We, the original signatories hereto, seeking to enhance the online gaming experience of our members as well as of all persons with whom we may interact, do hereby constitute and create the organization known as STARFLEET for this purpose. STARFLEET, as an organization and entity shall be deemed to exist from this point forward independent of any of its original signatories/promoters and until disbanded by a majority vote of its Council of Admirals , as created below.

STARFLEET is an entity formed for the purpose of bringing together various individuals who enjoy role-playing and/or simulation gaming on the Internet. STARFLEET, as an entity, is constituted as a military organization with its several members holding different military style ranks. The following Ranks are created by this charter.

The Council of Admirals of STARFLEET (Hereinafter “Council” or “Council of Admirals”) do hereby run the fleet in a democracy fashion, Each Council member is entitled to one vote on all matters placed before the Council, the Fleet Admiral’s vote counts for two.

The Council itself shall consist of eight members when there are adequate members with the rank of Commodore or above. The Fleet Admiral, and the Fleet Executive Officer are automatically elected to the Council. Any other vacant Council seats may be filled by a Majority vote from within the council itself, such vacant seats can only be filled by the rank of Commodore or above.

The Fleet Admiral shall appoint the Fleet Executive Officer, however the officer must meet the rank requirements stated above. The remaining seats (3-8) will be decided by Rank. If 2 or more Council members have the same rank, the seat will go to the one with the most time in STARFLEET. Retired officers who have returned after less than 6 months will have their previous STARFLEET active duty time considered for seniority issues.

The Fleet Admiral shall be responsible for the day to day operation of STARFLEET as set forth in the CoC. The Fleet Admiral is empowered to take all actions he may deem necessary to protect the integrity and health of STARFLEET. This includes the power to declare War on another Fleet without vote of Council. In this event The Fleet Admiral will immediately notify the Council via council forums and IM explaining all actions taken. There will be no Secret actions taken under this article. If , in the opinion of the Council, It is decided the Fleet Admiral has over stepped his/her authority in the issue, Any member of the Council can call for a vote to “Veto” the action. A Majority vote is required to pass a veto.

The Fleet Admiral is bound by his office to inform the council of every decision made under this article. The Fleet Executive Officer shall have the same authority as the Fleet Admiral when designated as “Acting” Fleet Admiral in the absence of the Fleet Admiral.

All other Officers shall have such duties and responsibilities as may be assigned either by the Fleet Admiral or the Council of Admirals.

The Fleet Admiral and Fleet Executive Officer are empowered to promote and or demote to all ranks, only a Council vote, however, can remove the Fleet Admiral or appoint a new Fleet Admiral, all other powers to promote or demote are handed down by the current Fleet Admiral and his/her Executive Officer. By this, they can at their discretion allow if they choose, division leaders, or other Admiral’s to promote or demote officers up to the rank of Captain. The Vice Admiral is empowered to promote officers up to the rank of Commodore, however, any and all promotions or demotions can be over ridden by the Fleet Admiral and or the Fleet Executive Officer. If in the event that a dispute arises in regards to demotions or promotions the Admirals Council will have the final say.

All officers above the rank of Commodore are empowered to discipline officers below them, provided such discipline is fair and in accordance with the Chain of Command and Code of Conduct, this does not include the power to demote, unless the officer involved falls into the category above.

Finally, as stated in the Preamble hereto, STARFLEET is deemed to exist independently of any of its members. Accordingly, no member, regardless of his/her rank, shall have the authority to disband STARFLEET for any reason. The sole authority to disband STARFLEET resides in the Council of Admirals. The Motion to Disband the Fleet must be submitted to all members of the Council and must receive the affirmative vote of four Council members, two of whom must be the affirmative vote of the Fleet Admiral and Fleet Executive Officer. If both contingencies are not met, the Motion to Disband fails.

All officers and non-commissioned officers of STARFLEET shall conduct themselves in a reserved, respectful, proper, and dignified manner at all times. Foul language, personal insults, derogatory comments as (Consistent, repeated, and/or malicious use) directed to other individuals or other Fleets are strictly prohibited. For the purpose of this Article, each officer of STARFLEET is reminded that he/she is deemed to be a representative of STARFLEET at all times. It shall not be a defense to a charge of violation of this Article for an Officer or non0commisioned officer to claim that he/she was acting in their personal capacity, expressing personal opinion, or similarly attempting to distance themselves from their duties and responsibilities as an officer of STARFLEET.

All officers and non-commissioned officers of STARFLEET shall adhere to a code of rigorous honesty in all of their affairs. All contest results shall be reported honestly and no officer is to publicly accuse another individual (whether a member of this Fleet or not a member of this Fleet) of cheating, hexing the game involved, or having taken advantage of adverse gaming conditions (i.e. “lag”) unless the officer can prove his assertions or, in the case of “lag”, unless the officer respectfully advised the opponent of his concerns immediately upon noting them while IN THE GAME.

