American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

Gentlemen!

I have only "skimmed" thru' this post and would need to think some more on it before I could state that I have a firm and "concrete" stance on the subject. Hwever, one thought lit up in Neon as I read the various replies.

What about the position of the Executive Officers (XO's)[?]

I served as a Corps XO and Division Commander simultaneously at one point in my short ACWGC Career. As I understood it then and I am open to "enlightenment" on the matter - one of the prime responsibilities of a Real Life XO, is the maintenance of the Morale of his respective unit.

In my brief tenure as an XO, I felt that the Real Life XO's Duty, in assisting the Senior Officer, with the day to day running of the Unit was accurately reflected within the ACWGC structures, with New Recruit replacement, OBD points recording, Medal elegibility monitoring, AWOL chasing, "Junior" Officer assistance, etc. I also took it upon myself to look towards building up and maintaining Corps Morale. This - to Me - entailed, Competitions within the Corps and within the AoG and Challenges between friendly Armies and against the Union side.

I would suggest that "Managing" an ACWGC "Unit - (Theatre, Army, Corps or Division) requires an emphasis being placed on 2 Matters. Records and Morale.

Records - As above . . . the "Paperwork".

Morale - as above - Tournies . . . AND Taverns, Role-playing, Tomfoolery etc.

I would personally like to see each Corps and above maintain an XO position. A lot of these Units do. But quite a few do not! How a Commander and an XO split the duties depends on their personal relationship and skills. An AC might be brilliant at Paperwork but weak at the "Morale Issues". Similarly for an XO. or vice versa - if Ye know what I mean? [;)]

But for my argument, let's take it that all Corps and Higher "Commands" have an XO. Three "Executive Officer" Councils could be established.

1. 1 For the CSA . . Primary responsibility - generating "Maneuvres" Tournies between the CSA Armies/Theatres.

2. 1 for the USA . . . exact same Role as in 1.

3. A combined CSA/USA XO Council - Primary responsibility - generating Tournies between the CSA and USA Armies/Theatres.

I have yet to see anyone attempt to organise a Tourney with the specific purpose of involving each and every Officer North and South, which would generate the sensation of "Fighting for the Cause". FtW has come the closest - IMHO.

However, try this out for size Gents. [8D]

The #3 Council (CSA/USA XO's)"meet" and select a Battle - for Argrument's purpose - Antietam. They inform their respective CoA's of their Choice. The CoA's in turn "order" a particular number of Officers from each of their Armis to "Report for Duty" at Antietam. Each Officer fights the Battle against a similarly rated Opponent. Notional Points are awarded to each side as per the Individul Results from each individual Game. The Battle of Antietam "Theme" Runs for an alloted number of months and the CSA/USA totals are tallied. Final Result - 1 side has "won" the Battle of Antietam!!

Similarly, Multi-Player Battles could be arranged by the XO's - specifying at least one member from each respective Army on BOTH sides participates.

Or a multi-Player manoeuvre pitting the Western Theatre (CSA) against the Eastern Theatre (CSA). Simultaneously, a similar multi-Player manoeuvre is run by the USA side. The Winners of each sides' multi-Player manoeuvre then repeat the Battle - but this time as a "Battle" rather than as a Manoeuvre, with the winning side being declared the Victors of that Battle.

Over time . . . one side of the ACWGC would be winning the War and the other . . . striving to turn the tide! [:D]

The HACW and the King of the Hill Competitions touch on the basic idea as explained above . . . BUT, the emphasis falls on how an individual performs - to a great extent. This mainly occurs because 1 or 2 Members organise, monitor and compile the entire project.

Were there a "Council" such as the XO Council - as sketchily outlined above - in existence . . . think of the possibities available to the Club AND to each Member, in turn . . . for scale of Competitions, CSA/USA "Supremacy, Inter-Army Rivalry, Inter Theatre competitiveness, "Bragging Rights", Comradery, etc. [8D]

Then again - m'be I'm just blowin' smoke rings 'n' Pipe Dreams?
[?] [:p] [B)]

Pat.

Patrick G.M.Carroll,
Brigadier General.
Carroll's Corps,(II)
"Spartan Southrons"
Army of Georgia.
C.S.A.

" When My Country takes it's rightful place, amongst the Nations of the World, then and only then, let My Epitaph be written. "

General D: Well I'm glad that got straightened out ("The Secretaries as peons of the CoA was a past experience and I know it's not the current situation").

