update. Before I do so however, I am going to complete the Ship Recognition Handbook in order to reference this as a source of information. The Science Officer can then use the document to aid their recognition of enemy vessels. The completion of the Science Officer's Handbook now means I need to shift my focus on to the next Handbook project of course.

Of the Officer's Handbooks, I still have Communications, Helm, Tactical and Captain to review and update. Both Helm and Tactical Officers already have a great deal of content to draw on, both from version 3 of the Officer's Handbook as well as the Tactical Handbook that I have released. As a result I am considering focusing initially on the Communication Officer's role.

The role of Comms Officer is one that most seem to see as the 'less engaging' role aboard a vessel, with little to do, particularly during engagements with the enemy. I have read many comments of "during combat my comms officer has very little to do", or "I regularly have to shout at comms to keep them awake." Since the beginning of my TSN career, I have found myself disagreeing with the view that Comms Officer is 'less engaging' entirely. I believe however, that it is down to Comms Officers themselves to ensure they are being a productive member of the crew. With some thought and initiative, the Comms Officer can become an extremely valuable addition to any crew. The information that I would include therefore, would be guidance on how to make the most of the role.

As with all the new handbooks, I intend to include a section on giving a status report, outlining the kind of things that the Comms Officer should report on. I also want to include information on ship-to-ship communications when operating with another vessel, or as part of a Division or Fleet formation. In my opinion, the Comms Officer should be relaying orders to the Captain from the Division Commander or an Admiral. I also think an important aspect of being a Comms Officer is having a good strategic awareness. Having access to a sector map means the Comms Officer can effectively coordinate allies, as well as influence the movements of enemies. Knowing how and when strategies should be implemented to affect the course of a mission is learned with experience, but I hope that I can include guidance to make Comms Officer's aware of their potential capabilities in this area.

TSN Handbooks

Officer's Handbook: Science Officer

Today, I have been continuing with the update of the Officer's Handbook, focusing primarily on the Science Officer's role aboard a vessel. The content is being expanded to include additional details with the aim of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Science Officer, and the extent to which they are utilised by the captain. I was dissatisfied with the previous section as it is rather short and does not provide detail and depth in to really operating as a science officer. To me, it is too easy to ignore the input that the science officer can provide, relegating them to scanning enemies and reporting shield frequencies as the captain's map can provide the same wealth of information. In my opinion, it is up to the captain to use them to a much greater extent, relying less on the captain's map and more on the science officer.

Borrowing ideas from the engineering section that I previously released, I have included information on how to provide a status report to the captain. There is an incredible amount of information that the science officer has access to, and I feel that it is the captain's duty to allow the science officer to provide this information, and the status report allows a science officer to do so in a structured manner.

I believe that a science officer should also be utilised in a navigational role on occasion, in order to free up the captain and allow him/her to focus on other aspects of command. With the information available, a science officer could provide bearings to a helms officer and effectively guide the vessel around a sector and potential hazards. For example if the vessel needs to transit through a narrow gap in an asteroid field, or steer around particular nebula, the science officer could plot the course and give bearings and speeds to navigate the ship safely to its destination. In the meantime, the captain would have the opportunity to check in with other officers, or plan the next course of action.

Along with the above additions, I am also re-writing the information on one of the fundamental aspects of the role of science officer; gathering intelligence. Tracking enemy movements and gathering details on shield frequencies, shield strength and current level of damage is the key requirement of a science officer when encountering hostile forces. This information provided to the captain and the bridge officers can have an immense impact on engagements and the tactics used and therefore essential information to include.

I am hoping to complete this section of the handbook soon and will be releasing it initially as a Science Officer's Handbook, just as I did with the Engineer's Handbook.

TSN Handbooks

Additions to TSN Structure and Operation Handbook

I have made additions to the Structure and Operation of the TSN handbook this week. The new content includes more information on officers ranks, from Officer Cadet to Captain. The additions include details about the how promotions work in the TSN, with notes on the examination process that the officer must undertake. I have also separated Flag officer ranks from officer ranks and defined ranks of Lieutenant-Commander and above as "command ranks"; the ranks in which you could be assigned either temporary or permanent command of a TSN vessel.

In addition to this, I have been writing guideline questions that can be posed during the officer examinations. I also have a series of questions that I would ask a new officer (an Ensign just graduated) who requests assignment to my vessel that will allow me to ascertain their suitability for the position.

Over the coming weeks, I am going to continue adding more detail to the TSN Officer's Handbook. I was considering rewriting and expanding the Science Officer or the Comms Officer sections as I think both need an alteration to the information within them. For the Science Officer section, I was considering adding information on plotting courses and directing the Helms Officer. It will allow a Captain to free themselves from having to continually navigate, particularly in situations where multiple anomalies results in multiple course changes being made.

Recruiting

I have made the decision to begin recruiting officers to form a permanent crew. So far I have Captained a number of vessels for short periods, however I have been tasked by T.S.N command to form a permanent crew. Currently one officer has submitted an interest in joining my crew; an Ensign who specialises in Engineering. I am considering giving officers trial runs in order to see what additional training I may need to organise and to ensure they are fully aware of the operation standards and guidelines set out in training manuals. 

I have high expectations of my crew, but I am confident there are many highly skilled T.S.N officer's out there. 

TSN Handbooks; What Next?

Last week, I completed the Engineering Handbook and uploaded it to the Wiki. From the comments I have received, it seems that many officers find it a useful document. Looking back on the handbook, I think I have managed to write something that provides a solid foundation for all engineers, both novice and experienced, from which they can effectively work from. I have tested the ideas during simulations and found that they have improved my own management of the engineering systems.

Now that the engineering handbook is complete, I am going to shift my focus back to my other handbook projects, although at the moment I am unsure which one. The Tactical Handbook needs additional content adding to it and some revisions. I want to add guidance for operating a fleet of ships, commanded by an Admiral. The section on operating a Division of ships needs refining further too, however I still need to gather other captains and crews so I can test the principles that I lay out in the document. The original Officer's Handbook is one that I was aiming to continually update (the new Engineer's Handbook will be incorporated within it in the next revision). I have already started the update to a new "Version 2", so could continue to focus on that update. I am intending to re-write the whole handbook, releasing each section as a handbook in its own right. The section on the Captain's role will most likely be the focus if I were to pursue this project, releasing a Captain's Handbook when the section is finished. Other projects that are unfinished include the Ship Recognition Handbook and the Structure and Operation of the TSN Handbook. One is a matter of plugging in data and inserting graphics, whilst the other is more creative. 

All that remains is to decide which of the four I will pursue first.........