Intel Combat Marines (ICM)

[EvEnLeaSe44 0]

About ICM,

Chapter I: The Beginning...

The Intel Combat Marines "clan" formed from the United States Paratroopers on February 14th, 2003. USP was active in the Operation Flashpoint community for nearly two years before shutting down. Due to poor leadership, USP was unable to adjust to the high volume of recruiting done by revolving members. During the period, the OFP community was flourishing, so groups and clans had the potential to grow and shrink in size by thirty to fifty members in as little time as a week. Members would join and leave or be kicked within hours and days. Unfortunately, as members joined USP, they would be assigned unequal and undeserved ranks purely based on their skill levels. This process caused many internal power struggles and great disrespect for rank.

After a few weeks, the concept bloomed to branch off USP and form something else. Pandy and Eulogy met with the concept of an idealistic organization that utilized a chain of command optimized uniformity which many other groups in the OFP community refused to do. At that time, the typical idea of running an OFP group was a single individual would run all aspects of the group.

Members of USP began to get word that Pandy and Eulogy were branching off.  Soon after the initial concept was created, the ICM acronym was agreed on. Intel for intelligence in the foundation, Combat for the OFP simulation, and Marines for being based on the United States Marine Corps chain of command. Thus, ICM began to build within the shadows of USP.

As the first to develop the idea of a chain of command, ICM would use the ranks as jobs, instead of attempting to unfairly compare rank with the gaming skills of the individual member. Each member would have responsibility.  Whatever that job may be, the purpose was to defeat the chiche of high gaming skill equals high rank. As the principles of ICM formed, more members of USP expressed they wanted to join before the ICM officially started.  Soon the foundation of ICM was set and ready to launch.  Upon taking a head count before launching, Pandy and Eulogy realized they had nearly all the members of USP.

Chapter II: The Start

When announcing the split of USP, the few members who did not join ICM left to go about their own way, so ICM was the direct cause of USP dissolving.  Pandy and Eulogy understood that they were responsible for the destruction of USP, so they invited the leader of USP to join ICM.  Still bitter from the leadership in USP, many former members refused to join with the USP leader in ICM and some members took steps to leave.

Within the first week of ICM’s existence, many problems occurred with the leader of USP starting conflicts with not only members who did not like him, but with the members who did not know him. After a week of conflict, the former leader of USP left ICM permanently. Word spread of the former USP leader’s departure from ICM and many people joined ICM that refused to join while he was in ICM.

Chapter III: Forging on

After ICM was established, many opportunities appeared. ICM created its first alliance with DST (Delta Strike Team). As a cooperative gaming alliance to further serve the OFP community as one of the few cooperative organizations.

ICM began to grow in numbers at an extreme rate as word spread of ICM’s popularity. Dedicated and excellent members began to join ICM, members that shared the same concepts of how ICM should operate. ICM launched with 14 members. Within 14 days, ICM grew to 33-members. The ICM member base started to burst at the seams. Due to an astonishing growth rate, ICM staff realized they need a dedicated server. Eulogy took it upon himself to locate a dedicated server that would meet ICM’s needs for a reasonable price. Eulogy contacted several hosts, all in which had practically the same server deals and packages. Soon after Klan-Host contacted Eulogy and offered a dedicated server that was tailored to ICM demands. The server offered a 22slot, 1.4 Ghz processor, running Linux. Included in the server was RogerWilco, which allowed ICM to setup a form of communications. At the time, Klan-Host had just split off from OFPL (Operation Flashpoint gaming Ladder). ICM was the first to use Klan-Host’s services. Since ICM was the first client, Klan-Host was inexperienced with several issues along their learning curve of hosting, many issues in game-play stability persisted. As Klan-Host resolved their issues, other clans joined the Klan-Host bandwagon making Klan-Host one of best-dedicated server services offered on the net.

The memberships had grown to the point where ICM was forced to hold off from recruiting. Only private recruitment was allowed for people who had friends within ICM.

101st Airborne and ICM entered deliberations to form another cooperative alliance. The original agreement was, 101st would have matches every week with ICM and to form a co-op partnership, but 101st Airborne insisted on having a competitive match to determine if they would form a cooperative alliance. After the first 101st / ICM match, 101st had racked up 1,062 points and ICM pulled off a mere 732 points. Ultimately, 101st and ICM failed to sign an alliance pact due to ICM being unable to competitively beat 101st Airborne. Members, who participated in the match, were awarded the 101st Match Ribbon.

As ICM’s growth continued to escalate, there was a need for a larger server. Lt., Col. Eulogy purchased eight more slots to the server bringing the total to 30 slots. At the same time, Eulogy changed RogerWilco to TeamSpeak and increasing the available slots for TeamSpeak to 50 in hopes of supporting larger meetings. While the 30 slots on the server were sufficient, the actual machine began to experience problems while Klan-Host continued to work out their issues. With constant crashes and stalls, the server had to be upgraded. Once again, Lt., Col. Eulogy purchased an upgraded package from the 1.4Ghz Linux system, to a 2.4Ghz P4 running on a Windows 2000 platform with one Gig of memory.

