Alright, this is the official "How To and When To Make a Squadron Guide".

It's starting to get annoying with new members here trying to create squads, or people making squads with no info, so, here's the guide, and general guidelines you should follow to make a squadron, or even decide if you should.

• First off, if you're new, don't even think of making a new Squadron here. You need some "forum cred" before making a squad. Get some time under your belt, learn the basics of making a squad from other people...and I strongly suggest joining a squad instead of making one...at least to understand what it's like to be in a Squad.
  Remember, one of the most important things to being a Leader is knowing how to be a Follower.

If you've gotten some time under your belt, and think you have what it takes to manage a squad, do this...before making a topic for your squad!:

• Come Up with a good, easy to remember name, that people will like and be proud of.
• Work out all of the details first. Set up off ACS.com forums for your squad, make them all pretty, add a skin, buttons...don't make too many forums at first, just a few, then build upon that as your squad builds with members later on.
• Think of all of the possible outcomes to starting a squad. Consider the problems you will encounter, what type of things your squad will do, how you will get members. Look at the forum rules, and Squadron Rules for Recruitment, and understand them, so you won't make a very wrong move, and get into confrontations with other members.
• Work out your promotion and chain of command systems early, and over time, better improve them.

Once you do this, now you may make a Topic for your Squadron.

• In your topic, give a short introduction of yourself
• After that, start giving basic info on your squad. Provide the link to your forums, explain what your squad is about, why people should join it...and please don't just say "Join if you want to be the best". Explain your squad, why you made it, and give short details of the roles that your members will play in your squad.
• Once finished typing all that, DON'T POST IT! Re-read everything you've just written. Check for spelling errors, and things that don't make sense.
• After you've done that, post your new topic, and repeat the step above.

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Now that you've done everything above, here's a few more tips:

• Never over estimate yourself, or your squad. Start things small, and then get bigger. Before doing something drastic, consider what impact it will have on you, your squadron, and the members of it.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help. PM some of the other squadron CO's, and ask them for advice to making a good squad.
• Always keep a tab on the members of your squad. Be sure to check their behavior on the forums. Try to make sure you recruit members that will follow squad, and forum rules.
• Always keep a tab on yourself. As the CO of your squadron, people will make their decision on joining your squad on how the Commanding Officer acts. If they have a foolish commander, who breaks the rules, and doesn't hold himself to the same standards of his members, people will either not join, or even resign from the squadron.

Ever since AC.net, new members have been coming in asking the same old questions, and the occasional awkward ones. Well, to prevent the same questions being asked again, I decided to make a small squadron FAQ that can answer some of those questions. If anything new arises, I'll add more the list.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Q: What is a squadron on ACS.com?
A: A 'squadron' is just a different name we use for a gaming 'clan'. Since Ace Combat® is an arcade flight combat game, we use the term 'squadron' instead.

Q: Why are there clans/squadrons for an offline game?
A: The squadron idea started back since Ace Combat® 04, hoping that the next game (which was Ace Combat® 5) would go online. Unfortunately, it didn't. However, the squadrons still remained and every so often there would be events such as the ISC to look forward to.

Q: Why should I join a squadron?
A: There are different reasons why people join squadrons. Some join for the heck of it, and others may join to fit in to the community. It's not obligatory that you join a squadron, there are still many members here that choose to remain solo pilots.

Q: Do I gain anything from joining squadrons?
A: Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the type of squadron you join, the reason you joined, and how you behave in the squadron.

Q: How do I join a squadron?
A: Every squadron listed on the open squadron forums have their own recruiting system. Some are simple, requiring you to just post some information about yourself on their Recruitment thread and wait for their officer to accept you.
For information on how to join a specific squadron, ask the respective squadron members or officers.

SQUADRON MANAGEMENT

Q: How do I start a squadron?
A: Simply start by making a thread for your new squadron on the open Squadron forum. It's not easy being a leader and it is strongly recommended that you first be a member of a squadron before starting your own. You can find more information about starting your own squadron in Eagle 1's Making Squadrons thread.

Q: Do I benefit anything from making a squadron?
A: Maybe. Of course, nothing beats the pleasure of seeing something that you made grow.

Q: How do I get my own squadron forum on acs.com?
A: After reaching a certain number of members, talk to F22_Fan to have your own squadron forum created. It isn't instantaneous, so be patient as it might take up to a week depending on how he is.

Q: There are squadrons that have their own websites and offsite forums. How do I get those?
A: Just to be fair, I will not tell you how.


Q: I've started a squadron, but no one is joining. How do I gain members?
A: The online AC community isn't massive enough for squadrons to be able to pop up left and right and attract at least one member. What has made the squadrons with folders on ACS large in size is because some of them started early, others started while there weren't many squadrons around and the community's membership fluctuated, and those trailing after them had to compete using incentives! If you're starting a squadron now, you're going to need something to attract them. Common incentives are personalized squadron signatures, an offsite (ACS wise) forum and website, or activity in other games other than AC. Also, give your squadron a purpose or goal. Members would like to know what kind of a squadron you have, e.g. is it a hardcore squadron aiming for the top spot, or is it a squadron just for kicks and laughs.

Q: My squadron members are all going inactive, why?
A: This has something to do with your choice for members. There are members what will register, read the squadron thread, get all excited, join your squadron, and then never come back. As a leader, you have to choose your recruits wisely.

Q: My squadron members are all deserting me, why?
A: This is often because of your leadership. Members will leave if you don't act mature or if you whine like a child when things don't turn out your way. There will be bad times in your squadron, but as a leader, it's up to you to lead the squad out of it.

Q: How do I disband my squadron?
A: Make sure you tell your members, if you have any, beforehand. Let them get the news before you close off the squadron for good. When you're ready, speak with the admin to have the forum removed from the list.