In the Navy

Members of Third Fleet and United States Navy Second Life,

I have been struggling with words and feelings for the last 48 hours about how best to address the situation we find ourselves in. The Navy is my second life and I am very proud of my achievements and those of many of the people who I served side by side for so long. If you served in Third Fleet you know why I am torn and many in the USNSL probably do as well.

In the face of recent events, following a few months of conflict between NRS Oryx and mainly, though not just, NAS Miramar, Admiral Harcassle decided to resign from Third Fleet and create Second Fleet, taking with him the locations he is personally responsible for, some partnered with Third Fleet Lieutenant Commander Daniella Harcassle (now 2nd Fleet Captain Daniella Harcassle) and Captain Alec Juventa: Naval Base North Valley, Naval Service Training Center Nautilus, Fort Nautilus and the East Sea setting where the USS Carl Vinson is. Very soon after, Third Fleet Lieutenant Commander Alli Eberdene (now 2nd Fleet Captain Alli Eberdene) joined in with Naval Rescue Station Oryx.

In a period of less than 48 hours, a new fleet was created and in an unprecedented move, the first official act of Admiral Harcassle was offering the rank of Captain to two Commanders who were inactive in Third Fleet for many months and three Third Fleet Lieutenant Commanders. One of the Lieutenant Commanders who was already scheduled for promotion to Commander (with my endorsement among others) refused to take that offer, being promoted to O-5 as planned while in Third Fleet. I am very proud to say that officer once served at NAS Miramar.

This extraordinary fact has made my present task much more difficult as I don't know what to make of it yet. But perception is everything, so I was told many times, regarding my attitude that was often misinterpreted or purposefully distorted. The perception that comes from these promotions is not a positive one. And siding with the fact that it creates major problems with groups where promotions are achieved only through hard work and dedication and one step at a time, it tarnishes those in this set of officers that actually work hard and are dedicated. We have due process and rule of military law in Third Fleet. Promotions follow a very precise set of conditions of which we expect to find resonance in other groups that are related to us. Clearly these rules do not apply to 2nd Fleet, since there is no way that their requirements were met in less than 48 hours, and none of the officers in question was being considered for such promotions in Third Fleet so there was no transfer of ongoing due process.

Over the last 18 months USNSL has gone from a few stations to a large group through hard work and many people’s efforts. Months have been spent making our stations look Navy worthy, using personal experience and working together to create a truly real life like USNSL. We can look proudly at USNSL and see in the stations, bases and facilities, the aircraft, the uniforms, and at its heart our people, that we are one of the groups that is truest to the Navy ideals.

Our training schools are the envy of other groups and we have worked closely with the SL Marine Corps to give a broader experience. The hard work we have done and still do with 7th Fleet to harmonize our flight training program paid off and the path to Naval Aviator is now a rewarding experience where you get the training to become a Naval Aviator in Second Life. Anyone can come up with a Naval Aviation program based on the wide range of information available on the internet alone. It's all there. What is not there is how you translate that into Second Life. And that is where the experience of our instructors comes in. On the flight side the same is also true. Anyone can buy a navy painted aircraft, a uniform and a helmet and become an instant aviator in Second Life. Just search for names with "Captain" in them to see how instant this can be. Here we aim at purpose, training and method to transform that into a real life like experience rewarded with the Wings of Gold that can't be bought in a box but need to be earned. The same is true to surface warfare. Those who have graduated and gone through the process of becoming officers have gained knowledge and stature, becoming stronger in themselves.

These changes have not satisfied all people, some have wanted a "navy-lite" experience. It was my personal view, anchored by the approval of Third Fleet command and RADM Isaac Harcassle, that was not what the Navy should be about. When I joined Carrier Strike Group 11 with the USS Nimitz, there was no school, no flight training. I had gone through that and more with the Coast Guard so I did not really miss "indoc", but the extremely loose and anything goes environment that reigned back then was something contrary to what role-play should be. Taking on the representation of an institution like the United States Navy should mean something more.

