How to Run an Away Mission

Away Missions are official USS Dauntless events where crew-members get together in real life, out in the world, and do things together. Anyone on board is permitted (and strongly encouraged) to organise Away Missions, as long as it's done thoughtfully and correctly.

Although running your first Away Mission can be daunting, we are, after all, the USS Dauntless. After you've run a few, before you know it it'll be old hat. And you'll earn the respect and admiration of your crew-mates just for making the attempt.

There are three essential things every Away Mission MUST HAVE in order to qualify:

It must be approved by Command (Step 2 below)
It must be published on the Dauntless Calendar (Step 3 below)
A report must be submitted afterwards (Step 5 below)

There are a number of other things that need doing, and points to consider. It may seem like a lot at first, but once you've done it once or twice, you'll see it's really quite easy to do. Here's the process.

Step 1: Choose a Mission

An Away Mission can be just about anything a group of people might want to do together:

Hiking;
5k run;
Movie night;
Board gaming;
Paintball;
Visiting a convention;
Or just about anything else.

If there's something you want to do, and you'd like it if a few members of our crew joined you for it, you can set it up as an Away Mission.

Mission Priorities:

Priority 1 - Critical importance. Mandatory for all Active Duty personnel. (You are REQUIRED to attend)
Priority 2 - Ordinary importance. Day-to-day operations. (You are EXPECTED to attend.)
Priority 3 - Low importance. Casual/social events. (You are WELCOME to attend)

There are very few exceptions to what can be classified as an Away Mission, but generally speaking these are limited to personal events such as birthday parties, weddings, baptisms and so on. You're welcome to invite your crew-mates to your birthday party if you like, but that probably won't be approved as an official Away Mission.

You'll also need to decide on the other relevant details, like when and where your mission should take place. If the mission is far outside of your Sector (like a camping trip to the Drakensberg, for example) you'll need to consider transport for your crew-mates as well.

Before you move to step two, you should probably think of a clever theme-appropriate name for your mission. For example, a Movie Night could be considered an "Anthropology Mission" in which the attendees are studying 21st century popular culture; A paintball session could be called a "Tactical simulation" for obvious reasons; Or a hike could be called a "Planetary Survey" in which you'll be examining the rocks and plant-life in a part of the Magaliesberg. For just about any mission, you should be able to come up with a cool, Trek-themed name for it... just use a little imagination!

You may also want to think about which Priority your mission should have. This is ultimately the Command Staff's decision, but you're free to make a recommendation.

Step 2: Command Approval

In order to be officially recognised as a Dauntless Away Mission, your plan needs to be approved by a member of the Senior Staff. This can be your Department Head, The Second Officer, The Executive Officer or The Commanding Officer. If you, yourself, are a member of the Senior Staff, you should submit it to your direct superior for approval, rather than sanctioning it unilaterally.

Your event will not be recognised as Dauntless Away Mission if you don't complete this step!

Mission Approval Request Form

The easiest way is to fill in this form. But if you have more complicated requirements, you can do it via either an email or a Discord private message, in which you outline the details you decided upon in step one. At this point, all they need is the basics, and they'll ask you for more detail if they need it. It's almost a certainty that your proposal will be accepted. The only reasons it might be declined are:

The event is personal in nature, such as a birthday party, wedding, baptism, etc.
The event conflicts with another, previously scheduled Dauntless event. This is not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it could be a problem given the specifics of the situation.

In the unlikely event that your Away Mission doesn't get approved, don't let it discourage you. Try again for another day, or for a different kind of event. Odds are the next one will go through.

Step 3: Publication

Once you've received approval, you'll need to make your event known to the Dauntless crew. The fist step in this process is to have it posted to the Dauntless Calendar.

This is necessary for it to be sanctioned as an official event. The Operations team will typically handle this for you when your proposal is approved.

You'll receive an email invitation to the Calendar event when your request is approved.

Once your event Is approved by the Senior Staff, you may post copies of the event on social media. Be sure to have the Calendar event updated with links to those social media event pages, so attendees can find them. If you wish one such social media page (the Facebook event, for example) to serve as the official communication channel for the mission, be sure to update the Google Calendar event with that information too.

You may request that the Communications Staff post the events to social media on your behalf. Be sure to provide them with any relevant images that can be used as banners or branding for the event. If possible, you'll be given the ability to edit those event pages.

Remember that it's not unlikely that you won't get the response you were hoping for from your crew-mates. Don't be discouraged by this: People won't always do what you want them to do. Try to make the most of the mission with those who do come, and everyone will have a good time.

There is no minimum attendance requirement for Away Missions. If you're the only person who shows up, it still counts.

Step 4: On the Day

As the Away Mission Commander, you have certain responsibilities on the day of the mission, starting several hours before, and ending some time after.

Beforehand:

Be available on Discord and the mission's official comm-channel to handle questions and other queries from attendees.
Send out a reminder message several hours prior.

During the mission:

Make sure your uniform or disguise is obvious to your attendees, so that you are easy to find. Post a selfie on the official comm-channel if necessary.
If possible, have a beam-down marker set up on a table nearby so crew-mates who may not have met you before will know where to go.
Continue to be available on the official comm-channel to handle last-minute questions, such as helping crew-mates who have gotten lost on the way to the rendezvous point.
Make a list of every crew-member in attendance, making note of those who attended in uniform.
Take a leadership role, ensuring that everyone knows what is expected of them at any given time. Make announcements and handle questions bearing in mind that the mission is your responsibility.
Be prepared to step up in case of an emergency, whether that involves contacting the relevant authorities, or performing First Aid yourself (provided you are qualified and equipped to do so).

Mission Log Board on Trello

Step 5: After the mission

Ensure that everyone leaves safely, particularly vulnerable members such as cadets who are being picked up by parents, people who are using public transport to get home, etc.
Check that any personal belongings that may have been accidentally left behind are safely gathered up, so they can be returned to their owners.
Complete the Mission Report. This must be done before the end of the calendar month in which the event took place, but it's probably best to do it the same day or the next morning, while it's all still fresh in your mind. Your event will not be recognised as Dauntless Away Mission if you don't complete this step!
You can score extra points towards your next rank promotion if you also submit your report in the form of a short video for Dauntless' social media pages.

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