Command Reflections

(OOC Note: Sorry for the lack of updates, I was recently married so I haven’t had time to attend to this blog like I should.)

While it has been some time since my last entry, no shortage of fighting has occurred during that absence. The “Great War” has taken a short breather as both sides recoup their losses from the previous 5 months of warfare. The Alliance has lost ground to superior numbers (but not skill) in the south, losing all space gained from the old ASCN war last year. GBC Alliance corporations have been resettled (as far as I can tell) in the Fountain Region, which I still view as my true home in the Eve Cluster. The campaign by our enemies resembles classic Amarr Navy doctrine of throwing the largest numbers into a fight. That worked for the Empire for eons, but times have changed....I suspect this war will change as well.

Since giving up frontline command of the OEC and Legionnaire Alliance, a strange disconnect has taken place. To say I feel out of the loop is an understatement, but that is maybe a good thing as I need to get the ‘grunt’s perspective’ I once had 10 years ago serving on the AMN Octavian. Being in charge for too long I have found lessens your ability to see the small picture. My military school tacticians will probably disagree as they always emphasized the ‘large picture’ and the goalposts for any military endevour.

But I have found that just focusing on the larger issues makes getting there all the harder. Commands coming down from HC with little guidance on how to get the job done are certain to run into problems. One of the strong points I have found in Evolution, and BoB in general, is the almost religious thinking of “keeping it simple”. Yes, the KISS principle is alive and well in the south. All complex decisions, strategy, and politics are kept far away from the grunt’s as possible…letting them focus at the task at hand, and making them more proficient at being the tip of the spear.

My time in the OEC and LSD could have benefited from this. It is a lesson that I will always put to use in my future leadership endeavors, whatever they may be.

As for my personal activities…they have mainly been regulated in defensive patrols in and around Delve, but I have recently JumpCloned to the Beke system, using it as a base of operations to patrol for RAZOR transports. I feel more useful this way in our efforts, but I do not know how long I can maintain my solo efforts. So far, its just my Coercer, its crew, and my willingness to put them on the line of fire. Already we have provoked an enemy Brutix class battlecruiser into attacking us near a concord patrol. Our hopes are to catch some light shipping that would normally evade larger ships.

It is a diversion that I will probably need…war is coming in a big way after this relative calm in the South. As epic of scope the battles tend to be, I recognize my calling in smaller skirmish type warfare. Still…there is plenty of time to hone those skills after the war has concluded.