501st Newsletter Issue #21

CT Sideways, Publisher
Wednesday, July 10th, 2019

THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY

Zeta Company is available to members who have completed UTC. For all you hopefuls out there, we have breaking news on some big changes coming to Zeta.

When word reached the 501st news team of the recent reforms undergone by Zeta Company, we shipped our very own CT Ruse off to the far corners of the galaxy to find out more.

THE RESERVIST EXPERIENCE

CP DELTA, COMPANY EXECUTIVE OFFICER:

     When you finish UTC, all you gotta do is fill out the Zeta application form and join the Zeta discord. Links are in my TS channel and in the main discord. After joining, Zeta applicants request their tags and search for the Zeta squad that best matches their availability by asking around or by reading the descriptions of the section rooms in TeamSpeak. Once they get into their squads they’re all set.

     Zeta is here to make sure people can have a place to go. We encourage people in Zeta to go to Avalanche squad trainings so they can get themselves slotted. It’s not our job to get them slotted, it’s up to them if they get slotted or not. How long someone stays in Zeta completely depends on the trooper. Some people leave for Avalanche the same day they join Zeta. We also make sure that people in Zeta get trained in their Zeta squads so they are still on the up and up.

UTC CADET:

      I think that in my limited exposure to Zeta and in regards to their Ops. I think the people in Zeta are fine, they are good people, all good troopers. I think I may have had a bad experience in the Zeta Ops because what I have seen is that people forget about their training in UTC. I don’t have full spectrum there, but that's my view of Zeta at the moment.

AVALANCHE TROOPER:

      Zeta's a good place to provide a more casual environment for our cadets to grow and learn while allowing them to build better relationships with others. Through monthly check-ins, members are encouraged to take the initiative to be responsible for their own activity, giving them a chance to mark their place in the unit. 

      If their intention is to join Avalanche, they have the opportunity to try out with different squads to find the perfect fit. Though it may seem tedious at first, this process helps to create a stronger trooper.

THE REFORMS

CP FANCY, COMPANY COMMANDER:

     I'll be 100% with you, this interview couldn't have come at a better time. We're trying to fix up how are sections work so they can mimic Avalanche times. That way Avalanche can go to specific sections of Zeta for its reserves. Section 1 will most often work with 1st Platoon and 4th Platoon, and Section 2 will most often work with 2nd Platoon. Section 3 would help 3rd Platoon. 4th Section is the home for our lower activity members and personnel who cannot attend Avalanche functions. We are also making it easier to set up Zeta members with Avalanche squad leaders.
     These concepts were lost in the development of Zeta due to the growing process, and now we are reorganizing to reflect that now. I think this is a good change but it’s a lot of micro managing and a lot of data manipulation as well. At the end of the day people will hopefully say that the end result helped them save time and make processes more efficient.
     Zeta serves the general infantry and as we are Reservists first and foremost, we needed to make a few changes to Zeta so it was less of a "holding area with training" to a Reservist Company. Avalanche NCOs and their leaderships have taken the helm in the training of personnel once they leave Zeta and enter the infantry. This led to the removal of our original Zeta company policy number 2, which was you have to be a trooper to transfer out of Zeta and were required to remain within Zeta for one month after UTC before you could transfer. Now, Zeta is more narrowly focused around providing Transfers and Reservists.

CP DELTA

      Zeta hasn't really had a straight direction up until now. We had been trying way too many things at once. Outside of doing their check ins once in a blue moon, people were just sitting around, waiting for something to happen until they got moved into Avalanche. We are working through this currently to give Zeta a better direction. We have a better command structure. It’s 100% getting better.

      We have 15 open spots in Avalanche, and if it was entirely up to me we’d get people in them. Number 1, if you have lower activity, then we have a home for you. Those people that can’t make it any of the Avalanche times have a place here in Zeta. 

      Number 2, we make sure that people are trained as they wait to get slotted in Avalanche overall. There are multiple Zeta squad and section operations in addition to actively reserving. We have had the occasional Zeta op as well.

