Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2017 11:19 am
It's very Arthurian! I just made some final touches to make it a bit more seamless, but I like it very much!
Speaking about Arthurian, will we get creative with the call signs?
Because sometimes even national leaders just want to hang out
https://forum.nationstates.net/
The Tiger Kingdom wrote:Great Confederacy Of Commonwealth States wrote:It's very Arthurian! I just made some final touches to make it a bit more seamless, but I like it very much!
Speaking about Arthurian, will we get creative with the call signs?
It does look quite good! And we can retroactively say the SBS stole from us, after all...
The only recommendation I'd make would be to maybe, if possible, put a tab across the top with "319 Squadron" or "Excalibur Squadron" on it. Gold text on a black background, maybe?
As for callsigns - we'll see.
The Two Jerseys wrote:The Tiger Kingdom wrote:It does look quite good! And we can retroactively say the SBS stole from us, after all...
The only recommendation I'd make would be to maybe, if possible, put a tab across the top with "319 Squadron" or "Excalibur Squadron" on it. Gold text on a black background, maybe?
As for callsigns - we'll see.
I think Kour's idea for a separate RAF Regiment style tab would be more aesthetically pleasing, especially if the other ranks are going to be wearing this badge below the RAF eagle shoulder badge.
The Two Jerseys wrote:The Tiger Kingdom wrote:Would that work, then? That also sounds good to me.
OK, I changed the hand to silver, because gold is a bit of an eyesore combined with the silver and blue (and Air Ministry shitting bricks over gold embroidery on service dress...), and changed the background to a circle for consistency with other RAF badges.
If you want a mockup of the tab, I can work on that possibly next weekend.
Name: Jean-Martin Isidore de Florac
Date of Birth: 10 April 1896 (age 43)
Rank: Commandant, Armée de l'Air. Seconded Deuxième Bureau de l'État-Major Général, 10 Jun. 1921 and repeatedly thereafter. Seconded 319 Special Operations Squadron 15 Aug. 1939.
Physical Description: A man of average height, trim but fit, Jean-Martin has a lean and wiry strength that suggests more hours spent in the saddle than in the weight room. His hair is reddish-brown, the color of dull bronze, and very curly; Jean-Martin wears it short, combed roughly back from a sharp widow's peak. His face is all angles, handsome in a sharp-boned and aristocratic way: firm jaw, narrow lips, an aquiline nose, a high forehead. The eyes are steel-grey, dark and hard, almost metallic.
Jean-Martin's skin is naturally fair, but the Syrian sun has given it a constant pale-gold tan. White scars mark it: an ugly cicatrice of knotted tissue across the belly, a long white line on one thigh, a circular scar just beneath his clavicle. He is missing the last digit of his left middle finger, and is conscious of this, and so he generally uses his right hand for purposes that require his hands to be seen when he is working undercover.
Jean-Martin favors civilian clothes rather than uniform, mostly finely tailored three-piece suits, though he is equally comfortable in a burnoose and slippers when on assignment. When not undercover, he wears two rings: a plain gold wedding band and a small, centuries-old bronze signet ring on his left pinky finger - the seal of the House of Florac. Jean-Martin wears his military uniform only for official business or for formal engagements (as in the attached photograph) but he is rarely unarmed: under most of his suits, he carries a Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum in a shoulder holster. When at ease, he moves like a big cat: languorous but precise, with aristocratic grace undergirded by steely watchfulness.
Place of Origin: Florac, Lozère Department, France
Flight/Flight Combat Experience:Ground Combat Experience:
- Lieutenant, N.3 Escadrille, Aéronautique Militaire, Battle of Malmaison, 1917.
- Lieutenant, N.3 Escadrille, Aéronautique Militaire, Second Battle of the Marne, 1918.
- Capitaine, N.9 Escadrille, Aéronautique Militaire, Alawite Revolt, 1919.
- Capitaine, N.11 Escadrille, Aéronautique Militaire, Zaian War, 1921.
- Commandant, N.9 Escadrille, Aéronautique Militaire, Syrian Revolt, 1925-1927.
Intelligence Experience:
- Sous-lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Division, French Army, Battle of Verdun, 1916.
- Sous-lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Division, French Army, Reims Mutiny, 1917.
- Capitaine, French Military Mission to Poland, French Army, Warsaw, 1920.
