Security – USS Loma Prieta • NCC-26848

2013.05022014.0614

CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER’S LOG (2013.0223): #BATTLESTATIONS!

[ABOVE: The view from the Main Bridge]

Per Starfleet regulations, the USS Loma Prieta has long since conducted shipboard tactical drills with great regularity. Finding current systems somewhat lacking, the crew sought out a third-party provider for our simulations, and not too long ago happened across a promising holodeck program called “ARTEMIS”. This wasn’t our first go around with a major ARTEMIS based tactical simulation, but it was by far our most ambitious, involving many other ships and crews. The fleet-wide drills were headed up by our First Officer, CMDR Jon Sung, and the ship’s Tactical Officer, LT(jg) Michael Owens. Accompanying them were Chief Engineer LCDR Tom Hesser and myself.

Utilizing co-working spaces in Starfleet Headquarters San Francisco (a location code named: WeWork), we set up two mock bridges and began running the simulations. As part of an unofficial recruiting effort for Starfleet, the decision was made to bring in civilians so they could see the amazing opportunities that existed in the high-stakes, fast-paced life of a starship bridge. The simulation was a bigger success than was originally planned, and ended up being attended by over 120 people. We even had the pleasure of having the commanding officer of the USS Golden Gate, Admiral David Nottage, in attendance along with several of his Marines from the 49th MSG and 13th MEU, as well as a civilian scientist Brian Johnson representing the creators of the ARTEMIS system.

[ABOVE: CAPT Perkins tackles the Gorn and the crowd goes wild]

There was only a slight security breach: a Gorn prisoner broke loose from his shackles, overpowered me and the Marines from the USS Golden Gate, and attacked our commanding officer, CAPT Zach Perkins. Thankfully the Captain, being an honors graduate of the “James T Kirk School of Hand to Hand Combat”, swiftly took down the Gorn in a matter of seconds. It didn’t take me long to recover, and I quickly took the Gorn back into custody for immediate evac. The rest of the evening went off without a hitch (save for a few technical difficulties that were quickly tended to by LCDR Hesser).

[ABOVE: LT(jg) Nicole Lippman, EN Tiffany Bukowski, LT(jg) Ben Roodman]

I must make mention of the incredible Ten-Forward staff we had on

hand, headed up by EN Tiffany Bukowski, EN Kelly Jensen, and LT(jg) Nicole Lippman. Manning the airlock/front of house was LT(jg) Casey Koon, EN Jessie Philipp, EN Andrew Rogge and LT(jg) Ben Roodman. At some point in the evening, there might have been a slight malfunction with the synthahol replicators, because they neither tasted like nor had the same effect (or lack there of) as true synthehol. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that some people might have been … intoxicated. Strangely enough, it didn’t seem to grossly affect the quality of the various bridge crews — in fact, it made the simulations almost infinitely more fun. If only I could have gotten away with that in my Academy days!

Due to the event’s overwhelming success, Starfleet has asked us hold yet another ARTEMIS tactical simulation. After some system upgrades, we’ll definitely be doing this again in the near foreseeable future. Look for us under the code name: #BATTLESTATIONS.

Until then,

Roberts out.

=/= CAPT Erik Roberts

Chief Security Officer

USS Loma Prieta

Starfleet, Region 4

Team Leader

ADU-008 “Section 8”

Starfleet Special Operations

2012.11012014.0614

Security Chief’s Log (2012.1101): Security, Tactical and Special Operations Report

The Starfleet Special Operations events for October had to be rescheduled. Captain Perkins was in sickbay with his significant other, and the Team Leader had a small collision with another shuttle so resources had to be diverted. What was planned was a phaser refresh course with other member’s of the chapter. However, plans are underway for an excursion into the wilderness for some phaser re-training and possibly shipboard battle tactics simulations We have been chosen to beta test the PADD (iPad) version of Artemis and believe that with the right equipment, can use this new technology to test anywhere. Once more solidified plans for the rural excursion come about, they will be relayed to the rest of the ship.

On a Tactical note, development of a custom made shipboard simulations (Artemis) is in full swing and the Tactical department has made some amazing strides developing a battle bridge. I don’t want to divulge too many details (it’s better for the reveal when it’s completed), but suffice it to say that the end result will nothing short of epic.

For the Security side of things, I want to encourage everyone to check the STARFLEET Academy courses for security. They can be found here. They are online and pretty easy to complete. The only caveat is that you need to be a paid member of STARFLEET: The International Star Trek Fan Association (you do that here!). If you’re not a paid member yet, why not? Anyway, the courses are easy, and everyone should have basic security training. Plus, it’s fun, so why wait?

CAPT Erik Roberts
Chief of Security/Tactical
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

Team Leader
ADU-008 “Section 8”
Starfleet Special Operations

2012.07142014.0614

Security Report: (2012.0714) SFSO? – An Intro to Starfleet Special Ops

What is SFSO? Starfleet Special Operations command is the group for those who have an interest in the Ground Operations/ Combat side of the fleet universe. Although never actually mentioned in cannon, it is a safe assumption that the military arm of the United Federation of Planets would have combat trained ground forces, should the need arise. Multiple times throughout the various series and movies, the need has arisen. The SFSO is the intelligence gathering arm of Starfleet, both Covert and Military Intelligence. We are sort a cross between the CIA and Military Intelligence. We have rangers, SEALS, Force Recon, Covert Intel, and MACO. We are essentially Starfleet Intelligence. Some of the more notable people in TOS and TNG were most probably SFSO. Colonel West in VI, Kirk, Sulu, Uhura, Picard, Worf, and Dr. Crusher were Specops Trained for the Cardassian infiltration. As were the MACO’s in Enterprise.

So what does SFSO do? That is the beauty of SFSO. Sure there is a manual. Sure there are academy courses (one of the bigger colleges at the Academy by the way).SFSO’s academy courses are written by former military members and also have real-world applications and information. They are more than just movie trivia. But there is not much dictating what you *have* to do. The main goal of Starfleet Special Operations is to have fun and give the member a slightly more militaristic way to play without all the hard nosed regulations fru-fru of the Starfleet Marine Corps. We provide an outlet for those who just want something a little different that the standard vanilla Starfleet experience.

So what are you waiting for? Check us out at www.sfso.sfi.org, or contact me directly at sfso@sfi.org if you have any questions.

~Capt. Erik Roberts
Chief Security Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

Deputy Director
SFSO – Operations

[Above: The special pin available only to SFSO members]