Army of Club Penguin

BLIZZARD, Shamrock Bulletin Headquarters – Ranks are yet another backbone of the army community. Without them, there would be no structure or order, and everything would be in total chaos. But why are they so important to armies? Why do we need them so badly? What would happen if we didn’t have the rank system that we have in place today?

Like every other army, the Army of Club Penguin has a set rank structure in place that clearly defines who’s a moderator, who’s a member of the army’s higher command, and who’s a higher rank than who. Just like in real life, this rank structure is highly important. That rank structure is called the chain of command, and it’s a fundamental principle to follow, just like in real life.

The chain of command tells you who you should go to if you have a question or if something goes wrong, and it shows you what your responsibilities are in the army. For example, if you’re a General in ACP, then you’re a member of the army’s higher command. Members of HCOM hold lots of responsibility in the army, such as leading events, setting the example for moderators and members, and dealing with things behind the scenes, like organizing events

Following your chain of command when it comes to issues and questions is a big deal. If it’s a small question, you can easily ask the members around you and they will probably have an answer. If not, then you can go to the next person up, and so on and so forth. Though it works in a slightly different way in ACP due to different time zones of people, the people on Discord at the current moment in time, and the simple fact that this is not real life, that is the general idea of following your chain of command.

Ranks are the backbone of any military structure, whether it be in Club Penguin or in real life. Either way, they are singlehandedly one of the things that keeps an army together. Ranks also serve as motivation for members to be more active and involved, In ACP, we have something called the Clover System that gives us the motivation to be more active, and it guides us as to when troops should be promoted.

An outline of ACP’s Clover System to be promoted

To gain Clovers, you must attend events and confirm your attendance by reacting in the #events channel in the ACP Discord! Why is this vital to the army? As a troop, you want to get promoted, right? If you said no to that question, then I don’t know what to say, because I’m sure a lot of troops would be ecstatic to be promoted. There’s also a more technical side to this – without this system, there wouldn’t really be any order. If we didn’t have a rank structure, then people who aren’t active and put in no effort to the army could have power and nobody would really know. Without a rank structure, people could easily overthrow someone that has led an army for years or someone who created an army. I can say this over and over again – without a set rank structure, an army will fail. There will be no order, no true leadership within an army, and the army will fall into a power vacuum where everyone is fighting for power, but to no avail. This internal civil war over who has power over who will cause an army to fail, because they are too busy fighting themselves rather than building themselves up. All of this can be avoided with even the most simple of rank structures.

As someone who is part of a program that deals with a military rank structure first-hand in real life, I can say that, through my own personal experience, not having any sort of rank structure would not work whatsoever. I have seen what it can do, and even though we have a set rank structure in place, the same exact thing can happen when people ignore that rank structure and chain of command. However, it was never nearly as bad as not having one in the first place. When things began going downhill, the top of the command put an end to it because of the damage it was doing. Rank structure and chain of command, even when ignored, still do more than having nothing at all.

To further drive this point home, I set up an interview with ACP Advisor, former leader, and legend King Mondo, who has been a long-time ACP veteran.

Howdy Mondo! How’s your day going?

I’m doing great! How about you?

I’m exhausted as always, but I keep powering through! Now, I understand that you’ve been an ACP veteran for quite a while now. Mind giving us some insight on your experience in ACP?

Yes! I joined ACP on April 12-14 of 2012 (trying to remember the exact date) as a Corporal and ended up retiring when ACP shut down along with most of the CP Army Community at the end of March 2017, so I’ve definitely been around for a while and have seen a lot happen in that time. I could go on to write a compendium of essays about all the experiences I’ve had in ACP and talk about all the intricacies for sure, but I’ll try to condense that into some preliminary thoughts.

ACP has always meant a great deal to me. Upon joining, I initially thought it was an interesting concept and wanted to contribute to it in any way that I could. But at that time I had no idea what would lead to me spending vast amounts of time involved in ACP, even now, almost 9 years after joining, and I can’t say I’d want it any other way. Once I started to learn more about ACP and what it really meant to others and to myself with time, I began to realize how lucky I was to be part of this community.

There’s a lot that’s happened, but a few things that I’ve always valued tremendously throughout my experience in ACP are: 1. The incredible feeling of high-level collaboration and camaraderie, especially when being in a leadership position; 2. The people, and that obviously relates to that collaborative environment. The people I’ve met during my time in ACP are amazing. In fact, I never would have thought I’d meet someone that would be come my now closest friend, Zelly(bear)
3. The opportunities! ACP affords all of us the chance to improve ourselves in several different ways and to meet new people and learn from others. Again, I could go on for ages about what I’ve learned from others and the experience of being in ACP in general. 4. That sense of responsibility and purpose, knowing that what you’re involved in as a leadership figure has so much value to so many people, and that this community has the potential to help those people, even serving as a ‘guiding light’ for some just as it has for me when I most needed it.

You’ve definitely been in ACP for a long time, and I’m sure you have quite the experience and I definitely know the feeling of being lucky to be in ACP. You do a lot for the army and we appreciate you so much!

It’s always been my pleasure to contribute and I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

Now, I’m writing on the importance of ranks in armies and I thought I’d interview you on your thoughts, seeing as you’ve been in the army for so long and you have so much experience. Overall, do you think rankings are vital, and if so, why?

What are YOUR thoughts? Let us know in the comment section below!

Nikki

ACP Major & Shamrock Bulletin Reporter

Filed under: Philosophy, Shamrock Bulletin | Tagged: ACP, Army of Club Penguin, Army of CP, Shamrock Bulletin, Shamrock Bulletin ACP |