As Jar-Jar Binks once said, "How Rude!"

[bigironvault]

In the Badlands garrison (western canada), you can simply register on the forum and as long as we know you're not a spambot and that you are indeed a real person, you can see our public forums. The only sections you can't see are the 501st members sections which have event planning, merch etc. This is not unlike Fisd where there are sections you can't see unless you are logged in or are a 501st member etc.

 

I know that on Badlands, we are very open and welcoming to new members and we get the "hi I'm new and I want to be a TK and I don't know where to start". Everyone knows to point people to Fisd or they refer new members to the garrison armorer - which me.

 

Hi Terry, I think that's what we were all expecting. Oh well. Like I or we said, not here to bash anyone or make any comment.

 

On the plus side! Our social group The Tantive IV Cannon Fodder Squad is in full swing with 9 members already and counting - our only goal to help everyone get a TK number and to give newbies a place to chat/hang out. We have our first get together tentative for July already so very excited. I think of ourselves as filling in for a service that is needed in our area.

[bigironvault]

Sorry, but this "Roy" bloke sounds like a total knob.

 

This is the sort of behaviour that not only encourages others to see the 501st as Eliteist but also ensures the standards in some parts of the world never improve.

How the hell are you supposed to gain the advice required ( no offence to det leaders ) to make a costume or, more to the point get to know fellow members in the area and decide if you even want to be a part of it!!

 

With an attitude like his how many potential members have said: "Fudge him!! Fudge the 501st!!" ?

 

Is the LCO aware of this situation?

If not perhaps he should be made aware of it:

 

• rc6247@gmail.com
  
• kkuipers@krkconsult.net
  

Both email addys are out in public domain.

 

One of our members pretty much had said that but luckily he found the FISD and is a big part of our group. So he's moving on with his build. I too felt a little set back as well, but I figured it was an initiation thing where only the most serious get through to the end. (ie. Finding stuff out by yourself, showing some commitment.)

 

We're not here to cause political drama, not worth it and we rather be a piece of the solution not the problem. That's what we're trying to do.

[Pickles[TK]]

Still no reply from Roy. =/

 

I am planning on heading to the FUNexpo in Welland this Saturday to meet some troopers! Spend a day hanging out with the Sandys

[Rich330[TK]]

You can't join another garrison other than the one designated to your geographical area,

 

I know of a specific case that contradicts what you say. Not saying you've got it wrong - it may well be the rule - but I know it has been made possible for one particular member.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

It's possible, however...

 

What he is asking for is usually only done in situations like say someone in northern Idaho who regularly troops with Havoc squad (part of Garrison Titan) rather than driving down to Boise and trooping with their geographical garrison.

 

My understanding is that one can only do this if they regularly troop with said garrison due to the distances involved.

 

Else I could have my membership moved to the UKG if I wanted to, or the China Outpost, which makes no sense at all.

[Rich330[TK]]

I think most Garrisons operate like Terry's Garrison, i.e. there is a public area and a private area on the Garrison boards. The Canadian Garrison should be encouraged to open a public section too.

This approach certainly helped me to get started as I did a lot of research on not only my local Garrison board but also on the UKG boards.

[Rich330[TK]]

In the specific case I am referring to, a member was transferred from Garrison A to Garrison B largely because of interpersonal problems within Garrison A (assumed to be a hinderance to future trooping opportunities) and also because said member was already trooping as a guest with Garrison B.

It didn't make sense geographically. It may however have been pushed through partly based on an understanding that the transferred member would eventually relocate to the geographical area of Garrison B.

I guess the Legion has general guidelines but addresses each case individually and is willing to show flexibility to cater for its members. At least I'd like to think so.

 

It's possible, however...

 

What he is asking for is usually only done in situations like say someone in northern Idaho who regularly troops with Havoc squad (part of Garrison Titan) rather than driving down to Boise and trooping with their geographical garrison.

