Minutes of the 11 November 2023 meeting

TRMN Steering Committee: November Meeting Minutes Date: 11 November 2023
Time: 1000 Pacific / 1300 Eastern / 1800 BST Location:
Google Meet - Recorded

Attendees:

Mike Garcia – Chair

David Westover (IAN) – Vice Chair

Zach White (GSN) – Steering Committee Secretary

Laura Lochen (RMN)

Mike Houghtaling (RMMC)

Matthew Miller (RMA)

Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps)

Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD Secretary)

Non-Voting Attendees/Guests:

Mike Romero (Speaker of the HoL)

Mitch Dunn (DCNO RHN)

Robert Bulkeley (Guest)

David Misner (Guest)

Geoff Zoeller (Guest / Deputy Speaker of the HoL)

The meeting was called to order at 1002 PST.

Agenda Item 1:

Opening remarks were made by the Chair. Roll Call was completed, and a quorum declared at 1006 PST.

Agenda Item 2:

Motion was made by the Chair to approve the minutes from the September meeting. This motion was seconded by Laura. Zach White called for a voice vote. There were no objections, and the minutes were approved. Zach White took a task to consult with the Chair and Cindy Van Wyhe on the best course of action for posting of the minutes for review and reference by the membership.

Agenda Item 3:

Two applications for the position of High Admiral of the Grayson Space Navy were received by the Steering Committee for review prior to the meeting, one by Phil Culmer and one by Zach White. The Chair mentioned that the President of the Board of Directors had sent an endorsement of Zach White for appointment as High Admiral of the Grayson Space Navy. As with the previous election, the Chair deferred to the Steering Committee to elect the new High Admiral and opened discussion at 10:11 PST. The Chair asked if there was any need to delay a vote until Phil Culmer was able to appear in person to speak to his application, the Steering Committee deemed that unnecessary based on the contents of the applications. Laura Lochen asked Zach White a question regarding 4th Fleet which was answered to her

satisfaction. Mike Garcia asked Zach White who he would select as a deputy if appointed which was answered to his satisfaction. Mike Romero made comments to the committee regarding the candidates’ applications. Mike Houghtaling made comments to the committee regarding the candidates’ applications. Wayne made comments to the committee regarding the candidates’ applications.

Mike Romero jokingly paraphrased Admiral Winslow from the movie Down Periscope to Zach: “You will no longer outrank me, what a horrifying thought.” Following comments discussion was closed without objection by the Chair and a roll call vote was called by Cindy Van Wyhe standing in for Zach White.

Zach White (GSN): Present

David Westover (IAN): Zach White

Laura Lochen (RMN): Zach White

Mike Houghtaling (RMMC): Zach White

Matthew Miller (RMA): Zach White

Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps): Abstain

Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD): Zach White

Mike Garcia (Chair): Abstain

With a vote of 5 for Zach and 2 Abstain – Zach White was appointed as the High Admiral of the Grayson Space Navy effective 11 November 2023.

Agenda Item 4:

Divisional branch reports were sent prior to the meeting for review by the steering committee. Zach White noted that he had seen reports from all the branch heads except for the IAN and RMN. Both David Westover and Laura Lochen indicated they would submit reports as soon as possible. The Chair motioned to require branch reports and organizational reports from the ex-officio members (aspects of the civilian corps and the RHN) as well as Parliament respectively. This was seconded by Zach White and Mike Houghtaling. The Chair requested a roll call vote.

Zach White (GSN): Aye

David Westover (IAN): Aye

Laura Lochen (RMN): Aye

Mike Houghtaling (RMMC): Aye

Matthew Miller (RMA): Aye

Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps): Aye

Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD): Aye

Mike Garcia (Chair): Aye

The motion passed unanimously. All members, including ex-officio members, will be required to submit reports beginning with the January Steering Committee meeting. The Chair asked that Mitch Dunn reach out to him after the meeting which was acknowledged.

Agenda Item 5:

The Chair acknowledged that the Action Without Meeting (AWM) function was very active, but at the same time acknowledged that due to the tempo and the pace at which things needed to be accomplished, that the AWM function has been working well and has served the Steering Committee well. The Chair asked for comments on how we may be able to use that function better. There were no comments. The Chair clarified a question by Laura Lochen that we are not relitigating prior approved AWM items, or any new ones, but merely confirming the ones already voted on and passed through the AWM process. The Chair moved to confirm all the AWM items voted on since the September meeting. This was seconded by Zach White. Chair asked if there was any discussion and there was none. Zach White called a Roll Call vote.

Zach White (GSN): Aye; David Westover (IAN): Aye; Laura Lochen (RMN): Aye; Mike Houghtaling (RMMC): Aye; Matthew Miller (RMA): Aye; Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps): Aye; Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD): Aye
Mike Garcia (Chair): Aye

All AWM items were approved unanimously.

