HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

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HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Iceman »

What's up, HQ. I decided to take a few minutes out of my day to spit knowledge to all the budding Commanding Officers that have graced this forum - and I just want to say that I'm extremely happy that so many people decided to step up and lead their own squads. Here at YSFHQ, we're dedicated to make your squadron thrive, so I want to provide you guys with a small guide on how to first start, and then upkeep and run a well functioning squadron.

My creds: I began the CVW-171 in the spring of 2006, with only 5 members. Over the years, our aircraft have changed, and our members have changed as well, but the CVW-171 is now considered the best and largest squadron on YSFHQ (and I know it's debatable, but come on.)

Anyhow, without further ado, let me walk you guys through the creation of a new squadron, and hopefully this will inspire people to start and grow their own teams.

BASICS


1) Your squad is your family on YS.
There are too many impersonal squadrons - squadrons that start just for the name sake. You CANNOT treat a squad like a title - your squad is a unit, a family. It is your squad, and it is your team - make sure that you gain relations to most if not all of your squad members, and your squadron WILL stand the test of time. If a squadron disbands, it's because of squabbling - and a squadron will only squabble if their roots are weak and the foundations are lacking. Roots can be tied and strengthened through the bonds of friendship. Corny, I know. But I can personally say that if anyone touches Seraphim in real life, me and a few other 171st members are 100% willing to travel a few states just to kick someones butt.

2) Communication is key.
The key to building relations is through communication, and that's what the 171st does. Constantly. Our Teamspeak server is up anytime our server is up, and the 171st has a habit of loitering on TS, just doing their own things with the mics on. It's almost like an office - where you and your co workers are all doing your own thing but can talk to another co worker at a moments notice. Or like studying with friends. Not only is it pleasant, but if crap does down on a server, you can call your boys on a moment's notice. A fully functional Teamspeak is imperative for squad relations, and if that's not possible, MSN is a good alternative.

3) Don't talk crap unless you can back it up.
Squad members can easily spit game, but more often than not they can't back up the crap they spit with the skills for the kills. Because of this, a lot of members can be lost to a rival squad - especially if that rival squad does indeed have the skill to back up what they say. Most of our current good members are recruits from other squads, and a lot of former members were also once members of other squads. The reason is simply because we kicked butt, and they knew it well enough to defect. Many of these squads are now dormant or dead because they decided to spit game and not back it up.

If anything, maintain good relations with most squadrons, and when you're ready, establish a friendly rivalry with another squadron - that'll get stuff pumped up.

CREATING A SQUADRON


WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE:
  • At least 2 other members who you know will be completely dedicated to the squad in the beginning stages of formation
  • A general idea of what type of squad you are trying to become
  • A relatively solid reputation in the YSFlight community
  • Time, and lots of it
1) Pick an Executive Officer and a 3IC.
Who is the opposite of your personality? Who can you really get along with? Who is the most loyal? That is your choice for XO. The XO should complement you and provide a balance to the squad. He should be your best friend (on YS, anyway) and the first person you turn to when you need assistance or have a tough decision to make. He should be incredibly loyal and willing to do things on his own. Your third in command, as well. Choose wisely - often, a bad XO can cripple an otherwise solid squadron.

2) Decide on a fleet.
To compete with other squadrons, generally, your fleet should not be too out of this world, and the DATs you choose or create should be not too far off from the stock aircraft DATs. This was a huge problem back on YSP1, and many squads were called out for it (the CVW-171 actually formed as a direct result of an argument over aircraft performance). If you don't plan to be competitive, this shouldn't be a problem. But if you are, pick your planes wisely. If another squad calls you out, feel free to run it by Bombcat or me and we'll take a look. Not that we can force you into changing your DAT, but cheat planes are frowned upon and can get your squad a terrible reputation.