Certainly differs greatly from "we have problems in the current cabinet with the idea that the Secretaries serve the side and the CoA". I'm at a complete loss where that came from.

General Burke

General Burke,

I did use that phrase poorly. I was in the frame of mind of us vs. them. I am not criticizing any past or current leaders who thought that way; it was a valid response to a perceived CSA dominant Cabinet. I never even imagined, based on my impartial commitment, that there would be an us vs. them situation. It only came to my intention when someone mentioned it. It does not mean that it is not an issue today for some. To relieve this perception, separate Cabinets would certainly do the trick. It also highlights the power that the CoA can and could exercise. The CoA's virtually rule over the Armies. The Cabinet only exercises it's power, with difficulty, when it sees the abuse. A separate Cabinet would, in my opinion, tempter this situation. I am not alluding to any current CoA difficulties. The Club has been fortunate to have outstanding CoA's.

In regards to the expanded role of other 'leadership' position in the club. It only requires the will to do so. There are no restrictions for anyone to start tourneys etc, at least that I know of.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Doug Burke</i>
<br />General D: Well I'm glad that got straightened out ("The Secretaries as peons of the CoA was a past experience and I know it's not the current situation").

Certainly differs greatly from "we have problems in the current cabinet with the idea that the Secretaries serve the side and the CoA". I'm at a complete loss where that came from.

General Burke
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Best Regards,

General Pierre D.
1st Bde,3rd Div,I Corps,
Army of Georgia
CSA

President, ACWGC
Cabinet Member

I think the obvious solution is to have a two tiered club. The first tier would just be for people who want to play the occassional pbem game but don't really care about ratings and ranks, role playing etc.

The second tier would be an actual role playing club that can only be entered by means of a pass word. Membership in the second tier would be by invitation only. Someone in the first tier, having played some minimum number of games, would have to be invited to join by existing members and would have to be willing to accept a greater level of participation. Membership would be valid until a member were no longer able to maintain a required level of participation, at which time their password would be revoked and they would return to a first tier status.

Some good points have been made, and I think Gen Walter's observations should cause us to calmly reflect on how our club is evolving.

There are probably many reasons why the club has changed. One of them is that people come and go, or burn out and need to take a back seat for a while. Different people step up and contribute, but in different ways. You can't always replace the atmosphere that some of the club's great 'characters' created. So I guess we need to encourage and nurture those who do add to the life of the club. I don't just mean the leaders, but also those who just contribute with their lively postings, rivalries, etc. All contributions need to be acknowledged and rewarded where appropriate, even if it is just showing some respect to people who add life to the club.

But it's not all bad. I joined the AoC in March 1999 and have always indentified very strongly with this army and have always taken a great pride in it, right from being a lt. to a general and army commander. Although characters come and go the AoC still does have the pride in itself and still contains people who care about it. And recently some of the characters of old have returned. This is great to see[:)] It was a challenge to expand to two corps last year, and yes we do have a proportion who are largely silent, but we do still have willing Corps and division commanders, XO, etc, mamy of whom take an immense pride in the AoC. In that respect nothing has changed. (I'd be very wary of expanding the structure any further though. We have to recognise just how many people will actually take command positions). It is also still seen as a great privilege to hold a command position. If I hadn't taken the AC position when Gen Wistedt stepped down there were others who would have been honoured to to it (and do it well!).

Another positive personal anecdote or observation. It was a combination of rivalries between various AoC officers and AoG officers, and the very vocal presence of characters like General Carroll and the banter that went on that inspired me to get off my backside and see about organizing a tournament with Gen Carroll and the AoG. Large numbers in both armies leapt at the chance to defend the honour of their armies and to best the opposing army. This tournament is just like the tournaments that went on in my earlier days in the club. All these things are still possible so long as a few people are prepared to act and get things moving.

