Alpha Squadron

Description

The 7th Alpha SO is a Special Forces Squadron that is part of the Wing I, stationed onboard the Imperial-II Class Star Destroyer Hammer and is assigned to BGI. It operates a mixture of Spectre Advanced Missile Boat, TIE Defenders plus a number of support spacecraft in special operations and support of other units.

Alpha Squadron is a high-readiness EHTC rapid deployment force capable of land, sea, air, space regular, special and unplayable operations that can be deployed quickly within short notice sometimes as a "spearhead force" and some other times we just lag.

Real Description

Centered around loyal, disciplined ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷o̷b̷n̷o̷x̷i̷o̷u̷s̷l̷y̷ conservative officers, hard nosed ̷f̷u̷n̷n̷y̷ ̷s̷m̷e̷l̷l̷i̷n̷g̷ veterans, elite "wildcards" ̷ ̷̷̷w̷̷̷h̷̷̷o̷̷̷ ̷̷̷a̷̷̷r̷̷̷e̷̷̷ ̷̷̷a̷̷̷d̷̷̷d̷̷̷i̷̷̷c̷̷̷t̷̷̷e̷̷̷d̷̷̷ ̷̷̷t̷̷̷o̷̷̷ ̷̷̷s̷̷̷t̷̷̷u̷̷̷n̷̷̷ ̷̷̷r̷̷̷a̷̷̷n̷̷̷d̷̷̷o̷̷̷m̷̷̷ ̷̷̷n̷̷̷e̷̷̷w̷̷̷b̷̷̷i̷̷̷e̷̷̷s̷̷̷ ̷̷̷f̷̷̷o̷̷̷r̷̷̷ ̷̷̷n̷̷̷o̷̷̷ ̷̷̷r̷̷̷e̷̷̷a̷̷̷s̷̷̷o̷̷̷n̷̷̷, skilled but impetuous ex-mercenaries and capable-yet-stubborn young prospects seeking experience and talented artists, we are constantly drilling on space and ground commando tactics, we can do what the other squadrons do, but we did it first ̶ ̷j̷u̷s̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷i̷t̷ ̷8̷0̷0̷0̷ ̷y̷e̷a̷r̷s̷ ̷b̷e̷c̷a̷u̷s̷e̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷l̷a̷g̷ and now we ̷ ̷c̷̶̷a̷̶̷n̷̶̷'̷̶̷t̷̶̷ ̷̶̷b̷̶̷e̷̶̷ ̷̶̷b̷̶̷o̷̶̷t̷̶̷h̷̶̷e̷̶̷r̷̶̷e̷̶̷d̷̶̷ ̷̶̷b̷̶̷e̷̶̷c̷̶̷a̷̶̷u̷̶̷s̷̶̷e̷̶̷ ̷̶̷w̷̶̷e̷̶̷ ̷̶̷a̷̶̷r̷̶̷e̷̶̷ ̷̶̷b̷̶̷u̷̶̷s̷̶̷y̷̶̷ ̷̶̷p̷̶̷l̷̶̷a̷̶̷y̷̶̷i̷̶̷n̷̶̷g̷̶̷ ̷̶̷p̷̶̷a̷̶̷z̷̶̷a̷̶̷a̷̶̷k̷̶̷ ̷̶̷a̷̶̷n̷̶̷d̷̶̷ ̷̶̷w̷̶̷a̷̶̷t̷̶̷c̷̶̷h̷̶̷i̷̶̷n̷̶̷g̷̶̷ ̷̶̷h̷̶̷o̷̶̷l̷̶̷o̷̶̷d̷̶̷r̷̶̷a̷̶̷m̷̶̷a̷̶̷s̷̶̷ ̷ will do it again!

We use the classic flight sims while maintaining certain tactical flexibility with more modern titles like Star Wars: Squadrons. In practice, we strongly focus on XvT/BoP, XWA and TFTC (X-Wing Alliance Upgrade's submod: TIE Fighter Total Conversion) for Single Player (SP) , Role Play (RP) and Multiplayer (MP). We are veterans from past inter-clan competitions who found a home in EH, seasoned EHers with a deep knowledge of the compendium and expert MP pilots mingled with promising enthusiast prospects.

