At last, after years of development, the new Stormtrooper Corps Academy system is fully operational. I have said before that since my elevation to Commander of Training, I have always wanted to create an Academy system that would help prepare new recruits for the tasks and challenges they were going to face. Until now, active duty Squads were receiving recruits that were ill-prepared for the writing activities that is expected of them; the "Drill Squad Method" proved only somewhat useful as it gave recruits a glimpse into the style of writing that the Stormtrooper Corps used. Inexperience is now a thing of the past.
After the successful completion of all Academy criteria, the new recruit will be well-versed in the operations of the Vast Empire, will have gained considerable Star Wars common knowledge, and the writing standards we expect of them. The Academy's criteria will be divided among the four Echelon Squads - a display of understanding of one Echelon's criteria is required before moving forward to the next Echelon Squad. The Echelon Squad criteria is listed as such:
1st Echelon: Orientation
-
Complete CoC review
-
Site orientation
1. Site navigation: http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATCRecLess1 (Detailed explanation on all navigation links: General, Division, Lounge, Logistics, Archives, Resources, Guidelines).
2. Imperial Center Store review (Purchasing items and how to use them in stories).
-
mIRC orientation and setup: http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATCRecLess3, http://academy.stormtroopercorps.com/mirc_java.html
1. Inform them of weekly meeting times. Be sure to give them the correct meeting time for the specific time zone.
-
Chain of Command orientation: http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Basic_Army_Information
1. Guide to the Online Roster.
2. Who is your superior - who to send questions to.
3. How and why the Chain of Command works.
-
ID Lines: http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATCRecLess3, http://stc-manual.stormtroopercorps.com/idlines.html
1. Give examples and explain how they work.
-
Weekly Reports: http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATCRecLess3
1. Give examples and explain why these reports are important.
-
Evaluation Exam (written)
1. Testing the recruit's understanding of all lessons and orientations mentioned above. Passing grade is 85% correct or higher. (The exact questions can be determined at a later time - we may even be able to use some of Rizzit's Drill Exam questions).
2. Upon successful completion of their exam, they can be awarded a sum of 2500 ICs.
-----------------------------------
2nd Echelon: Character Biography Introduction/SW Knowledge Pt.1
-
Biography Instruction
1. Help them understand the makings of a good biography: http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=ATCRecLess4
2. Give them a 2-3 examples of character biographies for them to study - allowing them to check the writing style (these sample biographies will be provided by the staff or specifically-chosen individuals).
3. Explain the differences between 1st and 3rd person styles of writing (3rd person is preferred in this club).
4. Have them start a biography: 2-3 paragraphs (1 page at most - if they wish to go beyond that limit, that is up to them).
5. Give them a taste of "good grammar" by pointing out errors in syntax and grammar in their writing. Due to the fact that this is their first attempt (and taking into consideration age, English being a second language, etc.), don't scrutinize too harshly.
-
StarWars Knowledge
1. General Information: Weapons/armor/vehicles - http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Basic_Army_Information
2. Planets and systems we control - http://www.vastempire.com/main/ref/systems/
3. This "knowledge" should just be very general for right now. More in-depth knowledge can come later. We just need to make sure they don't have Tatooine as a large oceanic planet. Allowing them to know what standard weapons they will be using will help them along in their writing as well.
A completed/approved biography and written exam will be required to complete 2nd Echelon. Exam passing results are the same as 1st Echelon (at least 85% correct).
The successful completion of 2nd Echelon will result in the awarded sum of 3000 ICs.
-----------------------------------
3rd Echelon: First Mission Assignment/SW Knowledge Pt.2
-
First mission assignment
1. Story will be produced by Minister of Development (or whatever name we come up with: CoT Assist #2 :P).
2. The writing assignment should be not stressful to the recruit. This is their first mission, and thus the expected number of pages for approval will be 4.
3. Explain the process to the recruit:
a. Buy an item or two from the Imperial Center Store (ICS) for use in the mission.
b. Look at your mission objectives.
c. Think about what you are going to do in order to reach those objectives.
e. Think about the resistance you might encounter along the way - what obstacles will fall between you and completing your mission
f. Emphasize the importance of being able to elaborate the detail in their writing for any situation (if it was daytime, present to them the themes of a warm or cold day, overcast or clear, humid or normal, etc.).
