HMS Snow Leopard, CA-425. Editor s Welcome. From the Captain s Chair. Ship s Order

Transcription

1 HMS Snow Leopard, CA-425 Snow Tracks CO Zachariah Fraser, Capt (JG), RMN XO Tom Karpf, CDR, RMN Bosun Jessie Karpf, CPO, RMN Editor s Welcome Well, who would have guessed! Here we are with the second issue! As I said in the first issue, this is your newsletter. Whatever you would like to submit, if YOU think it would be interesting, send it, otherwise, Zack and I are going to get writer s cramp! I picked a different format this time because I just couldn t make things fit cleanly in the two-column mode. This may be easier to read! Joe From the Captain s Chair Greetings to the crew of the HMS Snow Leopard. First of all, I d like to thank each and every one of you for your participation in The Royal Manticoran Navy: The Official Honor Harrington Fan Association! This organization continues to expand as the word spreads about the fan organization, and we now boast a total of over 2100 members not bad growth for the organization that was born in 2011! Ship s Order Effective immediately, no official communication (other than Ship s Orders) concerning the HMS Snow Leopard, her crew and/or interaction with TRMN will be done solely via Facebook. Any official or important communications should use . Basically, things can get lost on Facebook, so if you have questions, suggestions or the like, you should e- mail them. Of course, posting them to Facebook in addition to ing them is fine. Consider the Ship s Facebook page like a bulletin board for posting useful information, but not something for important communication with the Captain or other people in TRMN. Ship Promotions: Congratulations to Spacer 2/c Adam Strickland and Spacer 2/c Alice Mandel on their promotions this quarter! Remember, promotion within the organization is based on three things. The first two are taking the required exams and Time in Grade. Generally, promotion through the lower enlisted ranks in this command will be solely based on these two things. For more senior enlisted and officer ranks, a little more is required. First, there must be an open position, or billet a (relatively subjective) concept that means I have room to promote a person. Given our current chapter size, this shouldn t be an issue.

2 More importantly is participation and service to the organization. Enlisted promotions above E-6 (Petty Officer 1 st class/ Staff Sargent) and Officer promotions above O-1 (Ensign / Second Lieutenant) are handled by TRMN Promotion boards, which base their decisions on the recommendation of commanding officers. Active members earn senior level promotions much faster than those who only take the required exams. Unlike some fan organizations, the TRMN is set up so that not everyone rises to the top just because they are a member in good standing. We ask for a little elbow grease on the part of our senior enlisted and officers, with the goal of making a better, stronger organization overall. It s not too late to submit suggestions, drawings, or ideas for both the Ships Crest and Ship s Motto. Submit your suggestions to the Captain at co@hmssnowleopard.org. You say Winter is Coming? Feh who cares. What s important is that Honorcon is Coming! Honorcon will be held from 31 October 2014 until 02 November Join your Captain and crew as we celebrate all things Honor! And don t forget next year s TRMN Annual meeting will be at Manticon over Memorial Day weekend. It will be located at the Hilton Hotel (Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport - Mall of America) in Bloomington, MN. Make your plans to attend now! (And if you think you might want to car pool with the Skipper please let him know ASAP.) Congratulations to Bernadette Christopher Morrell Karpf on her graduation from Newington High School class of 2014! Captain Fraser and Spacer 3/C Bernadette C. M. Karpf on her graduation from Newington High School One final note: This is supposed to be a FUN organization, not (strictly) a hard-boiled military outfit. If you think you are getting the short-shrift on promotions, let me know. Remember, the CO s position is supposed to include support for the chapter and all its members!