Specialties:
- Capitaine, Deuxième Bureau de l'État-Major Général (French Military Intelligence), Opération Rochejaquelein (arms smuggling to White Russian forces), Vladivostock, 1922.
- Capitaine, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Reniement (infiltration of Greek monarchist plotters), Greece, 1923.
- Capitaine, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Expiation (crackdown on German nationalists and revanchists), Ruhr Valley, 1924-1925.
- Commandant, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Enseignement (intelligence-gathering in support of French forces in Kongo-Wara Rebellion), French Equatorial Africa and French Cameroon, 1928-1929.
- Commandant, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Dégagement (recruitment of sleeper agents in demilitarized territory), Rhineland, 1930.
- Commandant, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Clarté (crackdown on Nghệ-Tĩnh Soviets), French Indochina, 1931.
- Commandant, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Mirabeau (infiltration of Action Francaise right-wing organization), France, 1932-1934.
- Commandant, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Dumas (monitoring of Abyssinia Crisis), Abyssinia, 1935-1936.
- Commandant, Deuxième Bureau, Opération Cervantes (covert secondment of French specialists to Republican forces, undercover as international volunteers), Spain, 1936-1939.
Weapons of Choice: A scoped Winchester Model 70 chambered in .375 H&H (a holdover from safaris in Africa); a Smith & Wesson Registered Magnum; a trench knife. As a seasoned shooter and traveler, Jean-Martin has come to the carefully-considered conclusion that Americans have both the finest firearms in the world, and the most creative justifications for when and when not to use them.
- Fluent in French, English, German, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic. Capable of passing as a native speaker of any one of these languages, complete with mannerisms and accents. Also speaks limited Vietnamese, Polish, and Ngbaka. Literate in Latin and Ancient Greek, though the latter is quite rusty. He picks up languages easily, to say the least.
- Extensive training and experience in espionage tradecraft. Can tap a phone, slip a tail, forge handwriting, construct disguises (indeed, whole alternate personalities), both conduct and resist interrogation, pick locks, conduct surveillance, improvise mechanical repairs, blend into crowds, and seduce women in a half-dozen languages.
- Possesses networks of variously reputable friends, contacts, smugglers, and former agents across the world, particularly in Warsaw, the Ruhr Valley, and Syria. Also benefits from extensive experience of desert warfare, navigation, and survival.
- Finely honed skills in agent handling; capable of making inferences about background/character/motivations from very limited data, and of acting upon those inferences to manipulate and coerce with maximum efficiency. Put less clinically, he's very charming.
- Substantial experience with aircraft, particularly obscure, outdated, or civilian planes. Expert in takeoff and landing under suboptimal conditions, including in desert or jungle environments without proper runways. Recent dogfighting experience against Condor Legion in Spain.
- Good pistol shot; expert rifle marksman, a skill acquired mostly through big-game hunting. Deadly and experienced knife-fighter. Seasoned horseman, boxer, and saber fencer.
- Connoisseur of fine wine, food, art, music, brandy, firearms, and clothing. Trained in formal European etiquette from an early age. And rich, which, if not a skill, can at least come in very handy.
RP Experience: Vous savez, je parle vraiment le français. Vous avez de la chance que je ne le parle pas seulement tout le RP.
Personal History/Bio:Personnel File
Family Background
Born into House of Florac, minor but well-respected noble family from remote mountainous area of Massif Central. Cevennes region is traditionally Protestant, a refuge for Huguenots - including the local nobility, and the House of Florac. Ancestors fought against Paris in French Wars of Religion, then were leaders in Camisard Rebellion (local Protestant revolt of early 18th century). Great-great-great-great-grandfather ennobled by Louis XV for role in hunting down quasi-mythical Beast of Gevaudan, supposedly a large man-eating wolf that terrorized the Cevennes. Family survived Revolution because it was very popular locally; later fought for Napoleon at Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland. Grandfather made small fortune in colonial investments, but was killed in action at Sedan. Key family values: tolerance, fair play, good taste and good manners, and a certain deep sense of noblesse oblige - the willingness to make great sacrifices to protect those who are placed in one's care.
Early Life
Born 10 Apr. 1896 at Chateau de Florac, family's ancestral fortified manor deep in Cevennes mountains. Educated at home until age 13. Traditional aristocratic education, provided by attentive parents and by tutors: shooting, riding, hunting, philosophy, rhetoric, and classical literature - including Latin, Greek, English, and German as well as French. Key early experiences: sense of place, rootedness, strong local identity, deep love for landscape and local people. Also: validation in enjoying privileges of wealth and nobility, combined with deep sense of social responsibility toward local people.
