Feburary 2014 Newsletter

[Kessel Run[TK]]

 

From the Detachment Leader
Around the Detachment

 
Aloha kakou,
 
Consider this my lame duck Detachment Leader swan song before I take flight. While it is likely I will remain on staff after the new DL takes over, this newsletter will serve as my Nixonian farewell speech. I am certainly not a crook nor am I resigning, but it is with equal sadness and regret that I will not be DL in 2014. 
 
My unending gratitude goes out to my staff. Each and every one of them made me and the detachment proud. The biggest of my thanks goes to Ingrid, my XO, biggest supporter, source of cheerleading inspiration during low times, and at once an ever present devil and angel on my shoulder. Thank you. 
 
Being elected to the DL position has been a learning experience. The biggest eye opener was peeking behind the Legion curtain to my first taste of Imperial politics. I am floored by the dedication and hard work that goes into running the 501st. The passion that drives us to do what we do is white hot in the center of our organization. Toddo (and his 5 Expert Infantry awards) recently asked me what my biggest surprise was as FISD DL. The second biggest eye opener was that once you are DL no one tells you anything anymore. When I was on staff beforehand I knew every tidbit of gossip, rumor, and conjecture. When morale was low I could not escape knowing. Something happens when you are elected DL where you become a bit disconnected. Even when I was most active on the forums and read every post, I still floated somewhere above the hearsay noise floor. 
 
Looking back over my term I am most proud of the work we did in updating the TK costume requirements library. Others may not agree but I think that our CRLs remain balanced. We took all levels up a notch. The base level saw some basic modernization to keep up with the increased availability of great looking stormtrooper costumes. We took a select few requirements from level 3, or Centurion, and brought them down to level 2, or Expert Infantry, without making EIB any harder or expensive to achieve. Up in the Centurion requirements we raised the bar for the highest honor in stormtrooper costuming. My thanks here go to the LMO team for being accommodating and gracious and to Mathias Rodstedt (our fair Locitus) for his tenacity in his belief that we needed to elevate our standards. 
 
As my last and final act as the Detachment Leader of the largest detachment in the Legion was to fire off a letter to the current LMO team asking them to stop basic level approval of the FX helmet. A few FISD staffers and I crafted the letter. We then sent it out to a handful of notable stormtroopers and sandtroopers asking them if we could sign their names on the letter. In all 18 TKs and TDs signed it. 
 

 
As a result of the letter some interesting discussions have bubbled up. The first is mention of the animated Star Wars Rebels TK. The helmet shown in the previews and advertisements for the new cartoon show a bobbled headed helmet that have a classic FX look. What I failed to mention in my letter is that we are not asking to stop the basic approval of the FX for every costume every made. The intent is to stop approving this helmet for the existing nine TK types (not including the Concept Trooper) because it looks nothing like the helmets used on movie and video game screens. If there comes a time when we have enough reference material I see no reason not to create an approved Rebels TK costume. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Kevin Weir has not started work on it. There is no mechanism within the Legion charter and operating protocols for members to keep their costumes up to date based on existing standards. Nor is there a way for GMLs to officially recheck someone's costume. That means that the only recourse we have is to stop the new approvals using this helmet. No one can ask members with existing FX helmets to upgrade their buckets much less paint their big black ab buttons blue and gray. Grandfathering is our only recourse. 
 
The other rumbling I heard is a few members complaining about "a small group of people on the internet voting that the FX isn't accurate enough." To them I say: shame on you for not participating in the detachment. This type of discussion is exactly why we have detachment forums. All changes are voted on here on FISD before anyone edits the CRLs. If the number of people who voted to grandfather the FX helmet seems small, that means the members who complain about how few people have a say are the exact reason the number is small. 
 
If you feel strongly either way about grandfathering the FX helmet please contact the Legion command staff, including the LMO team, and express your concerns. Use the "write your congress-person" model and let your voice be heard. 
 
My last request as your Detachment Leader is to leave the FX helmet discussion off this thread. If you want to argue and flame about it please search for a previous thread on the subject or start a new one. 
 
If you have not voted in the Legion elections, you only have a few hours to do so. Please stop hitting reload on the new posts page on FISD and go vote. Good luck to all the DL candidates. 
 
It has been on honor serving as FISD's DL.
 
Mahalo nui loa. 
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty and Aloha....

