Squadron Management 5

Communication is a vital component to running a successful squadron. Many times I have had other pilots ask me questions because their commander does not communicate with them very well. If your pilots don't know what's going on, then they can't have a successful TIE Corps career. The same principle applies to all facets of the TIE Corps, from the TIE Corps Commander on down to Squadron Commanders. Can you imagine how the TIE Corps would function if the TIE Corps Commander never told us what was going on? We would just have a bunch of squadrons running around doing their own thing, rather than any cohesion.

As you read this section, try to come up with your own unique ways to communicate with your squadron. There is no right or wrong way to do it (other than not at all!), and every commander does it differently. I'm always amazed at how frequently I see commanders making no effort to communicate with their pilots, and I believe it starts new Sub-Lieutenants off on the wrong foot when they have no idea what to do when they are assigned to their squadron.

1. Your pilots and you

If you plan on having a successful TIE Corps career, it starts with being a successful Squadron Commander. You will succeed--and fail--with your pilots. You will be spending a lot of time talking to them, and I think it is a great idea to get to know your pilots on a personal level. Of course, we don't want anyone to share more information than they are comfortable with and we never ask for personal details. Please note that there are some minors in the TIE Corps, so just narrowing them down to a time zone ought to be enough.

However, this will help you understand your pilots and what makes them tick. At any given time I can tell you where all of my pilots live (helpful for planning competitions where time zones matter!) and just generally what they do: college student, high school kid, family man, ex-military or the like. The more you communicate with your pilots and see what kind of person they are, the easier it will be for you to come up with ways to engage them.

a. New pilots--Get them to LT!

One thing I do when I have a new pilot assigned to my squadron is reach out to them immediately. I would really recommend that you reach out to a new pilot within 24 hours, whether through email or directly on Discord. Make sure to update the new pilot's email address in your personal records. Find out what time zone they're in and any other details they are willing to share. Always be friendly and make sure they know they can come to you with any questions; you are their first resource for information and communication in the TIE Corps.

Introduce yourself, and let your pilot know what they have to do to get to full LT, and then let them know what they have to do to get to LCM when they get there. I generally believe your pilot should make it to LT within a week; it usually won't take them that long if they so much as have a pulse. I find that updating their INPR is often the easiest way to get there, and this is usually what I suggest your pilots do, but do whatever works for your pilot! Other ways to be promoted quickly are to earn a Legion of Skirmish, Legion of Combat, or complete a single-player mission.

2. Keeping your squadron informed

There are a number of ways to keep your squadron informed of TIE Corps happenings. Make sure that all of your pilots are on the TIE Corps mailing list. They should be, but mistakes do happen from time to time. Ensure that they know where to find things: how to access the competition center, how to check the TIE Corps news feed on the main page, where to find the TIE Corps Pilot Manual, and any and all important resources your pilots may need to be successful in their TIE Corps career. You will definitely want to ensure your pilots are all on the Discord server.

Ideally, there are two important ways to communicate with your pilots directly: on Discord and through squadron reports. For Discord, it's as simple as talking in your squadron channel or DMing them directly.

I have seen some commanders that do not ever put out squadron reports; I will never understand this. This is hands down the best way to keep your pilots informed. It is a great way to engage your pilots too. I would really recommend issuing squadron reports at least every two weeks; you are certainly welcome and encouraged to do it weekly. Your Commodore will let you know the expectation for how frequently you should be issuing reports. Squadron reports will be covered in more detail below.

3. Your squadron report

Now, we come to one of the most important duties of a Squadron Commander: the squadron report. Other than conducting monthly squadron evaluations, this is one of the most important things a commander can do to keep his pilots engaged and informed. It is recommended that you send out your squadron report directly to the TIE Corps mailing list, and also that you database it from the administration menu on the website.

There are any number of things you can include in your squadron report to make it more informative for your pilots. Squadron news is a great place to start--do you have any new recruits? Who got promoted and got some new medals? Did anyone pass some IU courses? Did anyone get sent to the Reserves or Inactives?

What about the rest of the TIE Corps? Is there a new member of the TIE Corps Command Staff? Did another squadron get a new commander, or maybe they currently have a spot open? As I said before, you want to make this as informative as possible.

Other things you want to add are a list of competitions for your squadron, wing, ship, and the TIE Corps as a whole. You always want to include a link to the competition center for your pilots so, if they have questions, they can look it up directly. As a Squadron Commander you're going to have a lot to do and if you can enable your pilots to seek out information on their own rather than ask you, you'll have one less thing to do. It cannot be stated enough--efficiency and organization are key as a Squadron Commander. The less time you spend on reports and paperwork, the more time you'll spend flying with your pilots!