Admitted 15 Aug. 1910 to Lycée Louis-le-Grand boarding school in Paris: most prestigious boarding school in France. Admitted one year early due to outstanding test scores and special intervention by family friends. Attended Lycée Louis-le-Grand 1910-1913. Teachers remember serious young student with natural gift for languages who initially felt very out of place and was bullied by peers for rural mannerisms, young age, and Huguenot faith. By graduation, had acquired ability perfectly to fake Paris accent and greater age.
Admitted 10 Aug. 1913 to École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr. Expected course for heir to minor provincial nobility with military tradition dating back to Napoleon. Trained as cadet 1913-1916. Teachers remember agreeable young man with talent for dissimulation: "He made himself whatever the people around him needed him to be," etc. Won prizes for saber-fencing, horsemanship. Close friends remember hard-working, idealistic cadet with private, passionate vision of French Republic as beacon of liberty, equality, and brotherhood. Continued studies during first two years of Great War. Father killed in action at Battle of the Marne, 10 Sep. 1914. Visit to Marne battlefield to retrieve father's body precipitated revelatory experience of vocation; felt personal calling to defend French Republic, and ideals for which it stood, from devastation that had claimed his father.
Great War Service
Graduated École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr 25 May 1916. Commissioned sous-lieutenant in 2nd Infantry Division. Deployed to Verdun, 10 Jun. 1916 - 13 Oct. 1916. Lost three-quarters of platoon killed or wounded. Suffered severe shrapnel wounds to abdomen, 13 Oct. 1916, and evacuated to hospital. Received Médaille des Blessés de Guerre and orders to return to service despite incomplete healing and clear signs of shell shock, 15 Apr. 1917.
17 May 1917, involved in mutiny of elements of 2nd Infantry Division at Reims. According to dispatches, "Sous-lieutenant de Florac threw his revolver to the ground and engaged in an impromptu debate with armed mutineers," in the course of which he spoke of the sacred destiny of France, tore open his uniform to expose unhealed shrapnel scars, and nearly fainted. Mutineers returned to duty the same day. Awarded Médaille d’Honneur Pour Acte de Courage et de Dévouement and promoted to lieutenant, 3 Jul. 1917.
19 Jul. 1917, requested transfer to Aéronautique Militaire. Transfer approved 26 Jul. 1917. Attended pilot training, 30 Jul. 1917 - 15 Oct. 1917. Instructors remember naturally gifted pilot whose love of flying surprised even himself. Assigned N.3 Escadrille, 17 Oct. 1917. Served at Battle of La Malmaison, 23 Oct. 1917 - 27 Oct. 1917. Shot down three German fighters in three days before crash-landing with extensive damage to aircraft, 27 Oct. 1917. Survived crash but lost tip of left middle finger. Served at Second Battle of the Marne, 17 Jul. 1918 - 6 Aug. 1918. Shot down seven German aircraft, officially becoming one of more than 180 French air aces of the Great War. Awarded Croix de Guerre and promoted to capitaine despite lingering signs of shell shock, 15 Aug. 1918.
Postwar Military Service (Unclassified)
Transferred to N.9 Escadrille, 20 Sep. 1918. Deployed to Syria 7 Jan. 1919 to suppress Alawite uprising. Shot down over Jebel Ansariyah 21 Mar. 1919. Rescued by pro-French Ismaili militia and safely returned to Aleppo, 9 May 1919. Learned basic Arabic during time with militia, and forged several long-lasting friendships. Adventure attracted notice of Col. Jean-Claude de Treville, Deuxième Bureau de l'État-Major Général. Experience exercised strong influence: inspired lasting love of desert, and awareness of ethnic and religious complexities of colonial conflicts.
At request of Col. Jean-Claude de Treville, transferred to French Military Mission to Poland, 5 Oct. 1919. Learned basic Polish and witnessed collapse of Polish armed forces. Personally saw combat in support of Polish forces against Red Army, Battle of Warsaw, 12 Aug. 1920 - 25 Aug. 1920. Awarded Médaille Militaire for actions at Nasielsk, coordinating Polish troop movements and artillery from an exposed vantage point while under heavy Soviet artillery and rifle fire.