Tournaments and multi-player games are valuable to the club. So are well maintained webpages and army taverns. Anything that makes members want to go online and feel part of something. I'm definately with Gen Wistedt - let's be opened minded, consider everyone's viewpoint, see it as food for thought. Let's be positive and not get into infighting over differences of opinion (not that anyone is[:)]). After reflection maybe some answers will come, or maybe this discussion will simply wake people up and make everyone realise what we have here and see what is special about the club. Maybe it will release some untapped potential in some members, and refocus the rest. Above all let's keep it positive[:)]



[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/acw/acw.htm"]General Antony Barlow[/url]
[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/aoc/XXAoC.htm"]Army of the Cumberland[/url]

Dear Officers,

I don't really have anything to bring to the table but would like to thank everyone who has made this forum possible. With regret, I have not made a contribution as I had intended to and I do like role playing, however I'm not too good at being myself at times.....

I guess I'm not understand what the true issues are?

Lt.Col. R.E.Daley
1st Corps of the ANV
3rd Calvary Divsion,
3rd Brigade
"We are the Midnight Riders"

Ok, I am one of the newer members and therefore have not spent a lot of time at the club, but must admit it was the roleplaying aspect which I found unique to this club and which I enjoy. I believe it adds to the whole flavour of the wargamming experience. At this club I only like to play as the Union for this reason. Having said that I am also a member of one other ACW club where I do not mind which side I play, but here it is Union and Union only. My monthly musters I always try and infuse with the flavour of a report to a higher ranking commander whilst giving a quick (roleplaying)description of my battles in progress.

The other thing which seems to help all this is the differing tourneys run here, the still running "Commandants Cadet Challenge Cup" and recently the "AoA vs AoS". Perhaps more inter Army challenges run over a 2 mnth period, each person only plays one battle with scenarios around the 15 - 25 turn mark, could help to improve the Roleplay aspect further.

As for the other points I really am not in a position to comment due to my short time here.



Maj. Paul Sharp
2nd Div - XIX Corps
Army of Shenandoah
"Defenders of the Right"

Well obviously I was a little worried being a Lt. Colonel when I took over the ANV last year, but I agree with the points here, but mostly with General Malone, communication drives the horse!!

I see it in all my clubs, in all my armies etc. Communication lets people know you are there and they are not alone. All my great lapses in communication personally have caused strains on each of my respective forces in the past, as when others do it, it does. Communication got me into my spot in the Prussian Armee, it got me into things at the ANV level and is a cornerstone of my pratices as Army CO in the 1NWCG, Senior XO at the NWC, and in the past as ANV and now III Corps CO. I tell you guys it makes a world of a difference and will drive people to get involved.

Thanks Tony Best for mentioning our splinter club, the 1NWCG, we never try to compete with the NWC, we try to supplement and cross-work with it, and it does just well. Again communication in that case also sheds light on many things, right Dierk. [;)] But we do roleplay a lot there and we have some wiley eyed people with us in it. Which reminds me, I need to ride the French Armees back at the NWC for something. [:D][:p][}:)] Phil Roubaud and Gary McClellan can recount our many times that we got all fired up about the Prussia versus Austria deal there, and my propoganda mill, as most of the club can tell you.

But I always try to add a roleplay aspect, how many folks get or have gotten in the past my certificates, official e-amils, etc that I issue in my various commands, I always like doing those and feel it adds an aspect authenticity. It's the little stuff I notice that goes a long way, but it all happens with communication. [:D]

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<b>Brigadier General Scott Ludwig</b>
Commanding Officer, III Corps
Army of Northern Virginia
"The Army Commissary"
Retried ANV Commander 2004-06

http://www.networkforgood.org

I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

-Abraham Lincoln, 1st Inaugural Address

[url="http://napoleonicwargaming.com"]Napoleonic Wargaming - 1NWCG[/url]</center>
[/center]

When I joined the club, it was full of role playing, silliness, and a lot of fun (it also had it’s problems that erupted now and then). The MDT was primarily for the serious stuff and most of the role playing occurred in the army forums. The club had the likes of Larry Wagner as the Badger who was a Union Maj Gen who challenged new VMI graduates to see the elephant. He was funny, obstinate, and challenging but gave most of the Rebs our nicknames early in our careers and was a bowl full of character who politely offered advice and strategy amongst all of his good hearted snarls and threats. I had long matches and friendships with the likes of Mark Nelms (we played every historical scenario on BGG, BGS, BGC, and BGB), and Lee Gast (we played almost every historical scenario on BGN), and received some pretty tough lessons from the likes of Union Generals Kelly Ross, Lars Wistedt, Bill Peters, John Gremmels, Chuck Jensen, Sasa Jencic, and dozens of others. Now as a wearer of the blue uniform, I am receiving plenty of lessons from the Reb side of the affair. The games have been great but the people have been priceless. I can count the number of matches that I haven’t enjoyed on my thumbs.

