Excalibur Squadron OOC Thread

[The Tiger Kingdom]

Damn, you guys post up fast; I keep having to lengthen my upcoming post to keep up with the events going on. 

I've had that happen before, definitely. It's a pain, but better too many posts than too few. In general.

Are we using new planes and equipment now we are working for the Bulldog himself?

Well, fact of the matter is, technology hasn't moved forward much in the intervening time.
So yeah, we'll be first in line for shiny new planes and gizmos...when they actually get invented.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

Ooooooooooookay, plot out line for the next op is finished. Think you guys will like it!

[The balkens]

Uh I think we forgot Monroe. Isn't he trapped?

[Lancearc]

Uh I think we forgot Monroe. Isn't he trapped?

No.

[The balkens]

Oh right....sorry.

[Nijholtpade]

He guys i'm of for the weekend

[Kouralia]

YOU WILL CALL HIM STAFF SERGEANT!

*cough*



Yeah, but whatever your dude thinks, it's actually a tad offensive. I mean, it'd be like referring to an Admiral as 'Rear-Admiral' or to a General as 'Brigadier General': you're reducing his rank and showing him some disrespect every time dB CBAs to say it right.

[Len Hyet]

YOU WILL CALL HIM STAFF SERGEANT!

*cough*



Yeah, but whatever your dude thinks, it's actually a tad offensive. I mean, it'd be like referring to an Admiral as 'Rear-Admiral' or to a General as 'Brigadier General': you're reducing his rank and showing him some disrespect every time dB CBAs to say it right.

The short version is "Staffs" For a Staff Sergeant, "Gunny" For a Gunnery Sergeant, "WO" for a Warrant Officer, etc.

It if's longer than one word, there's a short version of it.

[Kouralia]

YOU WILL CALL HIM STAFF SERGEANT!

*cough*



Yeah, but whatever your dude thinks, it's actually a tad offensive. I mean, it'd be like referring to an Admiral as 'Rear-Admiral' or to a General as 'Brigadier General': you're reducing his rank and showing him some disrespect every time dB CBAs to say it right.

The short version is "Staffs" For a Staff Sergeant, "Gunny" For a Gunnery Sergeant, "WO" for a Warrant Officer, etc.

It if's longer than one word, there's a short version of it.

Yes: Staff, or 'Staff Sergeant. For Warrant Officer, it's actually 'Sir': remember, it's a British-set RP, so none of ure dirteh Amurrrikaanizmz directed at HM troopz!

[Neu Engollon]

The short version is "Staffs" For a Staff Sergeant, "Gunny" For a Gunnery Sergeant, "WO" for a Warrant Officer, etc.

It if's longer than one word, there's a short version of it.

Yes: Staff, or 'Staff Sergeant. For Warrant Officer, it's actually 'Sir': remember, it's a British-set RP, so none of ure dirteh Amurrrikaanizmz directed at HM troopz!

Ugh. OK. Damn pongos! (as the saffies would say.) but yeah considering it is Brit/Commonwealth military, I didn't know that little detail and must conform and edit...or not.
Nils isn't in to giving Smythe much respect, but he probably wouldn't mess up on protocol that much, so I shall change.

And yes, with us yanks, on an informal basis, jr. to mid-level NCOs are all called 'Sergeants'. Informally. Until you're a CSM or SM, then you're usually 'Top'.
Sometimes Master Sergeants get a little more respect, even in the informal setting, and in the Marines, Gunnies are still called Gunnies no matter what. Probably because its fun to say and they will rip your ass off if you don't.

Oh, and you never call a Drill Sergeant, just a sergeant, or Sir, for that matter. But they do call the higher POs 'Sir' in the Navy, for some reason. Damn squids.

[The Two Jerseys]

Am I the only one tearing their hair out at the fact we're talking about driving jeeps in spite of the fact that they didn't enter production until mid-1941? At this time the LRDG would almost exclusively be equipped with 1.5-ton Chevy trucks (apparently they had a couple smaller trucks for scouting, probably 3/4 tons, but details are scarce).

The basis for my nitpicking.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

Am I the only one tearing their hair out at the fact we're talking about driving jeeps in spite of the fact that they didn't enter production until mid-1941? At this time the LRDG would almost exclusively be equipped with 1.5-ton Chevy trucks (apparently they had a couple smaller trucks for scouting, probably 3/4 tons, but details are scarce).

The basis for my nitpicking.

It's just a colloquialism for whatever vehicles were at hand. I can edit it, if you like.

[Morrdh]

Am I the only one tearing their hair out at the fact we're talking about driving jeeps in spite of the fact that they didn't enter production until mid-1941? At this time the LRDG would almost exclusively be equipped with 1.5-ton Chevy trucks (apparently they had a couple smaller trucks for scouting, probably 3/4 tons, but details are scarce).

The basis for my nitpicking.

No, you're not the only one.

LRDG didn't even get jeeps until the war was over in North Africa, the confusion comes from the SAS who did operate jeeps in the Western Desert and worked very closely with the LRDG.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

Am I the only one tearing their hair out at the fact we're talking about driving jeeps in spite of the fact that they didn't enter production until mid-1941? At this time the LRDG would almost exclusively be equipped with 1.5-ton Chevy trucks (apparently they had a couple smaller trucks for scouting, probably 3/4 tons, but details are scarce).