Chapter IV: GSA Cold War, (February 20th, 2003 - June 6th, 2003)

When ICM formed, Pandy had originally controlled everything as the leader/Colonel, but problems began to surface as miscommunication issues were abundant between Pandy and many other people. With the support from many members, Eulogy convinced Pandy to step down from his rank and take second-in-command. These were difficult times for ICM because a great amount of tension was caused from miscommunication, but with the change in staff, Pandy now had a more effective role of working to support ICM rather than lead it.

As time passed on, clans began to form within the OFP community. One particular clan, Marine Force Recon (MFR), had gained a relationship with ICM in hopes to form a large co-op clan. ICM was able to create a peace plan with MFR and therefore the ICM / MFR alliance was formed. Unfortunately for ICM, the old leader of USP became a member of MFR. In the weeks leading up to the alliance, the leader of USP had been working hard to cause havoc among ICM and MFR. After the leader of USP managed to cripple MFR through their website, ICM provided support wherever possible and the MFR leader, “UsMcâ€, reluctantly decided to merge MFR with ICM rather than create an alliance. With this merger, delta battery was formed and given the name airborne group. Many members of MFR did not like this change and the ranking system in MFR was different and not easily converted into ICM ranks.

To alleviate stress within ICM, the MFR ranking system was dissolved which unknowingly caused anger from broken promises in the new delta battery of former MFR members. Discrepancies of the remaining ranks were fixed within a week of the merger and bitterness lingered as neither ICM or MFR members were satisfied with the stipulations of the merger.

As ICM continued to grow and age, Non-commissioned-officers (ranked members) began to take command of batteries. Among these members was Dissonant of Charlie Squadron, Killer of Bravo battery and so on. With many new members like Naz, ThEgg, -X-, Scorpion, and others, their contributions continued to improve ICM.

With the use of the OFP dedicated server and a dedicated TS Server funded by Eulogy, ICM had a place to communicate and play. ICM continued to work with the chain of command improving its structure as the weeks go on.

ICM had a great learning experience with the months prior to June, after a new alliance with Mini-Me-Nation (MMN), ICM became almost like a superpower within the OFP community.

Chapter V: Bump

Finally, members and leadership were at peace and ICM began to settle down from alliances and dealing with the OFP community. ICM numbers were still growing and many new clans continued to form.

Once again, ICM was forced into conflict because of children. ICM was asked to support its ally, Tactical Assault Team (TAT) lead by “Hatcher†against Expert Rifles Corp (ERC) lead by Jeremiah. ICM began deliberations with TAT, 75th Rangers, MMN and ERC in hopes of resolving conflicts that resided between clans.

On the first day of the deliberations, Jeremiah declared war on TAT. ICM supported its ally, TAT, with four way deliberations. During the deliberations, Jeremiah and Hatcher failed to resolve their issues.

Overall, Jeremiah wanted control over other clans and his members in a fashion that he thought he should have absolute power over everything he was involved in. As much as ICM tried to steer clear of ERC, Jeremiah displayed his true colors of a failed leader by continuing to press for power and influence over ICM even as ERC was a fraction of the size of ICM.

Despite the TAT / ERC conflict, ICM was in the process of restructuring the chain of command created by Seabeast. New tactics were being trained on the combat island map and training of rookie ICM Marksman, Combat Snipers and Scout Snipers was in progress.

ERC had been going, having problems for months, After ICM gave in and played a competitive match ERC, ERC never recovered with moral. ERC fell apart on June 22, 2003. Jeremiah stayed present in the OFP community for another two years in communication with Z-Type and other members.

With the conflict outside of the clan, ICM was still growing with pride and honor. Members were rolling out maps left and right, add-ons began to fill the downloads page. ICM has pressed OFP to its limits, testing and pushing the bar in realism and fun. Introducing new Delta / Rangers add-ons from BAS, plus AAV7 from Tales of War, the game could only get better and better.

Chapter VI: Tribulations and Moving Ahead.

Membership enrollment in ICM hit all time highs with no signs of slowing. But before ICM saw the membership caps of both actual members to active members, people started to drop. With a constant lack of activity, a loose chain of command, and low recruitment, the toll began to weigh on ICM. Many members left ICM because they wanted promotions or credit, but without the activity level needed to obtain promotion. The ICM staff desperately sought solutions to address activity issues in ICM.

Alpha, Bravo and Delta at this point were barely active. However, Charlie Squadron was becoming more active by creating unique activities and exercises.

After two months of work, Pandy, Eulogy, Dissonant and Mako began to reformat the ICM structure with consideration to ICM’s history. Alpha, Bravo and Charlie were to be the focus for ICM, plus a new change in staff. The new staff was referred to as the command staff for their adjusted responsibilities of management. After putting in new staff members, ICM recouped and began to forge ahead.

