Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership Original: May 2013 Last Revision: December 2013 I POLICY It shall be the policy of the Maryland Airsoft Team (MAT) to adhere to this Team History, Organization and Membership policy for all MAT sponsored events and/or recruiting activities. II Dues & Fees Member III DEFINITIONS Funds received to maintain certain aspects of the Maryland Airsoft Team to include Team Patches, Team Name Strips, internet services, etc. Funds can be further divided into MAT Team Funds and Brigade Funds. An individual who has completed the application process, has been accepted into the Maryland Airsoft Team and has paid their annual dues. PROCEDURES A. General Provisions Adherence B. Team History Members / players shall familiarize themselves with and conform to applicable policies, procedures, and regulations. Team leaders / officers shall lead, manage, and command subordinates within said guidelines and philosophy. While intended to be comprehensive, it is not practical to expect that all possible situations will be documented herein. Therefore, all members shall exercise responsible conduct, sound management, common sense, and reasonable judgment respectively. The Maryland Airsoft Team ("MAT") was originally founded in 2008 as "SMAT" (Southern Maryland Airsoft Team) by Brett Garner, James Winstead and Adam Buckingham. They started with just three dedicated members and now boast over 100 Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 1
today! MAT ranks include a wide spectrum of skills and backgrounds from high school, middle school and college students, to active duty and ex-military, with several of our young members planning to join the armed services shortly. In 2011 with the reorganization of the team, Southern was dropped form the name to reflect the increased growth and regional interest in the team that stretched far beyond southern Maryland. C. Mission & Core Values of the Maryland Airsoft Team Mission Statement Core Values To create a better airsoft team, and gain a better understanding of what it means to work as a team, MAT looks for and try s to teach its players respect, discipline, and commitment on and off of the field. MAT works with all of its players no matter the skill level to create a tight knit group with one mission in mind, teamwork. Honor personal integrity: strong moral character or strength, and adherence to ethical principles respect: great respect and admiration dignity: personal dignity that sometimes leads to recognition and glory Loyalty feeling of duty: a feeling of devotion, duty, or attachment to somebody or something Duty obligation: something that somebody is obliged to do for moral, legal, or religious reasons need to meet obligations: the urge to meet moral or religious obligations allocated task: a task or service allocated to somebody, especially in the course of work Respect esteem: a feeling or attitude of admiration and deference toward somebody or something state of being admired: the state of being admired deferentially thoughtfulness: consideration or thoughtfulness Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 2
D. Organization Integrity possession of firm principles: the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards completeness: the state of being complete or undivided wholeness: the state of being sound or undamaged Moral Courage mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty The Maryland Airsoft Team has a para-military command structure and utilized the US Army rank structure. Each member has agreed and volunteered for their respective leadership role in the organization. Each position has it own responsibilities associated with it. General of the Maryland Airsoft Team is the person that is overall responsible for the team and its operations. Division Commander, is in charge of the Brigades and their operations. This person reports to the General of the Maryland Airsoft Team. Brigade Commander, is in charge of their respective Brigades. For example, the Central Brigade Commander is in charge of all operations and members of the Central Brigade. The Brigade Commander reports to the Division Commander. Brigade Executive Officer, assists Brigade Commander with operations and members of the Brigade. Command Sergeant Major is an administrative officer for the Brigade. This person is in charge of the membership of the Brigade, maintains training records, maintains an activity spreadsheet and notifies the Brigade Commander when members are eligible for promotions. This person reports directly to the Brigade Commander. Company Commander, is in charge of several groups of members broken up into Platoons. This person is responsible for the membership of their company and contacting members on a regular basis about upcoming events. They report to the Brigade Commander. Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 3
First Sergeant is a training officer for the Company and Brigade. This person is responsible for conducting training sessions for members such as the Basic Training Course and Basic Leadership Course. This person reports to the Company Commander and advises the Command Sergeant Major of the training activities completed and which members attended the training events. Platoon Leader, is in charge of several small groups of members broken up into squads. This person is responsible for the members in their platoon and contacting them about upcoming events. They report to the Company Commander. Squad Leader, is in charge of a small group of members. This person is responsible for the members in their squad and contacting them about upcoming events. They report to the Platoon Commander. Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 4
Maryland Airsoft Team General Maryland Airsoft Team Division Commander Central Brigade Commander Eastern Brigade Cmdr. Southern Brigade Cmdr. Command Sergeant Major Administrative Officer Brigade Executive Officer Company Commander First Sergeant Training Officer Platoon Leader Squad Leader Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 5
E. Rank Structure Enlisted Ranks Officer Ranks Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 6
F. Membership Membership in the Maryland Airsoft Team is a privilege. The Maryland Airsoft Team does not discriminate because of race, sex, sexual orientation, color, religion, creed, country of national origin, age, disability, retaliation, marital status, physical appearance, or political opinion. Let it be understood that the Maryland Airsoft Team does NOT hire individuals to play Airsoft. The leadership of the Team has developed an Equal Employment Opportunity policy to provide guidelines on conduct of team members. With that being said, an individuals membership with the Maryland Airsoft Team may be revoked at any time based upon the recommendations of the Team leadership based on actions on the field of play during sanctioned events such as Code of Conduct violations, etc. The Maryland Airsoft Team also holds it players to a higher moral and ethical standard. The Team reserves the right to conduct a background check and to check sex offenders registries in the interest to protect the young players (minors) of the team. If an individuals background and/or registry check comes back with issues, the General of MAT with his/her designees will review the findings, ask the individual about those issues, and make a determination on the membership status. Application Process An individual s first step in the application process is to complete an online or hard copy application that will be submitted to the team. A team leader, typically the Brigades Command Sergeant Major or designee, will contact that individual about their interest in the team. Their application and information will be sent to the Battalion Commander, Brigade Commander, Division Commander, and General of MAT for review. The individual must also complete the MAT Waiver and Code of Conduct and submit it to the team before being allowed to play at a MAT sanctioned event. When the individual attends their first MAT sanctioned event, they will be provided an opportunity to meet the leadership of the team and ask questions as necessary. At the end of the day, or a date in the future that is agreed upon, a decision will be made about the individuals membership status. The individual will be notified in-person or a phone call about their status. If the individual is granted membership, the final step is to pay the annual dues. Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 7
IV REFERENCES Maryland Airsoft Team Equal Employment Opportunity Policy V FORMS/ATTACHMENTS Attachment #1: Maryland Airsoft Team Application Attachment #2: Maryland Airsoft Team Waiver Attachment #3: Maryland Airsoft Team Code of Conduct Attachment #4: MAT Team Dues and Fees Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 8
Attachment #1 MARYLAND AIRSOFT TEAM CENTRAL BRIGADE Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 9
Attachment #2 MARYLAND AIRSOFT TEAM CENTRAL BRIGADE Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 10
Attachment #3 MARYLAND AIRSOFT TEAM CENTRAL BRIGADE Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 11
Attachment #4 MAT Team Dues and Fees Annual Membership Dues and Fees Other Fees First Year MAT Team Membership Dues - $30 Additional Year MAT Team Membership Dues - $20 Walk-On Fees - $5 Airsoft Gun Rental - $10 Mask Rental - $5 Other fees will be determined by MAT Command/Brigade Officers Chapter 01 Team History, Organization and Membership 12