-
StarWars Knowledge
1. Trooper types (Radtrooper, Sandtrooper, etc.) - http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Basic_Army_Information
2. Explanation on our timeline (Thrawn Era) and where that puts us in the StarWars galaxy (No Jedi, 10-15 years after the events of RoJ, and what events have transpired (( http://comnet.imperialnetwork.com/topic/6278/ )) ).
-
Introduction into Trooper Specialties
1. Introduction into trooper specialties (splicer, sharpshooter, etc.) - http://www.vastempire.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:STCspecs
A completed/approved mission-completion and written exam will be required to complete 3rd Echelon. Exam passing results are the same as 2nd Echelon (at least 85% correct).
The successful completion of 3rd Echelon will result in the awarded sum of 4000 ICs.
-----------------------------------
4th Echelon: Cooperative Mission/Pre Graduation
-
Cooperative Mission: Working as a team.
1. Assign the recruit two more partners (3-party team).
2. Give them their mission and its details/objectives.
3. Have the recruits work together to plan out how they want to post (who goes first, second, third | how do they want to approach/proceed with the mission: what is everyone's role?).
4. Emphasize the importance of communication either via comnet, mIRC, or email.
5. Have them use items from the ICS.
6. Each party member must contribute at least 5 pages to the story.
-
Character Biography: Final Draft
1. With their newly-acquired knowledge with writing, the recruit is to edit or recreate his/her character biography with a 1-page in length minimum requirement. At this point, the recruit should have already thought about their character's past, traits, etc., and should be able to write a more thorough biography.
-
Trooper Specialty Selection
1. Recruits may choose a specialty they wish to study for when they are transferred to active duty.
Their amended biography and completed cooperative mission must be approved before they can graduate.
The successful completion of 4th Echelon will result in the awarded sum of 6000 ICs.
We will have cases in which exceptional recruits will complete all four Echelons in 2-3 days, but I'm expecting an average Academy-time of 4-5 days.
It's an amazing thing for me to see something that I've worked many years on to finally blossom into the creation it is today. I would not have been able to do it without the help of Grand Moff Kadann, Grand General Fury, Colonel Rizzit, Major Merrick, and all others that have helped make this new Academy system possible.
If you look on the ComNet, you will notice a new Army forum titled "Echelon Training Academy". Please do not post on these forums as they are reserved only for the activities of the Academy. Yes, the topics in there have been posted a while ago - the forum has just been invisible to you.
For my concluding remarks, I'd like to announce and welcome the Academy's very first recruit: Private Andrew Miller. Those that were in Drill Squad have been assigned to 1st Echelon, and as you may have noticed, Drill Squad has been laid to rest. Along with the numerous Online Roster changes is the addition of three Commander of Training Assistant positions currently occupied by Senior Sergeant Darr-Rann, Sergeant First Class Kami, and Sergeant Namyr.
Last but not least, you may have noticed the strange new "Imperial logo" in the picture above. The Galactic Empire had the Imperial Emblem as you've seen it in the movies, StarWars site, etc. However, the Empire is no more, and now only Imperial factions/remnants remain. As you may have guessed, that above Imperial logo is one of the concepts I will be proposing to all VE members to vote on to be our official VE Emblem. If it is voted as the VE Emblem, that's great. However, if it is not voted to be the VE Emblem, then you're looking at the new Stormtrooper Corps Academy emblem. I will be recreating the Academy website, so keep an eye out for that.
That's all from the CoT.
Enjoy.
-----------------------
Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
CoT/MG Cosmic/HCA-3/SL/Drill Squad/Tadath/VEA/VE
[OPE][OTH][OPA][EW1][CDS][IH][GS][LM][SoS][CRoM][CoH][PoC][MSM][SCP][SoA][IOC]
-----------------------
Cleric "Cosmic" Vor'soth
SL/KPR Cosmic/Lion 1-1/Lopen/VEDJ/VE
[VP][WoS2][KC1][SoY][EoP][OAK]
-----------------------