3) Prepare a forum, or ask for one on YSFHQ.
We have no solid recommendation for what you do concerning squadron forums, but I'd say now, with the Squadron Dev. Center in place and YSFHQ geared towards helping squads grow, that you ask for a sub forum of your own on YSFHQ, or link to it from the Squadron Headquarters. The reason is because YSFHQ is home to a slew of new players looking for squadrons to join, and when the newbies see your forum on the list of active squads here on HQ, it presents a very good opportunity to recruit straight from the forum itself.

Forum prep is relatively easy. Make sure your squad has a place to just chill (A lounge topic!), as well as a subforum for ideas, and flying tips. Other than that, the floor is open for whatever you want to do with it.

4) Recruit everyone.
I mean everyone. When you're a new squadron, anyone can help, crappy pilots or newbies included. Crappy pilots can become good pilots through solid practice and training, and newbies can become pros in due time. What you really want to do is sift through the garbage - bad members will quickly show their true colors, and drop off or be kicked out - and good members will become even better in time.

What's a good member? A friendly, agreeable, mature person. That is not to say that they need to have hit puberty to be mature (take Mitout for example, he joined really young but is one of our most lovable nuggets), but that they need to be serious, loyal and playing for fun, not to troll or to show off. Look for members with calm attitudes that contribute to the squadron. Keep them. Get rid of the rest.

A good way to recruit is to post in a new member's welcome thread - that will let them know that they're wanted, and you can get many new members that way. Let them know they're eligible to join your squad, and see how it goes from there.

Also, try posting a recruitment topic in the recruitment center. That should help a LOT.

5) Set up a Teamspeak and a server.
Get a free TS host, or repurpose an old computer to become a 24/7 YS server. Not only will that benefit the community as a whole (yay! another server to play on!) but it'll also allow your squad a home and a place to grow. Members can loiter on TS and talk all day. Many 171st moments happen when you least expect it. If you've ever wondered why our squadron seems more like a bunch of rowdy bros than a game squad, it's because we talk regularly. And the server is our stomping ground.

If you can't have your own server, perhaps it's a good idea to ask an existing server owner if you can use their server as your home turf. More often than not they'll say yes.

Once you have these basics in place, maintaining the squad should be simple. Just talk a lot, fly a lot, and share a lot. Once your squadron is solid and you have people that you KNOW you can trust, your squadron will succeed no matter what.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Doomsday »

Good stuff Ice. This is the kind of stuff that a newly started squadron should follow and if they don't, they will die. Many times I will see new squadrons forming then starting wars with well established, large squadrons. This is not the way to go, I cannot empathize this enough.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Welshy »

Thanks for this Ice it really does explain alot...

Also you may want to change this forums rules as it still say's subforum...easy mistake...:P

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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Gunny »

Iceman If I may add something to your reference to TS.
The morale of a squad of any kind weather VA or military is the personnel interactions of its members with one another.Due to the nature of on line gaming face to face interaction is not possible in most cases.Unless of course you are a member of the 171st and are willing and able to visit one another from time to time.
But the point I am making here is that barring face to face communication TS is without a doubt is the way to go for building Esprit De Corps for your Squad.
Because they are no longer just names on a screen but actually voices of your brother or sister squad members.
Thank you Iceman. :D
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Dan »

I must agree with this mate, Fast Airways VA me and all my Fast Airways VA pilot and staff used to speak on msn which was really quite boring but now we have introduced the teamspeak. It has brought a more realler human touch to bonding with pilots and you can talk while flying on long flights so your not alone in the cockpit. I really approve of TS for squadrons and VA's.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by tigershark »

Doomsday wrote:Good stuff Ice. This is the kind of stuff that a newly started squadron should follow and if they don't, they will die. Many times I will see new squadrons forming then starting wars with well established, large squadrons. This is not the way to go, I cannot empathize this enough.
total agree with this. this might help me for my sqn
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by vandal »

tigershark wrote:
Doomsday wrote:Good stuff Ice. This is the kind of stuff that a newly started squadron should follow and if they don't, they will die. Many times I will see new squadrons forming then starting wars with well established, large squadrons. This is not the way to go, I cannot empathize this enough.
total agree with this. this might help me for my sqn
Great to know you're starting a Squad Zak... Proud of you buddy, gone from a rage beast to a good lad :lol:
Try not to bring up old topics though buddy.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Gunny »

vandal wrote: Proud of you buddy, gone from a rage beast to a good lad :lol:
My sentiments as well Zak.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by KM6BZH »