Transferred N.11 Escadrille, 2 Dec. 1920. Deployed to Morocco 15 Jan. 1921 to suppress Zaian uprising. Lodged repeated complaints regarding orders to strafe rebel-held villages in Rif Mountains. Dispatches suggest that symptoms of shell shock from Great War were exacerbated by operations in Morocco. Ultimately threatened to resign commission. Instead, seconded to Deuxième Bureau de l'État-Major Général, 10 Jun. 1921.
Postwar Military Service (Classified)
Secondment to Deuxième Bureau orchestrated by Col. de Treville on basis of Cpt. de Florac's facility with languages and general resourcefulness. Assigned to Russian language training, 25 Jun. 1921 - 12 Dec. 1921. Assigned Opération Rochejaquelein, 21 Dec. 1921: responsible for organizing ring of smugglers and corrupt officers to supply weapons to White Army enclaves in Russian Far East. Learned fluent Russian and developed highly efficient network of contacts in Vladivostock, but Cheka became aware of presence of French agent. Fled Vladivostock by air amid Soviet assault, 25 Oct. 1922.
Assigned Opération Reniement, 4 February 1923: responsible for infiltrating ring of Greek monarchist officers plotting to stage a coup in order to prevent democratic reforms. Posed as sympathetic German officer; convinced plotters to launch coup prematurely. Operation succeeded entirely 22 Oct. 1923: coup crushed by pro-reform forces, and all ringleaders arrested.
Assigned Opération Expiation, 20 Jan. 1924: responsible for recruiting ring of agents to identify threats to French occupation of Ruhr Valley, particularly both communist agitators and right-wing nationalists. Established extremely efficient network of informants that led directly to more than 70 arrests. Acquired ability to mimic regional German accents and mannerisms. In late 1924, is believed to have begun a romantic relationship with one of his agents: Elise Blumstein, a young German Jewish war widow. Married Mlle. Blumstein while on leave in Florac, 15 Jul. 1925.
Postwar Military Service (Unclassified)
Urgently recalled to Aéronautique Militaire and promoted to commandant, 21 Sep. 1925, due to outbreak of widespread revolt in Syria. Travelled to Syria with Mme. de Florac. Flew more than 40 combat missions in support of French forces, 2 Nov. 1925 - 29 Oct. 1926. Thereafter transferred to staff of Gen. Maurice Sarrail as translator and emissary to French-aligned tribes. Made seven extended journeys by camel and biplane, behind rebel lines, to persuade Ismaili clerics and Bedouin sheikhs to fight alongside the French: 11 Dec. 1926 - 28 May 1927. Became expert in desert operations and in takeoff/landing of aircraft without formal runways, and acquired near-perfect fluency in several Arabic dialects. Suffered saber wound to right thigh. Named chevalier of the Legion of Honor for services to the Republic, 20 Jul. 1927.
Postwar Military Service (Classified)
Re-seconded to Deuxième Bureau de l'État-Major Général, 3 Nov. 1927. Assigned Opération Enseignement, 13 May 1928: responsible for recruiting informers in French Equatorial Africa and French Cameroon to track movements of Kongo-Wara rebel forces in dense jungle. Nearly died from malaria and dengue fever. Efforts to recruit agents sabotaged by brutality of French counterinsurgency campaign. As during Zaian War, shell shock symptoms began to impede Comdt. de Florac's effectiveness. Became expert in big game hunting and takeoff/landing of very light aircraft in tiny jungle clearings. Evacuated after particularly dangerous bout of dengue fever, 2 Feb. 1929.
Personal leave and medical recuperation at Florac, 5 Mar. 1929 - 9 Jan. 1930. Daughter, Hélène Amarante de Florac, born to Comdt. and Mme. de Florac, 24 Dec. 1929.
Assigned Opération Dégagement, 15 Jan. 1930: responsible for recruiting long-term local agents in Rhineland to covertly monitor demilitarization there after end of Allied occupation. Network of contacts left over from Opération Expiation proved exceedingly effective for this purpose. Mme. de Florac accompanied her husband and was instrumental in the success of the operation.
