🔒 EXCLUSIVE: Groups/squad /announcements/listing - High Quality

This will be the first of new monthly addresses from Squad 9's Leadership. This month, I'll be announcing on Leadership's behalf. As of last night, Sept. 30th, 2018, those still in Squad 9 -- specifically in our Steam group -- without tags on their Steam profiles, and who weren't specifically exempt by Command Staff, were automatically ejected from Squad 9. Those removed from the group on Steam were also reassigned on Discord as well. However, those who were ejected can still reapply if they so choose, though they'll have to restart their recruitment from the beginning.

On the Discord front, many of you may have noticed we now have a bot in our Discord: Dynobot. It's an auto-moderation bot with a lot of other nifty little features that will benefit us greatly going forward. It's still in the process of being set up, but it'll be one of the various new features and improvements that will be made to Squad 9's Discord as time goes on. Expect other changes and improvements to be made to our text and voice chat channels, too. However, we'd like to encourage our member base to come forward with any ideas or insights that might help us in this regard. You might just end up suggesting something we haven't even thought of, yet.

Lastly, regarding servers, we're in the process of locking down a server for Arma 3 operations. (Yes, those are a thing, now.) Details will follow as soon as we get something concrete nailed down. Expect more updates on this front throughout the coming week!

Depending on how things turn out, we may end up having to scale our Insurgency servers back from five to three:
- An 8 - 10 slot co-op server
- A 10 - 12 slot private PVP server for us
- A public 16 slot PVP sustained combat server

As before, stay tuned throughout the week for further updates.

For honor and glory!
- Valkinsenn

Alright. Listen up, guys! I'm gonna make this brief. From now until the end of the year, in addition to spurring on activity in our Member base, we're also gonna be enforcing tag placement as well. What this means is that, while we can adjust your names in our Discord server, it's up to you to ensure that you're keeping your tags on your Steam profiles at all times. No offense, but while most of our members are wearing tags, we've got more than a few that just aren't, for whatever reason. That simply isn't gonna work.

Those that are wearing tags, you're fine. You've got nothing to worry about. Keep on keeping on, fellas. Those that aren't will have until the end of the month -- that's one and a half weeks from today -- to get their tags fixed on their Steam names or they'll be ejected from Squad 9 without any further warning. Thanks for your attention, gents.

(Reposted from Discord)

With today being the last day of the year, it seems an altogether fitting time to include everyone on the good news Command Staff has to report on Squad 9's performance during this season.

Of the 16 seasonal milestones our leadership appointed as goals to be completed before the end of the year, we successfully completed 14!

Here's what's been accomplished:

1. Monthly announcement posts like this have been reinstituted
   
2. Membership grew to 50, 60, then 70 members - and is nearing 80; a new record!
   
3. Fireteams are once again part of Squad 9's organizational structure
   
4. Squad 9's presence on social gamer media expanded; we added official accounts on Twitter, Youtube, and Twitch
   
5. We upgraded from Google Sheets to Airtable for keeping an up-to-date roster that integrates all member info, awards, Fireteam info, and infractions
   
6. We're also using Airtable's Kanban board for status tracking and task management
   
7. More Moderators were employed to help police our servers
   
8. Our web host changed from iClan to Wix and our website has drastically improved as a central hub for the Squad to us
   
9. File and data storage for the team is now facilitated by Google Drive
   
10. New Officers have been installed to run Brand Management and Recruitment (Congrats to Tazzers and Equestion!)
    
11. Monthly leadership training has been re-instituted
    
12. Quarterly budget needs were met; all expenses for servers, web hosting, and team projects were covered!
    
13. Our Christmas raffle was a success, raising $132!
    
14. Budget reporting will occur once per quarter for leadership to improve its planning capabilities and allocation of resources

All that's left to do is further improve our awards program and officially launch the Squad 9 Youtube brand account. Both these items will be the first order of business for 2018.

In addition to all the above, Squad 9 successfully formed new alliances with groups like [SM4], improved ties with existing allies like <<AS>>, and was able to reopen lines of communication with old friends like SG1X. Our presence and reputation in the greater PC gaming community continues to flourish, and we look forward to expanding our outreach to like-minded groups next year.

Looking ahead, tomorrow marks the beginning of a new season and we have an ambitious road ahead of us. The Squad's immediate focus will be on the following:

1. Adding new servers on Insurgency
   
2. New initiatives to include members more in our growth and management
   
3. Pursuing new and exciting sources of revenue, to expand the team's budget and unlock new project possibilities
   
4. Adding new Fireteams and expanding the range of activity possible for FTs to participate in
   
5. Several other projects we can't wait to unveil once the time is right!

2017 has been a year of rapid growth for us. The status of Squad 9's forces is at historic levels. Our members have never been more numerous and our leadership has never been more organized. Productivity was at an all time high, and this has enabled us to set our sights even higher for the future.

As a team, we're becoming stronger and more influential. Our task now is to use that strength and influence to shape the communities we engage with to become greater.

Going forward, everything we do will set an example for others to follow. Our greatest task is to follow our Code - like never before.

The challenges we will face this next year are only as great as the difficulty we impose on ourselves. As long as we stand united in both our principles and our pursuits, we will continue to rock the world.

2017 has been a year of growth. Let's make 2018 a year of achievement.

Stay strong. Keep to the Code. Be the elite I know you all are.

And thank you - for making this year our finest.

For Honor and Glory!
~S9~ Falcon197, Commander

November is already more than halfway gone and Squad 9 is seeing historic growth for the season. Last night, our member count reached 60 for the first time since 2013! This achievement is owed to everyone's hard work and dedication to seeing our member base expand. The constant flow of new recruits from Insurgency, as well as our other games, is helping the Squad flourish like never before.

