[Chris Wilkinson]

EX ASTRIS, SCIENTIA
FROM THE STARS, KNOWLEDGE

Greetings All! Welcome to the third edition of the 2021 Academy News! I am Chris Wilkinson, Deputy Commandant of Starfleet Academy. This newsletter is an initiative from the Academy that is intended to keep you abreast of the latest news from across the United Federation of Planets.

NEW MEMBERS
We welcome the following new members who have joined (or re-joined) the UFP since the last edition:

• MrCrazy
• donnyabadia23
• Kitsune
• 1DeadlySAMURAI
• KHANSWRATH
• Mareynae
• legenderyyamato
• LuinSokyr
• Zavall
• R'Kshar
• Snowy
• SANS
• Sjuufke89
• Castannix
• Campbell
• Trebak
• Proxy
• Andromeda4949
• UnderwaterOperator
• Cultleaderxx
• Brunocsf
• JIMERIKER
• Taudek
• wagagan84
• Malkavian
• doom112
  

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

• STO Staff Additions:
  (From the Star Trek Online Executive Officer Jestersmith)
  Special Ops Commander:
  Hektu:
  Hektu has decided to join the special operations event team, he is someone who special operations attendees will know well and is always on hand to offer help and advice when needed and on occasion when the need has arisen run a team as such we have asked him to step up to officially become a special operations commander and join the team in assisting with Spec ops runs and events. He originally joined UFP in 2018 after a brief hiatus from the game he rejoined last year and has gone on to be a welcome member of the STO community this is his first time in the CL4 role and we wish him all the best in the role
  
  Miles:
  Miles has decided to join the special operations event team, he is someone who special operations attendees will know well and is always on hand to offer help and advice when needed and on occasion when the need has arisen run a team as such we have asked him to step up to officially become a special operations commander and join the team in assisting with Spec ops runs and events. He joined UFP in 2019 and since then has become a well known character in STO he regularly offers advice to people both in game and activly on the STO forums this is his first time in the CL4 role and we wish him all the best in the role.
  
  Quartermaster:
  MrNeal:
  MrNeal has decided to join the Quartermasters team he is someone most will know when you apply to join any of the in game fleet as an existing or new member from his time as a Personnel Officer and we are happy to see him take this next step to assisting in managing more within the fleet, He has been gaming since 2005 and playing STO since release he is a former member of the British Armed Forces and we look forward to seeing him do well in this next challenge.
  
  
• Bill moves to STO Command:
  (From the Head of Community Administration Jonathan)
  Bill:
  External Operations, the department that handles the UFP's STO Armada, has sat as an autonomous department within FAB for several years now, with Bill as its CO. In the past, External Operations also handled the UFP's social media presence and communications with third parties, but this has slowly been taken over by FNS and FEO.
  
  As External Operations now only deals with the STO Armada, after discussions amongst FAB, FEO and FEO Deputies with Bill and STO Command being consulted, it has been decided to dissolve External Operations as a standalone department and instead appoint Bill as a Star Trek Online Executive Officer, in charge of Armada Operations. We believe it makes more sense to bring the Armada within the STO division then handled externally by another department.
  
  This provides STO Command the benefit of Bill's knowledge and experience with handling the UFP's STO Armada and Bill can take part in wider STO discussions and help manage the STO division where needed.
  
  Please join me in wishing Bill well in STO Command.
  
  
• VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
  
  The UFP would not be the place it is today without our volunteers who selflessly sacrifice their time to help out. Check out the currently open volunteer positions, and how to apply for one, here. If you don't find something there that aligns with your interests, you can always fill out the volunteer interest form to express your desire for something specific to help our community grow. Use the bottom section of the form for that and make sure you treat it just as importantly as an application for an open position. Put in as many details as possible and thank you for your interest!

UPCOMING EVENTS
The United Federation of Planets has a good number of events coming up! You can sign up for any of these events here:

• GHOST BUSTING (PHASMOPHOBIA):
  On Saturday the 6th of March at 1930 GMT/UFP; Holodeck CO Bedders: This is an ad-hoc event tonight for Phasmophobia hosted by Bedders and Th3TrueLuke!
  
  Join us as we go hunting the paranormal and busting those ghosts!
  