We acknowledge the lag as an element that permeates every part of the internet and the universe, the Force included.

To be part of Alpha Squadron your ping must be over 9000 ms and you must drop all of your internet packets. You won't need them either way. You must accept the inevitable: that lag will be with you always, for we are penguins from the endless cold deserts of frozen connections known as Lagtartida. Only Alpha penguins can navigate the dangerous hazards and tap the mysterious effects of the lag always in the Empire's service...

It is highly desirable that you wear a tactical beard. Looks cool.

History

Alpha was first activated in 3 ABY (1995) and originally led by then General Ronin as part of the fighter complement on the PLT: NL-1, along with the other five squadrons that were part of the Emperor's Hammer

In 22ABY (April 2014), the squadron was assigned to the newly-commissioned ISD-II Warrior, reconstituted as Sigma Squadron.

The 7th Squadron was reactivated aboard the Hammer later on same year (in May 2014).

On 2020, then LC Alejandro Araujo after managing to have the 7th Heavy Assault (HA) Squadron reach Squadron ReMob's goals, considering the squadron's personnel traits and abilities, had proposed TCCS a draft for the unit's mission profile redesignation and after approval, it was formally established as Special Operations Squadron.

A Bit on Real History

The Lag

"If you can't beat it, join it" That's part of the reasons why then LC Araujo increasingly praised the lag as an unavoidable force of nature to the point where Alpha Squadron became the unofficial hub of lag worshipers across the fleet. Alpha pilots do not complain about lag; Alpha pilots fully embrace lag as part of their lives.

In gaming, lag refers to any noticeable slow response in an online game due to high latency or a poor connection. For example, on a slow Internet connection, your character or the environment they're in may stutter.

Latency (or lag) is the internal delay or interval between two related actions. Ultimately, everything in the universe lags, even the force. Therefore, lag is the ultimate deity to be praised on the multiverse.

Alpha "Penguins" understand this fact and fully embraces lag as the absolute truth.

When Alpha pilots meet, they will salute as follows:

Penguins #1: "Praised be the Lag!" *military salute*

Penguin #2: "May your connections freeze and your servers time out!" *returns salute*

Penguin #1: "Long live [Loading...]

Rise of the Penguins

As the 7th Alpha became a SpecOps team, COL Pryde often made references to certain penguins on a planet far, far away and Araujo picked up on it, stating since penguins dwell on icy environments, Alpha pilots would operate under connections so frozen that even iced planets would feel like a warm summer breeze in comparison. Alpha flies when nobody else can do it. The legend of the Alpha Penguins from Lagtartida was born. We pride on being the laggiest squadron in the fleet for we celebrate fleet-wide competitions at least two years after they're finished.

Mission

The 7th SO Alpha Squadron as a SpecOps unit, conducts (but is not limited to) offensive strikes to prevent, deter, pre-empt and respond to enemy threats both in cover and open, conventional or unconventional modes of warfare. Alpha Squadron operates in any environment, from city fighting to jungle warfare to desert scouting and in the coldness of space. Special operations may include reconnaissance, psychological warfare, and counterterrorism. Alpha pilots are highly trained and does use any means necessary to achieve the objectives, including the weaponization of memes, diplomacy and lag.

Real Mission

To preserve the fine and fun art of exerting skill, endurance, tactic and strategy on the SW classic flight sims, RTS and their mods (TFTC mainly) while enjoying the RP aspects, delivering both high combat flight performance and immersive stories with messages for reflection, all in service of the TIE Corps.

Standing Orders

7th SO Squadron "Alpha"'s Squadron (7SOS) Standing Orders will be in effect upon publication. Any suggestions for changes must be made in writing to the Commanding Officer, 7th SOS Alpha CMDR.

With the diverse changes in the administrative structure, an "increased flexibility" in expectations from pilots' academic performance on basic military procedures, unfortunately led to unprepared pilots unaware of their regular duties.

