1.  Your overall Duty is to see that all the pilots under you are active. You are to Lead them in such a way that they grow to respect you 
    as a person as well as a Leader. You are to do all you can to see that yours and their piloting skills grow. You are to stay in contact 
    with the pilots on a regular basis and attempt to build good relations with them. You are to be there for them when they need a friend, 
    some advice, some help or anything. Just be a good Leader and they will respect you.

2.  It is your duty to train your new pilots about the militaristic aspect of TFA. This includes, but is not limited to:

a. The Chain of Command. 

   THE CHAIN OF COMMAND IS THE FOUNDATION ON WHICH ANY LARGE ORGANIZATION RESTS. THE CHAIN OF COMMAND ALLOWS A LARGE ORGANIZATION TO 
   FUNCTION PROPERLY WITHOUT ANY ONE PERSON BEING FORCED TO ABSORB AN OVERWHELMING WORKLOAD. IF USED PROPERLY, THE ORGANIZATION WILL RUN 
   SMOOTHLY AND EFFICIENTLY WITH FEW PROBLEMS. IF THE CHAIN OF COMMAND IS ABUSED OR IGNORED, THEN THE ORGANIZATION WILL BEGIN TO BREAK DOWN 
   AND SENIOR PERSONNEL WILL QUICKLY BECOME LOADED DOWN WITH MORE WORK THAN THEY CAN POSSIBLY HANDLE ALONE. IN TFA THE STRUCTURE IS SIMPLE.
   PILOTS REPORT TO FL, FL TO XO, XO TO CO, CO TO WC, WC TO FA, FA TO CNC. THIS ALLOWS PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED AT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE LEVEL, 
   WHILE ALLOWING THE BIG PROBLEMS TO GO AS FAR UP THE CHAIN AS NECESSARY TO GET RESOLVED.

You should teach your pilots what the chain of command is and how it functions. You should also train your pilots to show respect for their 
seniors in the chain of command. An example of showing respect would be, not talking during meetings when senior personnel have the floor. 

b. Performance of duty. Your pilots have certain obligations that they should have read when they enlisted. Never assume that they have 
   done this. It is your responsibility as their Flight Leader to ensure that all of your pilots understand their obligations as members of 
   TFA. Most squadrons have a welcome letter of some type that includes discussions on meetings and participation. Make sure that your pilots 
   know these rules and clearly understand what is expected.

c. WAR. You cannot expect a new pilot to "just know" what is going on in a war. Your duty as their Flight Leader is to train your pilots 
   about TFA war participation. Never assume that your pilots know what is expected of them. Make sure you are fully up to speed on the rules 
   of the war or tournament in progress. Many times your pilots may come to you for answers and you should make it your business to have those 
   answers.

d. Leadership. Leadership is not something that you automatically possess when you are promoted to Flight Leader. This is truely an art form 
   that you should strive to master. Leadership has nothing to do with "bossing people around". Anyone in a position of authority can abuse 
   that position to be a bully. This is NOT leadership. A true leader will never have to give an order. A true leader is someone who has 
   earned the respect of their juniors through hard work and dedication. These people put their pilots before themselves and always ensure 
   that their personnel are cared for and about. Most importantly, a true leader "leads by example". When you lead a group of people they 
   will take their "cues" from you. If you are always late for meetings and goofing around when it is time for business, then you should not 
   be surprised if your pilots exhibit the same type of behavior. When you are doing it right, all you have to do is say what is required and 
   your people will make sure it happens. Leadership is about mutual respect. This means that you should show the same respect to your pilots 
   that you would expect them to show you. A wise military LEADER once said "praise in public, criticize in private". You should never "yell" 
   at one of your pilots in a public place (such as a meeting). If a member of your flight group is being a problem, you should always 
   discuss the problem in private. This organization emulates a military organization, but in most cases neither you nor your pilots have 
   ever been around the military. Never assume that they understand appropriate military behavior until you have trained them, personally.

2. It is your duty to check the Comlink at LEAST every other day. We'd like you to check it daily,several times a day if possible, but you 
   are only required to check it every other day. You must check it often because sometimes Senior Officers make posts that are intended to 
   "Reach the Masses" since Mass emails do NOT always work. If you see that one of your pilots is engaging in "negative" comlink posts, you 
   should make it your business to ensure that the pilot is corrected. If you have ever been irritated by negative comlink posts, you are 
   now in a position to help correct that problem. 

3. When your Flight Group receives a new pilot, you should immediately send them a welcome letter stating who you are and what you expect 
   from them. Your letter should be worded carefully so that you make your expectations clear, while making the new pilot feel welcome. This 
   can be a challenge so you would be well advised to prepare a draft welcome letter before you need it. That letter and all letters you send 
   out as a Flight Leader need to be in the proper format.(See E-Mail Format)I'd suggest creating a standard welcome letter so that you will 
   have it available for future mailings.

4. Part of the training process for your new pilots is ICQ and mIRC. Many of the new pilots will have no idea what these are and how they 
   work. As a Flight Leader you should make sure that you understand these programs well enough to help your new pilots get up and running.
   Explain to the new pilot what these programs are all about and how we use them in TFA. Always be ready to assist your new pilot in the 
   download and startup process. If you do not know how, learn. Find someone in your squadron who is knowledgeable and ask them to train you.

5. You should add all members of your squadron to your ICQ as well as any other TFA you already have there. I rename all TFA pilots on my
   ICQ in the following way:

TFA Bobba/WCII          TFA Nimrokon/SL/Omicron
TFA Hero/CnC            TFA Puttz/XO/Iota
TFA Megalodon/FL/Zeta

 You should also add all your squadron members to your address book in your E-mail program so that mailing to them will be easy.

6. It is your duty to hold practice sessions at least once a week. Please talk to your Squad Leader for the format he would like them in. 
   If you challenge your pilots and strive to make the training sessions fun, they will begin to look forward to them. Make sure that you 
   praise the new pilots when they do well and offer friendly hints when they do not. The newest pilots in your group will need the most 
   help and the most reassurance. If you just give them a hard time when they screw up, they will not be with you for long.

7. It is your duty to send a report to your XO at least once a week reporting on the status of your Flight Group. You are to comment on 
   Practices, Conduct, Inactivity, Compliments and anything else you feel is worth reporting about.

8. You are to perform any additional duties that your XO and/or SL may inform you to carry out. 

9. One of the most important points to consider as you work with your Flight Group is the future of TFA. You now hold that future in your 
   hand. Eventually you will be in line for promotion, and you must train your entire Flight Group to replace you. That special pilot that 
   shows exceptional promise deserves your attention, but your other pilots deserve it no less. You must always consider how you would want 
   to be treated if you were in their position. Following this simple rule will help you suceed.
				
GOOD LUCK FLIGHT LEADER!

~Page Updated by Senior Pilot Seigram