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State of the SFMC May 2012

Greetings to all Marines

I have to open with an apology for the lateness of this report, which had been held back purposefully pending settlement of a few issues that I had wished to include specifically in this report, relating specifically to QM store items.
WEBSITE CONCERNS
Although this an area managed by InfoCom and reported by that Command, I have a duty to briefly outline some of the recent concerns that have been expressed in respect to some of the problems and issues that arose during April
Primarily, these ‘issues’ affected the processing of exam requests and some of the associated correspondence with TraCom,causing some break-down in the important movement of communications.
This problem came about seemingly as a direct result of the hacking to the Dreamhost server that had caused some significant problems for us during March – and although initial errors were intermittent to start with (and thus difficult to trace back) they became more wide spread as time went on, ultimately causing serious disruption to traffic-flow through the SFMCA site.
I can now report however, that with serious effort by InfoCom, and supported by the CompOps team and specifically with the assistance of MGN Sean Neimeyer, that the problems have been resolved and we can move forward with a further strengthening of our systems to ensure continuance of the services that we need to provide are assured.
COInfoCom will provide more of a detailed report in his own SoR – but in the interim, if there are any questions or concerns that need to be expressed or addressed, please direct them to COInfoCom or to myself, accordingly.
I would take this opportunity however, to once again suggest to all marines that in the event of ANY break-down in any of the communication links with any of the SFMC Commands, the the advice and recommendations as listed in the various SFMC manuals in this regard – especially that within the Marine Forces Manual (MFM) – be adhered to.
This would then ensure the appropriate personnel are immediately informed of any issues/problems and thus greatly reduce stress and any unnecessary tensions being created.
METAL DEVICES
As I outlined in an earlier report, the GS has been working to the creation of some new devices, primarily driven by the need to replace material offered by New Moon Props (NMP) – but also to assist with the creation of SFMC-specific material that does not necessarily rely upon the use of any real-world military items.
I would therefore like to announce the immediate availability of the new IN-20 (silver) device, that can be now ordered from the SFMC Quartermaster (QM) store.
This metal pin is a very slightly altered design from the original IN-20 and like all devices being designed and created at present, will only be available though the SFMC QM.
Cost will be $7.50 per pin and images of the pin (in artwork form at this stage) can be found on the QM website at https://www.qm.sfi-sfmc.org/
I take pleasure in assuring you that this pin is indeed an exellent and high quality item to be added to your uniforms and you will be most pleased with your purchase.
At this time, I would also like to “pre-announce” the pending arrival of the new IN-30 (gold) pin – another altered design and now different to the IN-20 ; as well as the new AE wings, also in gold.
Prices have yet to be confirmed for these two items but are not likely to be too far off the IN-20 price, if not the same.
Again, once these devices have been receipted into QM stock, an announcement will be made by the QM enabling purchase – and this is expected to occur before end of this month.
As to the ‘old’ devices – these will of course remain perfectly acceptable for wear and all and any newer devices will be grandfathered into dress code.
SFMC BERET FLASH
I can also announce the creation and immediate availability of the officially designed/created SFMC beret flash. At this stage, this flash design is unique to the SFMC
The flash can be ordered ONLY from the SFMC QM store and comes at cost of $5.50. Again, an image of the flash design can be viewed on the QM web-page
This flash is an optional addition to dress code but is the only flash officially authorized for wear with the beret. 3/4″ tall brass number pins may be purchased from https://www.pinmart.com/number-one-lapel-pin.aspx, and worn centered on the flash as a designator of brigade – i.e. 1Bde would use a “1”; 2Bde would use a “2” etc etc
Alternatively, Marines may instead wear their standard SFMC pin centered on the flash, or without the flash at all
If there are any questions or comments on the new flash, please contact either myself, the DepDant or SFMC QM
IC/IM
At time of writing, we have been able to (best) confirm the GS attendance at the upcoming IC/IM. Unfortunately, at this stage there is likely to be only two representatives from the GS attending – being COFinCOm (MGN Patrick McAndrew) and COForceCom (MGSGT John ‘Kiwi’ Kane)
Both of these GS representatives will perform the necessary tasks as is the norm and I would ask that if anyone attending has specific material or programs that they would like to see presented by the GS at the times allocated to us, that they contact my office at earliest opportunity.
Any offers of support to these two Marines at the IC/IM will be greatly appreciated.
30th ANNIVERSARY
As we all know this year marks the 30th year of the SFMC, with the information I have stating that the SFMC was conceived on November 10th 1982 and then launched at the December 1982 meeting of the USS Pontiac. On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary, the Corps issued the ’20th Anniversary Ribbon” which was specifically designed to that purpose.
Rather than create yet another ribbon, it has been decided that we should adopt and to use this existing design as the award to celebrate each ten-year anniversary of the Corps.
This will then mean that the existing award will go through a slight name change (SFMC Anniversary Ribbon) and a change to criteria.
This will be cited thus:
This ribbon is awarded to anyone who served the Corps during the ten-year anniversaries beginning at the start of IC 2002 on August 3,2002, and ending at the completion of IC 2003 on August 3, 2003; or at the start of of IC 2012 on August 3, 2012 and ending at the completion of IC 2013 on (likely) August 2, 2013. Each ten-year celebration date criteria to the future , will be added accordingly.
As per usual SFMC formula, Marines who are eligible for any multiple accreditation based on the criteria outlined, are to add a silver star for each ten year so accredited.
We have also been reviewing and considering a wide-ranging selection of other elements to add to the celebrations including dress pins; key-chains/rings; cups and clothing. As soon as we settle on just what we can have made available, we will advise
SFMC SCHOLARSHIP FUND
I have been recently reminded (and rightly reprimanded I might add!) at the fact that we are not regularly promoting this worthy Fund.
Currently we hold around $2,700 in the Scholarship Fund and although there has been little efforts to add to this recently, conversely there has only ever been one application in the last four years
With this year’s application period fast coming to a close, I urge and eligible Marines to look into applying for funding.
Details can be found by either reviewing the SFMCA website at https://sfmca.sfi-sfmc.org or by directly contacting the COTraCom at tracom@sfi-sfmc.org
A REMINDER ON DRESS CODES
The STARFLEET Marine Corps has a wide variety of uniforms authorized in the MFM, suitable for any ‘Trek era, as well as designs whose primary value is that they are relatively inexpensive and consist of components widely available through a variety of commercial sources.
Remember that at no time is any uniform required, but if a STARFLEET Marine Corps uniform is worn, it should be one of the designs authorized in the MFM and the uniform should be worn “correctly”.
The MFM contains a caution that bears repeating often : Uniforms should not be worn to functions where the majority of attendees would not recognize it as some type of fan uniform. The Mess White and Class C uniforms are not readily recognizable as a non-military uniform. Marines should avoid wearing the uniform in any context where is may appear paramilitary or intimidating to the public.
Bruce O’Brien
Brigadier General, SFMC
Commandant, STARFLEET Marine Corps
dant@sfi-sfmc.org]]>