New Academy Programs & New Deputy Commandant

Bravo Fleet Academy has long been a pet project of mine, and it’s been an exciting few weeks in its development. I am an educator by trade, and I am passionate about any sort of professional development or coursework being both objective-driven and transformational. My goal is to make these programs meaningful and tied directly to the activities we offer in the Fleet with actual application components. This is one of the reasons it takes so long to bring new programs online, as they can’t just be a list of readings and a quiz.

New Program: The Command Management Program (CMP)

I’m pleased to announce that Bravo Fleet’s fourth Academy Program is now available for enrollment: the Command Management Program (CMP). This program is an in-depth tutorial in requesting a command, setting up and maintaining a command’s BFMS page, creating and maintaining a command’s wiki entry, and developing a diverse, meaningful roster. This program consists of a quiz about command policy, two short reflections, and a requirement that participants submit a completed command page, roster, and wiki, so you will be getting credit for applying what you learned. To get started in this program, you can access it through the Academy’s Moodle site.

Upcoming Program: The Plot Development Program (PDP)

There is another program that will be online very soon: the Plot Development Program (PDP). The focus of this program is to learn about literary and dramatic plot structures and then create and follow an actual outline for a mission on your command. While the Fiction Writing Program focuses on micro-scale aspects of writing (style, tone, voice, etc.), this is about planning arcs. You can preview some of the resources it will use in the #writing-resourcs channel on the Discord server. I anticipate this being online within the next week, and certainly before the Fleet Action.

Future Programs

In addition to the programs described above, we’re also developing:

Video Gaming Program — how to earn the various ribbon types for gaming
Competition Development Program — how to successfully develop and run competitions
Task Unit Staff Program — how to be a successful member of a TF staff
RPG Management Program (tentative) how to run a successful RPG

Staffing Updates

In recent months, I welcomed Commander Theo Barrington, aka Heidi, and Captain Andreus Kohl, aka Brendan, to the Academy Team. They have been invaluable in brainstorming ideas for future programming and in assisting with giving feedback to participants in the Character Creation Program and Fiction Writing Program. As of a few days ago, I elevated Brendan to the role of Deputy Academy Commandant, which marks the first time this department has had a deputy.

If you are interested in working on the Academy team, there’s plenty of room. In particular, I’m looking for folks with prior experience with Moodle or other Learning Management Systems from the instructor side, or folks with experience in instructional design–but a general willingness to be a mentor and work with others is useful as well. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out on Discord to me (David) or Brendan. You can also fill out an application.

March-April Fiction Program Cohort

Finally, I want to announce that Brendan will be spearheading a cohort-based experience for going through the Fiction Writing Program through April into the Fleet Action. The idea is that you would work through the reflection prompts in the FWP before the FA, and then as a cohort you would support and encourage each other (as well as edit each other’s writing) to finish the prompt and earn the service ribbons necessary to earn the badge. If you’re interested in participating, contact Brendan.

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