Communication Is The Language of Leadership

Day 2,046, 08:05 • Published in USA USA • by Azazel Romanov


It's been too long since I last wrote to you all, but I find it unfortunate that I must speak under these circumstances. I had hoped to write to you saying that all my official obligations were over for this month and that I was a free citizen. I am no longer in congress, no longer MoFA, but unfortunately still CoT MC. You see, my term was supposed to end on the 24th, but as the 27th rolls around I am still expected to update CoT orders and determine daily priorities. You and I both might be wondering why this is the case.

When I first became CoT MC, we had bright days. Our HQ was organized and I assembled the largest MC team CoT has ever seen with the active cooperation and participation of the current SCs, Demon War and LitoII. MinPRO of Russia, the Russian CP, and Potato134, aMC from Paraguay and Rogue Squadron head, were selected to be my vMCs, so that we would be covering all major time zones of CoT’s damage. One of my first actions was to approve the US's NE of Serbia and basically start the current war we all see ourselves in. This action was the real ignition after the first spark in the Swiss-Slovenian conflict. I knew the possible consequences of this, but decided that waiting was not going to improve our situation.

At first, CoT coordinated and managed to pull off several impressive wins, such as defeating Romania's airstrike, securing Aquitaine for US and pushing Serbia to near breaking point, wiping Colombia and holding back Argentina and while not winning, near successfully holding off three to four NEs in Russia and keeping the front there a near stalemate. CoT could not take full credit for all of these things as we had impressive coordination with Asgard, Brazil, and a lot of help from non-CoT allies on a few fronts. We were fighting against more damage and a larger alliance, and we were actually proving ourselves capable of fighting back.


Something like this.

After CP elections and the transition to a new SC term, things started getting a bit worse for us. Bulgaria nominated Graverobber, and Chile nominated Femto666. I was unfamiliar with both, but held out optimism. Femto666 had to drop early on due to problems, so Indonesia was offered a chance to nominate and picked Kandon. So now that we had officially sorted out this problem, we could hopefully move on and continue improving CoT. Discussion continued on how to improve internal communication and coordination, and it appeared we would be moving in the right direction.

Unfortunately the tide of the war was turning. Several ex-EDEN nations began working in tandem with TWO. While there is not full cooperation between these two groups, they both saw their mutual enemy as CoT, given prior conflicts with Argentina, Turkey, and Greece that CoT has had. Russia was wiped once Ukraine got involved, and joint TWO-EDEN stacks pushed Colombia and Argentina up against ROLA in Latin America. Immediately following this was a full TWO invasion against the US was beginning, including the nations of Serbia, Poland, Hungary, UK, RoC, Thailand, and Montenegro, the latter two launching successful airstrikes into the center of the US. The US took the brunt of the invasion at first and focused on assisting allies, but the number of battles continued to grow. Meanwhile in the Middle East, Turkey and Greece pushed harder against Macedonia and Bulgaria, and pushed back a Indonesian airstrike in Iran.

Multiple factors are to blame for this. First, I shall be self damning and say that I could have been giving 110% when I am probably around 70-80%. This month has been incredibly interesting but also incredibly exhausting, and I admit that fatigue set in during the latter half of my term. Another factor is damage, which CoT currently lacks against both TWO and ex-EDEN. While the gap is not huge, it is significant enough to prevent CoT from winning battles simultaneously against both fronts. Lastly, is the overall defensive nature of the alliance versus offense. Aside from early in the war, CoT has been defending regions rather than launching attacks. The saying goes that the best defense is a good offense, and we've only been guarding bonuses while losing elsewhere.

CoT is in a rough spot. Many members sit wiped or partially to fully occupied. Our coordination is less than impressive, which I must admit I am to blame for. I believe that I and my MC team have grown weary from the constant attention required for planning a World War. Which makes refreshment more important and key to pursue. As stated earlier, my term was supposed to end three days ago, but I still remain CoT MC. It is still unclear who will be replacing me, or if I will even be replaced in the next few days. I will perform my duty as MC until relieved, but we must be more on top of this. The gap between CoT’s leadership and the national governments has grown distant, and honestly could coordinate more efficiently with CoT governments. CoT nations need to demand more from their alliance and actively work to improve its functions and leadership. I've seen apathy, discouragement, and separation start to thrive in the alliance. I've grown to care about the alliance’s maintenance and future, and I have met many people I wouldn't have sitting in congress or national government.


Always darkest before dawn.

I know that being on the losing side makes one grow apathetic and less optimistic, as I myself have experienced this. My own country has almost been completely taken by TWO, and currently strong nations in CoT like Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Russia stand wiped or on the brink. We also have several members like Switzerland, South Korea, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru who lost regions or sit homeless but continue to follow priorities and fight where needed. Sacrifices have also been made by Asgard, Brazil, Italy, and Ireland to fight in a war that they didn't start. I've seen the good in us, and our commitment shine through, and I don’t want to lose that. Earlier in the term I wrote about us realizing what needed to be done, and I do not want us to forget that we are still in alliance and we are still fighting for one another.

I do not come here to damn CoT, I came here to save it. Ask yourselves and your leadership to step it up. No, demand it. I’m not afraid to admit that I am one person and have my limitations. I need your help, and so does your alliance. CoT is an alliance meant to be run by the countries involved, not always directly with top-down decisions. We grow when our members actively involve themselves in the alliance’s decision making and growth. We are a community of nations, and though sometimes disparaged, we are often odd couples and strange partners. Despite our differences, our problems, or our outside relations, we all ended up here and working together. While sometimes the source of problems, that sort of relationship is also how CoT has thrived. We need to ensure we do not lose our diversity and our commitment to one another. Most importantly, we should not forsake ourselves.

Without change, I do not predict a bright path for our alliance, unfortunately. We will continue a downward slope and eventually continual losses will likely drive our members apart rather than together in solidarity. We shall face another realignment in the world and it is unclear whether or not any of us seek to benefit from such. I want what is best for my country and my alliance, and I do not want to end up deciding between the two in the near future. There is a lot of anger growing throughout the world and it will eventually not be containable or amendable.

Wars come and go. Battles are won and lost daily. But in the end, what matters most is whether or not you can say you survived it. I don’t know about you, but I intend to survive. What is your intention?