3 Calendar Here are some upcoming dates to be aware of. August 1 to 3 Shore Leave 36, Hunt Valley, MD always has a large presence at this event. Saturday, August 16 Shipboard Service Day: the available crew of the HMS Snow Leopard will be assisting with the Foodshare Regional Market in Hartford, CT from noon until 3:00 PM. While I am as yet unsure about our specific duties, we will be helping out Foodshare s efforts to stamp out hunger in the Capitol District. See below for more information (including a link to a Volunteer Information Form that Foodshare requests all volunteers to fill out. Contact the skipper or the Bosun (Jessie@karpffamily.com) to let us know you are coming and to get directions. IF POSSIBLE, I would ask all crew to wear any TRMN or Honor Harrington garb. The Official Uniform of the Day would be the TRMN RMN tee-shirt, black cargo shorts, and ball cap. Wear it if you have it, don t worry if you don t. Prior to the event will be a Captain s Breakfast at a location to be determined. You must contact the CO to let him know you will attend and you will receive more information at that time. Please him at co.hmssnowleopard@trmn.org or zfarcher@gmail.com. Finally, following the event we will be landing at the CO s Quarters (Zack s house) for a barbecue and general socialization event. Burgers, hot dogs, buns and condiments will be provided. Please bring a side and/or a dessert to share. Also, you may want to bring seating you are comfortable with. Stuff can be dropped off beforehand if needed. We should start serving food around 4:30. See below for more details. If anyone needs to clean up prior to the barbecue, the CO has graciously agreed to make his shower facilities available. You might want to bring your own towel, though Here is the information from Foodshare: Thanks for your interest in volunteering with Foodshare. Your group of 6-8 is scheduled to volunteer at Foodshare's Regional Market in Hartford (directions attached) on Saturday, August 16th from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Volunteer Information Form: In order to provide the best possible volunteer experience and ensure the quality of Foodshare's services, we require each new volunteer to complete and submit our Volunteer Information Form. To find that form click Safety Guidelines:

4 Wear sensible clothing, and closed-toe shoes (no sandals) when working anywhere in the warehouse, Regional Market, or at outside events. Those wearing open shoes will be asked to go home and change to closed toe shoes for safety. For gardening and gleaning work, please bring a hat and water and wear sunscreen. Inclement Weather: Foodshare announces closings due to bad weather or other unplanned reasons on WTIC 1080 and WFSB Channel 3. For Regional Market shifts on Saturday morning, please call Steve Slipchinsky at (860) , ext. 134 after 7:00 a.m. to confirm Foodshare is open. Immediately report any injuries and/or unsafe conditions or practices to your supervisor. Even minor injuries should be reported. Volunteering at Foodshare's Regional Market facility includes handling produce that will be served to at-risk and immuno-suppressed populations. For that reason we ask and expect that all volunteers are in good health. If you are ill, please let the supervisor know and reschedule your volunteer service. Keep eyes and ears open at all times, watching and listening for forklifts, pallet jacks and other equipment used in the warehouse and the Regional Market. Volunteers should not shout, run or participate in horseplay at any Foodshare facility or event. Volunteers should not ride or play on carts or pallet jacks. Warehouse machinery can be used with the permission of your Foodshare supervisor once you have been properly trained and certified to do so. At this time the Regional Market facility is not handicap accessible. Groups needing a handicap accessible site should request Foodshare's Warehouse facility, which has very good access. October 31 to November 2 Honorcon 2014, Raleigh, NC, Honorcon is one run by us and for us. If you know of any other SF themed conventions, let me know and I will add them. Also, if any of you have recently attended any convention and want to let us know about it, this is a great place for it. Chapter News We had a meeting/dinner/game night at the COs on the 17 th. Everyone who showed up had lots of fun. After discussing chapter business, and dinner, the CO and XO managed to teach a bunch of us how to play X-Wing Fighter, where they proved that while a Royal Marine may be able to kick butt and take names on the ground, those skills don t necessarily translate into being a space jockey! Our next gathering is Saturday, August 16 th at the CO s home in Manchester. Time: After Foodshare until we kick the last ones out. We will have a cookout, conversation and recreation. We provide the meat-like substances (sorry, no Soylent Green the local distributor went out of business), you provide sides/desert to share and whatever beverages you want to bring for personal or shared consumption. I

