What It's Like To Be... Episode 7

What It's Like To Be...

Division Officer

Hello TG and welcome to the seventh episode of a this series. In this series, titled 'What It's Like To Be..", I will be interviewing members of TG throughout the ranks, ranging from squad member right up to the CoC. As well as interviewing CoC members, i will also be taking the chance to interview certain members in support positions. This series will be published on a monthly basis. 

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing my old boss TG-LEGENDARY, Division Officer for one of the largest divisions in TG, Battlefield.

TG SmokeyB: What attracted you to this position?

TG-LEGENDARY: The Covid-19 pandemic makes everything we do now, other than to try and survive, seem smaller than before. Frequently, I remind myself that even the seemingly little things we do and have done are important, too.

When I was offered the position of TG’s Battlefield Division Officer, it was no small thing to me. It was a chance to change the direction of our division.

For several years previously, many of us who have been here for a while had noticed a continual drop-off of members interested in leadership positions. When many of us had joined TG "back in the day," there was actually competition for positions! Today, we often have to talk members into it.

Back when I was BGC of BF/PS3 (2014-2016), we addressed this by working hard behind the scenes to make the brigade more of a no-pressure, fun environment. We did this mostly by relaxing some of the duties of Squad and Battalion Staff. We were highly successful for a while. The demise of the brigade did not have to do with this approach, but rather a failure of BF Division’s leadership at the very top.

Later on, as BGC of Battlefield's PS4 Brigade, I noticed that there seemed to be too much of a divisional emphasis on having CoC members be good administrators and managers. The way I saw it, members were becoming less interested in being part of the CoC because it was perceived as being too much work and not enough fun.

So, I came into the BF Division Officer position with the expressed purpose to have FUN be the main objective; not only for our members, but for the Chain of Command, too. We would continue to meet the expectations that TW and TG had of us, but we would do it by having FUN be the first objective, just like it is in-game.

In trying to make this approach work, I am not alone. I'm fortunate to have both the support of 2nd Corps Commander @TG Epsi , who was willing to try this change of tack and the active support of our Brigade Commanders, @Just An Enigma and @TGxLadicius.

And, you know, our work continues! Battlefield, like most divisions, continues to struggle with lack of volunteers stepping up to leadership positions. I often find myself asking: "is your approach bearing fruit or making things worse?" By that I mean, if we don't challenge our members to become leaders -- and good ones -- isn't that, in itself, causing members not to come forward?

TG SmokeyB: You've been in your position of Division Officer since 2018. What is the main reason for serving in the position for so long?

TG-LEGENDARY: Stability, Experience and Transitional Awareness.

STABILITY: Squads, battalions, brigades, divisions and even TG itself are always in states of flux. The many changes that constantly take place are more easily managed when leadership at the top is not constantly changing, too.

EXPERIENCE: Coming up on my tenth year in TG and almost all of those years in leadership positions, I feel my knowledge base is instrumental to our success as TG’s largest division.

TRANSITIONAL AWARENESS: There will come a time when I will leave this DO position; probably sometime after we go through the addition of new console brigades (PS5 and XBS) and the release of the next evolution of Battlefield. It is my hope that when I do leave, I will have someone I’m confident can carry the work we’re doing FORWARD -- not merely maintain and certainly not digress. I have made similar transitions before -- one time with disastrous consequences -- where a brigade I had lead (Battlefield/PS3), and thought I had left in good hands, totally disintegrated a half year after my leaving. I'm determined not to let something like that happen again.

TG SmokeyB: Can you tell us the best highlight while serving as a DO?

TG-LEGENDARY: Let me separate them into divisional and personal.

Division highlights, from my perspective, during my period as DO, so far:

• Battlefield Events Calendar 2019 - https://tacticalgaming.net/hq/topic/129807-battlefield-events-calendar-2019/ - Designed and executed by @TG The Messiah, with help from @TG SmokeyB and an ex TG member, we ran monthly stats-based competitions for nearly the entire year, last year.
• Operation Total War 2 - https://tacticalgaming.net/hq/topic/133139-operation-total-war 2/ - https://tacticalgaming.net/hq/news/news.php/news/announcements/ato-battlefield-division-r153/ - Another brainchild of Messiah’s -- assisted by @Man 0f Plants -- a stat-based squad competition that ran for three weeks and was participated in by all division squads except for one. Both this competition and those listed in the Events Calendar helped keep competitive spirit alive in our division during a time when we were without private servers.
• Accent on Training in PS4/1st Battalion - CO @TG_Captain_Rob has been a force, for the past year and a half, in emphasizing training in battle -- not only in IN squads, but throughout PS4’s 1st Battalion. It’s been great to see that consistency of traditional TG focus and now he has been joined by @TG_Shadowghost, who shares his same drive to teach tactics.
• Prominence Poker Nights - A TG-wide series of poker games organized by @Man 0f Plants on Xbox 1 that even brought some TWC officers and our HT to the table.
• Our Oceania Squad - “Oceania” is a geographic region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. In terms of TG’s 2nd Battalions, it usually just relates to gamers in Australia and New Zealand, who we often have problems incorporating into TG due to their physical distance from the core of 2nd Battalions (UK/EU). But, you know, sometimes it just takes one guy to make it happen. For us in Battlefield Division and specifically in the PS4 Brigade, it has been @almostinfamous82. An Aussie himself, who had difficulty attending 2nd Battalion practices because of the timezone differences, he set his mind to round-up a squad of members from Oceania. During the Summer of 2019, he almost single-handedly recruited Australians and New Zealanders for Black Diamonds. Not only do most divisions not even have an Oceania squad, but today, Black Diamonds is our division’s largest squad.
• Practical Leadership Development Course (PLDC) - @TGxLadicius restarted our PLDC program for PS4 and ran it for much of 2019 and it continues today, assisted by @TG_Captain_Rob. Early this year, our PLDC program for XB1 was restarted by XB1/1st Battalion CO @IMRugger with assistance from @TG The Messiah, @Man 0f Plants, @TG Ghost Hunter and @TG Loadmaster.
• Events Calendar 2020 - https://tacticalgaming.net/hq/topic/138218-battlefield-events-calendar-2020/ - We continue to run monthly stats-based competitions, thanks to @TG The Messiah , assisted by @Man 0f Plants.
• Squad of the Month - Finally with private servers for in-game competition, we ran elimination matches for most all squads in the division during February and March. In the process, we learned a lot about how to organize and level the playing field for matches across large distances.

As for my personal highlights, they are the awards I’ve gained during my DO’ship thus far:

• Medal of Excellence - July, 2019: https://tacticalgaming.net/hq/topic/134328-ato-tg-legendary/
• Distinguished Service Cross, December 2019: https://tacticalgaming.net/hq/news/news.php/news/announcements/ato-division-officers-r213/

TG SmokeyB: What attracted you to TG when you first joined?

TG-LEGENDARY: I got into gaming at a very late age. In part, it was intentional. I knew I would like “video games” a lot and saved it for when I could give gaming proper attention.

With multi-player gaming, I quickly realized that to have any real meaning to it, I needed to group up with a bunch of people, rather than just random players.

So, I looked around. My main consideration was my advanced age. I needed to be part of a clan that could deal with that and not look at it as a liability.

I'm proud to say that one of TG's most finest recruited me: @dhmoose.

TG SmokeyB: I imagine you are busy with handling the Division as DO. What is it about being the DO that you love?

TG-LEGENDARY: I’m the kind of DO that is active in their division for a couple of hours every day. I’m sure there are other styles of DO’ship, but it’s the day-to-day activity of helping the BGC’s and other division leaders steer us toward our short and long-range objectives ( https://tacticalgaming.net/hq/topic/138749-battlefield-division-plan-2020/ ) that I most enjoy.

But, you know, what do DO's really do?

I can't speak for other DO’s or those who have been Division Officers before, but what I do is this: In addition to all that is outlined in the Division Officer Handbook, I stay in contact with my Brigade Commanders who run the show in their respective brigades, and also their staff. I pressure the BGC’s to go further in what they're doing; trying to mentor whenever possible; maintaining an open-door policy to make myself easily accessible to all members.

TG SmokeyB: Can you tell me a little more about your TG history?

TG-LEGENDARY: I began in Call of Duty in 2010. I advanced to be the SL of the division's PS3 competitive squad, becoming known as "The CoD Father" - I then took leave in 2011, when I moved from California to Thailand.

While on leave, I checked out Battlefield and... well, there was no comparison to what I could do in BF vs. CoD ... and I never went back. My friends in CoD, like @TG-Mitchell , still look for my return. It feels really good that I am remembered so well.

I’ve also done some work in the TO as a Co-AT for Battlefield and assisted TG Epsi on getting the News Team back up-to-speed following the big Discord Exodus in Fall 2017. But, all-in-all, my TG history has been pretty much: Battlefield.

TG SmokeyB: If you could change one thing in TG, what would it be?

TG-LEGENDARY: I still have dreams of a “3rd Battalion” for Tactical Gaming.

The vast number of English-speaking gamers in mainland Asia, Japan, the Philippines and Southeast Asia, all with excellent internet connections, begs for entry. I would like to see TG come up with a plan to recruit members from this large part of the world and put resources toward making the “3rd Battalion” a reality.

TG SmokeyB: Just for fun. If you where having your last meal tomorrow, what would it be?

TG-LEGENDARY: Jumbo scallops from a source I trust, pan friend in butter. On the side: asparagus tops. Beverage: a Sierra Nevada Brewing Company “Big Foot” or “Pale Ale.” Maybe more than one...

Thank you @TG-LEGENDARY for taking part in this series, great and detailed answers. Thats what i love about this series, learning about other members of our community.

Stayed tuned for another episode in a months time!