      And yeah, you can say that there is not much to do in Zeta. With the coming reorganization of Zeta, we are putting our foot down and we are saying: whatever you consider the old Zeta to be, this is what Zeta is now.

      And remember to not be toxic, especially CP Fancy.

FROM Z TO A

      Having a fifth person is critical to the Avalanche fireteam dynamic. The team is still above half strength with one wounded and one to stabilize. This is not the case with four or three members. Having a healthy pool of active reserves means waving good-bye to the possibility of deploying with an under-strength squad.

      When a Cadet reserves in Avalanche or the other elements, they are bringing value to the table. Before Zeta, finding a reservist was a complete crap shoot. Now, reservists are more familiar with the game’s mechanics than some of the old slotted troopers. 

     It really was the wild west when it came to staking a claim on reserves before this organized system was put in place. Zeta Company serves these specific needs of the community, and I order you to revere them.

Battalion HQ -

“Get off my grass.” - CC Bondoer

Avalanche HQ -
Sam (CP to CS), Myers (CT to Sr. CT), Goddest (CT to Sr.CT)

“Avalanche is enjoying the campaign. We look forward to the hard work the mission team is putting in and want to thank them for the work they put in. 

Brace yourselves, the Sergeants are coming!” - CC Player

Avalanche 1 -

Tee (CP to Sr. CP), Strill (CP to Sr. CP) 

"Looking forward to wrapping things up in the campaign" - CS-M Point

Avalanche 3 -

Goddest (CT to Sr. CT), Crebar (CR-C to CT), Sledge (CR-C to CT) 

"3rd's doing good" - CC Ewik

Acklay -

Ricochet (CP to CS), Nobear (CP to CS)

“Ewik's natural armament is rocks and sticks. He's still unable to break bones.”- CC Lava

 
Onyx -

CT Korvus (Candidate to Member of Cyrus 2-1), CT Sazi (Candidate to Member of Solus 1-1), CT Owl (Candidate to Member of Cyrus 2-1), CI Flux (Candidate to Member of Triton 2-2)

“The ARC Forward Observer Position remains in its testing phase as we continue to make sure that it is functioning on a Platoon-Level with both Platoon Commanders and Sergeant Majors.” - CS George

Razor -

“17th Cycle has completed, next announcement regarding the 18th Cycle for Razor candidacy will be coming mid-July, stay posted in #razor-open” - CX Scuba

Mynock -

CT Silent (Applicant to Member of Team Two in Mynock 1)

RTO -

“Company is without RTO due to stress, however they are being managed and maintained by one another and myself to ensure that everything is running smoothly. We are trying to train and keep RTO numbers up, and with the assistance from Zeta and taking RTOs from squads there to bring into Avalanche means the task of doing that is much much easier.” - CI-O Roadboy

Medical - 

“I asked for a rectangular prism, and Koop gave me a cube.” - CM-O Koda

Zeta -

“Upper Leadership has decided that Corporal Ghost will not be eligible for Sergeant until he learns to roll-over on command. I vehemently disagree with this decision.” - CP Fancy

DID YOU KNOW?

Smoke grenades are like deployable bushes that have a specific area of effectiveness for a short period of time. If you're seen before you can hide in the billowy part you will continue to be seen for a few seconds with zero cover. Everyone should take some time to learn how to use them because they are life savers when used properly but difficult to use effectively. - CP Zora

501st Trivia

CI-O Roadboy eats cheese before bed to get those trippy dreams.

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^{501st News opinion doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire community. If you’d like to help the news team, you can in many ways, including but not limited to, signing up for the news team, submitting an article, posting a piece of media or getting publicity for an event. For those interested, please contact either CT Sideways, or one of the news editors for more information. Your voice matters, let it be heard. We’re currently looking for journalists to collect stories, media and content and story writers to write articles. Also please consider donating to the 501st to help pay for server costs and help keep this community alive and well maintained. Photo credits: CT Sideways and CR Teal. Extra graphics by: CT Shifty and CT Daku}

^{Publisher: CT Sideways}

^{News Editors: CP Sense and CP Hoodoo}

^{Writers and Journalists: CT Daku, CT Momentum, CT Ruse, CX-X Shnuffles}