Eric Brager
TK-9674 "Darth Aloha"
Detachment Leader
 


 
        
Current Tallies:

• Centurion Awards: 106
• Expert Infantry Awards: 350
• Fire Teams: 15
• Attachés: 2 new
• Twitter Followers: 1171
• Facebook Followers: 2171      <-- okay that is just weird... 1171 and 2171?   

New Attachés 
BJ, Florida Garrison TK 5955 "bjsavage7" 
Steve, North Darkness Garrison TK 10651 "southsidetrooper"
 
Keep up the good work, Troopers! 
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Ingrid Moon
TK-6818 "LadyInWhite"
Executive Officer
 
 
Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor
Now with "tip of the week" and other ongoing discussions. If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories!

Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st
To find out what the Emperor's dancers are up to at any given moment, follow FISD on Twitter!
 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/501stfisd
 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,

Sam Kisselburg
TK-85254 "Kessel Run"
Public Relations Officer

On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff.

End Transmission.

 

[Tolo[TK]]

Thank you Eric for your year as DL. You did a fine job running everything with your staff.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[zebrabuse]

We love you Eric!!!!!

[R5SB[TK]]

Thank you Eric and Aloha!

[R5SB[TK]]

Thank you to Ingrid and Sam too

[Vader Rocks]

Great read once again. Thank you Eric for all you've done in your term as DL.

[Toddo[TK]]

Nice newsletter guys.  Short and sweet.  Big ups to Eric who has done a nice job this past year.  Thank-you.

[Gunner1138]

Great newsletter guys! Congrats on your work Eric, you deserve every last bit of praise

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

It has been an honor to serve with Eric and the entire staff. It was a learning experience for me, too. In my garrison there are several DLs and XOs and I now have a better perspective for what they complain and gloat about in their fight for better standards and less drama and politics. And as Eric said, there is some distance between running things and just being a part of something. It's fascinating, fun, and frightening at the same time.

 

This was and remains my first community and the TK my first love. While I am more active with my fire team and the many new and veteran troopers locally, I am still connected here, even if just to say Welcome and provide some cheer. So feel free to PM me any time, as always, with questions and concerns and thoughts and triumphs of trooping.

 

Congratulations to Mathias now that we have election results! I believe this is the first time a European will have the opportunity to see Eric's perspective and manage the challenges. I wish him all the best!!! And I'm here to support him in any way as well.

 

CHEERS!!
Ingrid

[kylebeagle[TK]]

Many thanks Eric!! Well run ship...

 

Great newsletter as well!!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I have not yet passed a year as a member of the FISD, but I have thoroughly been impressed with the visible side of how it runs. I feel that I've seen some very positive changes in my time here, which now is perhaps, half of a year - maybe more/maybe less.

 

As someone that works with large-scale organizations from a management/leadership perspective, I can only imagine the goings-on behind the scenes to keep the machine(s) that are the 501st and the FISD running smoothly for the members.

 

All of you who have served since my arrival have made it an enjoyable, educational, focused, and welcoming environment and that is exactly what an organization like the FISD has to have, in order to be successful and grow.

 

Applause and thanks to all of you. I'm fairly certain that I've had at least one discussion with each of you at some point in time, and I'm proud to say that those interactions have further espoused my commitment to Troopers Helping Troopers at every opportunity that I see available to me.

 

Thank you, for all you've done since my arrival!

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

Thanks Eric for all your help! *two-thumbs up*

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

That's a nice letter you wrote there.

Welcome back to the normal world Eric! First rumor i can now share with you that you might not have been inform of: i heard they're shooting a new SW film! 

[Lucky Jack[TK]]

Nicely done - all the work both you and the rest of the Command Staff has done is very much appreciated.

 

Bravo Zulu - thanks for a job well done !!!

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

THANKS ERIC for a job well done!  my hat goes off to you!

 

and for mathias!

[FunkyTrigger[TK]]

Thank you and well done Eric.

[Oztrooper[TK]]

Thanks to All !!!!  Well deserved accolades !!!

[Pickles[TK]]

Nothing but love and respect for Eric and Ingrid. Thank you so much for your time and efforts. They are greatly appreciated even if people don't always show or express it directly.

[Haribon72[TK]]

Thank you Eric for making me feel welcomed as a newbie here!    You're one of the friendliest troopers I met here on FISD.   I salute you!     Keep in touch man!

Edited February 20, 2014 by Haribon72

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

It's you guys that do all the work making this place special!! Just by being yourselves, troopers helping troopers even if it's just with a smile!!!