First off I would like to apologize to you all for the tardiness of this report. However there have been big things going on at the Academy and that has kept me busy. Whelp here we are in October and autumn for those of us north of the equator is in full swing. So in true spirit of the Fall I write this report to you from my backyard with my fire going, and a nice tall glass of cider. So without gilding the lily and no further ado here is the report.
Academy Staff Expands
First off I would like to thank all of those who have signed up be tutors at the Academy. They are now all hard at work designing their respective Specialist Courses, which you can expect to see most likely within the next six months or so. I would especially like to thank Commodore Kayim Falor who has decided that he is willing to put up with me and took the position as Deputy Director of the Academy. He must be a glutton for punishment. I would also like to thank the following people for joining me in the faculty lounge to round out this motley bunch:
- Commander George Stevens – Executive Officer Academy
- Commander Andrew Griffin – Engineering Specialist Course
- Major General Iain MacTaryn – Marine Specialist Course
- Captain Min Dae Seong MD – Medical Specialist Course
- Commander Richard Johnson PsyD – Counselling Specialist Course
- Commander Clara Rossella Durante – Intelligence Specialist Course
- Captain William “Billy” Castle – Security/Tactical Specialist Course
With addition of these great folks the Academy will soar to new heights. However, we still need a little more help. There are three more positions open on the faculty. The positions are listed below, and if you are interested in taking one of them simply fill out the application in the Apply tab on the OF site.
- Operations Specialist Course
- Science Specialist Course
- Diplomat Specialist Course
Course Re-Writes
In this section I extend my thanks to all of you for bearing with us during this long process of re-writing all of the courses. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Commanding Officer Academy – Great news here! The new CO Academy is in it’s final stages for approvals. With Admiral DuLac’s assistance the course material has been uploaded to the site and is being formatted for use. Expect to see that live in a month or so. I am really excited about this course as it is only six lessons, so it will not take much time for someone to complete. At the end of each lesson is one question or so to ensure that you have absorbed the material and the sixth lesson is the Kobyashi Maru (it isn’t that bad it is only a 20 question test). I am confident that when this course goes live it will assist not only brand new COs in running a great sim, but it might teach us old fogies a thing or two as well.
Commanding Officer Refresher – This is in essentially phase two of it’s development. An initial re-write of this course has been sent for feedback from the Fleet Council. I should have more on this in the coming months.
Cadet Academy – Good news here as well. Commodore Kayim has taken point on this and has devised what I think is one heck of an introduction for anyone who had not simmed before. This course was devised in such a way that it could also be used as a brush up for those of who may have forgotten a few things. The course material for this course has been sent to Fleet Council for initial review as well.
Specialist Courses – These courses are in the earliest stages. As stated above we are still recruiting tutors. However, the tutors that have signed on have begun their research and course designs. You can expect more on this in about two to three months.
Candidates
First I welcome two CO Candidates to the Academy. We welcome Lieutenant Commander Ajani Carter the new CO of Starbase 80 in Task Force 47. We also wish a warm welcome to Lieutenant Commander Ira Skovgaard the new CO of Deep Space 7 also in Task Force 47.
The Academy has graduated two Commanding Officers in the past month. So a hearty congratulations to Commander Luka Mahone, Commanding Officer of Haumea Colony in Task Force 72, and Commander Alexia Nolan, Commanding Officer of the USS Centaurus in Task Force 47. Congratulations to you both I am sure your sims will do swimmingly. We do expect big things from you.
That’s All She Wrote Folks!
Until next month everyone…
Steady As She Goes