It is also helpful to add some closing comments for your pilots and report generally on their activity (this will help you when you look back in time at your reports, and you'll know which pilots are succeeding and which aren't doing much), generally with direct orders on what you'd like to see them doing this week, or what they need to be doing for an ongoing competition. I find it very helpful to have a basic template for your reports so they have some structure, starting with squadron/TIE Corps wide news and going from there. Your pilots will come to expect and appreciate this level of communication from you. With this template (make a backup copy of it too and leave this in your Google Docs), you'll just have to erase and write over sections and some sections, such as the competitions, will require only minimal editing, usually when the competition ends.

Another thing that many commanders do to make their reports more aesthetically pleasing is to report in HTML formatting. This may include anything from a banner, to breaking up the reports into clearly organized sections, to different colorations based on your squadron's theme. While this is not official by any means, it has become very commonplace among TIE Corps commanders, and definitely looks cool! Keep an eye out for reports from other commanders for ideas, or ask them. Don't hesitate to design your own!

4. Communication equals engagement!

Why do we put this much effort into communication, you ask? This will keep your pilots engaged, and through engagement they will become successful! This is why I suggest things such as regularly keeping your pilots informed through squadron reports and to communicate regularly on Discord to establish a cordial relationship with them. I generally DM my more quiet pilots every couple weeks, just so they know I'm around and thinking of them. They will come to respect you and, when it comes time to do battle with Rebel scum, they will have your back.

Not only that but informed pilots make your job easier. You're not constantly bothered with questions, because they won't have any and if they do, they'll know where to look. As a Squadron Commander, you're going to have enough to do. If you keep your pilots informed, very rarely will you have to answer a question.

This is why it is so important to reach out to new pilots quickly, because they are the lifeblood that will keep the TIE Corps going. A brand new Sublieutenant who doesn't even hear from his commander will lose interest quickly, and our numbers will shrink. But a pilot who makes it to Lieutenant within a week because his commander reached out to him and answered any and all questions he had (and also showed him where to find the Pilot Manual!), is going to become an engaged TIE Corps pilot, and may even take their own commander spot one day because they have a great role model.

Communication is one of the two keys to running a successful TIE Corps squadron. Now, we will cover the second one: engagement.

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: III. Communication: One of the Two Keys to Success :



