Starbase 001:

Genesis Post-:Hardgrove

Most Posts- Hardgrove

USS Patriot: 

Most Valuable Simmer:  Lt. J.g. Sammi Olvera 
Sammi came into her own this month, with 52 posts! 
She’s constantly provided a new perspective on things,
and her leap from minor character to center stage has
been nothing less than dramatic.  She’s done
everything I’ve asked of her (plus so much more), and
is a credit to this crew.  I’m sure it’ll be the first
of many such awards for Lt. Olvera.

Rookie of the Month:  Lt. J.g. Randy Burkhead
Randy’s arrival sparked a whole new dynamic with the
crew.  His inclusion on the mission to the Orion
Syndicate proved to be a most fortuitous decision, as
he gave us the types of moral and ethical dilemmas
that make simming so much fun!  Couple all that with a
burgeoning romance (probably the hardest thing to make
work in a sim, believe me!) and Burkhead’s posts,
while not large in quantity, have indubitably
contributed to the quality of this sim.  And all this
while serving in the REAL U.S. Military give us a
doubly good reason to award Randy with our Rookie of
the Month.

Most Improved Simmer:  Lt. Commander Graxx Klevlane
Graxx has always been the voice of absurdity aboard
ship, speaking out with an engineer’s frankness and
compounding that with his own particular brand of
barely restrained bloodlust.  So it might seem strange
that he’s up for this award, however, I find no better
person on the crew for it, because as good as he’s
always been, this month, he was even better.  He gave
us new problems to solve, new angst to work through
and did it all while listening to SiD Metal, which is
no easy task.  If he keeps up this rate of
improvement, the Patriot may well be turned into a
morgue before too much longer!

Mission Genesis Post: #2545 - Savai N’gellin
Most Posts:  Savai N’gellin: 65.5 posts
Funniest Post: # 2642 - Sammi Olvera
Best Story Post:  #2703 - Graxx Klevlane
Best Character Development Post: # 2690 - Tara

INTERVIEWER: Tell us about yourself.  How did you get involved in simming? 

ADMIRAL WEST: I became involved in simming in the year 2000 when I met a person online via the AOL member directory named Captain Carina Exsta.  She told me about Utopia Fleet, the online PBEM from which IDF spawned (and which is no longer in existence).  I went to the website and joined a ship named the USS Sunfire as XO.  The rest is history.

INTERVIEWER: How did you get the inspiration to create Independence Fleet?

ADMIRAL WEST: Basically myself, Former Admiral Star, and Retired Admiral Seldon decided we were ready to create our own fleet.  We all had really good ideas and we brought them together to create this great fleet.  The other two Admirals were part of my crew when I was commanding the USS Sunfire.

INTERVIEWER: Are you currently simming anywhere?

ADMIRAL WEST: I just finished up a guest spot on the USS Sunfire-C.  The ship has a great crew and the posting rate is excellent, and at times too much for me to keep up with since starting my new job.  When things settle down on the real-life front I am going to be looking for another place to guest sim.  Get the word out to the fleet to see if any sim wouldn't mind having me on board for a bit.

INTERVIEWER: Do you have any hobbies outside of simming?  What do you do to relax? 

ADMIRAL WEST: Some of my hobbies include playing Airsoft Wargames and participating in Airsoft Tactical training.  I also work out on occassion (I should do so more on a regular basis though).  And I also enjoy playing XBOX, Pool (even though I suck),  and Texas Hold 'Em Poker.  To relax I will either sleep or drink, or both, LOL.

INTERVIEWER: Who is your favorite Star Trek character?

ADMIRAL WEST: I actually like Ensign Hoshi Sato from Enterprise.  I think she is hot.  But I also like Q because of all the cool powers he has.  I wish I had them.  That would be awesome as hell.

INTERVIEWER: If you could meet this person, what would you say to them?

ADMIRAL WEST: If it was Hoshi I would ask her out.  If it was Q, I would ask him to snap his fingers and make ten billion dollars appear for me.  If it were the actual actors and not the characters, I would still ask the girl that plays Hoshi out.  And for the guy that plays Q, I would probably just ask him what's up.

INTERVIEWER: What do you feel is the most important part of a successful simm?

ADMIRAL WEST: How well the crew works together and gets along. 

INTERVIEWER: What is your favorite movie?

ADMIRAL WEST: There are so many to list and not just one favorite.  Some of the ones I like (and I do mean _some_)  include: Independence Day, Face/Off, US Marshalls, Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, The Italian Job, The Big Hit, Death to Smoochy, Austin Powers', Executive Decision, Underworld, National Treasure, Nick of Time, Desperate Measures...and on and on and on....(and of course all the Star Treks and Star Wars')

INTERVIEWER: Favorite book?

ADMIRAL WEST: I don't read too many books.  But I did enjoy reading the Halo books that were novelized from the XBOX video games.

INTERVIEWER: What do you think has kept Independence Fleet going for four years?

ADMIRAL WEST: The quality of simming and the communication of everyone in the fleet working together and having fun. 

INTERVIEWER: Who is the best doctor: McCoy or Crusher?

ADMIRAL WEST: I guess McCoy.  Hell, I don't know, they were both pretty good.

INTERVIEWER: The fleet has been going strong for four years now.  Where do you see IDF going from here?  Do you have any plans to expand?

ADMIRAL WEST: There are talks in the works on adding another division in the fleet so that the current division head won't get bogged down.  IDF has reached great levels so far.  We have just as many, if not more, active sims than most of the other fleets out there, and, have remained our own entity throughout our history.  We have not merged with any other fleet.  And it was stated when I first helped to create and founded IDF, that we would always remain our own entity.  In the future I see more unique sims and hopefully get-togethers that a lot of IDF'ers can attend!

INTERVIEWER: Tell us about the early days of the Fleet.  What was it like in the beginning?  What is the most noticeable change? 

ADMIRAL WEST: In the beginning... We had three ships, an admiral on each ship, and a good crew on each ship.  Everyone, and I do mean every single player, knew each other.  The most noticible change is that the fleet has grown so big that many people do not know each other.  And some people may not even know who I am right now.  Some may be thinking, "who is this West dude??"  There were also no multiple characters in the beginning, and now there are so many it is hard to keep an actual count of how many people we have in the fleet versus characters.

INTERVIEWER: In your opinion, what is the one thing Independence Fleet has or does to set it apart from the other fleets?

ADMIRAL WEST: As far as I know, we are the only fleet that has guest simming Admirals that will go onto different ships or bases and sim with the crew for a while.  This helps us get to know each ship and their crew better.  Also, I believe we are the only fleet to send out a newsletter each and every month and give out awards like we do.

INTERVIEWER: In all your years of experience, whom have you enjoyed posting with the most?

ADMIRAL WEST: Gosh, there are so many great posters in IDF history.  Some of the classic characters/simmers that I have had the honor of posting with are Ashla Bogan, Ace Decade, and Rachel Rager.

INTERVIEWER: Are you pleased with the current administration of IDF?

ADMIRAL WEST: I am very pleased.  In my recent absenses Admiral Griffith has done a spectacular job holding things together.  I would like to get more involved with the Division Directors and COs once I get my real-life issues back on track.