HA Kawolski Interview

 

<osangar> Hello, and thank you very much for doing this interview for the Battlecry. Firstly, congratulations on recently being appointed the new XO.

<`Kawolski> Thanks! :)  It's on honor to be in the 2nd highest position in the entire fleet!

 

<osangar> Do you have any major plans or reforms that you are going to carry out as XO?

<`Kawolski> Well, the first plan was the Iron Star system which went into effect now that allows the awarding of different levels of the IS for competitions and, in some cases, allows people to earn FCHG points for winning comps. VA Slade and I have designed a brand new Newsletter layout and I've been gladly receiving submissions from ALL of the subgroups so the EH NLs will no longer be as TC orientated as it has been in the past. Though..it will still include the old sections, I think a lot of people will be pleaded over the new layout.  I hope to send out the NL to various groups to get linked to it as a way of recruiting outside members of the Star Wars community into this group.

I'm also working more closely with the SGCOMs and during the second month I hope to be able to help some of the more struggling ones with suggestions and improvements, much like doing a little consulting work.  I'm also overseeing the new subgroup being formed when the EHS and Fringe combine as one, which is starting to look promising.

Among other things, the higher-end merit medals are getting some stricter standards imposed by myself to help restore the value to them once again, making them much more difficult to earn.

 

<osangar> While we are on the subject of higher end merit medals, do you think that only a few people ever get the MoH, IC and OoR, and what can be done to change this?

<`Kawolski> You can put the GOE in that category too.  Some people seem to have forgotten that we have a Silver Star and Gold Star medal in this club.  Yes, I feel only a few people should be able to get these medals.  They're for doing exceptional things to benefit the entire fleet (or over a large subgroup in some cases). (They're received for doing...)

What's being done is that I, along with FO Theodore and OPS Howlader, personally review every GOE or higher medal recommendation and if the recommendation doesn't meet up to my standards, I'm not going to approve it.

 

<osangar> Ok, but in the case of the top three medals (MoH, IC and OoR) there isn't really any distinction between them, how can this be changed?

<`Kawolski> When you get to medals that high, those medals are like rank promotions...you start with the lowest one first and slowly work your way up. They are still awarded pretty rarely, so I don't see a need for change.

 

<osangar> When former XO Compton resigned, did you know that you would be the new XO or were there lots of potential candidates?

<`Kawolski> I knew ahead of time that I was going to be the new XO for a long time, though it wasn't in any official capacity until just before XO Compton retired.  VA Slade and I worked hard to get that new XO website up in the short 48 hour window we were given and even then it wasn't finished.

Though I heard it was a close run between myself and Manesh...

<osangar> heh

 

<osangar> Will you be taking on some XOAs to help you out?

<`Kawolski> Maybe.  If I need my boots shined or uniform pressed or someone to cover for me while I sleep in the computer room and Kessler and Astatine are keeping all the cadets busy... :P I haven't really decided on the official role of which XOAs will take on, so until then, I won't be appointing any at the moment.

That could change soon, though...perhaps even before this interview is released publicly.

 

<osangar> Ok - going back to the beginning of your EH career, when did you join up, and how did you come across the EH

<`Kawolski> I first joined up as SureFire around five years ago when I was searching file dumps on AOL (at the time, places like AOL and CompuServe were one of the best places to find shareware and freeware...my how times have changed) for a TIE Fighter Mission Editor.  I came across an EH Newsletter by accident thinking it might have editing instructions in it. Well, instead I was amazed about the new club and after talking to GA Ronin about it (back in the day, the EH was pretty small and GA Ronin had the time to do some recruiting himself), I signed up for my new position in Psi Squadron as General SureFire.

So there's a personal bias of mine to think the NLs are a good way for us to be recruiting new members.

About a year later, I left the club because I couldn't afford Internet access anymore and SureFire became a retired memory that later manifested itself into an evil channel bot.

I rejoined as General Kawolski in Hammer Squadron.  I should probably post a history or personal INPR about my self one of these days on my site.  I'll put that on my extremely long list of things to do. :P

 

<osangar> Did the name Kawolski come from Stargate?

<`Kawolski> Actually, I think it came from some Polish guy ...couple hundred years ago.. I dunno.  I don't like researching what my own parents did in high school let alone the history of last names. 

 

<osangar> Once you where in Hammer squadron, how long was it before you became the Relentless COM?

<`Kawolski> About 8 months.  I slowed down my career a lot back when I was a flight member because I refused several CMDR position offers.  I just wanted to be CMDR of my own squadron and I was waiting for CMDR Tron to go away. :P We had a bit of a falling out when he became WC and I became CMDR over his activity levels... he ended up resigning and the current COM left at the same time.  The Relentless was in such poor shape that nobody really wanted the COM position...so I got a position jump from CMDR to COM. :)

 

<osangar> And then you went to CA:FO and then after that FO?

