Chapter
A chapter is a local subsidiary of an organization.
In The Royal Manticoran Navy: The Official Honor Harrington Fan Association, Inc. (TRMN), all members choose a chapter to join, and are invited to form new chapters.
Meeting Chapter
In TRMN parlance, a meeting chapter refers to one which is required to convene a minimum of three times annually.[1] This means that most, if not all, of the chapter members live near enough each other that they can meet in person periodically. However, TRMN has no regulations restricting which chapter any member may join, which means that even meeting chapters may have one or more members who live on the other side of the planet.
City of Charter
City of Charter is a term sometimes used to refer to the city where the founding Commanding Officer lives. This place will be referenced in the Commissioning Certificate for the chapter when it founded and be the "location" of the chapter.
Correspondence Chapter
A correspondence chapter is contrasted to a meeting chapter in that there is no requirement to convene in person, so the members of the chapter typically do not live near each other. This was originally designed for people who live in remote areas with small populations that would not support a meeting chapter.
The term "correspondence chapter" is a carryover from the pre-internet days, when people in such remote areas could join a correspondence chapter of a fan club, receiving newsletters by mail in order to keep up with club events. In the 21st century, social media and video-conferencing allow frequent contact with fellow chapter members living anywhere on Earth.
Ships
The most common framework for a chapter (whether it be meeting or correspondence) is that the members are the crew and other embarked personnel aboard an imaginary military spaceship. Thus the chapter name will be the name of a ship from the Honorverse canon approved by BuShips, such as HMS Invincible.
For regional oversight, ships are assigned to a fleet based on their location.
The type of ship which a chapter may portray is limited by minimum crew complement requirements. Although the fictional spaceship would have a much larger crew (the largest superdreadnoughts might have crew complements numbering in the thousands),the chapter requirements are:
| SHIP TYPE | MINIMUM TOTAL CREW | MINIMUM OFFICERS |
|---|---|---|
| Pinnace[2] | 2 | 1 |
| Light Attack Craft (LAC) | 3 | 1 |
| Destroyer (DD) | 6 | 2 |
| Light Cruiser (CL) | 8 | 3 |
| Heavy Cruiser (CA) | 10 | 3 |
| Battle Cruiser (BC) | 12 | 4 |
| Dreadnaught (DN) | 16 | 5 |
| Superdreadnaught (SD) | 20 | 5 |
Star Nations
In the early days of TRMN, the club leadership conceived that meeting chapters would be Royal Manticoran Navy ships, while correspondence chapters would be ships of the Grayson Space Navy. In practice, this scheme has no been adhered to, as the nationality of the ship is more commonly based on the role-play interests of the members, so both RMN and GSN ships may exist as either meeting or correspondence chapters. Other nationalities and types have been introduced, so that a ship may be from any of the following Grand Alliance member services:
- Royal Manticoran Navy
- Royal Manticoran Merchant Marine
- Grayson Space Navy
- Imperial Andermani Navy
- Republic of Haven Navy
Marine Detachments
Additionally, members who portray the Royal Manticoran Marine Corps may form Marine Detachments (MarDets) as part of an existing ship chapter. The MarDet members portray the marine complement stationed on the ship and have their own structure, organization, chain of command, and reporting requirements, forming a "chapter within a chapter."
Leadership
Chapters are required to have a "command triad" consisting of the following:[3]
- Commanding Officer (CO): Analogous to the chapter president. Sometimes called the "skipper" in club jargon.
- Executive Officer (XO): The chapter's second-in command.
- Bosun: The senior enlisted member of the chapter, who must have a minimum grade of E-7 (called the "gunny" for MarDets or "NCOIC" for Army chapters).
The "triad" structure is also used for leadership of larger echelons formed of multiple ships as well as the bureaus and service branches which makeup the organization.
Civilian Chapters
Holding Chapters
A holding chapter is the term for a general organization-wide chapter for members who have not joined meeting or correspondence chapter. These are commonly fictional space stations.
- HMSSS Greenwich (HMSS= Her Majesty's Space Station) was the original holding chapter for all Manticoran members.
In 2021, separate Holding Chapters were introduced for each regional fleet:[4]
- First Naval District: HMSS Greenwich (SS-101)
- Second Naval District: HMSS North Star (SS-102)
- Third Naval District: HMSS Ramirez (SS-103)
- Sixth Naval District: HMSS Yeager (SS-106)
- Eighth Naval District: HMSS Basilisk (SS-108)
- Tenth Naval District: HMSS Talbott (SS-110)
- Thirteen Naval District: HMSS Chotěboř (SS-113)
- GNSS Barbara Bancroft is the holding chapter for Grayson members.
- London Point
- 1st Regiment of Foote
Flagship
References
- ↑ TRMN Membership Handbook, page 23
- ↑ a pinnace is overseen by an existing larger ship and is meant to be temporary while the new chapter recruits to be able to upgrade to a larger "permanant" ship type.
- ↑ A pinnace needs only a CO, and a LAC needs only a CO and a Bosun
- ↑ Naval Directive 21JA-03