Agenda Item 6: David Westover, as Chairman of the AO review Committee, delivered his report on the activities of that committee. Cindy Van Wyhe requested that the Membership Policy and the Youth Policy be remitted to the Board of Directors for review by the Chief Legal Officer. There was brief discussion, and it was decided to vote those two policies, and the “Lochen Clause” out of the Steering Committee and remit them for approval to the Board of Directors. The Chair motioned to approve them and send to the Board of Directors. This was seconded by Zach White and Laura Lochen. A brief clarifying question by Wayne Bruns was answered by the Chair. Zach White called a Roll Call vote. Zach White (GSN): Aye David Westover (IAN): Aye Laura Lochen (RMN): Aye Mike Houghtaling (RMMC): Aye Matthew Miller (RMA): Aye Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps): Aye Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD): Aye Mike Garcia (Chair): Aye Those items were approved to the be sent to the Board of Directors unanimously. David Westover then moved to discuss the two remaining policies, Rank and Promotion and Uniform Policy, which have been voted out of the AO Sub Committee. The Chair asked if there were any questions regarding those two policies. Hearing no discussion, David Westover motioned that we accept the Rank and Promotion Policy as submitted. It was seconded by Laura Lochen. Zach White called a Roll Call vote. Zach White (GSN): Aye David Westover (IAN): Aye Laura Lochen (RMN): Aye Mike Houghtaling (RMMC): Abstain Matthew Miller (RMA): Aye Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps): Aye Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD): Aye Mike Garcia (Chair): Aye The Rank and Promotion Policy was approved with 7 Ayes and 1 Abstain. David Westover motioned that we accept the Uniform Policy as submitted. It was seconded by Laura Lochen and Zach White. Zach White called a Roll Call vote. Zach White (GSN): Aye David Westover (IAN): Aye Laura Lochen (RMN): Aye Mike Houghtaling (RMMC): Aye Matthew Miller (RMA): Aye Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps): Aye Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD): Aye Mike Garcia (Chair): Aye The Uniform Policy was approved unanimously. David Westover raised several questions about the Chapter and Fleet policy. There was a question on ghost members posed, secondly there was a point raised about “bringing us all together better – and having a centralized chain of command per region.” Turning regions into a Joint Operations Area. David Westover posed an option to convert the standing Fleets and Armies etc. into “Joint Operations Commands” that would not necessarily be run by a Navy “Fleet Commander.” Laura Lochen commented that we would be much bettered served if there was a fleshed-out policy before we went in circles discussing it and suggested that a group of people should work on this. David Westover offered to expand the AO review Committee to work on fleshing out the Chapter Policy. There was extensive back and forth discussion on the contents of the policy which ultimately culminated in a motion by the Chair to end discussion and create a separate Ad-hoc Sub Committee of the Whole to be stood up to address the Chapter Policy and Operational Concerns. This was seconded by Zach White. Hearing no discussion, Zach White called a Roll Call vote. Zach White (GSN): Aye David Westover (IAN): Aye Laura Lochen (RMN): Aye Mike Houghtaling (RMMC): Aye Matthew Miller (RMA): Aye Wayne Bruns (Civ Corps): Aye Cindy Van Wyhe (BoD): Aye Mike Garcia (Chair): Aye The motion to create an Ad-hoc Sub-Committee of the Whole was approved unanimously. The Chair expressed preference that there be something to show, an actionable solution, before the next Board of Director’s Meeting in March. Matt Miller brought up that Chapter upgrades and Chapter upgrades were not able to be done. The Chair mentioned that the board called the question, however Laura Lochen mentioned that we tabled conversation on structure, not this question. Zach White agreed and pointed out that the RMMC and the RMA cannot have a hold on chapter creation and decommissioning until January. Matt Miller stated that the problem is BuShips. The Chair mentioned that this should be raised by the Executive Committee, and Laura Lochen agreed. There was further extensive discussion, a motion which was raised to bring this to the attention of the Executive Committee and then withdrawn, and the discussion ultimately culminated in a pledge from Laura Lochen that a discussion would be held at the earliest possible point with the 3SL and 5SL to address the problems and fix the structural issues. As David Westover was at the same convention as the 3SL and the D3SL at the time of the meeting, he offered to start the conversation and then pass them off to Laura Lochen. Agenda Item 7: Robert Bulkeley, Deputy Director of Awards, and main author on the Awards Manual re-write, spoke about his procedure for awarding Knightly Orders. It was decided to bring Bob onto the Awards Sub Committee. There was a motion made by Zach White to refer the Knightly Order award scheme to the Awards Sub-Committee, and it was seconded by the Chair. Zach White called a voice vote which was unanimous. Agenda Item 8: Due to technical issues on the 5SL’s end, there was little discussion, and the Chair shared his screen to show the policy under question. There was a brief discussion at that point, but ultimately there were no objections to the policy as written pending minor changes by the 5SL. The 5SL took a task on several points to be added to the policy. Zach White took a task to work with the 5SL to get the revised policy up on the Discord as an AWM. Cindy Van Wyhe took a task to work with the 5SL to come up with a way forward for Flag Promotions boards. Agenda Item 9: The Chair opened the floor to any new business. Laura Lochen mentioned that there should be a discussion on what the Steering Committee wants to have in their reports. Zach White took a task to ask that question on the Discord to figure out what the Steering Committee wanted to go on the record. Mike Romero asked about Prime Ministers questions, if they went to the Board of Directors or if they went to the Steering Committee. The Chair clarified that it could depend based on what the question was about. It was further clarified by the Chair that all PMQ questions from Parliament should come to the Steering Committee and then the Steering Committee leadership (The Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and the Board of Directors Secretary) will then decide what mailbox it should be sent too. The Chairman of the Steering Committee will be the singular point of contact. David Westover questioned why we needed to continue the Prime Ministers Questions and would it not be better to have a more fluid and open process rather than have only a set time to ask the questions. The Chair and Cindy Van Wyhe clarified that it was to make things easier for answers to be on the public record. David Westover countered that having a free flow of information would be better. Zach White mentioned that he agreed with David Westover that there should be a free flow of information, but there needs to be a form and function to it to avoid a free-for-all. The Chair agreed. Parliament (Speaker of the House of Lords and Speaker of the House of Commons) took a task to figure out what would be the best course forward, and that would take place on the Steering Committee “Cloak Room” Discord channel. Laura Lochen and Wayne Bruns had to leave the meeting, as such David Westover made a motion to adjourn. Agenda Item 11 was referred to the Steering Committee Discord for discussion. Zach White took a task to get consensus on Agenda Item 12 on the Discord, setting the date and time of the January Meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 12:21 PST.