To circumvent this state of ambiguity, Lt. Colonel A. Araujo as CMDR of Alpha Squadron, reasoned that same openness on how to run the structure could be used to promulgate Standing Orders, in order to partially restore some of the order of the Old Empire.

Standing Orders, as a written discourse that illustrates the commanding officer's views on how he wants the squadron to operate, provides the crew with the CMDR's leadership style and priorities while also relating to his/her guidance on regular operations; from flight ops to non-flight and admin ops.

Squadron Standing Orders (SSO) are meant to be used on a daily basis by all squadron personnel. They convey the decision-making philosophies to both squadron crew and visitors.

SSO are a set of orders that pilots of the 7SOS are expected to observe at all times. They might be adjusted by the CO (Alpha CMDR) at any moment on a regular basis. They provide an official document about guidance on regular operations and communicates pilots what their CMDR is expecting from them as active members of the TIE Corps.

For a detailed list of 7SOS SSOs please refer to the list of 7th Special Operations "Alpha" Squadron Standing Orders

Lineage

Alpha Squadron as one of the original six squadrons that comprised the Emperor's Hammer, has a long history dating back from 3 ABY (1995).

Squadron Commanders

#	CMDR	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Location	Rank
1	Ronin	NL2 (Dec 94)	NL9 (Feb 95)	-	ISD Avenger	General
	Ronin	NL10 (Feb 95)	NL13 (Mar 95)	-	ISD Avenger	Admiral
	Ronin	NL14 (Apr 95)	NL14 (Apr 95)	-	ISD Avenger	Grand Admiral
2	Talon	NL15 (Apr 95)	NL20 (Jun 95)	-	SSD Avenger	General
	Talon	NL21 (Jul 95)	NL21 (Jul 95)	-	SSD Avenger	Brigadier General
3	Marko	NL22 (Jul 95)	NL30 (Mar 96)	-	SSD Avenger	General
	Marko	NL31 (Apr 96)	NL32 (May 96)	-	SSSD Sovereign	General
4	Mike	NL33 (Jun 96)	?	-	SSSD Sovereign	Brigadier General
5	Andrzej Mezynski	before February 2002	after February 2002	?	SSSD Sovereign	Lieutenant Colonel
6	Talons Pryde	April 2002	June 2002	2m, 4d	SSSD Sovereign	Captain
	Talons Pryde	June 2002	September 2003	1y,3m,4d	SSSD Sovereign	Major
7	Kahooli	September 2003	May 2004	8m, 9d	SSSD Sovereign	Commander
8	Talons Pryde	February 2005	March 2006	1y, 10d	SSSD Sovereign	Major
	Talons Pryde	March 2006	March 2006	24d	SSSD Sovereign	Lieutenant Colonel
	Talons Pryde	March 2006	July 2006	3m, 18d	SSSD Sovereign (Wing VI)	Lieutenant Colonel
9	Rancorous	July 2006	September 2007	1y, 2m	SSSD Sovereign	Major
10	Talons Pryde	September 2007	August 2012	4y, 10m, 12d	SSSD Sovereign	Colonel
11	Valic	Feb 2009	August 2009	6m, 28d	ISDII Hammer	Major
12	Rancorous	August 2009	November 2009	2m, 16d	ISDII Hammer	General
13	Quincy Nelson	November 2009	April 2010	4m,21d	ISDII Hammer	Lieutenant Colonel
14	Ard Royber	June 2010	August 2010	1m,26d	ISDII Hammer	Captain
15	Valic	January 2011	September 2012	1y,7m	ISDII Hammer	Major
16	Exar Kit	September 2012	March 2014	1y,6m	ISDII Hammer	Colonel
17	Landon Cruise	May 2014	August 2014	2m,23d	ISDII Hammer	Commander
	Landon Cruise	August 2014	October 2014	2m,2d	ISDII Hammer	Captain
	Landon Cruise	May 2014	November 2014	1m,18d	ISDII Hammer	Major
18	Delak Krennel	November 2014	February 2015	2m, 27d	ISDII Hammer	Major
19	Iceman	February 2015	July 2015	4m,18d	ISDII Hammer	Major
	Iceman	July 2015	August 2015	1m,12d	ISDII Hammer	Lieutenant Colonel
20	Archenksov	August 2015	January 2016	4m,13d	ISDII Hammer	Commander
21	Silvius	January 2016	March 2016	2m, 1d	ISDII Hammer	Commander
	Silvius	March 2016	May 2016	2m, 2d	ISDII Hammer	Captain
	Silvius	May 2016	September 2016	4m	ISDII Hammer	Major
	Silvius	September 2016	November 2016	1m, 23d	ISDII Hammer	Lieutenant Colonel
22	Michael LeRoy	November 2016	June 2017	7m, 17d	ISDII Hammer	Commander
23	Horus Blackheart	June 2017	September 2018	--	ISDII Hammer	Colonel
24	Alejandro Araujo	September 2018	Current	--	ISDII Hammer	Lieutenant Colonel