5 also STRONGLY recommend you bring something you are comfortable sitting on! Contact the CO for directions. Training and Qualifications Last issue we talked about some of the awards you can earn. Here are some more. Marksmanship Awards In TRMN, you don t have to pick up a firearm (phaser, neural disruptor, flechette gun, etc.) to earn Marksmanship Awards. Instead, there are lists of authorized games and activities that can earn these awards. TRMN.org has a listing of what games can be used for what awards (some for rifle, some for pistol). Please check the Admiralty orders as they are updated fairly regularly. The games must be witnessed and signed by two other TRMN members on the official forms. So what you do is have three people rotating through. That way, you can sign each others form. Depending on the game, it can qualify for either Rifle or Pistol awards. Once you earn the award, you can order the appropriate ribbon from BuSup. Marksman Certificate complete 5 approved games of the weapons type as stated in the Admiralty Orders. No ribbon is associated with this level. Sharpshooter Award complete 10 approved games of the weapons type. Rifle Pistol Expert Award complete 25 approved games of the weapons type. Rifle Pistol High Expert Award complete 50 approved games of the weapons type. Rifle Pistol There is no time limit for completion of these games for qualification for awards. Promotion/Assignment News

6 1 June, 2 nd LT RMMC Joe Grieco RMN Officer Academy Instructor Saganami Island News If you order a course, you should receive it within 7 days of your request. If you do not, send an to the Instructor, Department Head, Director, or Commandant (in that order), reminding them of your request. A new policy (as of May 20) requires an instructor to send an to the student when he receives an exam for grading. This lets you know your exam has come in and will be looked at. Again, SIA policy calls for a return within 7 days. If you do not get a response, send a polite (with another copy of the exam answer sheet) to the instructor. If you do not hear back in another week, inform their supervisor. You may want to check with the CO or LT Grieco first, as they are Instructors and can help with this. Need help with an exam? Feel free to ask the CO or LT Grieco. We are academy instructors for certain fields, but can also help you with Rating exams. We won t answer the question for you, but we can point you in the direction of the source. Chapter Ideas This section will be an open forum for what you would like to see our group do. This is where we could discuss local get-togethers, convention groups, library attacks, etc. Let us know about what is going on in your area and we can help. We can also update information on the Snow Leopard Facebook Page (You are all registered, aren t you?) between issues. Crew Biographies This is where we like to profile our members who are willing to share their info. What would we like to see? Well, how you got involved in SF in general and the Honorverse in particular. Any information about your outside life you want to share, etc. Is what you have done or do at work at all related to what you see yourself doing in the Honorverse? Uniform Items

7 For those looking to acquire any TRMN items, make sure to check out the uniform supplier section on the website: ( ). T-shirts can be purchased from Ball caps can be ordered from Sonja Wolf Creations ( Don t forget to check out our BuSup store ( for TRMN uniform items and various swag! And if you re planning to order from Cosplay Sky, please feel free to talk to the skipper if you want information on the purchasing experience. At the gathering at the COs house, the question came up on uniforms. Do you NEED one to participate? No. They are optional. You can order one from CosPlaySky, through the web links on TRMN.org, but people have commented on their quality of workmanship. For enlisted uniforms, there are a couple of instructions posted on the Facebook Pages on modifying commercially available coveralls. Or, you could find someone who knows how to craft or modify a pattern and sew a uniform. Marines have it a bit easier, as the RMMC authorizes a class-d uniform that is effectively BDU pants, and either a Black Spreadshirt RMMC T-shirt, or a Green Turtleneck shirt with a Commando Sweater. The only requirement for a uniform is if you are working a convention. If you do not have one of the Canon Uniforms, you can use a black Spreadshirt TRMN (any branch) T-shirt and black slacks. While I think they are pretty cool, the command ball caps from Sonja Wolf Creations are not officially part of the uniform (unless you are on a Grayson baseball team). However they look great at a recruiting table and help to promote the organization. Before investing in a uniform though, please check with the CO! It may save a lot of grief! Electronic Frontier This is sort of an open ended area. I will post links here that people think can help others out. Again, as a reminder, there are Facebook Pages for The Royal Manticoran Navy and various branched, like the Marines, Grayson Space Navy, Imperial Anderman Navy, First/Home Fleet, Announcements, as well as our own HMS Snow Leopard. There is also a spoiler page where people talk about plots and twists. Also, if anyone out there knows what it would take to set up a web page, please let us know. Once we get something set up, we can link to the TRMN website, allowing someone looking for a chapter to see what we do.