The first change that I experienced in the club was that leaders started being chosen for their web site building abilities without any regard to their leadership abilities. In my opinion that was a big mistake, but up until two to four years ago, the ability to develop a web site was like gold because there weren’t that many in the club who knew how to do it. I still feel that the morale of the troops is the responsibility of the commander (if he/she delegates it to an XO then that is fine but I hope that the commander shared their command points with the XO each month). Role playing still survived through this phase as there were generally two or three kidders in most armies that kept the forums alive with role playing jabber (others kicked in occasionally to spice it up).

The next change came about when one member became angry, vindictive, and vulgar in his role playing and wouldn’t shut up despite numerous warnings (and being dismissed from the club). This incident became such a big deal with some members of the club (of course) defending his right to be vulgar. The club took the right stance, if you want to be vulgar, start your own club somewhere else because it won’t happen here. After this ruckus was when the role playing died. For a while, there was almost nothing, but then the club forums developed a new personality … a serious personality. It became more in vogue to discuss the game engine than to role play. Most of the army forums literally died and the MDT (with its accompanying ACWGC level forums) became the active forum(s).

Most of us are familiar with the last change. It really didn’t impact the attitude in the forums too much … well, after the shooting was over and the gunpowder dissipated, it didn’t anyway.

I don’t think that most of our members know how to really role play anymore. It’s been too long since good role playing was visible in our forums on an extended basis. When army forums don’t have any posts in them for months at a time, people stop visiting them. When army forums become literally forums for army business (promotions, local medal awards, transfers, etc) then they become boring and aren’t visited by many. Role playing is also time consuming. Writing good posts can take as much time as playing a game turn. I guess that some of us ol’ timers who saw and participated in role playing ought to get off of our duffs and show every body how much fun that it can be. I’ve seen some pretty good new talent for it in the club since it died. And by the way fellas, nothing spoils role playing like being ignored. An ignored post does not usually encourage another post.

Command and control! It’s vitally important in playing our games, not only in the game itself but in the club that supports the games. From my experience here, span of control should not exceed five. If you do away with Division Commanders, the span of control becomes too great for Corps Commanders. Division command is weak because the club has always structured it to be weak. They are not told exactly what is expected of them (a stretch but close enough) and they are provided absolutely nothing (OBD points, etc) by ACWGC rules to encourage them to do any of what they are supposed to do. The club has refused them points in the past because they haven’t lived up to expectations but yet they don’t do anything because they ain’t paid. The club has been shooting itself in the foot. Give them 5 points per month that is automatically paid by the Department of Records and you should see it improve if they are also told what they are supposed to do. The other part of that formula is that Corps Commanders have to relieve Division Commanders of their duty if they refuse to do their jobs. Rotten apples spread rapidly and must be removed quickly. But don’t relieve Division Commanders if Corps Commanders, Army Commanders, Theater Commanders, Commander of Armies, Cabinet Members, and/or the President is allowed to be one of those rotten apples. It sounds like a matter of being too harsh but actually the problem has been a matter of being too lenient.

The other comment that I have is that this club is very much like the real Army … awards and decorations aren’t fairly distributed. You’ve got to say “Thank Youâ€

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Antony Barlow</i>
<br />Another positive personal anecdote or observation. It was a combination of rivalries between various AoC officers and AoG officers, and the very vocal presence of characters like General Carroll and the banter that went on that inspired me to get off my backside and see about organizing a tournament with Gen Carroll and the AoG. Large numbers in both armies leapt at the chance to defend the honour of their armies and to best the opposing army. This tournament is just like the tournaments that went on in my earlier days in the club. All these things are still possible so long as a few people are prepared to act and get things moving.
[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/acw/acw.htm"]General Antony Barlow[/url]
[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/aoc/XXAoC.htm"]Army of the Cumberland[/url]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Tournaments and fights between armies are always fun! [:D] And they certainly help!

<font color="green">
<b>BG David Guégan</b>, Brittany Volunteers,
<b>Army of the Cumberland </b>
</font id="green">

General Walter & all assembled officers:

Excellent thoughts and input, all.

