Maturely Immature Personality

This is our hobby, and while it is frivolous entertainment, this group is made of up people who choose to take it seriously without making it a job. We prefer to look at IL-2 Battle of Stalingrad as less of a game and more of a professional sport that is not televised and we are not paid to perform in. We all agree that winning is more fun than losing, and are therefore happy to put in the extra effort in order to encourage more fun. While we acknowledge that everyone has a bad day now and then, we will man up and deal with our own behavior. We have thick skin, because in the heat of the moment things can get intense... words can come out wrong, things will get confused. We address it and move on. Egohurt is just stupidity leaving the brain, if you're a big enough boy/girl to get drunk you're a big enough boy/girl to get thrown into the drunk tank without further drama. Prolonged pouting is counterproductive. Problems left to fester undermine everything we wish to build, and therefore have no place in the squad. There is a fine line between casual and too serious, we constantly strive to live on that line.

Commitment

The overall goal of this squad is to take it to the next level; it being our individual and squad performance, the next level being a state that is undeniably an improvement from yesterday. Overall (pardon the cliché) this process is more of a journey than a destination. In order to facilitate this, each and every member must be committed to a great many things: pushing their own BFM/ACM performance, continual refinement of flight/element coordination, utilizing whatever talents they possess to support the squadron as a whole (training, PR, website, etc), and most importantly being able to do so without it affecting job, life, marriage, parenthood, etc. This is not the squad for you if your wife goes on the warpath any time you are on the computer for more than 30 consecutive minutes, if you are on the road driving a truck more than half of the year, or work during prime time hours. Commitment does not mean playing 20 hours per week, it does mean attending events when possible, contributing to training, providing feedback, criticism, and encouragement to your fellow squad mates.

Communication

This is key, and in many ways. Building on commitment above, simple communication can solve many problems or prevent them from even existing in the first place. Letting the squad know whether or not you will be at a given event is vital. Reading orders/intel sent out in advance of organized operations, as well as letting everyone know that you did so, is equally vital. We need pilots that will ASK questions when they don't know, CALL shenanigans when they know better, LAUGH at dumb jokes, and go TACTICAL when grab ass time is over and the killing is about to commence. This means reading the forums, POSTING on the forums, and not simply lurking in Mumble.

Honor and Excellence

We do not practice lameness - be it in game or on the forums. Our posts need to have the same poise and grace that our ride of choice displays. Get in, perform whatever surgery is required (not lambasting with overblown cannonry), and zoom climb on out. We are quick to salute both friend and adversary, slow to call a douchelord what we already know he is, but when the excrement meets the moving machinery parts we don't back down regardless of the venue. In the arena, we do not practice gamey tactics. We do not vulch bases unless we are assaulting a mission objective, we do not maliciously harass other players, we do not take part in either giving or receiving information from opposing teams in any way shape or form, and if discovered, we report any exploit in the game to 1C.

Freedom from Frustration

I am not going to say we are a "Drama Free" squad. Drama is great. What is not great, are a bunch of passive aggressive, deep-voiced 12 year old girls playing an airplane game. If something needs to be said, say it where we can all hear it. If it does not need to be said, say it where we can all hear it anyway. If you are going to be a sad panda or a Debbie downer, expect to get ridiculed until your morale improves. It is every squad member’s duty to ensure that NOTHING is left to fester.

Willingness to Both Learn and Teach

No single pilot knows everything about aircraft and air to air combat. No single virtual pilot knows everything about IL-2. This squad exists to collectively enhance the enjoyment we derive from playing this game. The more information we have at our disposal the stronger we are as a team. If you know something, share it – if you don’t know something, ask. If no one knows, be the one to go find out and then come back and use the information to better equip your squad mates. Having trouble fighting against a certain plane? Learn more about that plane; learn more about your own plane. Nothing beats hands-on practice, but knowledge transfer is a very close second.

Thick Skinned

Although this is covered in different ways throughout, the repetition in highlighting this general trait should speak volumes as to its importance. Things are going to get rowdy now and then. If you do not want to get corrected, in a condescending and public manner, then do not repeat the same mistakes. And if you do, you need to be of the mindset that your reprimand is for both your sake and well as the sake of the team. Don’t take it personally, walk it off, and learn. For some of you, this means coming out of your shell and GIVING criticism when it is warranted. When it comes to performance, when someone craps the bed rank goes out the window. You see it, you call it.

Good Luck and Good Hunting!  Salute!