Assigned Opération Clarté, 3 Mar. 1931: responsible for recruiting agents to track and identify Vietnamese communist organizers responsible for strikes, demonstrations, and riots in Annam. Quickly learned basic Vietnamese and was fairly successful, but repeatedly filed complaints concerning brutality of French Foreign Legion troops toward prisoners and civilians. After massacre of 500 civilians, Comdt. de Florac was strongly suspected of leaking incriminating documents to international press. Recalled to face court-martial, 28 Nov. 1931. Charges dropped, possibly thanks to intervention of Col. de Treville, but Comdt. de Florac was barred from any future operations in French colonies.
Assigned Opération Mirabeau, 11 Feb. 1932: responsible for infiltrating Action Française, extreme right-wing monarchist organization sympathetic to NSDAP in Germany. Worked undercover for almost fourteen months, eventually attaining high level of access to organization's planning process. But Mme. de Florac suffered riding accident resulting in spinal injury, 28 Dec. 1932, causing Comdt. de Florac to abandon the operation in order to go to her. She died in hospital, 6 Jan. 1933. After brief personal leave to attend to his daughter, Comdt. de Florac returned to undercover work within Action Française, and ultimately acquired intelligence instrumental in swift police response to right-wing riots - and potential coup d'etat - of 6 Feb. 1934. Received letter of thanks from Prime Minister Daladier.
Personal leave at Florac, 20 Feb. 1934 - 6 Dec. 1934. Assigned Opération Dumas, 10 Dec. 1934: responsible for monitoring Abyssinia Crisis. Provided consistent reports of Italian military buildup on Abyssinian border prior to outbreak of war, and of Italian use of chemical weapons after start of war on 3 Oct. 1935. Identified by OVRA as French agent and shot in shoulder during ambush, 20 Mar. 1936. Escaped to France via Afar caravan to Djibouti.
Assigned Opération Cervantes, 24 Sep. 1936: covert program to provide expert French military personnel to Spanish Republican forces by passing them off as international volunteers. Responsible for training Republican pilots, flying combat missions in support of Republican forces, and reporting on Soviet activity in Spain. Posed as volunteer with no connection to Deuxième Bureau, flew I-15 fighters against Italian Legionary Air Force and German Condor Legion. Worked alongside Gerlof Verhoefen, and later secured his safe entrance to France and debriefed him.
Seconded to 319 Special Operations Squadron as expert in covert operations, 15 Aug. 1939. Identified as one of Deuxième Bureau's most decorated and experienced officers, and the only one with the skill as a pilot to meet the squadron's requirements.
The Two Jerseys wrote:The Tiger Kingdom wrote:Would that work, then? That also sounds good to me.
OK, I changed the hand to silver, because gold is a bit of an eyesore combined with the silver and blue (and Air Ministry shitting bricks over gold embroidery on service dress...), and changed the background to a circle for consistency with other RAF badges.
If you want a mockup of the tab, I can work on that possibly next weekend.
Reverend Norv wrote:*snips Norv app*
The Tiger Kingdom wrote:The Two Jerseys wrote:OK, I changed the hand to silver, because gold is a bit of an eyesore combined with the silver and blue (and Air Ministry shitting bricks over gold embroidery on service dress...), and changed the background to a circle for consistency with other RAF badges.
If you want a mockup of the tab, I can work on that possibly next weekend.
This looks terrific so far. Yeah, a tab mockup would be excellent too.
Thanks so much, TJ!Reverend Norv wrote:*snips Norv app*
Hah, I was just watching Spies of Warsaw with Tennant as a Frenchie a few nights ago! We were even talking about it on the AV Club!
I thought it was pretty good, but then again, I'm a junkie for BBC mystery shows, so I'm pretty biased.
NORV IS ACCEPTED
Grenartia wrote:Hey, Tigger, since you're the expert here, I was wondering what your thoughts were on the importance of Stalin supplying the Nazis with raw materials prior to Barbarossa, especially in regards to the German war machine.
Great Confederacy Of Commonwealth States wrote:Oh... Are we going to do false flag operations to get the USSR in the war?
Tiltjuice wrote:I finally decided what I want to do for a character base.
Then I ran out of ideas for a specialty. What do people have already?
I'm almost tempted to name my guy al-Nouri just for the shoutout lulz.
The Tiger Kingdom wrote:Tiltjuice wrote:I finally decided what I want to do for a character base.
Then I ran out of ideas for a specialty. What do people have already?
I'm almost tempted to name my guy al-Nouri just for the shoutout lulz.
Would you like me to go into my RP tomes and list out all the specialties the GURPS guys came up with?