S3 Series

Moving this discussion away from the 4th FG thread:

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Which of our guys do you propose we cut? From the 4th? The 23rd?

I understand where you're at with this. It was extremely frustrating when we were a 1/1.5 step squad going up against the 4-step 31st FG back in the day. We made it a goal to recruit so that we were on an even basis with them #'s-wise and made a strong effort to recruit guys in order to do so. We accomplished that goal ever since have had a strongly enforced policy of no additional recruiting. We've done that for well over a year now, I think adding a single new recruit in the last three years.. I've also have made attempts to refer new recruits to other groups within the game.

It would help that once groups reached a point - the cat is already out of the bag with two steps - of three or four steps that they voluntarily STOP RECRUITING and start referring newbies to other groups.

Two steps and you are too close to losing critical mass if you lose a few pilots. My personal experience is that 3/3.5 is the sweet spot. More than that and it becomes a nightmare managing them all. Many less than that and you're on the razor's edge of losing momentum if you lose a few at once.

I know some feel like that S3's are losing steam. Maybe they are. However, the most pilots I ever remember in a single frame is ~150. Last frame we had 130. Down some but not as bad as some are making it out to be. There have been a lot of new names in the Main Arena the last few times I've been on. Tell them about the S3's and get them to come onboard.

<S>

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Discuss.

I am not down with limiting squad sizes to 2 steps in the S3s. 4 steps, perhaps, but 2 is too small.

We should focus on growing more participants to the S3s rather than limiting and risking the loss of players because they have been culled from their squad.

Ni Yen.

It would indeed be great if all squads were 3 or 4 steps.

I just don't forsee sudden rapid growth / mass recruitment happening any time soon.
(if anything some squads recently folded or merged)

I was just making a casual observation.

I agree John- 3-4 step is the way to go because if you go 2 steps then family vacations and holidays and etc etc you now have a non working group which puts a burden in the rest of the squads. BUT if a squad sees itself getting larger then a good 3 1/2 step squad the referral is the way to go. I mean I am sure there are some folks that fly a frame or two a series so that could be considered the "Reserve"

<{S}>

The biggest issue is that there are a couple of MA squads that snatch up any new pilots within minutes sometimes. Not sure if the retention rate of WB suffers from this or not but it sure does put a damper on S3 squads growth. The S3 needs cooperation of these squads to guide them into the squads who are in need of the most growth.

The 23rd has always been around 3 full steps. We have more pilots registered than that but they are not full timers. They are also left overs from the 31st.

A limit of 4 steps would be a good right now for the exact reasons Tod gave.

I would forward that ACCURATE REPORTING of actual squad PARTICIPATION in S3 events prior to each new Series is critical to our match-ups. It is my observation that the Janitors have made most all Series a "competition" when they have accurate reports of the numbers which will be present on both "sides". Numbers, the Rules, and the Rides all play a part. When the "numbers" are what the Jantiors have been led to believe, the various Series are, generally, very close on points at the conclusion. While some Squads may have 50 guys on the roster, IF only 8 of them happen to regularly fly S3s, it would be handy to report to the Janitors that you have 8-12 pilots on an "average" Sunday.

Understood but this is a conversation that we've need to have. Growth is rarely rapid. There has seemed to be a lot of new names recently. Keep recruiting.

<S>

when broz came to me with the proposal to help him with jg 27 51 was pretty big at the time and was cumbersome,
part of why broz came to me was because i had small unit tactical ideas he liked so we formed jg 27 and the idea i had
was that we would groom leadership along with everything else we taught and in my mind that as soon as we got over 3 steps regularly we would split
off everything over two steps into a new sister or daughter squad. we always looked to 51 as our parent squad even though we were often performing better.
imo tod sort of has it, IMO a squad is most efficient and effective per pilot hour somewhere between 2 and 3 steps imo it is just as critical to stay under 3 steps as it is to stay over 2.

18 players is very hard to manage on 1 voice com and multiple voice coms can be just as bad if not worse.

i am wondering what about break events set up like a draft for the purpose of community wellness, maybe open them up to non s3 squads and the only draft rule is that you must
draft non squad members unless there are no other choices left? the draft process would take a while but if it is a multiframe event or maby an arena set up like the last s3 sides switched and
sides drafted as stated above.

maybe some good new relationships will get going or at least some better understanding, IME people get on much better working together on ts then they do hashing crap out on the bbs. one place is excellent for building mutual respect and friendship, the other is not good at that at all, it has its uses but i think its best use is information exchange distribution and not relationship building.

no real janitor duties so we could get jabo and roan in on the shooting maybe ...

i don't know just a thought

Hehe you could have a mashup schoolyard series.

2 squads put forward the CO as captains
they toss for first pick (or roll a dice whatever)

each one then take it in turn to pick a squad from the pool to be on their team
until all squads are assigned


(suggest Pappy is allied captain as 4th will be fixed)

Salute!

I actually don't have a problem with the uber-squads' size. As Thor said, think of the Team Speak with two dozen folks on it, and one or two motormouths, heh heh.

I also agree with Thor about the comraderie built on TS when you fly with another squad popping in along the way or a pilot flying as a guest. This is more prevelant for we buffs, as an hour flight time to the target offers lottsa time to review lineage, current jobs, grandchildren, etc. Heh heh.

Way I see it, we can use "step" limits to fields for squads. Not total steps, but squad steps. The DR have had to do this with their mixed squad, and their lites usually fly from different fields than the mass gaggle. The uber-lite squads have had the same deal.

Along that line of thinking, I see no reason to have any field less than two steps. Further, this current series has very restrictive basing rules, and I don't understand. If I can take off from a stupid grass field in my Mitchell, then I should be allowed to do that. Without giving away state secrets, one side has cracked the code this series, and the other is severely limited on buff bases. Duhhhh.

Just some thots from Geriatric park