Communication is a vital component to running a successful squadron. Many times I have had other pilots ask me questions because their commander does not communicate with them very well. If your pilots don't know what's going on, then they can't have a successful TIE Corps career. The same principle applies to all facets of the TIE Corps, from the TIE Corps Commander on down to Squadron Commanders. Can you imagine how the TIE Corps would function if the TIE Corps Commander never told us what was going on? We would just have a bunch of squadrons running around doing their own thing, rather than any cohesion. As you read this section, try to come up with your own unique ways to communicate with your squadron. There is no right or wrong way to do it (other than not at all!), and every commander does it differently. I'm always amazed at how frequently I see commanders making no effort to communicate with their pilots, and I believe it starts new Sub-Lieutenants off on the wrong foot when they have no idea what to do when they are assigned to their squadron. 1. Your pilots and you If you plan on having a successful TIE Corps career, it starts with being a successful Squadron Commander. You will succeed--and fail--with your pilots. You will be spending a lot of time talking to them, and I think it is a great idea to get to know your pilots on a personal level. Of course, we don't want anyone to share more information than they are comfortable with and we never ask for personal details. Please note that there are some minors in the TIE Corps, so just narrowing them down to a time zone ought to be enough. However, this will help you understand your pilots and what makes them tick. At any given time I can tell you where all of my pilots live (helpful for planning competitions where time zones matter!) and just generally what they do: college student, high school kid, family man, ex-military or the like. The more you communicate with your pilots and see what kind of person they are, the easier it will be for you to come up with ways to engage them. a. New pilots--Get them to LT! One thing I do when I have a new pilot assigned to my squadron is reach out to them immediately. I would really recommend that you reach out to a new pilot within 24 hours, whether through email or directly on Discord. Make sure to update the new pilot's email address in your personal records. Find out what time zone they're in and any other details they are willing to share. Always be friendly and make sure they know they can come to you with any questions; you are their first resource for information and communication in the TIE Corps. Introduce yourself, and let your pilot know what they have to do to get to full LT, and then let them know what they have to do to get to LCM when they get there. I generally believe your pilot should make it to LT within a week; it usually won't take them that long if they so much as have a pulse. I find that updating their INPR is often the easiest way to get there, and this is usually what I suggest your pilots do, but do whatever works for your pilot! Other ways to be promoted quickly are to earn a Legion of Skirmish, Legion of Combat, or complete a single-player mission. 2. Keeping your squadron informed There are a number of ways to keep your squadron informed of TIE Corps happenings. Make sure that all of your pilots are on the TIE Corps mailing list. They should be, but mistakes do happen from time to time. Ensure that they know where to find things: how to access the competition center, how to check the TIE Corps news feed on the main page, where to find the TIE Corps Pilot Manual, and any and all important resources your pilots may need to be successful in their TIE Corps career. You will definitely want to ensure your pilots are all on the Discord server. Ideally, there are two important ways to communicate with your pilots directly: on Discord and through squadron reports. For Discord, it's as simple as talking in your squadron channel or DMing them directly. I have seen some commanders that do not ever put out squadron reports; I will never understand this. This is hands down the best way to keep your pilots informed. It is a great way to engage your pilots too. I would really recommend issuing squadron reports at least every two weeks; you are certainly welcome and encouraged to do it weekly. Your Commodore will let you know the expectation for how frequently you should be issuing reports. Squadron reports will be covered in more detail below. 3. Your squadron report Now, we come to one of the most important duties of a Squadron Commander: the squadron report. Other than conducting monthly squadron evaluations, this is one of the most important things a commander can do to keep his pilots engaged and informed. It is recommended that you send out your squadron report directly to the TIE Corps mailing list, and also that you database it from the administration menu on the website. There are any number of things you can include in your squadron report to make it more informative for your pilots. Squadron news is a great place to start--do you have any new recruits? Who got promoted and got some new medals? Did anyone pass some IU courses? Did anyone get sent to the Reserves or Inactives? What about the rest of the TIE Corps? Is there a new member of the TIE Corps Command Staff? Did another squadron get a new commander, or maybe they currently have a spot open? As I said before, you want to make this as informative as possible. Other things you want to add are a list of competitions for your squadron, wing, ship, and the TIE Corps as a whole. You always want to include a link to the competition center for your pilots so, if they have questions, they can look it up directly. As a Squadron Commander you're going to have a lot to do and if you can enable your pilots to seek out information on their own rather than ask you, you'll have one less thing to do. It cannot be stated enough--efficiency and organization are key as a Squadron Commander. The less time you spend on reports and paperwork, the more time you'll spend flying with your pilots! It is also helpful to add some closing comments for your pilots and report generally on their activity (this will help you when you look back in time at your reports, and you'll know which pilots are succeeding and which aren't doing much), generally with direct orders on what you'd like to see them doing this week, or what they need to be doing for an ongoing competition. I find it very helpful to have a basic template for your reports so they have some structure, starting with squadron/TIE Corps wide news and going from there. Your pilots will come to expect and appreciate this level of communication from you. With this template (make a backup copy of it too and leave this in your Google Docs), you'll just have to erase and write over sections and some sections, such as the competitions, will require only minimal editing, usually when the competition ends. Another thing that many commanders do to make their reports more aesthetically pleasing is to report in HTML formatting. This may include anything from a banner, to breaking up the reports into clearly organized sections, to different colorations based on your squadron's theme. While this is not official by any means, it has become very commonplace among TIE Corps commanders, and definitely looks cool! Keep an eye out for reports from other commanders for ideas, or ask them. Don't hesitate to design your own! 4. Communication equals engagement! Why do we put this much effort into communication, you ask? This will keep your pilots engaged, and through engagement they will become successful! This is why I suggest things such as regularly keeping your pilots informed through squadron reports and to communicate regularly on Discord to establish a cordial relationship with them. I generally DM my more quiet pilots every couple weeks, just so they know I'm around and thinking of them. They will come to respect you and, when it comes time to do battle with Rebel scum, they will have your back. Not only that but informed pilots make your job easier. You're not constantly bothered with questions, because they won't have any and if they do, they'll know where to look. As a Squadron Commander, you're going to have enough to do. If you keep your pilots informed, very rarely will you have to answer a question. This is why it is so important to reach out to new pilots quickly, because they are the lifeblood that will keep the TIE Corps going. A brand new Sublieutenant who doesn't even hear from his commander will lose interest quickly, and our numbers will shrink. But a pilot who makes it to Lieutenant within a week because his commander reached out to him and answered any and all questions he had (and also showed him where to find the Pilot Manual!), is going to become an engaged TIE Corps pilot, and may even take their own commander spot one day because they have a great role model. Communication is one of the two keys to running a successful TIE Corps squadron. Now, we will cover the second one: engagement. Continue to IV. Engagement - The second key: The beatings will continue until morale improves


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