Like RADM Harcassle says in the USNSL website, the USNSL started with the Nimitz group that originally was a tribute to Top Gun, the motion picture. He was looking for a more "standardized" environment and slowly the USNSL shifted from Hollywood fantasy to the United States Navy reality. Eventually the Nimitz group became an after thought, much to my regret it never embraced the same method that I embodied by creating NAS Miramar, which set the stage for what came next: the establishment of Naval Service Training Center Nautilus and the creation of Third Fleet led to a pipeline eventually shared with 7th Fleet that allowed for a common core set of values based on the US Navy to be instilled in all enlisted and commissioned officers serving in both fleets. The stage was set for days to come, raising the bar to true Navy standards that allowed all participating to feel they were part of something bigger than taking a plane out of a box, jumping on it and flying around in US Navy colors. USNSL was at last a real life like mirror of the United States Navy. And for a long while, things were good.

Then another approach started to show with the expansion of NRS Oryx, and after all our work it was met with resistance, since it did not represent any of the ideals myself and others firmly believe in and that were in place for a long time. Through many incidents that can't be detailed here, the opposing forces clashed in various forms and as it was to be expected, RADM Harcassle was in the eye of the storm. The clash was not limited to flight, there were other components, but it was the aviation program that set the stage for what happened yesterday. On Tuesday, June 6, a new situation was exposed completely by accident. I became aware that NRS Oryx had created a "Naval Aviation School" and was accepting Student Naval Aviators. One look at their website showed me that the vast majority of its content was taken from existing Third Fleet and Seventh Fleet classes, and although the words are there they miss meaning (a closer reading show many wrong concepts will be taught for lack of precision or understanding of the materials taken).

Third and Seventh Fleets are engaged in a common core flight program from primary to advanced, sharing class content and instructors. We have worked on this for many months. It serves the same principles enunciated here to create a standard shared by all Naval Aviators. I don't know how we moved from Navy standards to anything goes, NRS Oryx does not represent any of those ideals but it doesn't seem to matter. In the end, in RADM Harcassle's words "SL is a game where people come to have fun" and also "I don't care if what Oryx is doing is not navy realistic."
So here we are.

We are sorry that after all the effort put into creating Third Fleet that RADM Harcassle has decided that it is not the navy that he wants after all. He has stated that he wants Second Fleet to be less about serious navy role-play and more of a game. Exactly the opposite state of mind that lead him to shift USNSL apart from the Nimitz group, long ago.

Third fleet will continue the tradition of upholding close to real life US Navy standards, while Second Fleet, in RADM Harcassle's words, "will focus less on Navy role-play and more on fun". We believe that fun and serious Navy role-play walk hand in hand - the Blue Angels are a living testament to that. But we also agree that while in Third Fleet the "not navy realistic" kind of fun has no place, it can be appealing to some. In our minds we remain committed to role-play the US Navy because if you are not role-playing a navy realistic role, then what are you role-playing?
  
At this time it is unclear what the relations between 2nd and 3rd Fleet will be like, but judging from the first order of business in 2nd Fleet, not two days into it's creation, and the attitude of Admiral Harcassle towards me personally and my methods, that do not include disregard for behavior unbecoming a US Navy representation, I think that, as a naval officer I respect told me, "that train has left the station".
  
We remain committed to our joint work with 7th Fleet, we will continue to send our officers to SLMC for specialized training, and we will provide our services to all who wish to benefit from them. We take this unfortunate event as a challenge to do better and expand horizons and will as always work to the best of our abilities to uphold the Navy tradition in Second Life. As for the command of Third Fleet now vacant, I will steer the Fleet with CAPT. Vickster Kuhn by my side until we have an exceptional all hands meeting to determine how to move forward. 

On a positive note the creation of Second Fleet does give potential candidates more choice. Any growth of the Navy is good for all of us.

Go Third Fleet! Go Navy! Hooyah!

CAPT. Asra Kron
NASMCO
Third Fleet acting CO