Greetings, all! And happy new year!
I hope the first weeks of 2019 have been treating you well. We have a great opportunity to truly show off what the otters can do, when we host the annual Fleet Banquet on the 26th. I have full faith that we can blow it out of the water – we’ve pulled together and made great things happen many times in the past.
Thank you, all, for a great 2018. I know we can make 2019 even better.
A short note on chain of command, both within the club and within the fleet. There has been much discussion concerning observing the chain of command, which is also the chain of communication.
When we’re talking about official communications, there is a very specific trail to follow: department chief > first officer > commanding officer > fleet council > admiralty board. If you truly feel as though you have an issue that you can’t discuss with your department chief, your first option should be another department chief, or the assistant department chief, who can then bring it to the X.O., who can then take it to the C.O. Ideally, we are close enough that we can take care of issues quickly and between the involved parties. If, for whatever reason, you feel as though you can’t speak directly to the necessary party, there are workarounds to solve any issues.
There have been occasions within the fleet wherein members of a ship have gone either directly to the admiralty, or to members of a different ship, disrespecting and disregarding the official chain of command, blowing problems completely out of proportion, and blindsiding their COs and XOs when the issues are brought up at fleet council meetings. Keep in mind that this is *only* for official fleet business or issues. Chatting with other members of our fleet-wide family is welcomed and encouraged.
Thank you all for your time. See you next time!
-=/\=- Erica