2.1: Initial Enlistment

2.1.1: An individual becomes a member of the Club by choosing which military group (USA or CSA) to join and then selecting either the “CSA Join” or “USA Join” link at the ACWGC HQ website and following the directions provided.  Individuals may enlist in only one side of the Club (USA or CSA) and no one may have multiple simultaneous enlistments. Enlistment under an innocuous pseudonym is acceptable. New members who “enlist” in the Club are enrolled as a Cadet in the Training Academy.

2.1.2: The Training Academy provides Club administrative information and game-play training to Cadets. Cadets are assigned an instructor to introduce them to Club forums and Club rules of conduct while playing a short game to ensure that they are familiar with Play-By-Email (PBEM).

2.1.3: The Academy Commandant may recommend to his GinC that a Cadet be dismissed from the Academy based on the Cadets fraudulent enlistment, consistent lack of communication with his instructor, or conduct detrimental or abusive to any other member of the club or disruptive to the good order and functioning of the club.  With the concurrence of the GinC, the Academy Commandant will dismiss the Cadet and ensure his DoR record reflects this dismissal and that the dismissed Cadet’s forum access and privileges are revoked.

2.1.3.1: Fraudulent Enlistment is an enlistment by a former member while expelled, or by an individual already a member, or by a former member under an alias for the purpose of concealing past unacceptable disruptive behavior. A dismissed Cadet may seek reenlistment after one year by contacting the Academy Commandant after one year.

2.1.4: Cadets are probationary members of the ACWGC until graduated and commissioned, at which time they become full members.  Cadets may not participate in club-sanctioned tournaments or other game competitions.  Cadets have no voting privileges.  Cadets do not have forum access and privileges upon enlistment; rather, these are granted during their training period. 

2.1.5: Based on the recommendation of the Cadet’s instructor, the Academy Commandant will graduate Cadets upon completion of their training, promote them to Lieutenant and make them available for assignment within their respective military group (USA or CSA).  

2.2: Mustering and Current Membership Status

2.2.1: Musters are a periodic accounting of all Club members.  An officer’s response to the muster call/request, in part, determines his status according to the definitions below.  CSA and USA will conduct musters at least quarterly using procedures established by their respective GinC.

2.2.1.1: The status of officers is determined primarily by the consistency and timing of their response to muster requests.  Accepted status categories as defined by the Department of Records are: Active, Leave of Absence, Hospital, Missing in Action, Retired, or Discharged.

2.2.1.1.1: Active.  Officers who are in sustained contact with their chain of command, or (at the least) responding to muster calls are present or active. 

2.2.1.1.2: Leave of Absence (LoA).  Officers who are taking an approved Leave of Absence will be marked as such in the Department of Records.

2.2.1.1.2.1: Officers may request a LoA from active duty from their AC for a prescribed length of time.  The AC to which the members is assigned will automatically approve LoA requests.  

2.2.1.1.2.2: Officers returning from LoA will report to their AC.  Officers who do not report to their AC when their leave has expired may be declared ‘Missing in Action’.  Officers on leave may return before the expiration of their authorized leave.

2.2.1.1.2.3: The (AC) may assign the returning officer to a position within the army or refer the officer to the GinC for reassignment elsewhere.  

2.2.1.1.3: Hospital.  Officers who request an LoA may voluntarily provide a “real life” illness as their rationale.  Such rationale may be as general or as specific as the requesting officer desires; specifying how much, if any, of this information may be divulged by the Army Commander.  Muster reports will list these officers as “Hospital” and the military groups will change their status within the DoR to “Hospital.” Officers may return from the “Hospital” at any time. They may also be discharged if they fail to reestablish contact with their superiors after an appropriate period of time.

2.2.1.1.4: Missing in Action.  GinCs may declare officers Missing in Action (MIA) who continually fail to muster, fail to report for duty after their authorized LoA has expired, or otherwise show no continued club activity.  GinCs will determine specific criteria and procedures for declaring an officer MIA.  MIA officers may not vote in Club elections.

2.2.1.1.5: Retired.  Officers may request retirement at any time for any reason through their AC.  In practice, retirement is an LoA with no fixed termination date.  Military groups will change the status of retired officers to “Retired” within the DoR.  A retired officer's rank, field army assignment, game, and OBD Point record are preserved within the DoR.  Retired officers may seek reinstatement under the Rule 2.3.4.

2.2.1.1.6: Discharged.  GinCs may, at their discretion, discharge officers from their military group.  Discharges are generally reserved for those officers who continually fail to muster after being declared MIA.  GinCs will establish criteria and procedures for the discharge process.  Military groups will change the status of discharged officers to “Discharged” and “Inactive” within the DoR.  A discharged officer forfeits all voting privileges and access to club forums.  A discharged officer's rank, field army assignment, game, and OBD Point record are preserved within the DoR.  Discharged officers may seek reinstatement under the Rule 2.3.5.

2.3: Extraordinary Circumstances

2.3.1. Transfers.  Officers of the rank of Colonel or above may request a transfer from one military group to another through their AC.  The AC will refer the transfer request to the GinC, who may approve or disapprove the request.  GinCs who approve transfer requests will coordinate with their counterpart to complete the action.  Receiving GinCs may refuse a transfer request.  Transferring officers will lose all but 15 Officer Battle Dossier (OBD) points and be reduced to the rank of Lieutenant upon their transfer.

2.3.2: Resignation.  Any officer may resign from the club at any time for any reason by notifying their army commander.  Officers do not have to state their reasons for resignation.  The GinC is the approving authority for resignations, although approval is automatic.  The club will maintain all records and OBD points of resigned officers.  

2.3.3: Expulsion.  An officer may be expelled from the club by a unanimous Cabinet vote for actions and/or speech deemed by the Cabinet to have been detrimental or abusive to any other member of the club or disruptive to the good order and functioning of the club.  Expelled members will be removed from the Club for a period of one year.  The may reapply for membership at the end of that time under Rule 2.3.5.2.

2.3.4: Reinstatement.  Officers who have retired, been discharged, been expelled, or voluntarily resigned their commission may request reinstatement.  

2.3.4.1: Officers desiring reinstatement will apply via email to the GinC of the last military group in which the officer served.  If the officer requesting reinstatement wishes to join a different military group, he will so state in his request.  Except as below, the GinC will approve requests for reinstatement.  The GinC will normally reinstate the returning member at the rank last held and with the OBD points he had amassed at the time of his departure.  However, the GinC may require the returning member, or the returning member may request, to rejoin at the rank of Lieutenant with 15 OBD points.

2.3.4.2: Members who were expelled from the club may request reinstatement after one year.  Such requests are made via email to the military group Cabinet member and GinC, who will forward requests to the full Cabinet for deliberation and decision.  Reinstatement requires unanimous cabinet approval.  A member who is reinstated will return at the rank of Lieutenant with 15 OBD points.  

2.4: Personal Grievances.

2.4.1: If a member has a grievance against another member, including alleged failure to honor agreed upon house rules, he will attempt to resolve the matter between or among the members involved in a private and respectful manner.  If this effort fails, the officers involved may seek assistance from their chain of command.  If this also fails, the GinC(s) may bring the matter to the attention of the Club President for resolution.  The Club President may, at his discretion, involve the Cabinet in resolving the grievance. 

2.4.2: At all times, these discussions will be private, and the grievances will not be discussed or alluded to outside of the process outlined above.  At no time will the specific details of the grievance, the resolution process, or the outcome be made public unless the Cabinet votes to expel the member under Rule 2.3.3.  In this case, the Cabinet may decide to publish the outcome of the proceedings.

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