NTF

Another sign that I spent way to many years on training/teaching CQB concepts over at [SAS], is when in the event of congestion at the hatch, my instinct is still ride the door for threats and clear the fatal funnel ASAP!

Sadly, that portion of my brain gets better exercise at Airsoft than at Work, lol. Hmm…

Somehow walking into the servers, almost makes me glad that I’m retired.

Somehow seeing a [SAS] header on a video being marked as NTF training, makes me remember that someone in [SAS] hosted a F&M exercise in GR1, and filmed it. I remember it being posted in the forums back in ’09. Now if I could just remember whether it was Valroe or Sniper who filmed it, lol.

Tonight a somewhat annoying thing actually occurred, I was referred to as an “Officer” in regard to my time around [SAS]. The rank I last held was “Warrant Officer Class One (WO1)”, but this is not a commissioned officer.

I was never a commissioned officer in [SAS], and generally sought to avoid becoming one!

In [SAS], there are six rank groups: GCHQ, SAW, NCO, Trooper, Recruit, and Veteran. Only people inside formally GCHQ constitute the officers. Other wise everyone above Trp would constitute an officer. That’s because of the terminology (CO versus WO versus NCO). Troopers used to be Privates. Veteran, well the morons in GCHQ could never decide whether it was to be treated administratively like a rank or a status. Recruit isn’t really a rank but is treated like it was in that regard.

In real militaries, they generally follow either of two models: one in which warrant officers are classified independent of the Non Commissioned Officer (NCO) and Commissioned Officer (CO) ranks. This is the American system, at least it is what are army in the United States has been using for a long time. [SAS] WO1 is not comparable to the U.S. WO1 or CWO* ranks. CWOs tend to hold a commission rather than a warrant now. The other system is one in which Warrant Officers are classified as part of the NCO corps. Otherwise WOs are absent.

[SAS] generally models itself after the British army in most ranking issues, and NTFs undisclosed ranking system appears to mimic the American system for Enlisted/Commissioned from what I’ve seen of it. In regards to WO1s in [SAS], it more a thing of it’s own creation.

The WO1 rank in [SAS] is classified as part of the “Special Assignments Wing (SAW)” created along side it, and generally replaced the (S)NCO rank of Staff Sergeant (SSgt) for someone being given a long term “Desk job”. WO1 is not an NCO rank and it is is not a CO rank in [SAS]. It created a distinction between the training and technical work for senior members, it also moved the desk jobs to a higher spot on the mighty page, but that’s only because GCHQ made me “Fix” the glitch that placed me at the very bottom of The Mighty page 8=). I found that fitting actually, to be listed last.

In terms of [SAS]:

If you have a COMMAND related responsibility within the clan as a Non Commissioned Officer, you hold a rank with “Sergeant” in the name. Other wise you are in GCHQ and hold a Commissioned Officers rank to match.

If you have a TECHNICAL related responsibility, you are in the Special Assignments Wing (SAW). When I left that meant WO1 and in effect, a trooper whose job is to make sure site backups happen rather than play RvS all day. Thus seperating the weight of an SNCOs authority from the administrative tasks of an [SAS] SSgt, which held both.

As an SAS_WO1_name, you follow orders from GCHQ. That is it. 

There is not an overlap between the two jobs, unless someone isn’t doing THEIR job. 

The relationship between WO1 and RSM in [SAS], is similar to that between SPC and CPL in the U.S. Army. Same pay grade, different level of responsibility. However an army SPC has much more “Authority” over bossing the Privates around than a WO1 has over any rank in [SAS], comparatively speaking. The RSM gets all the authority and the WO1 gets all the paper work in [SAS].

As RSM, I had to do the jobs of three ranks: I fulfilled the responsibilities of a WO1 (technical matters), an RSM (managing trainers), and several CPLs (field trainers) worth of work. Basically I was the 2nd most overworked member in the clans entire history. The last one because of a smattering of inactive or lazy gits causing a major shortage in man power until more were groomed, and the first one because of a shortage of people willing to WORK behind the scenes on the website to make sure there was a website for everyone to use for free. All that on top of “Assignments” thrown my way that had to get done in the middle of all that. I had a similar level of being overworked when I was a CPL, as did my peers; that was due to our Sgts, for the same reasons.  When the whole WO1 thing came up, WIZ kept me briefed and Rouge was sent to deliver the formal message. I was moved to the WO1 rank to focus on web maintenance (you have no idea how much I ****ing hate that websites internals!!!) that no one else would touch, and Valroe was promoted to RSM, where he did basically half of what his rank required.