<`Kawolski> Not quite. :P  I got CA:FO when I proposed to Flight Officer Compton that I wanted to put the TIE Corps rosters in an online HTML format so people could see them any time they want instead of weekly/monthly in the CA:FO reports. The project was a huge success and it allowed me to get CC/BCCed on everything going on in the flight office so I could gain the experience and see what was going on around the other ships.  I was able to construct the first FO database in C++, then dropped out of the position because I needed to devote more time to school. I later became an INQ under HI Yoni.  My "INQ Project" was to continue my work on the FO database and I was given that advisor title of "Fleet Systems Engineer."  I came back to be CA:FO because Fleet Admiral Darth Vader was ordered by Ronin to get a CA...DV retired and I became FO after that. :) http://www.tiecorps.org/reports/fo-kawolski/ <-- I still have all my old FO reports. ;)

 

<osangar> when did the www.tiecorps.org site go online?

<`Kawolski> www.tiecorps.org went up in February 1999. The TIE Corps homepage first went up in October 1998, and it was hosted on my AOL account. Back then, we used graphics and a layout that Former (and currently expelled) Fleet Admiral Dev stole from a PlanetQuake hosted site and claimed as his own, almost landing me in a bit of legal trouble. I remember this because I had to renew the domain name for a few more years just last week. ;)

 

<osangar> What do you think that your biggest contribution to the TC has been?

<`Kawolski> TIE Corps database, of course!  Before its construction, it would take weeks for a transfer or promotion request, there would be no way of checking what medals people had except looking at their ID-Line (which could easily be forged), for a while there was no FCHG system (after FA Dev [him again...] reformed it and did nothing to track points), and a lot of the other CO work was done by hand. Now, the database has simplified work for the Command Officers and allowed them to work together in a centralized environment...something that was lacking before.  In the old days, if a pilot changed his e-mail address or got promoted, he would have to notify the TAC, FO, and OPS just to get their respective records updated. Life in the TC and EH is easier and more efficient with the new database, and I believe that much of our new growth was thanks to that.

 

 

<osangar> What was the best position you have ever served in in the EH?

<`Kawolski> Flight Officer was my favorite position so far (though I'm sure over time, XO will take over as my newest favorite position). I had a lot of fun rebuilding the TIE Corps and getting its membership and activity up, making several improvements that have given it the solid foundation it has today.

 

<osangar> Where do you think the TC will be in two years time?

<`Kawolski> Hopefully I want to see the TC/EH become one of the more dominant multiplayer groups on the Zone.  Right now, it's still pretty rare to see EH members at any given time.  I also see a stronger XWA membership in the future as more and more single-player missions for XWA become available and maybe, one day, a good freeware mission editor for XWA will be released.

 

<osangar> Do you think that membership will keep rising despite the fact that there are no more X-Wing or TIE Fighter games on the horizon?

<`Kawolski> Yes, I think it will.  These are great classic games and the new missions we make keep them fresh.  After all, there are still many TIE Fighter players that are signing up every day and that game has been out for years.  XvT is still good and fun for multiplayer with some and I'm confident that XWA still has some life in it.

 

<osangar> Say you were given command of a squadron again and you had to chose any five current TC members to be in it with you - who would they be?

<`Kawolski> hmm... I would pick Brandon, Brucmack, Mezynski, Mini Minkus, and Callista :P They're the top five high scorers in the fleet... >:)

 

<osangar> What do you do in RL? 

<`Kawolski> I'm a college student!  I'm also an ASP/Database programmer for two different companies where I'm constantly learning new things and using some of that gained knowledge to help program the tiecorps.org database and visa versa. I guess one of the greatest rewards from this club was that I was able to use the EH/TC as a creative resume item to help get those jobs. :P

 

<osangar> So I'm guessing that you prefer ASP over PHP?

<`Kawolski> PHP doesn't pay my bills. ;) I like Microsoft, even though they have buggy software. If I do something to screw things up, I can always blame Microsoft and Windows and it's a completely believable excuse.

 

<osangar> Are there any positions in the Fleet that you would still like to serve in?

<`Kawolski> That I haven't served in already?  Hmm...probably Combat Operations Officer...just so I can show people just what exactly a COO is supposed to be doing. *checks the Combat Calendar and notices Zsinj forgot there were 31 days in January...* *grumble* Right now the EH easily dominates the single-player gaming clubs, but I'd really like to see this move into multiplayer as well. Aside from that, beyond XO, not really.  Maybe I'd like to lead a squadron or high position in the Hammer's Fist when the new Star Wars HL Imperial Battles mod or Ares' UT:EH mod is released

 

<osangar> Finally - any last words that you would like to add?

<`Kawolski> Yes. :P  I started a new column in the EH Newsletter where you can ask me anonymous (or not-so-anonymous) questions that you'd like me to answer in that month's issue of the NL.  It's part of the Problem Report Form on my homepage: http://www.kawolski.com/xo/report.asp

 

<osangar> Ok thanks a lot. Its been a pleasure interviewing you :)

<`Kawolski> Thanks! :)  I look forward to seeing the next issue of Battlecry as I've done every month!