 

My understanding is that one can only do this if they regularly troop with said garrison due to the distances involved.

 

Else I could have my membership moved to the UKG if I wanted to, or the China Outpost, which makes no sense at all.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Yeah, that's very much an exception as normally you can't transfer just because you "don't get along". If garrison's aren't geographically based, then what's the point of having them? The whole reason is to provide a local command structure esp. for event requests.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

We had a similar situation between my garrison and a neighboring not-to-be-named garrison. The member was I believe originally part of my garrison (all this happened before my time), but relocated to another state and didn't get along with the 'new' local garrison or agree with their way of doing things. So the two CO's at the time made a "gentlemen's agreement' to keep the member in question in my garrison, although his physical address would put him in the other garrison. All of this is documented in the Leadership-Only section of my garrison's forum.

 

I think the member maintains a post office box in Virginia, or a cover address (i.e. uses the address of a friend who lives in VA), or something.

[carbonitekid]

It's possible, however...

 

What he is asking for is usually only done in situations like say someone in northern Idaho who regularly troops with Havoc squad (part of Garrison Titan) rather than driving down to Boise and trooping with their geographical garrison.

 

My understanding is that one can only do this if they regularly troop with said garrison due to the distances involved.

 

Else I could have my membership moved to the UKG if I wanted to, or the China Outpost, which makes no sense at all.

 

Funny you should mention the UKG.....

 

We have an ex member living in the UK but a member of the German Garrison if memory serves.

 

Back to "Roy"....

Sent him an email with links to this thread.

[Pickles[TK]]

Back to "Roy"....

Sent him an email with links to this thread.

 

Heh, apparently that got his attention

 

Good news, he replied to my email. He maintains that the Canadian Garrison forum is closed to non-members, which is a bummer, but he mentioned armor parties and to keep in contact if I had any questions.

 

In the mean time, I've made contact with the Force United Niagara and will be meeting them at their troop this Saturday at FUNexpo

[Sgt_Mac_1]

Like the other members on here, I also tried to get in and was made aware of their rule, I replied back to Roy telling him about getting armour and was looking for a place for information. I was a little taken back by the original reply and I wasn't feeling the "love". I got a nice reply back from him late last night with a mention of how they have armour parties and he also directed me here. I'm in contact with Andrea11 and bigironvault (plus a few more) through the social group The Tantive IV Cannon Fodder Squad and it's nice to know there are other in the same situation. I'd have to say that overall this was a positive experience. I've already met new people and I'm looking forward to sitting with them in July to see how we are all making out. Just wish I could meet up with some of them this weekend at FunExpo

I'm loving this (so far)

 

Cheers

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Well, sounds like the Canadian Garrison and their CO is in the minority. I can't think of any other garrison that handles new people this way. Then again, it's for these kinds of reasons that FISD was created. Can't get local help - then sign on here matey and we'll get you 100% squared away

[bigironvault]

Yup any situation can be made better if we focus on how we can work together! I'm very excited to meet my fellow cannon fodderites this July when hopefully all of us will have our armour ready to go. This turned out better than expected for all involved (so far) - mostly in large thanks to FISD for givng newbies an avenue in this complex landscape.

[TK 3809[TK]]

Hi Everyone,

 

I just want to say first that I understand that getting started in the 501st is a sometimes difficult process. It's hard to know what to do and where to go for advice. Building a movie quality costume is a big undertaking. I would apologize to anyone who felt they were being felt unwanted, not the case I can assure you.

 

That said calling Roy a "knob" and essentially slagging him off in a public forum is not a very positive way to express ones frustration. The FISD exists for the very purpose of giving people information about the 501st and the ins and outs of the Stormtrooper costume. The Canadian Garrison Officers email addresses are public on the 501st.com site and we are available to answer questions and steer you in the right direction. One would be letting you know about www.whiteamor.net. Please just remember that people have lives outside the 501st and it is unrealistic to expect an instant response.