Speaking of new recruits, on behalf of the entire team, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newest players: Y2, CarterG4, FountainPen, Mailman, Sudath, NukeNook, and Ragnarok. We're glad to have you on board and look forward to rocking the online world together.

Also a special shout-out to Λtlas for attaining full membership status!

In addition to new members, we can also announce the completion of much-needed updates to our rules and protocols - including the Code of Conduct, which is now in its 13th official version. Expect a separate post in Discord with more details, as well as some hard copies of stuff we'd like to distribute to the members. Given that the team website is undergoing major renovation, we're taking a more practical approach towards arming our members with more info about how ~S9~ operates.

Regarding the website - dramatic changes are underway and we can expect something amazing to be rolled out soon. Spoiler alert: you're gonna love it!

Next on the list of new is an alliance between ~S9~ and [SM4]. These guys have frequented our Insurgency server and are interested in joint operations and training with us. They also want to scrim, so all Insurgency Fireteams are encouraged to get involved. Be aware that organizing events is left to either Fireteam Leaders or a member of Officer Corps. [SM4] has people in our Discord with Ally status, so FTLs and Officers should reach out to them directly to coordinate anything.

A friendly reminder to all personnel to render [SM4] the same respect and regard we extend to our own members. Keep to the Code and remember you represent Squad 9 during our interactions, either casual or competitive.

Previous announcements mentioned the pending launch of the ~S9~ Youtube brand account. As of today, the release remains delayed due to the lack of editors needed for processing in-game footage. In order to make our system work, we need members with video editing experience involved. Contact ScaredHobo ASAP if you're interested. The goal is to get the platform going by the end of this month, so even if you don't have the best skills but still have interest - definitely make yourself known!

We are also in need of someone to serve in Officer Corps as our team's Brand Manager. The responsibilities for this role include:

• Handling web production / social media management (making posts)
  
• Leveraging all platforms (website, Youtube, Twitch, Twitter) to promote the Squad and generate interest from prospective members
  
• Creating media for team branding (images, videos, posts, etc.)
  
• Planning and executes promo events

Anyone with a marketing background or at least any interest in developing these skills and applying them on behalf of ~S9~ should contact Command Staff. Essential to the next steps in our growth is having someone actively promoting the team, so if you're committed to seeing our name grow stronger, then this is an opportunity to help in a major way.

Lastly, as a token of appreciation to all members for their commitment to the Squad, Command Staff has developed a new and improved ~S9~ skin for Steam!

Preview it HERE[oi64.tinypic.com]
Get the Steam Customizer (to install) HERE[steamcustomizer.com]
Get the ~S9~ Steam Skin HERE[www.squad-9.com]

That's all for now. Stay posted to Discord for extra announcements and follow-on posts. As always, more to come!

For Honor and Glory!
~S9~ Falcon197, Commander

Yesterday was Squad 9’s seasonal planning meeting for Fall 2017. Members of our leadership – including Command Staff, Officer Corps, and Moderators – came together to discuss important topics and make decisions on key issues affecting our operations and organization.

This post will focus on what's new and upcoming.

First: the role of Moderator has changed! From now on, Command Staff will begin accepting applications from members interested in serving as a Mod on the ~S9~ Insurgency servers. Be aware that there is a set of minimum requirements applicants must meet in order to apply. Details on the process and the application itself are available HERE[www.squad-9.com].

Second: Squad 9’s website has been slated for a major revamp. As part of the process for building the best possible web-domain for our members, we want to open the doors for member input. Tell us what kinds of things you want to see on the new site! Also, if you are at all interested in creating web-based content, images, or other media useful to the Squad, please reach out to a member of Officer Corps or Command Staff. A survey has been posted HERE[www.surveymonkey.com] and will remain open until September 9.

Third: speaking of surveys, Command Staff is interested in your inputs on what Squad 9 can add to its list of supported games. Since we primarily operate on FPS-style titles for PC—our options are limited to games in shooter-type genres. A new poll will be posted each week featuring a different FPS title; some are new, some are current, and some we’ve previously operated on. Click HERE[www.squad-9.com] to visit the poll on the site.

Fourth: Squad 9 is officially adding Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds to its game list as a primary title! It will replace War Thunder, where our operations will be downscaled to secondary. Expect to see changes made to our Discord channels soon.

Fifth: did somebody say Youtube? Today, we’re announcing the upcoming launch of the ~S9~ Youtube Brand Account! This will effectively add a platform for us to post team videos, gameplay highlights, montages, and of course—live streaming. Final preparations are still being made, with official details to be announced. But we plan on making it possible for members with Youtubing experience to participate in building our channel or playing a role in the content editing process. Stay tuned for more info!

Finally, I’m pleased to announce that Squad 9’s membership stands just shy of the 50 member mark. This is exciting for us, especially considering the fact we reached the end of the summer with more registered members than we had going in.

We owe this remarkable achievement to the efforts of our leadership for staying on top of things from the management side. But we also want to extend a special thank-you to our members, both old and new, for your continued involvement in this amazing team. Each of you is a part of the reason all of us work hard to deliver the best team experience, and I want to encourage everyone to keep your head in the game going forward. Even greater heights await us, and all of you will share in the success we’re driving towards.

But for here and today, there’s plenty to do to continue growing our strength.
Play together, play hard, play to win, and above all else—keep to the Code!

For Honor and Glory,
~S9~ Falcon 197, Commander