  VR headset optional, but a microphone is required so you can talk to the spirits.
  And so we can hear you scream.
  
• SPECIAL OPERATIONS SATURDAY:
  On Saturday the 6th of March at 2000 GMT/UFP; Special Ops Commander Solace: This is event is open everybody to have some fun and hang out with fleet mates!
  
  This is what we typically get up to:
  Any TFO requested by attendees
  Endeavours
  Accolade hunting
  Build Advice
  Elite content runs for some extra challenge!
  
  So, come along and hangout with us! We'd love to see you there
  
• WATCH THOSE WRIST ROCKETS!:
  On Monday the 8th of March at 1930 GMT/UFP; Gaming Specialist TH3TRUELUKE Star Wars Battlefront Join us, as we fight for the Imperials and crush the Rebel scum, for the Republic to defend democracy, for the CIS to eliminate clones, or for the Rebellion to overthrow the Empire.
  
  This is the 2017 release of Battlefront 2, not the earlier 2005 version.
  
  Can be acquired from EA Play, Steam. Origin
  
  See you on the battlefield!
  
• WARTHOG WHEELIES!!:
  On Wednesday the 10th of March at 1930 GMT/UFP; Holodeck CO Bedders Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a collection of first-person shooter video games in the Halo series. Halo Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 4 will all be there by the end of 2020. And thanks to the miracles of remade graphics, we have some spicy new cutscenes and redone graphics for the older games.
  
  In this event we will be running through the campaigns chronologically (Halo Reach, Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 3, Halo 4, Halo 5). We will split up into smaller fireteams as necessary (some of the games have a 2-person limit, others have 4) depending on how many players attend. Please make sure you have an up-to-date copy of the game that we are playing on the day. It can be purchased from either the Microsoft Store or Steam as they both work together.
  
  So come, grab the cola and pizza, and relive the legend of Halo Night.
  
  Good luck Spartans!
  
• WOW RAID NIGHT:
  On Friday the 12th of March at 1900 GMT/UFP; Raid Leader Rattlehead We are taking on the denizens of Castle Nathria with the goal of defeating Sire Denathrius and re-establishing order in the Shadowlands.
  
  If you wish to join our raid team make sure to speak with Sammygm, Mack or Rattlehead and read this post in order to get an idea about what we are looking for and what you should expect when joining our ranks.
  
  We have started Heroic progress!
  
• THEMED EVENT: ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH:
  On Friday the 12th of March at 2000 GMT/UFP; Special Ops Commander Solace I am Solace, son of Ketbeh, I now take my place as first officer. I serve the captain but I stand for the crew, who holds the record of battle for this division?
  
  This themed event we jump into KDF characters and bring much honour and glory to our great house! As Shakespeare once said which is more apt in the original Klingon: puHvaD Heghpu'bogh ghot tu'lu' - Once more unto the breach dear friends.
  
  You can read more about the event HERE

FEDERATION NEWS SERVICE ARTICLES
Our Federation News Service has a number of dedicated writers who've written the following articles for you to read. They're always a great read.

• 'Discovery' Writer Tapped To Script Original Star Trek Movie by Silek: Star Trek: Discovery and Fear The Walking Dead writer Kalinda Vazquez will pen the next Star Trek movie. You can read it here.
  
• Star Trek: Prodigy to Debut on Paramount+ by Pedigo: The children's oriented animated Star Trek series marks a first for the franchise. You can read it here.
  
• Daft Punk Breaks Up in a very 'Daft Punk' Way by Silek: 28 years after forming in Paris, the duo calls it quits. You can read it here.
  
• Arecibo Telescope: End of an Icon by Saelanna: The reduced funding and natural disasters that led to a final catastrophe. You can read it here.
  
• Perseverance Sends Back It's First Postcards by Silek: Perseverance landed on the Martian surface this week, and the results are already spectacular. You can read it here.
  
• Nvidia's New RTX 3060 by Emmy: Nvidia launches the RTX 3060, and it might surprise you. You can read it here.
  
• Stellaris: Nemesis - New DLC Designed To Keep Players Coming Back by Chris Wilkinson: A brief overview of the new Stellaris DLC. You can read it here.

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you around the galaxy!

[Jestersmith]

Thanks Chris great piece.