How to get teamspeak?
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by NightRaven »

A very quick Google search would have answered your query.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by KM6BZH »

Ok, thank you!
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Nodoka Hanamura »

As someone who has already spent their time running a semi-successful squadron - I do have a few tips:

[*][/b]Have a Hierarchy. A Chain of Command like those found in a actual military is very good to have, and can help you avoid, at least - down the line, having to micro-manage larger groups, which can be time consuming in a world where time is not on your side. Set out your group's ranks, and from there, set out to find out what your officers (Those usually above Staff Sergeant, in terms of the Grun) will be inheritly tasked with handling, be it managing trainings, overseeing Aircraft development, Community Outreach, etc.
[*][/b]Be Active. If you plan on running a squadron of any size, you are going to - unless you half-ass it, which never ends well - dedicate a lot of time, blood and man-hours working to realize said squadron through a Fleet of aircraft. Make sure your personnel feel as if their presence is worth it in your group by being active and engaging with your personnel, be it through activity on servers, or simply just discussing in a group chat.
[*][/b]Make yourself stand out. If you want to bring in recruits, first impressions are IMPORTANT, bar none. Your Squadron's Recruitment and main Threads should look clean, crisp and professional, it's not hard to learn some simple PHPbb-fu to make a good looking Opening Post. A Squadron should also look towards making a logo for itself to stand out. Now, this is somewhat difficult, as it normally requires advanced Image Editing skills to make one similar to the Grun Squadron's. But there is a easier way. The Grun Squadron uses Sothink Logo Maker Professional, which although being payware, is pretty powerful, and simple to use. It can also be used to make some really good Emblems, Logos, and so on.

Finally - Like Iceman said, Treat your personnel like family. Sure, I am guilty of being harsh with them at times, but what family is without issues? As long as there is constant cohesion, understanding and respect betwixt all personnel, and you treat them with respect and actually CARE about them. When things happen to my friends in the Grun, I do genuinely get worried. If you grow a bigger bond with your personnel, It will help with having your squad stand the test of time.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by YSFan »

Is it a good idea to set up a squadron to "back up" or protect aircraft, especially civillian aircraft, of a certain VA?
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by VNAF ONE »

This has been done before and is certainly possible. However, it may be easier to set it up as a general squadron, then offer "protection" for any VA's you may favor if not all of them. In the past, some squadrons that are set up under VA's have had difficulties, so it would be nice if you could break ties at any moment or revoke protection if it ever comes up.
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Nodoka Hanamura »

VNAF ONE wrote:This has been done before and is certainly possible. However, it may be easier to set it up as a general squadron, then offer "protection" for any VA's you may favor if not all of them. In the past, some squadrons that are set up under VA's have had difficulties, so it would be nice if you could break ties at any moment or revoke protection if it ever comes up.
Yes. Grun TFS is one of these groups. And we generally don't enter agreements as we more or less generally protect all Civil Aircraft. This is a good basis for a squadron, as it sorta gives you something to do other than trainings and sitting around and doing nothing, as well as not having to worry about having to deal with Diplomacy (if that's not your thing.)
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by KM6BZH »

Grun TFS, you are our "roll model". We will learn a lot from your squadron. (I'm not copying, just that Grun TFS is a really organized squadron so I want to learn as much as possible.)
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Sierra »

Huh, this is a really good post. Can it be pinned or something?
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Flake »

It IS pinned you muppet. :lol:
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Sierra »

Flake wrote: Thu Feb 01, 2018 7:47 am It IS pinned you muppet. :lol:
I never claimed to be intelligent. :?
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Re: HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY START A SQUADRON

Post by Welshy »

I feel like this needs another bump
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