Community Update No.13

Community Update No.13
22APR21 0101 hrs UTC+1

Good day Red Devils,

For those older members of the unit, you might remember Horner used to write up these Community Updates and that he was somewhat notorious for allowing a lot of time to slip between entries. In fact the last update prior to this was his last entry on the 6th of June last year, where he started it off by suggesting it had been a long time since the last update. Well it has indeed been a long time since last update, so try to follow along.

What’s happened since the last update?

Last summer saw the retirement of Horner as leader of the unit after the conclusion of the very successful Juno Campaign which ended with a PvP win against a mixed group of communities. At the time we had just recently stood up No.5 Platoon under my leadership, and No.4 Platoon was going very strongly. As summer was upon us and COVID restrictions lifting around the world, we found a lot of members saying goodbye as they returned to in-place work or school in the fall. As a whole, our unit numbers have continued to stay positive despite the retirements. Around this time, Staff updated the training modules moving from a 3-part module system to a 4-part module system that saw each of the modules taking less time to complete, and also added a much needed recce component to the training modules.

In the absence of Horner leading the unit, the remainder of the Staff banded together and elected Thire take over, with all of our support behind him. Then as summer faded, we were treated to an interesting Operation BITING that saw us jumping (without weapons) into the Bruneval Raids to recover RADAR parts and intel. Following this event into the early fall season, we began to train for PvP against the Brothers in Arms community, which resulted in an overwhelmingly successful event. After the BiA PvP, we officially stood up our D Troop (Recce) team under Carrick’s leadership.

As fall turned to winter, we paddled ashore Italy in Operation SLAPSTICK which saw us chasing the remnants of the German Fallschirmjager further into the Italian mainland. Operation SLAPSTICK marked the first time we introduced the new (optional) midweek assignments which allowed small teams to work at tasks midweek like recce, logistics, defensive construction, convoy supply runs, etc. Many members of the unit enjoyed this change of pace and we’ve continued to include midweek assignments to the current date.

Once again as in 2019, our 2020 winter break began with a Nassau campaign ran by Thire. Following the campaign, we took the remainder of the month off and started fresh in January where we immediately moved into recruit training phases, followed by getting ready for our next campaign in February. In Operation CLAYMORE, we conducted a seaborne raid into Lofoten in Norway, followed by a PvP with the newer 102nd Panzergrenadier Battalion unit afterwards. After the successful PvP win, we moved back into training phase for March while we prepared for our current campaign event.

Unfortunately the month of March also brought on some bad news with the departure of Barden from the unit. After nearly 3 years of service to the unit, he was issued several warnings by the Staff for multiple infractions and issues stretching back several months. After ignoring a deadline to get back on track, he was removed from Staff and issued a probation with specific instructions on how to return to good standing. Ultimately Barden chose to ignore the probation, and with 1 day left remaining for him to reply with his intentions, he decided to just leave the unit without a word.

The good news moving forward was that Reichert was more than willing to step up and take over the leadership of No.4 Platoon. At the same time, recognizing that running a group of ~60 active members is a massive undertaking, I joined the Company HQ as Company 2IC, leaving No.5 Platoon in the more than capable hands of Standish. To finalize the new changes, both Reichert and Standish have joined the Red Devils Staff, and we are all committed to continue serving as your leadership. In April, we began our Operation COMPASS campaign, where we portray the British Army crashing against the Italian army in North Africa.

So here we are, all caught up to the present day. The unit is going very strong, with an estimated 61 active members, and we’re showing no sign of stopping anytime soon. Carrick recently became the first person in the unit to reach the 3 year milestone, achieving the first award of the Defense Medal, and some others will be joining that prestigious club shortly.

So what about the future? 

We’ll be finishing the current campaign, and at the conclusion of Operation COMPASS we will be making some minor changes to the ORBAT. Recce group will be expanding into a second vehicle, and both platoons will be receiving a new Platoon Sergeant. Staff is also currently working on documentation for many of our outdated specialist training, which once completed will be available to all members interested in such roles. Rumour also has it in a future campaign this year we might be hopping around in a jungle somewhere. And we also have many veteran members returning part-time to the unit expected to be full-time again this summer.

What do we need from you, the member?

We absolutely need your continued patience. The departure of Barden was difficult for some members, and we now have to adjust to having new leaders in place. It doesn’t mean that people are allowed to take advantage of new leaders and try their luck at getting away with behaviour that isn’t tolerated. This is still the Red Devils, and we expect better of our members. If anyone needs a reminder on the rules or how to conduct themselves, I’m more than willing to volunteer my time to sort that out as Company Second-in-Command.

The new leadership changes means we’re also looking for people to volunteer for junior leader roles and to help mentor newer players. If you’re interested, please talk to your current leadership team about your intention, then once given approval fill out an application and send it via the forums to Thire and/or myself.

Additionally, we are looking for people to volunteer for out-of-game roles, like the Film Crew or the Historical Authenticity Committee; if you’re interested please talk to Standish (Film Crew) or O’Keefe (H.A.C.) for more details and apply if it sounds like something you’d be interested in helping out with!

Finally we encourage all active members to reach out to any friends they have outside the community and bring them in if WW2 Arma Milsim is the sort of the thing they’d be interested in. It’s very easy to integrate into a group this size and quality when you have friends established already.

Upcoming Events

• Operation COMPASS III-VI
  
• Operation COMPASS midweek assignments
  
• Post-Operation COMPASS Ceremony (Africa medals)
  
• Recruit Modules + Ceremony
  
• Member led events including Maquis #2 (date TBC) and maybe a Nassau side-campaign?
  

Capt. T. Barker
Troop Commander
D Troop (Recce)