I joined the club years ago. I wasn't one of the founding members, but I have been around. I've also belonged to many other organizations through the years. I expect what we're seeing is a natural progression: When a club (or other organization) is first formed, all (or at least most) of the members are fired up about it. More of them participate, on a percentage basis, than in a larger, more mature organization. I expect there were very few of the original ACWGC members who were only interested in gaming for the sake of gaming. Those players who were more interested in that aspect joined ladder clubs. Those interested in role playing joined this club.

As for the demise in leadership, there have been difficulties in 'recruiting' for leadership positions ever since I joined. The larger the organization, the greater the need for leaders. Personally, I think the club is well situated for the foreseeable future, at least on the CSA side. I don't deal directly with the corps commanders, but we have a very strong core group of CSA officers leading our theaters, armies, and training academy. I have made it a point to delegate as much as I could to them during my tenure as CoA, and I try to get their input when working out ideas. I think any one of them could (and most would) assume the CoA position when it comes available again. Why not? Most of them know they could do a better job than I do and, heck, they do most of the work now, anyway, [:)] !

I have also been honored to have been able to serve on the Cabinet for close to a year now. I've been very impressed with the collective wisdom displayed in that group, and I have no reason to doubt that will continue with the new Cabinet members coming on board.

As for tournaments, I would love to see more in this area. When I joined, there were annual tournaments available to all interested officers, club-wide. The "Tennessee River 2000" ("T2K") was the first such tourny I was able to participate in. The problem, as I see it, is that the larger the club gets the harder it is to organize a club-wide tourny. I ran a VERY small (intra-corps) tourny, and found it an immense amount of work. I commend those fellows who have taken on the task of doing ANY kind of tournament. I would love to see a club-wide tourny. In fact, I've heard tell of one person working on such an idea just today. (There, that ought to make everyone sit up and take notice!)

Now, not to change the subject, but when did that galvanized Reb make it all the way up to a <i><b>Brigadier General </b></i>on the Yankee side? Just goes to show they'll promote just about anybody up there in that Northern mob they call an army ... [:D]


Your humble servant,
Gen 'Dee Dubya' Mallory

David W. Mallory
ACW - General, Chief of the Armies, Confederate States of America & Cabinet Member
CCC - Sergeant, Georgia Volunteers, Southern Regional Deaprtment, Colonial American Army

Wow! Well put Gen Simms. I must agree that I dont think you can do away with the Division Commanders. Now I may be speaking partially but still look at what Div CDRs do. I know for my Division I run a website, have a monthly newsletter, have my guys send me a copy of their monthly battle reports, and interact almost daily with my Corps and Army Commander. No one told me I have to do these things, I do them because I would expect MY Div Cdr to do them!

What happens after all this? BDE CDRs don't report for months on end, they send 1 battle report in a month if your lucky, you cant get rid of the ones that are no longer around because they are old timers in the club and may come back.

I have maybe 2 opponents in the Union army that actually role play. I love it, I am sure they enjoy it, and I agree that this is what makes the club fun. For the most part I think that when your a new guy you want to get a feel for things before you just start posting stuff. I think if WE started role playing the new members would follow.

One other thing I have noticed of late. You always see the same ppl posting on the oponent finder. Where are all the club members? I know there are more than just the same few folks that continue to look for games there. Now I know that alot of us have the same guys we like to fight and dont always use the boards to find an opponent, but still, shouldn't we be showing the new members that the boards are used by the old timers as well?

Personally, I don't want to see 2 seperate Cabinets. I think our guys are doin a fine job. I think it should be left up to Army Commanders how they structure their army. Taking away the Division Commander will only make things more difficult on the Corps Commanders. I do agree that the Coprs Commander should be able to relieve a DC that is not performing. One thing I see is too many guys in the same position for too long even if tehy are not performing. This makes the guy at the bottom look and say "where can I go here?" If the junior ppl cant see that they can become commanders and such then whats the point for them?

In short, its all these things (Role playing, rank, command and control, reporting) that make up the ACWGC and make it a great club to be a part of. I am proud to be a member of this club and plan on being a member for a very long time.

Just my two cents.

