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Interview:
WC/GN Ricaud
WC-TCS/MAJ Troutrooper/Wing VIII/ISD Colossus
01.21.01
<MAJ_Trout> could
you give me a brief history of your EH/TC career? nothing too in
depth, just the positions youve 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 strenous.
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 dont 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.
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