The word of a STARFLEET officer given to anyone, even a declared enemy of this Fleet, shall be regarded as that Officer’s sacred bond, failure to adhere to such shall be considered a violation of this Article.

Each STARFLEET officer is expected and required to report any violation of the Charter and Code of Conduct to his Commanding Officer immediately. Any commanding officer receiving any notification of a CoC violation is to report it to his Commanding Officer, and so on until it reaches the Admirals Council. Violations are not to be reported on the message boards.

Violation of any of the provisions of this Article shall be considered a Category I offense.

All STARFLEET officers shall show courtesy and respect for other simulation gamers at all times and regardless of the simulation game being played or the game’s venue (i.e. Gamespy, Khan etc). Accordingly, ganging-up on non-STARFLEET personnel in a game, taunting an opponent in a game, and/or maliciously interfering in an on-going game created or started by another is prohibited. All officers are expected to exercise common sense when arranging games and/or entering on-going games created by another.

Violations of the provisions of this Article shall be considered a Category II offense.

All officers of STARFLEET shall be subject to and shall follow the Chain of Command at all times. Specifically, all officers of STARFLEET shall carry-out or perform the orders, directives, and/or assignments issued to them by an officer superior in rank to them.

No officer is permitted to publicly question the propriety or wisdom of an order or directive issued to him/her nor is any officer permitted to privately question OR TO EVEN DISCUSS an order issued to him/her with any person not a member of STARFLEET. If an officer is troubled by an order, directive or assignment issued to him/her, they are to immediately state their concern to the issuing officer, who shall note such concerns and then either withdraw or affirm the order. In the event the order is affirmed, the officer to whom the order, directive or assignment is issued shall diligently perform the duties required of him/her until the assignment is completed. In no event may the officer delay in performing an confirmed order he/she questioned to seek redress from a higher authority. Such delay shall be considered insubordination, even in the event the order itself is eventually withdrawn.

If after performing the order, duty or assignment the officer in question still feels that the order and or assignment was not correct he may take his case to his Commanding Officer, in the even that the Commanding Officer is the Officer issuing the order then he officer in question is permitted to take his complaint to the next highest ranking officer.

Any officer receiving a complaint regarding an order or assignment given is to report it to his Commanding Officer and it is to be passed along the Chain of Command until it reaches the Admirals Council.

Officers of STARFLEET are strictly prohibited from ever disclosing the source of an order, directive, assignment, or policy position to any person not a member of STARFLEET for any purpose and at any time. This provision shall be deemed to be an implicit part of each order issued by any officer of STARFLEET.

No officer of STARFLEET is permitted to issue an order, directive, or assignment in the name of STARFLEET COMMAND nor is any officer permitted to post a message in the name of STARFLEET COMMAND unless such has been specifically authorized by the Council of Admirals and or Fleet Admiral or Fleet Executive Officer, Orders, directives and assignments from STARFLEET COMMAND are binding on all officers.

All members of the Council of Admirals are required to and expected to follow the Chain of Command with respect to those orders which may be issued to them by officers superior in rank to them in the same manner as any other officer of STARFLEET.

An officer placed in a command position, by a Superior Officer or the Council, is the highest authority in his command. The individuals assigned to him play a subordinate role under his command, regardless of their rank.

All officers of STARFLEET are expected and required to complete any task, order or directive assigned to them and to discharge all of their duties diligently and expeditiously. All officers are expected to appear in an on-line gaming venue with regularity and to maintain their skills and competence with respect to such game(s) at the highest possible level. Officers who may find themselves unable to appear in an on-line gaming venue with regularity are required to make a formal Request for Leave to their Commanding Officer.

Failure on the part of a STARFLEET officer to discharge his/her duties as indicated in this Article shall constitute cause for transition to Inactive status or may constitute grounds for a Category II offense.

Only a Serving STARFLEET officer may bring charges against another STARFLEET officer. Any person from outside of STARFLEET wishing to lodge a complaint may do so via e-mail ONLY to the Fleet Admiral, if he decides there is a case to answer he will charge the officer in question himself. No other SF officer may lodge a complaint on behalf of another person.

Conduct Unbecoming an Officer

Sedition and/or Treason

Double Clanning

Insubordination

Any officer found guilty of a Category I offense may be Dismissed from STARFLEET, Demoted, and/or any other punishment which will be suggested by an appropriate ranking officer or by the Admirals Council, whereby an appropriate ranking officer is involved he or she will be constrained by the powers allowed him by this article and or by assignment allocated to him/her.

