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Donut's Inability To Say In Ten Words What Can Be Said In A Thousand-And-Ten Introduction

As many of you will have noticed I am currently a vocally enthusiastic member of The Crimson Order, eCanada's premier milita and one of the best known bands of soldiers in the eWorld. This refusal to shut the hell up eagerness to spread the Crimson gospel recently lead to me being offered a senior role in TCO's PR department, where my job description largely involves making sure people know about us and what we're at, encouraging in new members etc. Initially my plan was to do a straight up recruitment piece but when I got to thinking about what I wanted to do with my new job etc. I wound up wandering off on a slight tangent, as some of you probably can testify I'm prone to doing.

I (obviously) am more focused on the military aspect of this game than pretty much anything else. I want to see Canada and Ireland not just surviving but going from strength to strength and to that end, deep in my heart of hearts, I don't much mind if someone's TCO, CAF, IA, ICA, HOPE or freelance or whatever other group I've forgotten to mention just so long as they're doing their bit to get stronger and to defend and advance the homestead* because, ultimately, we're all pointing our guns the same way. That said I do believe, and firmly, that being in a militia/national army can do wonders for a citizen's ability to grow in this area of the game, as well as in the game in general. Having the brother(and sister)hood of fellow soldiers, whether they happen to be more experienced than me and someone I can learn from, or the newest of noobs that I can help out, has given me more reason to turn up here daily than the latest political scandal, unannounced game changes or current Who Stole The Treasury soap opera ever could.

To that end I decided I wanted to get to know some of the people heavily involved in eCanada's militaries better and, being utterly shameless, I decided to start at the top - with the Commanding Officers of the TCO's Crimson Canucks and eCanada's official national army the CAF. It was interesting to me how they'd both found themselves where they are today, and I thought it might be interesting to others, or maybe it would help to educate those reluctant to enlist a bit on how these things work. Fortunately Crisfire and Philip Delle Palme are both dead sound lads who agreed to humor me, and did so at fairly little notice. Cris I've known a while now but this was pretty much my first ever communication with PDP and I want to thank them both for letting me gas on at them as I have just gassed on at you and for being so easy to handle in my first ever interviews.

Questions were the same for both, I've edited only for spelling errors. Hopefully the start of a series (for which I promise far shorter introductions 😃).

* - This statement does not apply to Mary Chan, who we will lure to TCO with fresh homebaked cookies if we have to.

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Crisfire (TCO)

1)Before we begin can you please state, for those reading this who don't know, what you current rank in the TCO is and how long you've held the position:

Certainly, I’m Colonel Crisfire, the Crimson Canucks Commanding Officer and as to how long, to be honest I’m terrible with dates but it has been several months now.

2) When did you first join TCO and what drew you to it? Why have you stayed?

I was always intrigued by TCO mostly due to my position within the CAF as a PR guy or recruiter, TCO was the enemy in that regard as we were competing for members. I have always been a fan of TemujinBC, I mean who isn’t? And he was one of those people like Tyler F Durden, Addy Lawrence, Jacobi, Coda and others that you may not have agreed with them but you respected them and looked to them to keep things interesting.

I became disenchanted with the CAF, also a certain thread I bumped into in the High Command section when I was promoted to High Command was the straw that broke the camel's back, I was actually going to quit or take a rest. I sold all my companies and gave the gold to Addy Lawrence to invest in his Opportunity Fund.

That lasted for maybe a day…I said to hell with it, I'm still interested in the game, lets see what the Crimson Canucks are all about. I joined and due to the fact I usually go all in when I join something I was promoted quickly and here I am.

I have stayed because of the people, it’s a fun place to unwind and get goofy. It has also given me the opportunity to put some ideas to work, get creative, get enthused and make something better now then it was when I found it as a team.

3) What do you think your army's greatest strength is?

In terms of on the battlefield it is our designated hitters, our muscle. We have been fortunate enough to have attracted several very strong fighters from eCanada and other eCountries.

But our strength, our momentum, our mojo comes from our people regardless of strength, without them we are nothing obviously but it goes deeper. There is a passion within the TCO to not be satisfied with just playing the game, we want to start winning the game, to be eCanada’s premier fighting force and our enemy’s greatest fear.

Some do more than others due to more free time or interest level but every single day as an organization we do something that inches our mission forward, that keeps the energy up and the Order strong. We may unfortunately lose some along the way, that’s the nature of the beast, but as a group we will adapt and overcome.

4) What do you think of CAF? What do you think their greatest strength is?

What a loaded question 😉 The CAF was my starting point; it’s where I grew as an eRep player and where I met some great people though a lot have left like Ace Blazer. Chamrajnagar, at the time a Lieutenant, for whatever reason saw a spark in me and started me on my climb that would see me enter the halls of High Command.

What do I think of the CAF? As an outsider looking in, as someone who “hears” things from exCAFers or on IRC or wherever, the CAF is in trouble or is stagnant. It seems to lack energy and exposure, it seems to lack fun and interest. Simply put, the CAF needs to stop being the Crimson Canucks training ground, it needs to do something to retain its members and inject some fun into it, some heart and some enthusiasm. I know there are those that every day give as much as they can in the CAF but one or two people can’t carry an organization that big or one that needs to be bigger. There are a lot of really good people in the CAF, dedicated and active but again as an outsider it seems to be lacking enthusiasm.

