Joining the Europeian Republican Navy:
Barriers and Perspectives
Written by Dakota & Istillian
The process of integrating newcomers to join our region has long been a heavily discussed and debated topic, so integrating and recruiting our own citizens to join the Europeian Republican Navy (ERN) is sometimes a little more of a difficult process, particularly when there are barriers, outside opinions, and expectations to entry that may be there; and yet our commanders may be unaware of these barriers. As such, Rear Admiral Dakota and I recently spoke to some of our citizens to gauge their opinions on what potential issues to entry may exist for them, their opinion on how important the ERN is to our foreign affairs (FA), and what changes they could see for improvement in the Navy.
We interviewed four different Europeian citizens, and specified that all chosen interviewees would have an active background in the region within the last twelve months. The response to our initial question indicated that one of the major obstacles to joining the ERN seemed to be the loss of World Assembly (WA) endorsements. When asked about the barrier for entry on joining, South Eastern Centralia (SEC) replied "I've gone very close, at first it was just a case of me not wanting to lose all my endorsements, but recently it's mainly just been a lack of time for me."
Similarly, Seva answered along the same line of reasoning "I did think about it when I first joined, and the only thing stopping me was and still is my WA membership. Put simply, I don't want to lose my endos. I know that there are things one can do while locked but it wouldn't be a full Navy experience".
The following response from Darkslayer seems to suggest WA membership and endorsements was also an issue "As you know, i'm also vice-delegate, and I wouldn't give up that position to join the navy." Although interestingly, SkyGreen24 (who is now an active member of the ERN, but was not at the time of interview) reported the issue of timings to be the major contributing obstacle to service "The major update is at 6am for me, plus ever since I became active again in NationStates I wasn't able to keep a consistent schedule for being online."
Following the initial query on barriers to entry, Dakota and I asked how important of a role in our foreign affairs our respondents saw the ERN as having. Most responses were positive, ranging from general comments on our influence among allies to sharing our ideologies with others. SEC responded to the query first, saying "It seems as though it's very important, an excellent way to work with allies and to get closer to other regions, as well as highlight and spread our influence." This attitude seemed to be reinforced by the response from Seva, particularly regarding comments on our leadership in the greater NationStates world "Just looking at our treatied allies I see that most of them share our independent ideology or have a similar one. If we don't use our Navy, we won't be considered leaders of the independent movement, which would significantly reduce our regional influence." And it seemed that SkyGreen shared the ideal of helping our allies, saying "Well technically I was in the ERN 2 years ago, but nonetheless I see the Navy as an important part of FA that helps out in many ways, including but not limited to helping allies, spreading awareness that Europeia is a super cool region and stuff like that."
This attitude, however, was challenged by Darkslayer, who noted "When I think of Foreign Affairs, to be honest, the navy doesn't jump out at me. It might further down the line when I think about FA, but it's never been a major thing I've thought about. Obviously, other people think it's more important than others. I think it plays a role, it helps us meet other players and regions along the way, but I don't think it's super crucial to our FA." This critical response, combined with a generally positive view of what the navy represents from the majority of our respondents, seems to highlight that although the ERN is generally seen as an important tool for foreign affairs outreach, those without naval experience may not see how it can be utilised for positive communication and cohesion with our allies.
Finally, we asked how, from an outsiders perspective, our respondents could see room for change or improvement in the ERN. From the command level this was particularly important for us to understand the perspective of those without current naval experience on how the image of the ERN could be made better. SEC noted some interesting points on raiding and defending, saying " I think we should defend a bit more, at least to ensure that all of our sailors are able to defend if required. I'm just thinking that the best NS military should be able to both raid and defend well, so that they can do whatever the circumstances may require."
And optimistically, Seva responded "Maybe a couple months ago I'd say we need more sailors or more ops, but now I see a lot of fresh faces and returning members there, getting training and promotion. This term the Navy has been getting a lot of attention, and I like it! I'm not an expert on the technical side but on the surface everything looks great there!" And true to his word, as he is now enlisted and commands the rank of Petty Officer, SkyGreen24 said " I feel like it's working as intended now, maybe more members. I'm actually thinking of joining soon." Constructively, Darkslayer commented on the difficulties in joining due to the breadth of terminology used in-service "I think if they want to welcome more people into the navy, there should be a 'lecture' of some sort, easy to access and provides critical information of the role, duty and responsibility of the navy. Whilst also covering terminology, and how operations work, detail-to-detail. But, apart from that suggestion, I could not think of anymore. I feel for meaningful change within the ERN, you would need to be an active member to understand what it needs. As a domestic heavy person myself, I would say I lack the experience to comment on anymore on that."
Integrating and recruiting into our Navy is important, and overall this exercise in reaching out to people, on behalf of the Naval command, proved fruitful in highlighting the ways the ERN can help engage our citizens, and foster a healthier image of our services. From creating tools that educate people on the terminology that militaries use across NationStates warfare, covering information on how the ERN interacts and provides input with our foreign affairs, to learning defender tactics, and reviewing how World Assembly membership and endorsements can act as a critical part of what makes us strong as a region compared to naval membership - it's more than just a baseline of understanding perspectives and barriers now. The last term's level of activity has proved that the Navy is capable of great things, and so far that level of activity and momentum has followed through.