ERN's Penguin Sailor
EBC's ICH and Grand Admiral Icarus have a little chat about Icarus's Naval Career
Written by ICH
"Dependable and steadfast, Icarus was always there when called during my own leadership, and she continues to show that steady and loyal hand as the Europeian Republican Navy’s Grand Admiral (GA)"-This was what former Grand Admiral Kuramia said when asked about Icarus's importance and service to the ERN during their own term. Joining the ERN on the August 22, 2021, there has been no looking back since for Icarus. Notching up six promotions within the space of less than a year, Icarus was promoted to Commander by then-Grand Admiral Kuramia on June 22, 2022. Her leadership role in the ERN was also praised by then-Vice President Sincluda as he awarded the Sapphire Star to Icarus in recognition of her contributions to both the Europeian Republican Navy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Reaching the pinnacle of her naval career, Icarus was nominated to be the region's Grand Admiral by President Writinglegend this term who noted "She has valiantly and actively served our navy for several terms now."
Fascinated by this penguin's quick rise up the ladder in the ERN, Europeian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) correspondent ICH sat down with Icarus to get an insight into her naval career.
ICH: What made you join ERN/what prompted you to seek the career of a Sailor?
Icarus: I have always been fascinated with military gameplay, I couldn’t get into it for my first year of NationStates and when I finally could I was so sooo happy to join the ERN and I have been here ever since!
ICH: Which Grand Admiral had the most impact on your career/ the development of your R/D skills?
Icarus: Very hard to say, I had the chance to be under several amazing GA‘s but my answer would have to be Istillian and Kura. Isti was and still is my number one person to go to for advice- he’s incredibly experienced in both the Navy and FA and just an all around very good person. Kura was the one who made it possible for me to gain the necessary experience to do this job and who showed me like no one else what good people management looks like, we all know she did a fantastic job as GA and I will forever be thankful for what she’s done for all of us.
ICH: Having worked with several military organisations which are special in your own way, what makes the ERN unique in your view?
Icarus: So a year ago we had a total of maybe 3 active sailors and we have come a very long way since then, have developed both in our technical skills (with the introduction of chasing into our regular training, for example) and our size and presence in the wider NS sphere. During that time there are two things that stood out to me- one is our ability to adapt to change, things have been changing quite a bit but with every challenge we overcome we just keep improving and growing as sailors and as a team, which brings me to my second point- even through all of the changes the ERN manages to still feel like home, the community and comradery you get in the navy is something rarely found in NS and the memories you can make are by far some of my favourites in NS.
ICH: Which part of R/D (ex: Tag Raids, Chasing, Occupation, Liberation, Siege) do you like the most?
Icarus: It’s very hard to say but I think the huge Antifa raids are the best, you get huge vcs with people you don’t actually get work with all that often in the day-to-day operations so those are definitely always a highlight.
ICH: What were some of the difficulties you had to face in your journey as an ERN sailor and how did you overcome it?
Icarus: Hard question, there have been many difficulties- in the beginning it was mostly technical stuff like getting faster at switching or jumping and of course that comes up again every time I learn something new- I am for example still trying to get better at chasing. The only solution to that problem is practice, practice, practice, there’s no other solution or way you’ll improve.
ICH: Having been a sailor in ERN for quite a long time, you have seen new sailors enter into the Navy Services and while some of them might not have been able to make a mark, some have went on to become excellent sailors themselves. Which attributes do you think are common among all or most of the successful sailors of the ERN?
Icarus: I haven't actually been in the ERN for that long, I joined last August and with the time it takes to rise through ranks in the ERN that is actually not that long. What I have noticed in this time tho is that perseverance is probably the number one quality that makes a good sailor, everyone can learn how to do r/d but it takes time and effort, anyone willing to put in that effort will go far.
But I think, what people get from the ERN is different, it really depends what you want from the experience- not everyone is in it for the career opportunities (which there are plenty of), some people are just there for a good time and I can assure you, the more you practice your skill the more fun you will have so whether you’re looking to build a name for yourself or whether you’re just there for the ride- perseverance is your friend
ICH: If you were given the chance to go back to the time when you started your naval career, is there anything you would have done differently?
Icarus: I probably would’ve learned how to trigger earlier, I joined during an incredibly inactive time so it was pretty hard to learn new things in the beginning, or rather I was lacking the experience to be any good at them so being able to generate activity on my own would’ve been great.
ICH: Do you have any piece of advice for someone looking at the prospect of persuing a naval career?
Icarus: Just do it- honestly the ERN is so much fun and everyone there is more than willing to help out with any questions you might have, we actually have a couple of newer people at the moment so now would be the ideal point in time to join so we can learn together. But most importantly- when you join, find the thing that is fun to you, there are countless ways to get involved in the ERN, whether it be in active duty, the reserves or the civilian service, plus with our integration to libcord times are more flexible than ever before, so even if you can only show up to one update per week you’re still able to contribute significantly!
ICH: I know this would be extremely tough for you to choose, but over the course of your naval career, which particular sailor did you enjoy updating the most with?
Icarus: I think this is the only question I don’t think I can answer, like Vor and I have spent countless of 6 am updates joking around with Vor in voice chats during tagging and I have had so many good times jokingly competing with upc or being silly with Isti and Kura or watching (formerly) newer sailors like Sin, Dracondra, Lime and now Spaghettitopia improving with every update or witness the enthusiasm with which Cove and Fori have started leading ops in recent times and like literally everyone else in the ERN (I am really sorry for everyone I haven’t named, I love u all) I really do appreciate every single one of you.
ICH: Thanks a lot for the excellent answers, Icarus!