Perhaps my opinions are totally wrong, if they are then they've got a Public Relations problem and should stop biting off the TCO, I’m looking at you AngryMobMan 😉 Things just haven’t been the same since Roger Griswald left.

5) Have you ever, or would you ever, join the CAF? Why/why not?

I was in the CAF for a year and I believe when I disclosed information without tangible evidence about the Long Sword Rebellion I burned that bridge. That of course is water under said bridge now and I’ve moved on as with the reluctance on the CAF’s part to release that thread about the LSR my personal integrity came into question and it wasn’t worth the effort anymore.

The past is the past and I look forward to working with the CAF in eCanada’s ventures and desires for global domination.

6) If you could talk personally to each of your new recruits to give them one piece of advice what would it be?

Get on the forums and IRC, get involved and get dirty with the rest of us. It’s the relationships that make TCO what it is, it’s also the individuals input and actions that improve the greater good. If you’re just going to join, fight a bit and make roll call or you’re probably not going to stick around and certainly won’t meet your full potential. Talk to your legion mates and officers, don’t be afraid to ask any question any time, and my door is certainly always open. The TCO is always looking for tomorrow's leaders, perhaps when I feel that I have nothing left to offer or eRep infringes on my RL past an acceptable level, or my wife threatens divorce, you will be the CO of the Crimson Canucks, I dont plan on doing it forever 😉

7) Is there anything else you'd like to add about CAF or TCO?

These two organizations, the CAF as eCanada’s national fighting force and The Crimson Order, eCanada’s premier militia keep people playing and attract new players. We both have our faults, our weaknesses and our personal mountains to climb but without the CAF and TCO, without their level of dedication and enthusiasm eCanada is weaker and unable to lay down coordinated damage when and where it is needed the most. Both organizations compete which leads to both improving themselves, when one falls it’s only because that one gave up.

The Crimson Order is experiencing a “soldier boom” at the moment and I believe we are only getting started. We have proved ourselves countless times to be an effective fighting force and a force that can be trusted and relied upon as shown by the peoples trust in raising our funding level. I would encourage anyone that wants to get in the game, that is tired of simply playing it and wants to start winning it to join us, we have energy, enthusiasm, organization and the desire to win.

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Philip Delle Palme (CAF)

1) Before we begin can you please state, for those reading this who don't know, what you current rank in the CAF is and how long you've held the position:

Operational Commander of the Canadian Armed Forces. I have held the position for a little over two months.

2) When did you first join CAF and what drew you to it? Why have you stayed?

I first joined the CAF about a year ago. About two weeks into my "ebirth" I stayed because it was good fun. I liked chatting with people on IRC and i liked the organization aspect for a national army.

3) What do you think your army's greatest strength is?

The CAF has a wide variety of players. From those who focus on the economy or media, to those who focus on tactics. This allows us to always have someone within our organization who is very knowledgeable in a certain aspect of the game. We use that, and our strong community of players to help ensure the best outcome for a situation.

4) What do you think of TCO? What do you think their greatest strength is?

TCO is a power-house of an army. They are very well organized. I would say that their greatest strength, aside from being able to tolerate butts like TemujinBC, is they have many players online at all times of the day. This is because they are an international organization and have many players who are living outside of Canada IRL.

5) Have you ever, or would you ever, join the TCO? Why/why not?

I have actually considered grabbing my pick-ax and going into the slave pits after I finish my term as Operational Commander. I was a member of TCO for a few weeks in V2 but found that I enjoyed the CAF more. Mainly because I already knew quite a few people there.

6) If you could talk personally to each of your new recruits to give them one piece of advice what would it be?

Get on IRC and communicate with your CO and fellow soldiers. We constantly help each other out. Also, don't be frustrated by your stats or think that you are weak. We take pride in turning recruits into power-houses on the battlefield.

7) Is there anything else you'd like to add about CAF or TCO?

Both are great armies IMO. Obviously for the moment I am bias towards the CAF but TCO has strong points which the CAF does not, and vice-versa. I would recommend either to experienced players but I do believe that the CAF is better structured to handle new players in the game.

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I'd like to thank the lads again for agreeing to this, and again for doing so with such short notice. I'm hoping this leads to a series of different, more focused looks at the eCan military groups so that people from the outside can understand how it all works a little better (or so that CAFers can understand TCOers set up better and vice versa).

The official Canucks newspaper will still run regular recruitment ads to the tune of 'TCO ROX, COME FIGHT WITH US' (Which we do, and you should) but never let it be said I went about anything the straightforward way lol.

TCO Recruitment Link: http://bruckscanucks.forumotion.ca/t4581-enlist-here-welcome-to-tco
CAF Recruitment Link: http://ecanada.cc/forums/viewtopic.php?f=398&t=9919
HOPE: http://www.erepublik.com/en/main/group-show/153

o7
Captain Einberliner, 10th Legion Crimson Canucks

P.S - Interviews won't be all I'm doing for this project, which you can probably tell is as much personal as TCO, but CAFers - are there particular Canucks you'd like to see interviewed? Canucks - who in the CAF would you want to hear from? Please comment, I'll see what I can do.
P.P.S - Lavis Knight, don't think you're off the hook 😉