The relationship between CO and XO

[Pat Sajak]

Hello guys! I wanted to discuss the role between the commander and executive officer.

I feel this might make the job of the commander much easier and less stressful.

Definition of an executive officer:

"The position of XO is one of support to the commanding officer as well as running your ship efficiently. In the chain of command all Department Heads report to you about the day to day running of their departments and the welfare of the crew. You then in turn report that to the CO.

You are the link between the Captain and the crew. Very few of the crew themselves will have direct contact with the Captain, since most situations and matters will be dealt with by the Department Heads or by you."

The department heads can be defined as the staff officers of the squads, the CMO ect. What I noticed whenever I observe a typical round is that the commander tends to sit in the commanding office along with the XO and staff officers. The commander typically micro manages pretty much everything on the ship and commands the SOs. They are making their job harder and more stressful then what it really is.

A commander should be concentrated on just strategy and the units next move and not micro managing the entire ship; that is the XOs job. The XO is the one who micro manages the whole ship and to ensure sure your strategy is going to be a successful on the field. XOs come to report to you on how the squads are doing as a whole.

TL;DR: Commanders should just sit in the Captains office concentrating on the units next move and just let the XO do the hard work of miro managing the entire ship.

[Swagile]

Problem with this theory is that you have a GOOD XO that understands this. I had the pleasure of having Reno be my XO once and he was exactly as you said; he micro managed while I made all the heavy decisions, and even went to the field once, knowing he wouldn't let me down.

However, I usually roll CO and I have XO's who don't understand the role, understand it but go off doing their own things, and/or some that are completely bad and do stuff like aim lethal weapons at marines / civillians for no understandable reason and get arrested by MP's.

Yes, ive had that type of XO before; XO's who actually act like you said you'd want them to are rare, even rarer so that you get them during a full SO shift. Hence most CO's have to perfect the art of micromanaging the entire ship themselves.

[Pat Sajak]

So basically XOs are to the vice president of the united states when a commander is on board. They are basically just there until the commander either resigns, dies or needs a temporary substitute. Unless the XO proves he is capable of doing his job correctly.

Some really aim lethal weapons at marines/civilians? Why? Holy cow.

[Swagile]

So basically XOs are to the vice president of the united states when a commander is on board. They are basically just there until the commander either resigns, dies or needs a temporary substitute. Unless the XO proves he is capable of doing his job correctly.

Some really aim lethal weapons at marines/civilians? Why? Holy cow.

Yeah it happened; one of my XO's one round disappeared on me, was accused of stealing webbing, and later on pointed his pistol at a researcher in his own lab.

Wild round that was.

But yeah, unless you prove your capable as a XO, CO's usually tend to micro manage... which promotes a vicious circle, if you think about it, because in order to "get good" at being a XO they actually have to play the role how they are meant to be, yet CO's don't want to allow that due to it affecting the marines too much if your bad.

Catch 22, basically.

[Feweh]

You guys ever see that battlestar galactica scene where Admiral Cain executes her XO for refusing to carry out her orders?

That was fucking intense.

[Renomaki]

You guys ever see that battlestar galactica scene where Admiral Cain executes her XO for refusing to carry out her orders?

That was fucking intense.

For shame Feweh, shitposting in a thread that discusses the CM relationships of CO and XO and the struggles of it all.

Anyways...

I myself always imagined XOs being the "HoPs" [Head of personnel] of CM, the men who take care of all the bureaucracy for the CO, keep the departments running smoothly, and from time to time offer tactical advise when needed.

However, unless they are an autistic furry who likes to both roleplay and be helpful for the sake of being helpful, most people don't bother putting in a great deal of effort into the role, moreso than ever now that CO is a whitelisted role. As per current events, you get the following:

The "I want to be the commander" XOs, that came in to command the platoon until you came in, and often resent you because they want to test their leadership abilites.

The "Lol memes" XO, who abuses his power and access for his own amusement, sometimes to the point of driving their CO up a wall in frustration. Take the XO that, during one round, was more focused on converting his and the CO's bedroom into a lounge rather than looking for ways to help his commander...

The "I don't understand chain of command" XO, who thinks that just because he is command staff thinks he has some say in how things are done. He does, but not if the CO belays his orders. There was a recent player report where a CO was threatened by his own XO with violence, showing that he clearly didn't understand the limits of his position.

I could go on and on, but in short, a lot of XOs just don't have passion for the role when they get it. Most players want to be smartgunners or specs, they don't wanna be XOs or SOs. Hell, they don't even want to be MPs unless Carson is involved, because most people only care about shooting shit, not bowing down to the chain of command and Military Law (hence why so many people complain about MPs ruining their fun).

[Robotonic]

When playing XO I do my best to support the CO, covering their ass and so-on. I'll make sure the CE, CMO, RO, and less-so as they typically manage their department well that the CMP hasn't got any problems with their department, staffing or what supplies they have. If the CO wants me planet-side I find I'm often sent down to inspect the FOB or control the engineers into doing what their SL's should really be getting them doing anyway, building proper defences. I hardly ever get sent down to relay information on the situation and when I do it could have just have easily have been taken from helmet cams or reports from the squad leaders.

When the CIC's understaffed I generally just end up acting like an SO, which isn't great. In general, I just make the ship run smooth whilst the CO focuses on what's going down and what to do about it, also covering the CIC staff when you need a split-second decision. Giving the CO time to roleplay situations out (admirals, UPP cold-rapidly-turning-hot war, events) can smooth things out a lot down the line.

Essentially I agree with what you say here, the CO shouldn't focus on the CIC 100% but rather deal with the over-all decisions and RP aspects of command. It can be difficult to RP whilst managing 4 screaming SL's.