Introducing: Entente G.H.Q!

[No.23_Triggers]

 

It is my pleasure to formally introduce the Entente G.H.Q initiative to the Flying Circus community! 

Introduction:

 

Entente G.H.Q. is a highly immersive, highly collaborative, community-driven project based around bringing a new level of historical recreation and enjoyment to the Community Campaign experience. Rather than simply having a Team Commander, Entente G.H.Q (which has commanded the Red Team in the recent Black September VI and Kaiserschlacht campaigns) consists of several Headquarters Staff, all working together to create detailed and complex strategies in order to achieve victory.  Pilots are then sorted into flights and given a detailed, in-depth brief of their various missions within the Campaign Day, with all flights working together as components of a larger 'grand strategy'. 

During event days, G.H.Q. operates through an intricate 'Chain of Command', with pilots constantly receiving new missions and assignments in real-time as the campaign day unfolds.

As well as bringing a new approach to Team Commanding in community events, Entente G.H.Q also has a historically-based and in-depth award system, which offers pilots the opportunity to receive decorations for their efforts during Campaign flying. Unlike other award systems, the criteria for which medals are obtained is based on exceptional feats as outlined in the team's After-Action Reports, which are used by the General Staff and Flight Leaders both to develop further strategies and to create recommendations - as it would be historically - rather than the pilot having to achieve pre-set A2A or A2G 'streaks'. On top of this, the award system has been carefully researched and designed to incorporate not only unique awards for both individual and leadership actions, but also to fully represent the various Entente nations' historical medals and awards, with several unique "national equivalent" medals being available to pilots of virtual Squadrons which represent specific Air Services (E.G, the Royal Naval Air Service, or the United States Air Service), or even their rank within their V-Squadron. As per historical practice, pilots may even receive awards from other Entente nations, depending on the campaign, their citation, and their previously-won awards. 

 

Headquarters Staff:

The "HQ Staff" system encourages Team pilots to actively get involved in strategising and coming up with mission plans for event days, offering a new, fun aspect of campaign participation. As well as the "Senior General Staff" (pre-decided team leaders), several other pilots are invited to contribute to mission plans, strategising, and analysing intel reports, and making award recommendations - this leads to a greater "team sense" overall, and I'd encourage all pilots to try their hand at it at some point! 

 

After-Action Reports:
 

General Headquarters relies heavily on the pilots of its team to submit After-Action reports at the end of each campaign day, detailing what missions they flew and the success or lack of

in completing those missions, the general narrative of their actions, and any notable enemy tactics / strategies. Pilots who submit AARs directly contribute to the planning of missions and strategies; the information provided through them is analysed and utilised by General Staff for the next campaign day. In addition, Headquarters is on the lookout for any particularly notable feats, which will then be submitted to the War Office via recommendation for awards.  
 

The War Office:

One of the more unique, immersive and entertaining aspects of Entente GHQ is the War Office System, which determines the individual awards which are earned during and received at the end of each Community Campaign. Created with Historical Recreation in mind, Flight Leaders and General Staff will write recommendations for awards based on pilots' actions. These recommendations are then submitted to the War Office, with individual pilots' names being omitted from the reports. The War Office will then decide which award best fits the cited action based on the action itself and the previously-received awards of the pilot.

Four 'Levels' of awards may be earned - Level 4 being awarded for notable and/or skilful acts, Level 3 being awarded for highly notable acts, Level 2 being awarded for excellent performance in a leadership role, and the enviable Level 1 awards (Victoria Cross, Legion d'honneur Officer Class, Medal of Honor) being bestowed for only the most unbelievable feats of extreme skill and devotion to the team's success. 

 

 

 

To see the list of pilots who have received Entente G.H.Q awards, visit this thread: [Link available soon]

Campaign Awards & Medals:

As previously mentioned, the Entente G.H.Q award system has been exhaustively researched to create an extensive and historically accurate range of medals that may be won by pilots flying for the Entente "Red" team during Community Campaigns, with 'equivalent' awards being available for pilots of v-Squadrons which depict historical Air Services, or even pilots of different ranks within those air services! In addition, pilots may receive repeat awards for further exceeding the criteria of an already-awarded medal, or they may receive awards of other national air services (as per historical practice).  

Once a pilot receives an award, they will be added to the G.H.Q. Honour Roll (See The Entente GHQ Honour Roll Thread), where their citation (with the appropriate level of censoring to preserve the team's secrets!) will be posted publicly for all to see.  The pilot will also be awarded a Ribbon Bar graphic of their award, to be displayed in forum signatures should they choose to. 

The Full List of Award Criteria can be found HERE, for those who care to take a look! 

 

 

All pilots who fly for the "Red Team" in events where Entente G.H.Q is commanding will also receive a unique G.H.Q. Campaign Ribbon, denoting their participation for the team in the particular event, and also to be displayed in forum signatures!

 

Note: GHQ campaign ribbons are NOT the Official ribbons issued by Community Campaign Hosts!
For J5 Campaign ribbons, see the Awards tab in the Events parser:  http://stats.jasta5.org:8002/en/?tour=19
 

 

Between Community Campaigns:

While there's no active Community Campaign in progress, the Entente GHQ discord doubles up as a community hub for Entente-focused pilots. As well as general chat, channels are in place for Entente pilots to plan missions together, and a "Recruiting Office" channel has been implemented for the creation and growth of Entente Squadrons! There is also a "Training Q&A / Tips" channel for fledgeling Entente pilots to learn the ropes from their more experienced colleagues. 

Discord:

Join the Entente G.H.Q Discord today to get involved! 

https://discord.gg/YtRkqtCg56

Special Thanks:

Special thanks go out to @gascan, @kotori87, @Gardimus, @1PL-Lucas-1Esk,  @US103_dOlive, the pilots of the "Red Team", and all other pilots who have contributed to the creation and implementation of the Entente G.H.Q. 

Although still a fledgeling initiative, so far I believe that the Entente G.H.Q. has really added a new sense of immersion, team spirit and community to Flying Circus (all made possible thanks to the pilots who have already gotten involved), and we look very forwards to future Entente G.H.Q ideas and developments as time goes by! 

Edited May 8, 2022 by US103_Larner