As WO1 while I was above most of the clan on the roster, all the command authority was vested purely in the hands of the RSM and GCHQ. If it was a website problem, you talk to the WO1, if it was a training schedule you talked to the Sergeant Majors. If it was a clan problem, you talked to the Major.

That was the whole idea. Spidey01 gets to focus on the website instead of spinning three wheels at the same time. Valroe gets his chance to be groomed for upper management. I enjoyed having time to “Play” games again. When it didn’t work that way, someone didn’t do their clan job. You know how I am about abusively multitasking when things need doing.

In point of fact, it was precisely that arrangement or divestment of WO1/RSM that eventually lead to my resignation becoming necessary. If you want to see something that makes what the [SAS] Major did to NTFs officers on their way out of [SAS] look like a very tame side show: become a WO1 and be ready to issue an order to the ranks below you, because your officers won’t get off their fat asses and do what’s required of their ranks according to the clans formal rules ;).

End Of File.

When asked to teach someone something in RvS, I make it a personal policy not to use the [SAS] server or the NTF servers for doing it; I would consider it rude. Ofc, being able to host my own private server helps, lol. I can also always tell people no, hehe, a big change over being assigned to training details.

Now that I’ve spent plenty of years and several thousand hours at the tactics and techniques, I obviously know how to play the game. The part I like however, is since I am free of [SAS]—I don’t have to water down my techniques to that level of game play. I can just play like I want, and treat the clearing like I would if it was a real house. Damn, how many hours did I spend working on that stuff out of game… lol.

Generally, [SAS] is riding on rather thin ice with me: my patience although sometimes compared to a saints, is shall we say, far from unlimited. Perhaps I don’t show it, but I generally agree with what friends in my inner-circle have said about my exit from [SAS]. There’s just somethings I need to put in order over the course of time (i.e. the rear burner), like my memoirs ;). I’m moving forward with my life one way or the other, and I have much more meaningful things to deal with then suffering collections of fools, or cursing at bugs.

One thing I have enjoyed about becoming a ronin, is the chance to confound elements of [SAS] and NTF. It’s the price for anyone, who cannot or will not accept my word for truth. As I’ve often said, I have little care what others think, but when I know what they must be thinking, sometimes it does give me a massive cackle! For what side of that coin, that I’ve had to deal with from the [SAS] side (everyone can guess from who), I take it less offensively than I normally would, as my position in [SAS] afforded me sufficient view to comprehend it better than most can; much as I cut certain people outside of that clan a similar amount of ‘slack’, before I’ll pull the trigger in hostility. Also, I am naturally more passive than most; there are but few things that leave ‘lasting marks’, so to speak.

While I would consider a return to [SAS] someday, the things that would have to happen to allow that to be possible, should we say, that I wouldn’t hold my breath over that, if you paid me. I’m not happy about my mighty entry being retained, as is simply put: I am out, and Random and Wiz have ensured it that way. While all things considered with that, I can’t help but wonder if my former CO, has even noticed that he no longer has me to annoy. If anyone decides to Veterize me without my permission, by holding to a differing interpretation of the regulatory code than I and [SAS] in general do, then I’ll simply create my own clan “On paper” [sic], thus null-an-voiding any possibility of that. You can’t be made a Vet in [SAS], if you’re in another clan. Either I am in or I am out, and ‘in’ has not been left as a choice in my opinion. Which is the one that matters most.

Heh, if I had to go that far clanwise, I could publish my masters guide on tactics under my own brand, instead of just my own name lol. Honestly, I’m just happy that I can revise it and publish it in the future, now that I no longer have to give a damn about it’s impact on [SAS] members, nor making GCHQ look like asswholes in the process. As I’ve often said, it’s not a time consuming thing to write! My private files already blew the ‘current’ [SAS] SOPs out of the water before updated material was drafted, and I’m not even going to remark about he the ‘first committee’ from ages back.

I have generally tried to grant a fairly peaceful envelope to both clans: the [SAS] and the NATO Task Force. I feel the latter has accepted that understanding, sufficiently enough; where as I can not say the same about my former superiors. They will however, respect my peaceful-coexistencal desires, or face the blockers wall.