JohnnyForeigners

I'm aware there are units with a different culture. But they don't seem to be on the foreground as much.

I'm in a milsim unit too. And in-game, this convention is absolute. But these large units and their intrusive rules and roleplay take it outside of the game, where it should be an insult to any well-thinking adult. You can have a change of command without resorting to 17 pages of extraneous rules, but based on a respect that is created by displaying actual leadership skill limited to the in-game sphere. I've grouped these comments because they seem to revolve around a central theme: It's their community, they can organise themselves as they wish. Of course this is true. It's the same basic precept that allows milsim groups that I do like to organise: you join up and implictly agree to play by the rules. But these major units attract a lot of new players who are curious about milsim. These players are then submitted to rules and regulations that are at best a solid 30 minutes of reading and at worst an invasion of your decision making process as an individual (Not allowed to be in other FPS clans being a great example that I cited). These units feature heavily on out-of-game roleplaying, an unnecessary social structure of subordination and often a very disingenuous identification with actual military units. This is the kind of environment players new to the milsim experience are subjected to. Complaining about this isn't going to change that, you are all correct. But the reason I'm speaking out here is because it is a gross misrepresentation of what milsim could be all about and can possibly unnecessarily turn players away. And that makes it anyone's business. The ArmA community at large seems to tactictly approve this style of running a unit, but I feel there's a silent majority who feels there are better ways to have serious milsim that don't involve this sort of irrelevant make-believe roleplay.

Here's a great example of a unit taking it too far: Excerpts from their "Teamspeak Code of Conduct" Because obviously, we're twelve and need to be patronised. I mean, real military service members never swear, so why should we not try and conform to that standard? God forbid a minor would pick up a swearword! Countless generations have already spun out of control over the use a few off-colour remarks. Thank god the regiment is here to preserve the morals of our younglings! This is so evident! Of course only those conferred importance in our compact and utilitarian ranking system are competent enough to manage such complex questions as managing their sound transmission method. They have the advantage of course: upon promotion to sergeant their co-inhabitants receive a stern letter warning them to keep it down on op-times. This one's probably superfluous. I mean, how would we squeeze any meaningful conversation in between all the yes, sir, no, sir flying around? There no time for such shenanigans! Ah, OPSEC. The magical word. We wouldn't want any Johnny Foreigners sticking their dirty noses in our earth-shatteringly secret and important missions, now would we? Here we have arrived at the key part of our milsim experience: feeling important because people call us by our ranks. Ranks, I should add, we have worked hard to earn through many hours of strenuous physical training, well-defined competencies and a general can-do attitude towards functioning in waterhead outfit like our own. I mean, if I can't get any respect down in my real basement, at least I can jack up my self-esteem by lording my imaginary titles over some voices on the internet. Crack on. Thanks, US Army. See, having existed for all of a mooncycle, we don't really have any traditions of our own. That's why we're grateful we nicked yours. Nothing screams respect then acting like the army. That we're not a part of. GOA General of the Army GEN General LTG Lieutenant General MG Major General BG Brigadier General Commissioned Officers COL Colonel LTC Lieutenant Colonel MAJ Major CPT Captain 1LT First Lieutenant 2LT Second Lieutenant Warrant Officers CW5 Chief Warrant Officer CW4 Chief Warrant Officer CW3 Chief Warrant Officer CW2 Chief Warrant Officer WO1 Warrant Officer One WOC Warrant Officer Candidate Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) CSM Command Sergeant Major SGM Sergeant Major 1SG First Sergeant MSG Master Sergeant SFC Sergeant First Class SSG Staff Sergeant SGT Sergeant CPL Corporal Enlisted Rank Abbreviation SPC Specialist PFC Private First Class PVT Private Trainees Rank Abbreviation TRP Trooper SLD Soldier RCT Recruit GRT Grunt Nice rank roster. A staggering thirty-two layers of command to manage a group with a theoretical size of approximately 406. You can a unit means business when you have to scroll down in a box to see them all.This has nothing to do with good gameplay. This is the deranged construction of a lonely man in his early thirties mulling over the abandonement issues created by his Dad's tour in the Gulf War. Who in their right minds would sign up for this kind of post-modern Standford Prison experiment re-enactment? "Please sign up for our pixellated military simulation group. Don't mind we'll start managing your life." This is nothing better than a class of grade 9ers playing makebelieve army on the playground. For pudding: