2009-06-06 08:38:05
Interview with a Phoenix
London (AAP) - Elmix, a soldier on the English/Scottish border has agreed to an interview with Wolfmist, reporter for the AAP. Living life in the North, Wolfmist plans to find out how soldiers cope with their duties far from London and how it affects their daily lives.
Please tell me you name, sir, where you are from and what positions you hold?
Elmix says:
My full name is Elmix Degas, Baron of Dovenby and I am from Cumberland where I moved from Chester right after the Cumberland Colony opened. I am a Major General of the Knights of the Phoenix and am one of the members of KoP High Council and therefore of KoP leaders. My most specialty is raising and directing armies, I am a trainer for armies and army techniques for Knights of the Phoenix.
Wolfmist says:
Great! Next question, What are your duties as a Knight of the Phoenix?
Elmix says:
My duties as a Knight of the Phoenix is first and foremost to defend the England against any outside or inside threat, to defend the people of England against the criminals, thieves, robbers and hostile enemy armies while, at the same time, upholding the law and order of the county you are in.
Wolfmist says:
Outstanding! So, as an officer also, no doubt you will have extra responsibilities. What influence does that hold for the citizens of the towns around where you are based, and as an officer, what do you expect from the troops you command?
Elmix says:
Yes, as an officer I have to do a lot more. I do expect the troops I command to follow me, as I always have an operations plan in mind for how to respond on the threat. However this do not go in one way, but to two ways; as an officer, it is my duty to take care of my soldiers - I need to make sure all are supplied, that they have some food with them and money. If they don't, then give them some or allow them to work, to go restock and rest; to coordinate everything so all soldiers will always have all what is needed for the current operation. As for the citizens of the town, they can sleep tight at night in the knowledge that we watch over them and the whole town, that we are protecting them.
Wolfmist says:
You mentioned threat. What threats are there in your line of duty?
Elmix says:
Yes, I mentioned a threat. There are many kinds of threats. From the few wolves or criminals coming into a town, then a robbery by some criminals, revolts in the town and at least the any army lead by any who has a criminal record or would like to harm England or its people. And we do respond to them as fast as possible.
Wolfmist says:
So, without wanting to divulge any secreted information, how do you deal with such threats?
Elmix says:
There are lots of different methods to deal with those threats. All of those threats I mentioned are not as secret. For example, if we are in town and notice large amount of criminals coming in, that information is, so far, not as secret and we notify the mayor to hire full town militia as well as ourselves defending the town. If there are too many of criminals and our forces in town are not as great, we always can notify the County militia and also ask the mayor to grant-lock. Of course, the mayor can ask other citizens for help and there is always a grant-locking possible.
As for the criminals or criminal groups, we unfortunately can only see a threat when someone is already being robbed. So if he will report, then the criminal will see it too and will run away so to patrol next day may not be the most effective way. At first, of course, the County legally elected Public Prosecutor (PP) can start a case and prosecute. If there for example is group of people robbing and no matter what will not move away, we can make a group to take it down, however this is also not the most effective way. The way I personally like to deal with them, and also with an enemy army, is having own army ready. As soon you know there is a robber, he simply can be taken down with an army. The same is for groups. The largest group can consist of 8 people, however an army can consist, at maximum, of 56 people; so the enemy group will always loose to an army.
Also, if there is a hostile or enemy army, we can rise our own army very fast and counter it with said army. Very important here is our intelligence office, so if we know that the criminals will come to rob here or an army will advance to invade, we can prevent the threat before something has even happened. That way no people will be robbed, nor towns looted and no innocent people killed.
Wolfmist says:
that's very informative. Next Question?
Elmix says:
Sure
Wolfmist says:
Now, as we know, you are charged with defending England's border. What burden does this heavy task place upon you and your troops?
Elmix says:
First of all, you never can just stand and sit here by doing nothing with an army. Even though there appears to be no threat, we always need to follow everything that is happening in Scotland and where there are Scottish armies. Also, everyday there are lots of travelers who do ask for a travel pass, so we do need to give them a passage and add them on the army safe list for them to pass safely.
