I regularly poke around the ED forums Squadron Recruiting section. I commonly see dozens of 'squadrons' that exist solely as a Discord channel invite. You click the link and you are instantly a member. I thinks that's the main reason why the majority of applicants to VFA-41 never get commissioned. Even though the invitation letter explains that interviews are required, they visit one time and think, 'What? I'm not a member already? I clicked the link! I don't have time for this.'
But I was very impressed this morning looking at a post in Squadron Recruiting. A fellow announced the organization he was creating that will have 13 squadrons; one for each airframe listed. (More squadrons than we have roster slots.) And 'more to come later.' And, of course, a bunch of pretty DCS screen shots. And a Discord invite link to 'start filling the rosters.' Click the link and you're in!
Sadly, the guy is going to learn that a grand plan does not make a successful squadron. A discord channel or even a flashy website does not make a successful squadron. A successful squadron depends upon one critical ingredient:
Committed pilots.
When you setup a 'Click Here to Become a Member Instantly!' squadron, you're not getting committed or dedicated pilots. You're just getting gamers who drift in the door. And they tend to drift out just as easily. They're not reliable or dependable. They may show up occasionally, but probably not. And there's no perceived or actual value to a roster slot among a virtually infinite number that is simply handed to anyone who knocks on the door.
That's why we operate the way we do. As an organization, we cannot operate without reliable and dependable members. And it doesn't take 50 or 100. Those squadrons that do show a roster, and boast 50-100 pilots? How many of them do you think are actually active and fly missions consistently?
The Black Aces philosophy has always been that an empty roster slot is more valuable than one filled by a pilot who is unreliable or simply doesn't want to be here.
