BuTrain:Overview

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Getting Started at BuTrain - An Overview for the new student

You’ve joined TRMN and are a member of a ship, station, bivouac, or civilian service. Your commanding officer (CO) welcomed you and provided you some basic information about TRMN and your assignment. But now what? Your CO may have talked to you about getting promoted and the three different paths you can chose: service, staff, or line (more information can be found in the Membership Handbook or in Admiralty Order 1707-01). On the TRMN Forums you see announcements about people passing courses of study, and people talking about ratings training and getting their Space Warfare Pin or the Manticoran Combat Action Medal. You wonder, what does all this mean? What do you do? How do you start? This manual and the Bureau of Training Forums are here to help you and should be a constant resource.

Each course at BuTrain consists of approximately 8- 10 “open book” questions that will help direct your learning and research on each subject. Rank training for each academy is focused on the Honorverse, TRMN specific information, some related old Earth history, and leadership development. You will use the rank training to grow and develop in the TRMN. We place a special emphasis on leadership and TRMN business because everyone can aspire to be a leader within this organization regardless of rank!

Ratings or specialty training consists of training on specific skills you might find useful or interesting in the particular service or civilian corps you joined. These courses contain questions that will direct your research to learn more about the rating you choose. This is an excellent way to have fun with the role play aspect of TRMN.

The first thing you need to do is download and save this Student Manual to your computer or other cloud storage (described further below) as it provides the BuTrain policies and procedures and an overview of the schools and classes and their prerequisites. Read through the manual to get familiar with all BuTrain has to offer and to know what prerequisites are required before you can take a course. You can take any course at any of the service academies, universities, and schools if you meet the prerequisites; you are not limited to only taking courses in your service or when you are a particular rank. If you meet the prerequisites you can take the course.

NOTE: All rank courses for the RMN, RMMC, RMA, GSN, and IAN are interchangeable for prerequisite purposes. For example, all military -0001 courses across services are interchangeable with each other. Military and civilian (including RMMM & RMACS) courses are not interchangeable with each other or with military course. NOTE: It is strongly suggested you follow the rank courses for your chosen service before branching out to other academies unless your branch does not yet have a fully functional academy.

Before you start taking courses, you should create a folder for your courses on your computer or on a cloud storage drive to retain all your materials. A good option is to use the Google Drive associated with a Gmail email address and Google Docs. The Google Drive, with Google Docs, is free, easy to use, accessible from multiple devices, and does not require you to have any programs installed to use it (if you access Google Docs on a mobile device you will need to download the Google Docs app). You should also create subfolders in your main course folder for each school or type of course you take and keep a copy of the clean course, your submitted course, and all graded courses and completion certificate. Your completed course information will be reflected in your MEDUSA profile, but you don’t want to take a chance this information could be lost. Save all completed course materials. They may be useful in the future.

Next, you should look at the Bureau of Training Forums. (You should already have access to the TRMN Forums. If you don’t have access, please talk to your CO.) There are several Forums under BuTrain; the two to be most aware of are “Student Questions” and “BuTrain Contact Info.” The Student Questions Forum has many pinned post questions that most likely will answer most of your questions and is a good place to look if you are not sure of what to do or what a policy is. Some to be aware of include the following:

• What schools are closed? This includes a list of schools and instructors that are off. Please refer to this list if you are waiting on a response from an instructor.
• What do I do if I don’t hear from my instructor? This post explains our follow up process.
• What is the Multi-Service Individual Training Record and how do I get it? This post has the spreadsheet many members use to track their courses.
• I disagree with my score. What do I do? This explains how to dispute a score.

This Forum is also a good place to ask general questions. However, never ask specific course questions on a Forum, those are asked direct to your instructor. Remember, all courses and their questions are covered by the Official Secrets Act.

All students, regardless of service or promotion path, must start with the first enlisted or civilian course for their service, a -0001 / 01 numbered course, if they wish to begin taking courses. This is a prerequisite for everything. Though you may take courses from any service, it is best to start with the Basic Enlisted course for the military service you joined, the Core 01 course at SKU if you are a civilian, or the -0001 for Astro Control or Merchant Marine. Youth should take courses in the Sphinx Forestry Service Academy. To request your first course, go to www.trmn.org, Academies, and select the appropriate Course Request Form and fill in the required information. You will need your RMN number to request your course. Once you receive your Welcome email, log into your MEDUSA Service Record to find your RMN member number.

You will receive your first course via email within seven days of your request along with a copy of the Honorverse Compendium, which you can use as another reference to complete your courses. Please be aware that you may not share the Compendium with anyone; it is covered under the Official Secrets Act.

The courses are all “open book” learning opportunities, meaning you can use any of the resources listed in this manual to answer the questions. However, you cannot get the answers from someone else or work with others to complete the course, except as later described in the manual. The work must be your own. The purpose of the courses is for you to learn and seek the answers yourself. All BuTrain courses are controlled items and are covered by the Official Secrets Act. Completed answers or courses are not to be shared with any member. If you have any questions while taking the course, please ask your instructor as they are there to help you learn. However, please remember, do not share the Honorverse Compendium, your course, or answers with anyone, even your CO. Your CO will be able to see your grade in the MEDUSA database, as will you.