 

If some of you felt like you were being ignored I'm 100% positive that this was not Roy's intention. Roy, as with everyone in the 501st has a life outside the group and a lot of the time real life takes priority. I can say as a personal friend of Roy's that the last little while has been a difficult one for him and he may not have been able to devote as much time to 501st business as he would like. Roy is actually a great guy and the Canadian Garrison is fiercly protective of him because of everything he has done as their long standing Commanding Officer. I

 

Unfortunately at this point the Canadian Garrison forum is only available to 501st members. This has just been the way it has always run. As many here can appreciate the Canadian Garrison forum gets its fair share of spambots as well as people who just want to cause problems. The 501st has been very successful, unfortunately with success comes resentment from some. I know the checks and balances in getting on the forums come from those concerns. However, I am fairly certain that none of the members would have a problem with exploring the option of opening a non members section. I will look in to that possibility

 

It's worth remembering that the 501st is made up of people who want to come together and celebrate Star Wars, but more than that it's a group of individuals who volunteer their time in the hope of raising a lot of money for many worthy charities, from Make-A-Wish to Cancer research to children's hospitals. Last year the Canadian Garrison alone raised over $25,000 for Make-A-Wish Canada in direct funding. The 501st as a group raised over 11.8 Million dollars for charities in direct and indirect funding this past year. This is what we are all about. If this is kind of giving speaks to you and feel that you want to be part of team that does this then you would no doubt be an excellent member of the 501st.

 

Anyone who has any direct concerns please feel free to PM me and we can discuss offline.

 

Thanks

 

Chris Brown

Canadian Garrison XO

501st Legion

Edited May 22, 2012 by TK 3809

[bigironvault]

Hi Chris, no hard feelings brother. I want to share that Chris has now joined the Tantive IV Cannon Fodder Squad (T4CFS) and is actively working with us to see how we can make the process better for all future recruits into the Canadian Garrison.

 

I'm very happy that a positive outcome will happen because of this. Maybe, just maybe the T4CFS can be the facility to help the CG with new recruits?

 

T4CFS - Making the world a better place, one recruit at a time. Haha.

Edited May 22, 2012 by bigironvault

[Shooter]

Hey folks,

A little late to the party here, but I just wanted to say that this thread is really quite surprising.

 

Roy is a founding member of the CG and has been re-elected as CO for the past 10 or 11 years, maybe longer. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met and the CG is truly a family because of him and his hardwork of over a decade.

 

When I started my TK journey I stumbled across the FISD first as well. Soon after I found Roy's contact info on the CG site and was quite surprised at how outgoing he was and he offered great information, tips and advice. He shared his recommendations on armour and ultimately gave me some great information to get started. Roy quickly invited me to the annual Xmas party and an upcoming armour party. I attended the Xmas party and was very pleased with the warm welcome and immediate acceptance I received.

 

I'm wondering why people tried to sign-up for the boards without contacting anyone first? I'm not sure what is said in that message, but to me the logical step would be to make an introduction with someone and letting them know your intentions?

 

Second, I'm pretty disappointed how fellow 501st members were so quick to jump on and condemn a brother without all of the information. Someone with a great reputation and tenure such as Roy should be given the benefit of the doubt.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Totally understood Matt and this is worth highlighting. I'm sure Rob is a decent fellow and as you note has years of excellent service to the Empire under his belt. I don't think anyone really meant to say he was a knob in truth.

 

Still, it's worth the thought though on how the CG can be perceived by people outside the garrison in how it treats new members, especially considering the posture is different from most of the Legion operates.

 

Is this a good thing, bad thing? I can't answer that as it's not my garrison, so I withold judgement as every garrison is free to do as it wills. That said on the flip side, it would be great if more members of the CG would present their opinions on why they think their current process is beneficial to new and existing members, as if it's really a good idea then maybe others can benefit.

[Shooter]

Hey Paul,

Correct you are sir!