Patches and Banners

Assignments

Wing VI: Until 17 ABY (2009.08.29)
Wing I: since 17 ABY to present

Stations

PLT/1: NL-1 since 3 ABY
ISDII: Warrior until 17 ABY
ISDII: Hammer since 17 ABY to present

Spacecraft

Advanced Spectre Missile Boat (SPEC) (current)
TIE Defender (current)
HWK-290 since 30 ABY to present

Awards

Competition History

Traditionally, Alpha hasn't run internal competitions. However, the initiative to move towards the objectives led to the successful attempt to submit new competitions as tools to incentivize participation and training in Alpha's beloved classic platforms.

TIE Corps-wide Competition History

21 ABY (2013.10.22): TCCOM's Own

Squadron Competitions

Operation: Training Drills (SP)

Platforms used:

XW TIE XvT/BoP XWA XWAU TFTC (C and R)

Description: More details soon.

Operation: Alpha Chronicles (PvE/PvP/RP dynamic campaign)

Platforms used:

XvT/BoP XWA XWAU TFTC (C and R) EaW (TR)

Description: More details soon.

Operation: Slumber Party (PvP)

Platforms used:

XvT/BoP XWA XWAU TFTC (C and R)

Description: Every month, pilots from Alpha squadron will fly PvP matches against pilots of a designated squadron of the TIE Corps. Alpha will fly against every single other unit of the TC, one squadron per month. Performance metrics will determine the winning pilots and the winning squadron. The objective isn’t much to spam LoCs but to create unit cohesion, build unit morale and motivation and obtain field experience against real opponents. Get the ball rolling in terms of training towards participating in other online events.

Full details can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bgJI2yRQ-6NzjMgqkKm1_0QCNccvZ5Ucr6Z7cnRyREE/edit Input form: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16QPU6as-ju3MKWFERkuWOFY6R4hYbd6lJz1VV9gmi6A/edit?usp=sharing#gid=733789786

Competition awards: IS-SW to 1st ranked player BW 2nd place CW to 3rd ,4th, 5th

1x ORA for those winning matches with zero deaths, for each match

ORA for an average K/D over 3 (must be held till the end of the month)

ORA for an average player win/lose over 5 (must be held till the end of the month)

ORA for an average game win/lose over 10 (must be held till the end of the month)

ORA for a match won with a K/D over 5

ORA for a match won with zero deaths

Personnel Profile

Initially, Alpha Squadron's ranks were filled with average pilot officers with standard training and military discipline. The behavior of fully trained EHTC officers was expected. However, restructuration and other external situations affected the strength of the unit and a lot of positions were vacant. The general mood was a tad gloomy

After new simulations (Release of SWS) were developed, ranks were quickly replenished with capable yet unexperienced pilots with a reasonably good imitation of proper military discipline. While command approved the redesignation of the unit as Special Forces, still,in the eyes of the veteran leadership of the squadron, the pilots lacked training, initiative and discipline. Steps had to be taken to deal with this but it couldn't be done at the moment.