Once you are done with your course, email it back to your instructor using the official email in an editable format such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Open Office (send the actual file, not a link to the file on your cloud storage). Your instructor will grade the course within 7 days and send it back, along with a completion certificate and the next course in the series, if applicable. You will only get the next course if there is one in the series and you meet the prerequisites.

After you pass your first enlisted course, you may begin taking specialty courses while continuing to take your enlisted and officer courses. In fact, you can request and take as many courses at the same time as you want as long as you meet the prerequisites for each.

As you continue your studies, the courses will become harder and require you to do more research as they cover many topics in the Honorverse, TRMN, history, math, and science.

The following sections will provide you more detailed information on BuTrain and taking courses.

BuTrain Headquarters Staff

BuTrain is run by the Sixth Space Lord and Deputy Sixth Space Lord with advice and input from the BuTrain Board members and staff. The organization chart (fig 1) provides a high-level view of the organization of BuTrain and its individual academies. For specific information on each academy please see the sections below. In addition, please check the BuTrain Roster for faculty and staff contact information. The following are staff members that work in the office of the Sixth Space Lord:

Deputy, Sixth Space Lord

Assists the Sixth Space Lord and steps in when the Sixth Space Lord is not available.

Chief of Staff

Responsible for coordinating the staff, special projects, and keeping the schedule in the Office of the Sixth Space Lord.

Command Senior Master Chief of BuTrain

BuTrain’s senior enlisted member.

Development Officer

Works with the various BuTrain schools on new program development, staff hiring, and training.

Accessibility Officer

Works BuTrain-wide to ensure all courses are accessible to all members.

BuTrain Institutions

The Saganami Island Naval Academy (SINA)

The Saganami Island Naval Academy (SINA), also known as the Royal Manticoran Naval Academy on Saganami Island or the Saganami Island Academy (SIA), is run by the SIA Commandant, who reports to the Deputy Sixth Space Lord and Sixth Space Lord. SINA is responsible for teaching RMN courses and includes the Naval College, the War College, the Technical Specialties College, and the Advanced Tactical Center.

The Royal Manticoran Marine Corps Training Command (RMMCTC)

The Royal Manticoran Marine Corps Training Command (RMMCTC) is located at RMMC Camp Maastricht in the Duchy of West Wind and is responsible for teaching the Marine courses. The RMMC Training Command is run by the Commandant who acts as a liaison for the Commandant of the RMMC directly to the Sixth Space Lord. RMMCTC includes the Marine College, the Marine War College, the Marine Staff College, and the Marine Technical Specialties College.

The King Roger I Military Academy (RMA)

The King Roger I Military Academy is run by the KR1MA Commanding Officer, who oversees all the courses for the Royal Manticoran Army. The Commanding Officer of KR1MA reports to the RMA Deputy Chief of Staff for Training, who is the Marshal of the Army's liaison to the Sixth Space Lord. KR1MA consists of an Enlisted Training Center, Officer Training Center, War College, and Branch/Army Occupational Specialty College.

The Isaiah Mackenzie Naval Academy (IMNA)

The Isaiah Mackenzie Naval Academy (IMNA) is overseen by the IMNA Commandant. The Commandant of the IMNA acts as the High Admiral of the Grayson Space Navy’s liaison to the Sixth Space Lord. IMNA consists of the Naval College, Naval War College, and the IMNA Technical Specialty schools.

The Merchant Fleet Academy (RMMM)

The Royal Manticoran Merchant Fleet Academy is responsible for training merchant spacers serving in the Royal Manticoran Merchant Marine (RMMM). The Commandant of the Merchant Fleet Academy reports to the Sixth Space Lord and the Home Secretary. The academy currently consists of the following five colleges: Unlicensed College, Deck College, Catering College, Medical College, and Engineering College.

The Astro-Control Academy (RMACS)

The Royal Manticoran Astro Control Academy (RMACS) is responsible for training the personnel serving in the the Royal Manticoran Astro Control Service, which controls the traffic through the Manticore Wormhole Junctions. The Commandant of the Astro Control Academy reports to the Sixth Space Lord. The academy consists of the Enlisted, Officer, Flag Officer, and Technical Specialty programs.

The Star Kingdom University System (Civilian)

The Star Kingdom University System (SKU) currently includes the Core College, Landing University and Mannheim University, and encompasses all schools for the civilian courses outside of the RMMM and RMACS. The Regent of the Star Kingdom University System is the liaison to BuTrain from the Home Secretary.

The Sphinx Forestry Commission (youth programs)

The Sphinx Forestry Service is responsible for administering the courses for our younger students, and currently consists of three levels based on age. The Commissioner of the Sphinx Forestry Service runs the academy and liaisons with the Sixth Space Lord.

The Kaiserlische Andermanische Prinz-Adlebert Marineakademie (IAN) – in development

The Kaiserlische Andermanische Prinz-Adlebert Marineakademie (PAMA) is overseen by the Kommandant. PAMA is currently under development. The Kommandant of the PAMA acts as the Imperial Andermani Navy’s liaison to the Sixth Space Lord. It will start up with its mainline courses and proceed with other courses as needed.

The Republic of Haven Naval Academy (RHN) – in development

The Republic of Haven Naval Academy (RHNA) is overseen by the Commandant. RHNA is currently under development. The Commandant of the RHNA acts as the Republic of Haven Navy’s liaison to the Sixth Space Lord. It will start up with its mainline courses and proceed with other courses as needed.