CO Manual:Section 2

Commanding Officer's Manual
Main Page	Welcome	Command Responsibilities	Organizing a Chapter	Chapter Activities	Commissioning a Chapter	Awards	Chapter Types & Commands

Command Responsibilities

The First Duty: FUN!

Please remember that we are here to have fun and enjoy our shared love of the Honorverse created by David Weber. There is a LOT of work involved in leading a chapter, but you have to remember that, as leaders, we also need to take a little time and have fun with our crew as well as leading them. So, if things seem to get a bit high pressure and stressful, take a step back, relax and go see a movie, go bowling, or do something else fun and relaxing with your crew.

Command Triad

The Command Triad consists of the CO, XO, and Bosun on each ship or echelon in TRMN. These are the persons charged with leading that particular level of the organization and working to make sure that everyone under them is having fun and completing other requirements as set forth by their position and the requirements of their superiors.

Chapter Crest

As CO, you are ultimately responsible for your chapter’s crest (if you decide to create one). Art Department can help with providing information on artists and others who will be able to help you create a crest that meets all requirements and can be approved by the Art Department, as is required.

Training Requirements

As noted above, all brevet promotions made at the time of commissioning a chapter have 90 days to meet the training requirements for those grades or they will be revoked. A CO may not promote a person in their chapter unless they have met all training requirements for the grade being promoted, no exceptions. It is, therefore, wise for each and every CO to track Saganami Island Academy (SIA) coursework completed by their crews and to encourage your crew to complete courses at SIA if they desire to be promoted.

Record Keeping

We all hate paperwork, but proper record keeping is important for the benefit of your crew. Without proper records, it is virtually impossible to know when a member is ready for promotion or deserving of an award nomination. It will be important for you to track Saganami Island Academy courses completed by your crew, the time in grade for each member of your crew, as well as the activities of your crew (both philanthropic and otherwise) in order to know when to promote or properly award your crew. How you choose to track and maintain these items of note is entirely up to you and whatever system works best for your management style. You could even delegate this responsibility to your XO or another member of your crew if this will work best for your chapter. Some COs have created Excel spreadsheets to track this information; others have created databases for their crews and others have simply used a Word Document to track this info. If you need to obtain a listing of your crew members completed courses, you can contact the Bureau of Training’s Administrative Officer (records@sia.trmn.org) and they will be happy to provide you with a report on your crew’s SIA achievements.

Reporting Requirements and Procedures

Every chapter is required to submit a report to the Office of the First Space Lord (with copies being sent to the numbered Fleet CO, the Bureau of Planning, the Bureau of Ships, and the Bureau of Personnel) no later than the 10th of every even numbered month. The report is to be submitted via email or (when available) the RMN website. The Chapter Report Form is at the end of this manual and can also be downloaded from the TRMN website for use by Chapter Reporting Officers. Please use the following TRMN-level addresses when submitting your reports via email:
chapter.reports@trmn.org

Because the chapter reports provide TRMN and your Fleet Commanding Officer information on the activities of your chapter, they are the best way to communicate the work you and your crew are doing at the local level. A lack of report can be interpreted to mean a lack of activity. In addition, your reports are used at the Fleet-level in summary reporting up the Chain of Command. The more reporting we see at the chapter-level means the entire Fleet benefits. It is critical to note that a failure to file a report for three (3) consecutive reporting periods may result in the decommissioning of your chapter. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the failures to report, the disposition of your chapter will be determined on a case basis by the Third Space Lord in consultation with your numbered Fleet CO and the First Space Lord. However, failure to file a report for 6 consecutive reporting periods for any reason, will result in your chapter being decommissioned. (NOTE: Two (2) late reports will be considered to be one Failure to Report.)

Recognition

One of the best tools a CO has to help keep their crew motivated and having fun is to recognize them when things are done that go above and beyond the average crew person. For more information on what awards and types of recognition you, as a CO, have at your disposal, please see section 6 – Awards, later in this manual.

Ship Change of Command

From to time, it may be necessary for chapters to change their Commanding or Executive Officers, or the Bosun. When the need to change one of these command crew billet holders arises, fill out the Chapter Change of Command Form and submit it to the Third Space Lord. Unless the requirements for the position (age, required courses, RMN membership) are not met, the change of command will be processed as soon as possible and confirmation of the change sent back to the chapter. If there are problems with the new officers not meeting the requirements for the position(s) they are to fill, the Third Space Lord will work them to make sure they meet the requirements as quickly as possible.

Transfers To and From Your Chapter

From time-to-time members will want to transfer on and off of your chapter. When that happens, you must make sure that all COs affected by the transfer are notified of the transfer. All transfers must also be communicated to the Bureau of Personnel by sending an email to the Director of Membership Processing (available on the Fifth Space Lord’s Staff page or via the form located on the RMN website: (http://bit.ly/1K3wmSv).

Delegating Responsibilities and Tasks

Delegating some of the tasks and responsibilities of running your chapter and planning activities can help to make your life as a CO easier and your ship will run more efficiently. Your Executive Officer (XO) and Bosun are both part of your Command team and should be utilized to help you maintain the smooth and efficient operation of your chapter, based upon your leadership style and the needs and desires of your chapter as a whole. Depending on how your chapter is organized (see below for possible ideas), you can also delegate certain tasks to the various departments of your chapter, helping to get more of your crew involved in the operation and maintenance of the chapter and helping everyone to enjoy their time in the RMN even more.