Welcome to the first edition of Veteran’s Perspective! Each week, we will highlight a SWAT Veteran who was crucial to the success of the army. We will explore their army history both in SWAT and in the community at large. Furthermore, our Director Dispatch team will inquire about their opinions on the current state of SWAT as compared to its past. This first column will feature Stare3000, a SWAT Godfather, who has been in SWAT since 2009, the same year it opened!
Stare3000 joined SWAT as one of its first troops in late 2009 but only became deeply involved in 2011. Their loyalty and dedication to the army allowed them to rise quickly through the ranks, earning the position of Leader-in-Training. In 2012, they stepped down from LIT before returning to their rank in late 2013. Furthermore, Stare3000 joined Reeces2011, Raprocks669, and Alina as SWAT Commander-In-Chief in the middle of 2014. Under their initial leadership, SWAT achieved max sizes ranging from the high 20s to the low 30s. Stare3000 retired from their leadership position in September of 2014 and was awarded SWAT Legend, before going on a hiatus until 2020.
Stare3000 surrendering to IW on Xat (May 2014)
Upon Stare3000’s return to the community, they rejoined SWAT for the first time in the discord and CPO era. This marked a period of instability, including then-leader Zuke being couped as well as a merger with the Doritos of Club Penguin.
SWAT Invasion of Permafrost in 2020
After their retirement, Stare3000 found a rotten mango on the floor at work. This inspired them to create the Mango Corps with Panini, Kaliee, and Smoke where they maxed 20 on average and were famous for their 3 am events. In Mango Corps, they engaged in battles with the Recon Federation.
Stare3000 spitting facts
Stare3000 soon became Commander-In-Chief for the second time. They would lead wars against the Water Vikings and the Superstars. Despite their success, Stare3000 decided to step down from SWAT leadership in October. Upon retiring, they were awarded SWAT Godfather, the highest honor one can receive in the army. Following this they were muted on countless accounts in Club Penguin Army Hub due to admins avoiding their genuine concerns.
Aubz and Stare3000’s retirement event in October 2020
Stare3000 would return temporarily to SWAT in November to lead and assist SWAT in achieving a max 42 at their practice battle with the Army of Club Penguin. This would go on to be the highest max of the current CPPS generation at that time. They would eventually go on to retire once again but still remain present until February of 2021 when they would depart from the SWAT Discord alongside the SammieDC.
SWAT maxing 42 in a Practice Battle against ACP under Stare3000
Stare3000 would eventually return to advise amidst the Operation: Templaria war in 2021, as well as being carried in Castle Crashers by Legoman and Firestar08. They would go on to fall inactive shortly after the war’s conclusion. Stare3000 would have advisory stints in the army throughout 2022 and 2023. Actively participating in the Undertaker Crusade, and notably offering their expertise as far as developing a points system.
SWAT maxing 27 in a Birthday Bash for Stare3000 in 2022
Stare3000 has always brought a fresh and innovative perspective to SWAT and unwavering resilience in the face of all trials and tribulations. SWAT is eternally grateful for their past and present contributions and will honor them forever.
The Director Dispatch reached out to Stare3000 for an exclusive interview. Take a look at what they had to say!
Who or what led you to joining SWAT, and did you have any mentors during your tenure?
I was 9 and I saw penguins and I thought it was cool, and I’d say Ganger was the closest I had to a mentor but I’ve learned from everyone I’ve been in armies with
In what ways is the current state of SWAT similar pre-2017, and it what ways is it different?
Not much is the same, I guess we still use a similar uniform but it’s a lot more organized and streamlined now. Over the last 3-4 years SWAT has turned itself into deep community while retaining its roots as a penguin army. Armies as a whole are completely changed.
Could you elaborate in what ways specifically SWAT has become more of a deep community?
The loyalty seen now from a lot of members(with notable exceptions) is very different than the past, while previously we would see people hop from army to army now we have people dedicating their entire army career to SWAT.
What were some of your most cherished memories and/or accomplishments during your time in SWAT
My most cherished accomplishment would have to be becoming Godfather. And uhhh cherished memory….
What did getting Godfather mean to you given all that you have done for SWAT?
It was a pretty big achievement, it meant I had finally achieved the highest honor of a community that means quite a lot to me
What are your overall predictions for SWAT’s future?
Gonna hit 1 on TT a few more times.
It seems as though Stare3000 has had an exciting and adventurous army career thus far. Their determination and loyalty to SWAT continue to be an amazing asset for the army. We at the Director Dispatch send out a massive show of appreciation to Stare3000 for all of their loyalty and continued service.
What else wouldYOU like to know about Stare3000? Which veteran would you like to see featured next week? Feel free to let us know YOUR thoughts in the comments below!HOO RAH!
(Click the above audio then begin reading the post)
The Problem
Club Penguin Army Judges has taken too long to actually fix its system despite the Pact of Women’s History being signed almost a month ago. Proper strides NEED to be taken in order to fix the excruciatingly lackluster judging. As I have mentioned before, enemies quite literally came together to sign a treaty due to how inadequate the judging was, yet nothing has notably changed. Let it be known that I do not blame any individual Judges themselves, but rather the Head Judges and severely outdated Judging Guidelines, which have effectively failed at training Judges to a respectable standard. The Judging Guidelines should have been immediately updated a year ago following CPAJ‘s creation rather than simply merging CPAN and CPAHQ judging guides. It has been over a year and the Head Judges have overlooked and neglected their duties. Do not misconstrue this post as an attack on the Head Judges, as without pointing out flaws in an organization, the flaws can easily become more prevalent, and fall under the radar.