 

I'm sure I can speak for the CG Leadership in that any information on how we can improve or serve potential recruits is appreciated.

 

The moral of the story: Information on how to continuously improve = Great! - Public flaming of a longstanding, well reputed CO = Very bad.

 

It is honestly that because we have never had this come up, that it is so surprising.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

The moral of the story: Information on how to continuously improve = Great! - Public flaming of a longstanding, well reputed CO = Very bad.

 

100%, absolutely agree We gain nothing in tearing each other down, and everything by working together.

[Pickles[TK]]

As far as I know, no one from our group of newbies was calling anyone out or putting people down or calling for a new leader and I hope our voicing our concerns was not perceived in that way. Speaking only for myself, I was a little disheartened by the fact that the CG is seemingly so unavailable to new people.

 

I completely understand that people have lives and that 501^st is 100% volunteer. It was an overall lack of interaction that gave me the unwelcome feeling. And as far as signing up on the forums before emailing Roy or other GC members directly; it is said many times over here at FISD to “sign up with your local garrison to meet people in your areaâ€. How were we to know that CG was an exception? It’s an honest misunderstanding from both ends.

 

A concern that I did have, and emailed back to Roy about, was that he mentioned armor parties. How are we to find out about these armor parties if not from the CG forums? A ‘guest’ or ‘newbie’ level of forum access would greatly benefit the CG when it comes to that kind of communication. Or, heck, even a Facebook group or some such, hehe.

 

Either way, I am glad that these things were brought to light in a *mostly* positive way so that we can work together to solve the issues!

 

I am a proud Canadian and look forward to being a proud member of 501^st and the CG!

[Sonnenschein]

We gain nothing in tearing each other down, and everything by working together.

 

I've never read a wiser sentence on a forum. I'd wish this was true for many more forums

[jnnfr72[TK]]

Everybody did an awesome job of working this out. I think the Canadian garrison is nicer than my garrison, now! They probably always were?!!!

 

p.s. Keith, I still have an extra gun for you for GenCon. We're excited to meet you and your gang this summer. It's gonna be FUN!

[bluehickey]

To be fair, only one person used the name "knob" and that is a member from the UK. (Thanks for name-calling and spoiling the thread).

[bigironvault]

Hi everyone - just so that this can be clear to everyone. We are now talking to Chris Brown who is a XO with the Canadian Garrison this Sunday. In fact, some of our Tantive IV Boarding Party as we are now called (squad is apparently an important term in the 501st) are also attending to see how we can help make things better for everyone. One of the idea is to have the T4BP be a facility for TK recruits into the Canadian Garrison.

 

Thus in actuality, we are on the path to make things better not just for us but for ALL new recruits in the future who are interested in joining the Canadian Garrison. Again we are engaged with some of the leadership at the CG now and things are on a very positive track, so we don't want this to be muddled with assumptions etc. at this time - the issue is well on it's way to being much better than before.

 

Shooter - to be clear we (the T4BP group) at no time made any negative comments about any personnel at the CG, this has already been cleared up with Chris Brown and if you look through all our posts you will see our stance against negative comments. We've reiterated among ourselves and in public the need to be "the solution" not the problem and refuse to engage in any negative commentary. Not only are we proud members of FISD, but also proud Canadians first and foremost. We gain nothing by tarnishing the name of our country either.

 

The T4BP group is now 12 members strong including experienced TK's from the Force United Niagara group who are also part of the Canadian Garrison. Things are going VERY well, and our meeting with the Canadian Garrison XO is going to make things even better by (hopefully) coming up with a way to integrate T4BP into the operations of the Canadian Garrison by alleviating some of the operational pressures that might be place on the already busy Canadian Garrison when it comes to managing recruits, opening recruit forums etc.

 

In my mind, this discussion has been completely worthwhile. We are certainly going to be better in the future for it.

Edited May 23, 2012 by bigironvault