The basis for my nitpicking.

No, you're not the only one.

LRDG didn't even get jeeps until the war was over in North Africa, the confusion comes from the SAS who did operate jeeps in the Western Desert and worked very closely with the LRDG.

Nah, the confusion is that I procrastinate and write these posts at 2:30 AM local time, so I'm tired as fuck and don't pay as much attention as I should.
Like I said, I'll edit it, and endeavor to change my time habits so I'm a bit more alert and fact-checky.

[French Indochine]

What did you guys think about my long-ass post?

Out of curiosity, what are the whereabouts of Cutler during and after the battle for El-Arouk? He was last seen with his aides ordering the preparation of a Wellington transport for him in the first two pages of this RP.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

What did you guys think about my long-ass post?

Out of curiosity, what are the whereabouts of Cutler during and after the battle for El-Arouk? He was last seen with his aides ordering the preparation of a Wellington transport for him in the first two pages of this RP.

I'll get on reading the posts in a minute.
And don't think I've forgotten about Cutler, that's all I can say. We'll actually hear from him in my next post.

[The balkens]

Let me guess.....cutler will try to take whatever is at the crash site for himself.
Is that accurate?

[French Indochine]

Let me guess.....cutler will try to take whatever is at the crash site for himself.
Is that accurate?

Presumably, yes - but I also have a feeling that Tiger can be up to a plot twist if he'd like. But let's guess of what is the unseen force that results in the death of all those who seek the treasure of the crash? My guess is perhaps a group of General Lettow-Vorbeck's holdouts with orders to exterminate whoever dared to discover the crash's secrets. Else, it could a be the private army of some Bedouin warlord who's making money off the zeppelin. Even more so, is there even gold in that crash, or something much more sinister?

I did some snooping online, and found this on Wikipedia:

Gold mining in Tanzania in modern times dates back to the German colonial period, beginning with gold discoveries near Lake Victoria in 1894. The first gold mine in the colony was the Sekenke Gold Mine, which began operation in 1909 after gold was found there in 1907.[7]

This statement thus makes the airship mission somewhat irrevelant - if German East Africa already had a gold mining industry, why should Berlin be needed to dig into its own reserves to fund Lettow-Vorbeck's war? Wouldn't that sort of be a waste of resources to use two long-range airships to transport a bundle of gold to a region with its own mines.

It's like the way some people say a mummy was being transported on the Titanic.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

Let me guess.....cutler will try to take whatever is at the crash site for himself.
Is that accurate?

Presumably, yes - but I also have a feeling that Tiger can be up to a plot twist if he'd like. But let's guess of what is the unseen force that results in the death of all those who seek the treasure of the crash? My guess is perhaps a group of General Lettow-Vorbeck's holdouts with orders to exterminate whoever dared to discover the crash's secrets. Else, it could a be the private army of some Bedouin warlord who's making money off the zeppelin. Even more so, is there even gold in that crash, or something much more sinister?

Really. It's just gold on there. Nothing more. Really. Nothing else. Nope.
It's just gonna be a pickup and a jaunt back to England, free and clear.
Nothing dramatic or interesting at all, I assure you.

I did some snooping online, and found this on Wikipedia:

Gold mining in Tanzania in modern times dates back to the German colonial period, beginning with gold discoveries near Lake Victoria in 1894. The first gold mine in the colony was the Sekenke Gold Mine, which began operation in 1909 after gold was found there in 1907.[7]

This statement thus makes the airship mission somewhat irrevelant - if German East Africa already had a gold mining industry, why should Berlin be needed to dig into its own reserves to fund Lettow-Vorbeck's war? Wouldn't that sort of be a waste of resources to use two long-range airships to transport a bundle of gold to a region with its own mines.

Perhaps the miners were having a bad year?
Besides, Vorbeck's army was always on the run - maybe there were difficulties coordinating a transfer from such a remote place as Tanzania to wherever the Army was at the time? Vorbeck would need the cash on hand, I doubt anyone would have conscripted themselves to his banner on credit. Maybe a zep was just easier.

It's like the way some people say a mummy was being transported on the Titanic.

DAMMIT MAN YOU JUST GAVE AWAY THE ENTIRE 1942 MUMMY'S CURSE PLOT ARC!

And in other news:
I've decided to take a leaf out of Elfen High's book here, because as I was looking at their OP page, I noticed they kept a record of "one-shot" stories that people wrote for their characters. These are short stories that don't involve any other characters RPing - it's pure backstory development and character-building for YOUR characters. I think they'd be an excellent addition to Excalibur Squadron, as I've noticed some of you basically already doing these little stories and vignettes in the ICs(Two Jerseys especially).

So here's the upshot: If you want to write a one-shot story developing your character, submit it (spoilered and titled) in this here OOC thread. I'll create a section on the OP for them to be hotlinked, so people can see them and get to them easily, just like with our ops list. If you got any questions about how it would look, as me or check EH's setup - I basically intend to copy its format, as it works perfectly for the purpose.