The CPAJ organization has also ignored armies such as the Peoples Imperial Confederation, Magma Clan, and Napalm Corps. Napalm Corps have only been on Top Ten for three consecutive weeks, so perhaps NC being missed is just an error, however, Magma Clan has had leaders consistently ask for rep and be ignored despite being on Top Ten for four consecutive weeks and PIC legitimately being on every TT since February 4. Jemma had both MM army rep and FF army rep but never Army Representative (according to HJs she was a rep and left but Jemma claims otherwise). A vote was never brought up to the Army Reps by Head Judges. This is yet another instance of Head Judges failing to complete more duties. I understand that Head Judges are only human and have other responsibilities, so they may not always be able to check these things. In that case, they should either bring another Head Judge (in the US time zone) on board to lessen to workload or tighten up their current system.
Furthermore, there is one situation where a Judge rigged a battle and currently sits snugly in their position without consequence. It appears Head Judges either ignored or did not care when this was released as they overturned the result but have not issued a demotion to this individual. I can cite grievances with Judging Guidelines being ignored in one army’s event but not those of others. Be consistent or be called out. I have added some amendments to the list found in the Pact of Women’s History. My complaints have already been put off before, and quite frankly I am tired of waiting for the obviously rotting corpse of a judging system to make any semblance of an effort. I believe there certainly is hope for CPAJ, but the hope is dwindling every second these issues are pushed off. Last time I waited and trusted something to happen and our complaints fell on deaf ears. Fix your system or lose support.
The Proposed Solution
I. Head Judges must keep the judging guidelines accurate and up to date. II. Head Judges must train all new Judges on the proper guidelines BEFORE their promotion from Judge-In-Training. III. Head Judges must implement a test for Judges-In-Training via either a battle that is streamed or having them write a summary to prove their competency. IV. Head Judges must have a group chat with Army Leaders of both sides of a war to update on reviews within 48 hours of the conclusion of a battle. V. Head Judges must intervene if Judges do not know the proper guidelines. VI. Head Judges must not pick and choose when to follow certain written guidelines. VII. Head Judges must be willing to step in if armies are unsatisfied with the current judges (ex. SWAT wants to reject Judge X, but there are only two judges present!) VIII. Head Judges must conduct themselves with maturity. IX. Judges must also conduct themselves with professionalism when discussing the verdict (ex. not being condescending). X. CPAJ must allow the option for both armies to collectively agree to veto certain rooms before a battle (ex. both armies collectively agree they do not want to go to the Ski Village or Book Room) XI. Create a guideline for rooms so that judges know which rooms are acceptable for various sizes of armies. XII. If Judges made a decision where they ignore their cohorts and announce their own verdict of the battle they should be demoted to Judge-In-Training as it is a clear lack of competency. XIII. If someone accepts after the one-hour veto deadline, both army leaders can have an additional 5 minutes to veto them. XIV. CPAJ and Army Reps must present viable candidates for a US and possibly an AUSIA Head Judge to restore 5 Head Judges and make communication easier through all time zones. XV. CPAJ must establish a General/Support/Army Leaders channel in the CPAJ server so Army Leaders/HCOM can bring up ongoing issues (e.g. CPAB being down, scheduling errors, etc. XVI. Automatically put armies up for rep votes after they have been on Top Ten for 3 weeks. XVII. A potential partnership with the CPA YouTube branch to ensure all battles are adequately captured – this could even entail an animated judging tutorial/guide video.
The Conclusion
The point of the terms is not for them ALL to be instituted at once, but at the very least to stir conversation about viable changes that are necessary for the success of a reputable organization that has recently been underperforming. CPAJ has promising potential and it would be a shame for that potential to go to waste, so I implore my fellow army leaders to voice your opinions whether you strongly agree, strongly disagree, or anything in between. The worst thing we can do in this situation is to sit idly by and be silent.
Before officially signing off, I would like to thank Wynn and Popcorny for being in the minority of Head Judges that responded to and acknowledged Logical and I bringing up the initial concerns following the Pact of Women’s History’s release in the Army Rep chat. Thank you to ALL of the Head Judges that have shown patience in the large number of reviews requested, and thank you to the majority for showing respect. While it may appear you are under heavy scrutiny, your help and cooperation in the past are still valued and we can seek to find reform in the system together. If ANY elaboration is required feel free to message me on Discord at Lego#0200. Happy trails.
Welcome back to Leader Interviews, a series where wetake a deep dive into the leaders of SWAT and see their journey to leadership and CPA as a whole.
Today we will be interviewing rye bread, to see what their goals are, and what their leading experience is like with SWAT since they are currently holding the top 2/3 spots in the past weeks of the top tens. We will also see what motivates rye bread to work with others to be able to lead such a successful army.
Let’s get straight into the interview as that is what yall are here for, let’s not keep you waiting.
