GN Ricaud Interview

 

<RA_Trout> could you give me a brief history of your EH/TC career? nothing too in depth, just the positions you've held and important moments

<Ricaud> Well …Let's see, the usual ones you'd expect, I suppose. Flight Member, Flight Leader, Squadron Commander, that sort of thing. Started off on the ISD Intrepid nearly four years ago ... Transferred over to the Challenge under WC/MG Kessler, helped Thunder Squadron win the first Challenge Cup Tournament, then retired. When I came back to the TIE Corps in early 1999, I went back into Wing X (Tornado Squadron this time, under CMDR/COL Kessler, see a pattern developing? :P Shortly afterwards, receiving a commission to Mu Squadron Commander aboard the Colossus. It all sort of snowballed from there really Apparently I did an okay job, so I got drafted in to help turn around the ISD Relentless as COM.  Then after that, appointed to BGCOM, before later going on to PREX of the Corporate Division. Then I returned to the TIE Corps, back again to the Relentless, as CMDR of Sword Squadron.  Then got promoted to WC of Wing IX, where I serve currently.

Cool. You probably know Kessler better than anyone :)

 

Every leader has an unique style. So tell me, what is yours? what makes your style of leading distinct from others?

That's something I've often wondered myself. :P I'm not sure it's so completely different, I mean, I did learn a lot about leadership and command from Kessler, so I suppose in many respects my "style" also reflects his. I like to try and understand people, I suppose. I prefer to analyse those under my command, get to know them, figure out what makes them tick, and then I know what motivates them ... Then it's simply a matter of providing that motivation. One of the greatest skills a commander can have is to be analytical, and objective.  To be able to target problems, so that he or she can then effectively tackle them. I think I'm also very jingoistic.

Jingoistic...?

I usually end up making tacky "inspirational" speeches to encourage and motivate people. :-) Example of jingoism: the President's speech to the pilots in Independence Day. :P

That was classic :)

But as tacky as it may be, it actually usually works. :-) Inspiration and motivation, get those two things and you can get any unit to do anything. :-)

In a squadron, it is fairly easy to analyze and motivate individual pilots. how does one accomplish the same task in a larger setting, like WC or BGCOM?

With great difficulty, to be honest. It's possible to do it at WC and COM, and still be looking to analyse individual pilots ... But it requires a great deal of micromanage, which can become very strenuous. At BGCOM level or above, you can't possible expect to be able to achieve that sort of micromanagement for ~150+ pilots ... So what you have to aim to do is provide motivation and inspiration for the people directly under you, the COMs and WCs themselves ... Then with any luck, that'll rub off from them to their pilots.

So would it be fair to say that at some levels, one can (and perhaps should) micromanage, while at other level, one should macromanage?

Yes, it's all dependent upon how much time the individual commander can spare, or their own style. Some people may not agree with any of this, for example. In some situations micromanagement is appropriate, in some it is not. So again, analysing the situation and deciding what is appropriate comes into it.

 

Going back to your time as BGCOM, how did you (and eventually the position of BGCOM) become involved with the Battlecry?

It was just an idea that popped into my head ... I looked around, saw that all the subgroups have their own newsletters, to provide specific articles or submissions of interest relevant to them ... And I thought that the TIE Corps could have a similar thing, without infringing upon the territory of the main EH newsletter. And in fact, for a while, I struck an agreement with SA (now GN) Compton whereby Battlecry would be included and published in Dark Sentinel itself, as the "TIE Corps Section" of the NL But that facet seemed to be discontinued. Anyway, I took the idea to Kessler ... And he basically said "Sounds fine, go with it." And a magazine was born. :-)

What exactly makes the BC unique?

Well trying to make it in some respects unique was the hardest part of it. :-) I guess I, and the staff who came after me, all tried to make it a lot more reader-involved than other NLs. Through things like the Battlecry Competitions, awards for best submissions, debate articles, etc. The aim was to make it less like somebody just reading and downloading a newsletter, and more an interaction experience.

Was the BC originally intended to be a one-time event, or a short run, or a long-term part of the TC?

At the start, we honestly didn't know. Depending upon the reaction to it, it could have ended up being a one-off ... But it people liked it, the aim was to try and make it a regular feature of TC life. And seeing as how the initial reaction (in terms of both submissions and comments after release) was very positive, we decided that it wouldn't be a waste of time to work on a second issue. :-)

How was the first issue publicized? "Submit here! It's fun!" :)

Well, er, yes. :P

Were specific types of articles asked for? Were certain known authors asked to submit individually?

No, we just opened the floodgates to "anything and everything" that people wanted to send in, then went through it with a toothcomb to determine which could go in to the final mag, and which weren't quite up to scratch.

How many subs did you get? I don't know how many Werdna gets now, but I cant imagine it would be that many.

Eek, hard to remember exactly ... It was in the region of several dozen though. Of which only maybe half got published. So it was actually quite selective, but we wanted a fairly high standard.

Was it that you wanted the magazine to be selective in the articles it chose, or was it more that you wanted the first issue to be impressive?

We obviously wanted to impress, so yes, it was necessary to have a certain degree of selectivity. However there were also pragmatic reasons ... The main area where things were turned down was graphics ... Anything over a particular file size was automatically refuses for publishing, because we wanted the newsletter to try not to become too large. Because then it becomes tiresome for people to have to download and read. So it was a matter of trying to balance quantity with quality.

Of all the issues you edited, which were you most proud of?

Well, I think I only edited the first two or three issues. :-) So there's not really much to choose from ... But of course, it has to be the very first issue which I'm proudest of. ;-)

Were there any staff writers in that first issue? How were staff writers picked for later issues?

At the start, from memory, I believe the only "staff" was myself and COL Sauron, who handled the competition. However, after the release of that, I felt I'd need some help, because I couldn't handle the sheer weight of submissions for BC and pin down a BGCOM job at the same time, so I brought in a Deputy Editor. As well as somebody to handle the Debate article, which was only brought in in issue #2. Like any other position, I just took applications for them from anybody in the TC who was interested, and chose the best candidate.

How will the new fiction compendium affect the BC?

Hopefully, it won't. I don't think it'll stop people from submitting fiction to Battlecry ... It strikes me that the compendium is more of an "archive" for TC fiction ... While publications such as Battlecry are still the "showcase" for fiction. So if people want to show off their work, and have it pushed forward publicly, NLs are still the way. It certainly won't make BC obsolete.

That's good I'd be out of a job ;)

Finally, where do you see the BC going?

Well I hope it doesn't go away. :P But I think if anything it should simply expand to fully utilise the potential role it can play in TIE Corps life. (Editor- erm...whoops!)