All other offenses.

Any officer found guilty of a Category II offense shall be subject to the following discipline:

1st offense – Written Warning or demotion

2nd offense (w/in 6 months) – Written Warning or demotion or dismissal

3rd offense (w/in 6 months of second offense) – Demotion or Dismissal

4th offense (w/in 6 months of 3rd offense) – Dismissal

All officers of STARFLEET accused of a Category I or Category II offense may either accept and agree to the specifications of charges lodged against them, or they may request a hearing.

To lodge your objection you must make a submission to the JAG office, Do NOT post it on a message board, email the JAG commanding officer using this email address, jag@starfleets.net.

Once a matter has been submitted to JAG there is no turning back. All matters in the hands of JAG will follow the appropriate course until a verdict is set down.

Once JAG has received an application is shall set a hearing date and then it will proceed with its rules of conduct which are itemized in the JAG policies section. At this time the officer charged of an offense shall not use the SF name in game and shall be suspended of all rank and privileges until such a time as the hearing has handed down its verdict.

Accusations of misconduct on the part of a STARFLEET officer shall be made promptly in writing to the immediate Commanding Officer of the accusing officer. The Commanding Officer shall immediately thereafter forward the Accusation to the Fleet Executive Officer who, in-turn, shall immediately inform the Fleet Admiral. In the event the accusation involves the Fleet Executive Officer, the accusation shall be directly forwarded to the Fleet Admiral by the Commanding officer of the accusing officer. In the Event the Accusation involves the Fleet Admiral, the Fleet Executive Officer shall forward the accusation to the Vice Admiral senior-in rank at the time.

To be accepted into STARFLEET, you must be at least 14 years old. You may gain entry if you are younger by entering through the Academy and working with a mentor.

Persons under 14 admitted to the Academy must complete a trial period. Any time during this trial, if the cadet is found unacceptable or was in breach of the Code of Conduct, the Cadet may be dismissed from service.

A Cadet remains in his/her trial period until his/her Division CO, feels that he/she has learned his lessons well and proven to be a responsible and mature officer.

If an Officer resigns he may request to return but MAY not return above the rank of Commander once his resignation was accepted.

Any rank above this MAY not be restored, this is due to others being promoted to fill his/her role.

If by chance a position of same or less rank is open for that officer to return to then he/she may do so upon acceptance of his/her application, this is solely at the discretion of STARFLEET Command or its Admirals Council.

Those officers of different divisions and departments that are given the privilege of Commanding Officer, do hereby become in charge of all operations regarding that division/department, regardless of rank.

As an officer of StarFleet, I do hereby acknowledge that I have read, understand and agree to be bound by the above related provisions of the StarFleet Charter & Code of Conduct, as well as any revisions, modifications or additions which may be lawfully promulgated thereto. I pledge my undivided loyalty to StarFleet and agree to subordinate my personal interests to those of the fleet. I pledge to uphold and defend the principles, policies and directives of StarFleet above all other tasks. I pledge my best efforts on behalf of StarFleet in discharging my duties as an officer herein.

Accordingly, I agree to post a message on the StarFleet Sub-Space Communications Array affirming my acceptance of this Charter and these Articles in these words:

By becoming a member of StarFleet you have automatically accepted and agreed to the terms and conditions outlined above.

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Article X – Leave of Absence and AWOL status

Leave Entitlement

Officers who may find themselves unable to appear in an on-line gaming venue with regularity are required to make a formal Request for Leave to their Commanding Officer Indicating how many days they will be taking from their leave pool.

All officers of the fleet are given a pool of 30 days of leave that can be takes consecutively or non-consecutively. Leave of absence can be taken without any consequence in terms of mandate or rank that they currently hold.

All officers of the fleet are given a pool of 180 days of extended leave. Extended leaves consists as 30 + consecutive days of absence. An officer who falls in extended leave may lose mandates and positions in the fleet. Ranks associated with mandates may be stripped.

During, leave or extended leave, Officers are expected to be unable to maintain regular activity in the Fleet. If they still maintain an activity level judged sufficient to perform their duties their leave requests may be rescinded by their CO and placed in active duty.

Officers Leave and Extended leave Pools are replenished on their respective service anniversary.

Awol definition

Any member of the fleet, who has not shown any presence by neither posting on the forums and/or appearing on teamspeak for a period of 30 + days without requesting leave shall be considered AWOL.

Any member who becomes AWOL will be immediately demoted and removed from their stations. If the AWOL status persists for a period of 60 + days they will be discharged from the fleet. Once discharged they may re apply to join the organization through a second career application by contacting a captain or council member.