8 TRMN fun facts Snow Tracks Quick! How many different branches of TRMN are there? Military, 4 Civilian, 1 Youth. All attempt to portray the Honorverse in the years delineated in the Novels, collections, etc. (from the time of Stephanie Harrington PD 1507 to the present PD 1922). Military Royal Manticoran Navy (RMN) This represents the largest single group in TRMN, and portrays the RMN in all of its aspects. Royal Manticoran Marine Corps (RMMC) This group portrays the RMMC, and their association with the RMN. More associated as infantry combat units attached to ships. Royal Manticoran Army (RMA) This group portrays the long-term occupation forces. Primarily associated with ground and air mechanized forces. The RMA is separate from the RMMC and has its own transport vessels. Grayson Space Navy (GSN) This portrays the Navy from the Grayson perspective. There currently is no Grayson Space Army organization. New exams are being developed for this group. Imperial Andermani Navy (IAN) This group protrays the Navy from the Andermani perspective. There is a group trying to recreate the Imperial Guard, fancy uniforms and all. (Peoples ) Republic of Haven Navy (RHN) This group portrays the Navy from the Havenite perspective. Currently, no one is portraying either the Havenite Marines or State Sec. Civilian Diplomatic Corps (DC) Portrays the ambassadorial corps. Intelligence Corps (IC) Portrays the Intelligence Community (including ONI) Royal Manticoran Merchant Marine (RMMM) Civilian Spacers. They also hold RMN reserve status, and can hold up to the rank of Captain. Royal Manticoran Astro Control Service (RMACS) This group operates the Wormhole Termini, both in Manticore, and 6 of the 7 other termini (except for Beowulf). Youth

9 Sphinxian Forestry Commission (SFC) This is the program for kids to get started. It is based on The Star Kingdom series of books. There are adult mentors who will work with the kids that are part of this civilian program. The rules and training programs are being formalized and are waiting for approval. Ranks Ranks for all branches, with their requirements, are documented in various Admiralty Orders posted on the TRMN.org website. Exams Any member of any branch of the organization may take tests in any other branch, provided you meet the prerequisites. If you want to find out if you meet the prereqs, they are in the BuTrain Student Manual (download from the main website) or check with the CO or LT Grieco. Chapters While anybody from any of the groups can belong to any chapter, the only ones who count toward Ship manning are Navy, Marines, Graysons, Andermani and Havenite. Others are considered riders. Marines also have sub-chapters assigned to ships. Grayson and Anderman also have their own Ships as correspondence chapters. The Army has bivouacs for their chapters. Currently, training for GSN, IAN, RHN, RMMM and RMACS is by RMN exams. The GSN is in beta test for their exams. RMMM and RMACS are being written. There is also discussion about the Solarian League Navy (SLN) and the Beowulf Biological Survey Corps (BBSC) as future group expansions. Trivia Questions: What is the difference between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Star Empire of Manticore? In Earth Terms, what level of technological development had the native Medusans achieved in PD 1905? What is Honor Harrington s Treecat Name? What are the Capitol Cities of the following: The Solarian League; The People s Republic of Haven; The Andermani Empire? Answers in the next issue.

10 DISCUSSION QUESTION: Who is your favorite primary character, other than Honor or Nimitz, in the Honorverse? Why? Send your brief answer to the CO. Answers will be printed in the next issue. Other Newsletters There are also downloadable newsletters for TRMN.org and BuTrain available for everyone to read from the main website. You can pick up a lot of information in these about the whole organization! This link gets you to the page where you can download them. Here you will find newsletters for TRMN, for BuTrain and other bodies. Many of the ship website links (see the chapters section of the main website) also have newsletter links. If you see a feature you like, let us know and we will include it. That s it for this issue. If you have any idea for the next one, let us know! See you at the Foodshare Day and BBQ!