This would be a great time for me to submit an example...but I don't have one ready as of yet. But consider it open season if you want to do something along those lines.

[The Two Jerseys]

And in other news:
I've decided to take a leaf out of Elfen High's book here, because as I was looking at their OP page, I noticed they kept a record of "one-shot" stories that people wrote for their characters. These are short stories that don't involve any other characters RPing - it's pure backstory development and character-building for YOUR characters. I think they'd be an excellent addition to Excalibur Squadron, as I've noticed some of you basically already doing these little stories and vignettes in the ICs(Two Jerseys especially).

So here's the upshot: If you want to write a one-shot story developing your character, submit it (spoilered and titled) in this here OOC thread. I'll create a section on the OP for them to be hotlinked, so people can see them and get to them easily, just like with our ops list. If you got any questions about how it would look, as me or check EH's setup - I basically intend to copy its format, as it works perfectly for the purpose.

This would be a great time for me to submit an example...but I don't have one ready as of yet. But consider it open season if you want to do something along those lines.

So what you're saying is instead of putting my little stories in the Tempsford thread, I should just put them in this thread and you'll create an index of them in the OP?

Here's another idea on a similar basis: could we do something like that with the squadron roster, have our name linked to a post containing a dossier and service record? That way we can have a convenient record of vital statistics and kill claims instead of sifting through threads to find them.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

And in other news:
I've decided to take a leaf out of Elfen High's book here, because as I was looking at their OP page, I noticed they kept a record of "one-shot" stories that people wrote for their characters. These are short stories that don't involve any other characters RPing - it's pure backstory development and character-building for YOUR characters. I think they'd be an excellent addition to Excalibur Squadron, as I've noticed some of you basically already doing these little stories and vignettes in the ICs(Two Jerseys especially).

So here's the upshot: If you want to write a one-shot story developing your character, submit it (spoilered and titled) in this here OOC thread. I'll create a section on the OP for them to be hotlinked, so people can see them and get to them easily, just like with our ops list. If you got any questions about how it would look, as me or check EH's setup - I basically intend to copy its format, as it works perfectly for the purpose.

This would be a great time for me to submit an example...but I don't have one ready as of yet. But consider it open season if you want to do something along those lines.

So what you're saying is instead of putting my little stories in the Tempsford thread, I should just put them in this thread and you'll create an index of them in the OP?

Exactly the idea. Stuff that isn't necessarily relevant to what's going on at the time - hell, you could do stuff prewar, or just stuff you don't feel like you could squeeze into a normal IC post and keep the flow. Stuff that adds background and development. You know what I mean.

Here's another idea on a similar basis: could we do something like that with the squadron roster, have our name linked to a post containing a dossier and service record? That way we can have a convenient record of vital statistics and kill claims instead of sifting through threads to find them.

TJ, that would be kind of the apex of the idea, but that would take a SHITLOAD of work. I mean, sifting through all the kills, going back 5 operations? Would the deactivated people need dossiers too?
What I could do is start linking the applications to the names, which admittedly I probably should have done at the beginning. I don't know about kill counts. I'll start laying the infrastructure for that in the downtime between this op and the next.

[The Two Jerseys]

Here's another idea on a similar basis: could we do something like that with the squadron roster, have our name linked to a post containing a dossier and service record? That way we can have a convenient record of vital statistics and kill claims instead of sifting through threads to find them.

TJ, that would be kind of the apex of the idea, but that would take a SHITLOAD of work. I mean, sifting through all the kills, going back 5 operations? Would the deactivated people need dossiers too?
What I could do is start linking the applications to the names, which admittedly I probably should have done at the beginning. I don't know about kill counts. I'll start laying the infrastructure for that in the downtime between this op and the next.

I was thinking of just having it for active members and making them responsible for updating their own file. Basically it would be similar to the application, a section for vital stats and a "notes" section where we could list kills, awards, promotions and such in chronological order. I'll see if I can draw up a sample this weekend.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

TJ, that would be kind of the apex of the idea, but that would take a SHITLOAD of work. I mean, sifting through all the kills, going back 5 operations? Would the deactivated people need dossiers too?
What I could do is start linking the applications to the names, which admittedly I probably should have done at the beginning. I don't know about kill counts. I'll start laying the infrastructure for that in the downtime between this op and the next.

I was thinking of just having it for active members and making them responsible for updating their own file. Basically it would be similar to the application, a section for vital stats and a "notes" section where we could list kills, awards, promotions and such in chronological order. I'll see if I can draw up a sample this weekend.

All right, I'd be glad to look it over.
And RHESUS CHRIST Indochine, that is an absolute motherfucker of a post. Wow.
This will take some time to review.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

...And Birch is the most dramatic speech-giver I've ever seen.
Also, note: slight story revision: Cutler won't be appearing as soon as I thought. Hang tight on that front.

[Kouralia]

...And Birch is the most dramatic speech-giver I've ever seen.
Also, note: slight story revision: Cutler won't be appearing as soon as I thought. Hang tight on that front.

^

Dat is a sexy post. I will Doc with someone at some point to try and produce a post equal to it in its majesty!

D:<