ICM and DST (Delta Strike Team) joined a cooperative alliance that reaffirmed both clans to participate in joint training for the following eight months. Meanwhile, ICM and DST worked together in resolving conflicts on Gamespy. DST and ICM remained allies for over a year after.

ICM reviewed its alliances and decided to end some of the pacts. Upon the review, ICM concluded that the OFP community was finally operating smoothly with no conflicts. ICM decided to work with other clans in games and making missions to focus efforts on having a good time on its dedicated TeamSpeak and game server. Clan’s like the 1st Irish Ranger Battalion, Delta Strike Force (Former Tactical Assault Team), and many more started to play on the ICM dedicated server.

International players from all over the globe began to fill the ICM ranks. ICM had members from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, and even Australia. The highest-ranking European ICM members were SSG Dragon and SSG Crow. Both men earned their ranks on November 5, 2003.

Chapter VII: Closing in

After more than a year had passed, many ICM members changed and activity levels dropped so low that training and exercises were made impossible. The staff decided to close shop in August of 2004 in hopes to rebuild upon the release of OFP2.

Z-Type convinced Jeremiah to offer ICM use of one of his TeamSpeak servers after the ICM dedicated TeamSpeak server’s lease was up. The dedicated server’s eventually shut down and Klan-Host seemingly went out of business.

Chapter VIII: Dormant, 2004-2005-2006-2007

ICM used the TeamSpeak from Jerimiah for a year playing various games. In September of 2004, many members became involved with playing Star Wars Galaxies prior to ICM going dormant. Involvement in SWG continued months after ICM went dormant and ended upon the Combat Upgrade (reference the date of the CU) of SWG. A few members started playing The Matrix Online in March of 05', City Of Villians in June of 06', Armed Assault September of 06', City of Villians Dec 06' and SWG May 07'

Three years past and the remainder of ICM was a mere handful of people. After finding out that Jeremiah had long since sold the TeamSpeak server ICM had been using, the handful of people left began to float around searching for places to hang out and games to play.

After a conflict with Suicide-Squad on their TeamSpeak, a new TeamSpeak was rented which were the first funds put into ICM since 2004.

Rules when Joining

Requirements of Enlistment

You must speak fluent or understandable English.

You must own a copy of Armed Assault.

You must have a broadband Internet connection, and be able to play Armed Assault Online.

You must have a valid working email address. (It is recommended that you have an email address for the organization.)

You must complete the recruitment period within two months.

Registered and use the fourms and teamspeak server.

Have a microphone to communicate on teamspeak with the organization.

Cannot be part of an another Armed Assault Organization, or "Clan."

General Rules

Show respect to all members and non-members alike.

Cheating is not tolerated whatsoever, and will automatically be dismissed from the organization. No Appeals.

Any problems or disputes should be handled by going up the chain of command.

Members are not allowed to be members of any other armed assault organization.

All members are expected to maintain the organizational standards while on the fourms, teamspeak and gaming servers.

Excessive use of profanity is prohibited.

Respect individual diversity.

Respect scales of responsibility.

Do not give out any passwords outside of the organization.  

We have 31+ active members. To join go to,

Intel Combat Marines <<Click Me>> Go to the forums and go to Personal Recruiting Office and read the stickyed topic.

See you on the battlefield Marines!

[ERC-Blackwater 0]

Yeah well you guys glorified the false information of being the "Cause" of ERC's downfall. Which isn't true. It was alot more complicated than that. It had nothing to do with our "Moral" being devistatingly CRUSHED because we lost a match!! Oh lord! But if that thought gives ya a hard-on and makes you guys look better then I guess what ever works, right?

[dslyecxi 23]

But if that thought gives ya a hard-on and makes you guys look better then I guess what ever works, right?

If it makes you feel any better, I thought the attitude of the post in general was pretty off-putting, and I don't think anything they said (and particularly because of how it was said) is going to "make them look good".

[Pandy 0]

Even,

We already had a post up on this forums, sorry for not letting you know bro.

Admins, please lock this thead.

[Pandy 0]

Yeah well you guys glorified the false information of being the "Cause" of ERC's downfall. Which isn't true. It was alot more complicated than that. It had nothing to do with our "Moral" being devistatingly CRUSHED because we lost a match!! Oh lord! But if that thought gives ya a hard-on and makes you guys look better then I guess what ever works, right?

It was before your time bro, and I never put any false information on my forums.

Yes, you are correct, it was a lot more complicated then that. That match you lost had 4 members from your organization ended up being traitors, they were TKing and shooting randomly above our heads. At the time, ERC had 9-12 active members, and from that, lost 40% of it's active membership.

Second, I am not here to look good for anyone, I'm simply here to have fun. History is history, history is something to be remember, but remembering too long will allow you to fall into the same pit again.

[Pandy 0]

But if that thought gives ya a hard-on and makes you guys look better then I guess what ever works, right?

If it makes you feel any better, I thought the attitude of the post in general was pretty off-putting, and I don't think anything they said (and particularly because of how it was said) is going to "make them look good".

Thank you Dslyecxi;

We're all here to play a game, right?