The long journey to search for a dark presence begun and, along with a good part of the fleet, the Hammer (And the 7thSOS) had to sail the unknown regions. The time spent on the barracks took its toll on all personnel, in particular on the less trained and seasoned pilots at first, then those ex mercs with virtually no military discipline imbued on them; a series of personal incidents for some (including depression) and economic pressure for others, made the 7th SOS overall volunteer activity in competitions to drop to a bare minimum. The squadron itself was on a maintenance mode with even then-LC A. Araujo and his XO, COL Pryde, dealing with severe issues that affected their motivation and there was a clear risk of closing the squadron as there was no need for special forces, just regular and recon units running constant exercises and competitions.

In 30 ABY (2022), however, after recon patrols and deep sensor scans confirmed the existence of more planets with large population, LC Araujo , COL Pryde and COL Blackheart, proposed to retake drills for the squadron and internal simulation exercises begun. The interaction with an ex-Imperial colony, the Empire of the Seven Suns and a cult attempting to incite unrest (with the New Republic secretly financing it) brought the need for a Special Operations Squadron back on the table, proving the officers right on the need for a battle-ready unit.

An efficient and comprehensive system for selecting men for it was needed. This was jointly developed by COLs Horus Blackheart and Talons Pryde with LC Alejandro Araujo. In contrast to the regular TC’s emphasis on team work, the formal selection approach combined Pryde’s requirements of fitness and endurance with the Special Operations Executive’s need for initiative when alone in the field. The selection criteria that were finally agreed upon included initiative, self-discipline, independent thinking and the ability to work without supervision, stamina, patience, and a sense of humour.

Training

Space

Alpha pilots will periodically perform flight simulations in a number of courses and operative/tactical/strategic situations using (but not limited to) the main Imperial starfighters. Additionally, Alpha pilots will perform sparring sessions against each other on a weekly basis each weekend in addition to any other event/competition they participate in as stated on the Standing Orders

Equipment

Given their pilots operational profiles, they often informally dealt with assignments acting as both infantry and pilots and were later given the designation of special forces to formally suit their operational profile. Additionally, unproven and under-trained outfits are thrown together along with seasoned veterans and elite yet undisciplined wildcards who nevertheless have served with distinction. Alpha operatives are provided of their own unique armor set, which differs greatly from the standard issued kit of the rank-and-file and are sent on challenging assignments, less suitable for standard pilots. Each one of the members acquired certain abilities unique to the team and their unorthodox yet often successful tactical approaches to problematic missions other squadrons would refuse to perform if they were given a choice, earned them quite a mixed reputation of exhibiting a concerning level of disobedience, disregard for orders and general dislike of command, especially in the eyes of those officers who preferred a traditional bureaucratic path but on the other hand, it rarely hindered the completion of their missions with nearly one hundred percent success rate. Nevertheless, Alpha Squadron was considered a last resource until the arrival of Commodore Phoenix Berkana who involved the unit in more regular assignments.

At some point, Alpha Squadron met Pengauani mercenaires and inspired by them, acquired the nickname of penguins.

Some of the force-sensitive members of the squadron developed a rare skill of creating time displacement around them (often without control) and worshipped this “lag” as the ultimate truth in the universe.

Roster

Alpha Flight I
Nickname - Stalkers
Motto - "No pity, no mercy, no remorse."

1. CMDR/CPT Witchblade
2. FM/GN Elwood the Brave
3. FM/LT Morkie
4. FM/LT Seahowl

Alpha Flight II
Nickname - THE RECKONING
Motto - "WE ARE INEVITABLE"

1. SQXO/CPT Maximus Meridius
2. FM/LCM Sid_amos
3. FM/LT DarkHelmet
4. FM/LT EH-Zorak500

Alpha Flight III
Nickname - Nightwalkers
Motto - "Just smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave..."

1. FL/CM Shane
2. FM/LCM Mazr Donir
3. FM/LT MsMayham
4. FM/LT Alexander Stark