The Command Officer Training Course (COTC)

[Kirok]

HELP TOPIC: The Command Officer Training Course (COTC)

Becoming a COMMAND LEVEL OFFICER is not just about being given more opportunities. You will have to work hard during the position to ensure the continued running of your SIMM and the fleet as a whole. This means helping other members when they ask, updating the roster on a regular basis, planning and implementing new mission, and overall being more active than an average member.

A COMMAND LEVEL position is not for everyone because it requires extra time &  extra commitment.  Please ensure that you are ready to take the responsibility of ensuring everyone elses fun first, before you take this course.

The Command Officer Training Course (COTC) is designed to prepare senior officers for the roles and responsibilities of being a Command Level Officer, that is, any officer holding a position of Commanding Officer or First Officer.

Before a player is accepted onto the COTC, a number of conditions must be met. Each applicant must*:

• Have held the rank of Lieutenant.
• Have been an active member of the fleet for the past six months with a high level of activity in communicating with other members OOC/mission contribution..
• Documented teamwork in regard to helping to create a community on your SIMM and in the Fleet instead of creating conflict.  As such, the candidate should be someone who obeys and is able to enforce Shadow Fleet rules, instead of someone who breaks or ignores them.

* The Shadow Fleet admiralty reserves the right to waive certain restrictions subject to fleet requirements.

These prerequisites have been put in place to ensure all COTC applicants already have a working knowledge of Shadow Fleet and are able to write to the standard expected of a Command Officer. Shadow Fleet sets a high standard for its Command Officers as they are expected to be able to deal with a wide-range of issues on their SIMM. In addition, they are afforded special moderator privileges on the forum which, if given to the wrong person, could cause severe disruption to the forum.

The course itself is divided into three sections, or "levels."

Level 1, consists of writing an original mission idea and planning out how to run it over the course of a month. You will be tasked with setting goals and deadlines both in the mission and throughout the month to keep everyone on task and the plot moving forward. You need to be able to plan how to keep people in every department busy and be prepared in the event that someone may go inactive. The academy instruction may task you with questions regarding how you will handle such situations.

Level 2 consists of a three hundred word essay. You will be graded on your ability to present your points in a structured and informative way, your level of prior research and your spelling & grammar. Note you must also include a bibliography at the end of your essay, detailing any resources you have used to compile your essay.

In level 3, you will be given some out of character crew scenarios to deal with. Each one is designed to test your ability to deal with player conflict in a SIMM. In your replies, you will be expected to abide by the Shadow Fleet Rules while at the same time coming to an amicable solution. Remember that it may not be necessary to please both sides but you do have a duty to serve the players of your SIMM as well as Shadow Fleet as a whole.

The course is purposefully designed for evaluating candidates. We are always looking for top-quality candidates to take over senior positions in our SIMMs, which include additional forum privileges, privileges that could be used to undermine the forum and the fleet, in the wrong hands.  You should also bear in mind that completion of the COTC does not necessarily mean you will be awarded a command position in a SIMM. It merely means you are eligible to assume a command position.

If you wish to apply for the COTC, your first port of call should be your SIMM's Executive Officer. They will be able to tell you if you are ready for the course and provide you with any necessary training to meet the standard, if not. Once they feel you are ready, the Executive Officer will inform the Commanding Officer, who will put your name forward to the Shadow Fleet Academy Commandant.

See also:

• The Command Officer Training Course at Shadow Fleet Academy