Dan


Colonel D.H. Smith
3rd Cavalry Divison,III Corps,AoA

http://users.adelphia.net/~sapper99/index.htm

I've been around the Club since almost the beginning and the Cabinet for 4 years. In that time I can honestly say I've never been party to anything that smelled even remotely like a CSA CoA led discussion, intended to develop a "Confederate" position on an issue. Having said that though, I think I understand Pierre referencing last year's difficulties as still being a "this year" issue. The Club's solvency and several members' credibility & reputation took a huge hit (not to mention leaving a lingering malaise which I know still affects some members' overall morale).

Having said that, I think I could see the notion of separate "national" Cabinets working quite well. In any event, great thread you started here Dierk.

Gen. Den McBride
ANV, C.S.A.

Communication is key. The Division Commander can play a vital role. In my post I highlighted, as some of you, some problems with the lack of recognition and support for Division Command. This would need to be addressed. However it all based on personality and talent. Few have the combination to provide constant communications. I think it will always be the case of a few who lead the way and hopefully the others will follow the lead. The critical issue is to have a core group of these people.

The purpose of the two Cabinet idea is to have the structure in place to address these side issues. I don't think that there are many group meetings of senior side commanders to discuss, review and solve issues. Has there ever been any? The Current Cabinet does discuss and review issues all the time. It works generally well. However it is at the club procedure level and not at the ‘side’ level per se. If only because these ‘side’ issues are not brought up. A dedicated side Cabinet could work on these issues and come up with ideas that could resolve many of them. I think that the current CoA's are outstanding peole however I think the sides would benefit with a stronger structure. I don’t see the Cabinet having the knowledge to decide and vote on side specific type of issues.

I believe a key change to the club, one that effects the role playing and moreover the communications, is that a lot of new members are not from North America, and do not have an in depth knowledge of the civil war as many of the members from the first years had. It is interesting to note that of the last new recruits, 7 of 14 CSA recruits were not from North America, and 2 out of 13 USA recruits were not from North America. I count the Canadians as part of the North America group. I think that the cultural difference is a major hindrance to the role playing aspect. Many may not be familiar with the Southern and Northern cultures of the period and would have difficulty in making post with the amusing references and anecdotes that we like to see. I think that they are certainly interested but cannot contribute much so that more burden is placed on those who do.

I think this is changing the clubs dynamics somewhat. We always had foreign recruits. But I think the increase in combination with the age, the vast majority is less then 40 and many fewer than 20 has changed it so much that it causes General Walter to bring the subject up about the viability of the format.

I don’t think that we should leave things as they are. I think adjustment is always needed. Lt Quick suggestion has some merit at the core, creating a change. The status quo will not help in the long run.







Best Regards,

General Pierre D.
1st Bde,3rd Div,I Corps,
Army of Georgia
CSA

President, ACWGC
Cabinet Member

Gentlemen!

Again the Christmas round of visiting and being visited, is limiting Me to dribs and drabs of contributions at these posts . . so I must limit my comments here to just addressing one point made so far.

On the Issue of "Side Cabinets - I would suggest that the CoA's form an Army Council for their side, to consist of the CoA, the T.C.'s and the Army Commanders. Where an issue directly involves a particular Group within the relevant Army . . a "Commitee" drawn from that group could be "summoned" before the Army Council, to voice their Opinions on the Subject to Hand.

e.g. Increased responsibility/Support for Div. Commanders - The CoA would "convene" a meeting of the Army Council with at least 1 Corps Commander from each Army and Volunteers from Div. Commands (Unlimited Number) would be invited to suggest (or Demand!!!![;)]) particular concerns regarding their input into the Admin of <font color="red"><u><i><b>Their </b></i></u></font id="red">Army . . . .

Discussion in a Format such as this would lead to the communication and Member Participation which is possibly lacking at present, and would act as a stimulus/encouragement to the Membership to serve as D.C's. I personally know of at least 2 D.C.'s that are considering resigning their Div. Commands . . basically because of a lack of Support from above.

AND more importantly, a lack of a suitable response from "below" to their efforts to lead their Division. Could the Club manage to find a way to "Enforce" the <b>mandatory</b>, Monthly Muster?

I wonder . . . . [?]

Pat.

Patrick G.M.Carroll,
Brigadier General.
Carroll's Corps,(II)
"Spartan Southrons"
Army of Georgia.
C.S.A.Cabinet Secretary (Elect).

" When My Country takes it's rightful place, amongst the Nations of the World, then and only then, let My Epitaph be written. "