Secondly, as long you are in army, one cannot take any other work; you just can follow the leader or not follow. So, as long soldiers serve in the army, they cannot earn anything, even the food so they do loose their own money since no one gets payed for their service. Luckily we all are getting the food grants from the Cumberland TM for all soldiers serving in the army.
Food Supplies are the highest concern for the soldiers. But it is the responsibility for any army commander to make sure soldiers do get those food supplies. Also, the army commander answers for the lives of all of his soldiers who are serving in the army, so he does need to be aware of all newest intelligence and also the need to perfectly understand the skills of leadership, control of an army; all this so that in battle not one of soldiers would fall.
Another thing that is very important is the ability to use the intelligence from various sources. Army is a very powerful feature. It is so easy to take a life with it but so hard not to. So I always need to have a balance on those who are innocent and on those who are criminals. So far my army have killed no innocent, just criminals, Wolves of Sherwood and Reavers who all have robbed.
Wolfmist says:
I would now like to move on to the life of a soldier.
Elmix says:
All right...
Wolfmist says:
What do the families generally feel about their loved ones marching with you on the Border, and what are your duties as a commander to your soldier's families?
Elmix says:
I myself have had not as much conversation with the lots of families whose loved ones are marching with me. However, I can say that my duty as a commander of army is to bring them back, well and unharmed, to their families. Or if he had something happened with him, then take care of his family's wishes as much as possible. I can recall a event when a soldier did not follow the group and dropped out. He was robbed by a stronger criminals when he tried to catch up. Luckily he was near his home town. After couple days of care and rest, the soldier rejoined the army and later we killed the criminal with army.
Wolfmist says:
I see. Thank you for that.
Elmix says:
Sure. Any more questions?
Wolfmist says:
Yes, my next question is, how would someone join the Knights of the Phoenix?
Elmix says:
Any one who is wishing to join the Knights of the Phoenix is very welcome. To join the Knights of the Phoenix, any would need to register to our forums and post and application right here: http://kotp.realfreeforum.com/
Any one who is wishing to join the Knights of the Phoenix would need to register to our forums and post an application in our public offices, specifically the Manpower office. After that, his application will be reviewed by others - if he, for example, is not a member of the Wolves of Sherwood (WoS). We do have a intelligence in various places, so we will know the truth about any individual.
Then, a Manpower officer will contact him and we do have a tradition that the new person will be interviewed and will answer on 12 questions. After the interview he will need to send his statistics via Forum mail to the Chief Manpower officer and to our General of Army, Aisafe. After that, the new recruit get accepted to the barracks and granted a starting rank. Only then is the recruit ready to join up in operations to defend England, and its people, together with other Knights of the Phoenix.
Wolfmist says:
Thats fantastic, thank you.
Elmix says:
You are welcome.
Wolfmist says:
That concludes this interview, but is there anything more you would like to say to our readers?
Elmix says:
Yes, I would like to.
Wolfmist says:
Please, go ahead, we're listening.
Elmix says:
First of all I would like to thank all for your support for us and the great support on our mission of border defense, as the supplies very vital to the soldiers serving here. We, the Knights of the Phoenix here work very close with the Cumberland Mountaineers, whose soldiers are also part of the army here. I also want to thank the legally elected council of Cumberland and to the two excellent Knights of the Realm soldiers - Sir Gregarious and Lady Desideratist, who are here on the border with me. I would send thanks also to the legally elected council of Cumberland specifically for sending us supplies for us to hold the border of England.
We, the Knights of the Phoenix, defend England almost from its creation and are always ready to stand for England and defend its people. In all those years we have grown a lot and gathered a lot of experience. So, any who will wish for a military career and wish to defend England and its people are very welcome to join us, the Knights of the Phoenix.
Signed: MG Elmix, Commander of Army "4th division" defending the border of England.
Wolfmist says:
Well, thats everything, thank you.
Elmix says:
You are welcome, Sir.
Wolfmist for the AAP.