Table of Content
1.3 Post in Appropriate
Section
1.6 Inappropriate Use of the
Forum
2
Discussing Armor Builders on the Forum..
3.2
Signing Up and Changing Circumstances.
3.5 Non-Member Family and
Children
3.9 Mountain Garrison/501st
Apparel
3.10 Respect the POC, Event
Organizers, Handlers
3.16 No Alcohol or
Recreational Drugs
4.4 No
Holding of Babies or Children for Photos
4.5 No
Posing with Brands/Mascots
4.6
Uniforms, Team Jerseys, Brand Logos
5 Point of Contact and Event Handling
6
Complaints and Disciplinary procedure.
6.4 Offenses Constituting
Conduct Unbecoming
Appendix
A: Offices and Staff Roles
Examples of inappropriate use of
the forum include, but are not limited to:
More detailed information on
armor and vendors can be found on the various detachments: http://www.501st.com/members/displayUnits.php#detachments
Make a note of the event description, its
requirements and any special instructions for the day. It's important that you understand
the nature and the length of the event. If you attend an event with the
Mountain Garrison, you will be expected to be in costume or act as crew for the
full length of the event. If you know that you cannot be there for the whole
event, let the Squad Leader, Point of Contact, and/or a member of staff know
your plans in advance, and where possible they will try and fit you into the
day's schedule. Agreement for a member to attend for part of an event is at the
discretion of the Mountain Garrison Squad Leader, and you may be asked to step
aside for someone who can fulfill the event in its entirety.
Please note that although we are volunteers the act
of volunteering commits us to fulfill an agreement.
As far as possible, please make sure that you can
attend an event before you sign up for it. We always need to confirm attendance
numbers in advance of an event with the organizer.
We understand that circumstances can change; if
there are any reasons you are not able to attend the event, please inform the
Mountain Garrison Squad Leader and/or Point of Contact as soon as possible.
This, in some cases, can permit the Mountain Garrison the opportunity to allow
another member to attend in your place. If there ends up being lack of interest
or we run into an event that needs a minimum amount of troopers and we're
unable to fulfill the needs of the events then as Command Staff we would have
the cancel the event.
Once you have signed up
for an event, it is your responsibility to stay up to date on this event. If an
event is a few weeks out at the time you sign up, make sure to check the forums
for the most recent information for the event the day before or the day of the
event. This way we can ensure that we look professional and organized.
Members are required to sign up for an event via
the forum, ideally no later than the
day prior to the event (at the very latest several hours prior to an event).
Showing up at a troop without having signed up on the forum is highly
discouraged, as this may interfere with what was communicated with the event
requester(s). Sign-up is on a 'first come, first served' basis. Members will need to sign themselves up for
an event; exceptions being spouses, parents, children, and significant others
within the same household.
Non-member family members
and members' children may attend an event if it is explicitly listed in the
event description. If it is not explicitly stated, please make sure to ask
about family attendance prior to the event.
This goes for handler
requirements as well; if non-member handlers are allowed at an event, this will
be explicitly stated, otherwise handlers will need to be 501st
members.
Please keep the sign up threads tidy. The only
posts on these threads should be to sign up, or to ask a pertinent question
relating to the event.
When in costume at an event, you should endeavor to
stay in the character appropriate to the costume that you are wearing. This is
one of the Mountain Garrison's major selling points and is what the Mountain
Garrison is known for. Please try to uphold this at all times while in public
in order to maintain the illusion. Please do not go shopping, eat lunch or the
like while in costume and don't carry bags with your shopping in. Remember to
BE the character, not just someone dressed up as the character. Try to include
the public in the act, but remember
that you are in character, so interact with the public AS that character
- this means no behavior that your
character would not do. Excessive out of character behavior will be addressed
by the Squad Leader/Point of Contact.
Please be sure your costume is in
compliance with the CRL, unless otherwise permitted by the particular event,
which will be listed in the event description. When
in costume, you should stay in full costume while in the public eye as much as
possible. This means not removing your helmet, other armor parts or any other
parts of your costume that would not be in character, or true to the movies. As
long as it is not excessive, exceptions to the
buckets on rule can be made, for instance to accommodate a sensitive child, or
at conventions, where these buckets on and costume requirements do not apply as
strictly.
Where possible/practical, crew should wear Mountain
Garrison/501st Legion approved clothing/apparel. This helps the public
and the event organizers know who you are. Please note that when dressed in
Mountain Garrison/501st Legion apparel you are representing the
Mountain Garrison/501st Legion. Our name is on your clothes, so your
actions will reflect on us. Please maintain a professional attitude and
demeanor at all times.
At an event it is vital that you pay attention to
the designated Point of Contact,
event organizer and any crew (handlers)
tasked with looking after you. Follow their instructions; help them to help
you. If you have any questions or
concerns about anything at the event, please address these with the Point of
Contact; it is their responsibility, not yours, to take care of any questions
or issues that arise.
Do not bring any real world weapons to an event.
This includes deactivated firearms, crossbows, knives, swords etc. Toy guns
that have been re-worked to look more realistic are currently not against the
law, but we must be careful and sensitive about this. Airsoft guns can be used
at some events, at the organizer's discretion - please check with a member of
staff before taking an airsoft weapon to an event. Even then, you must ensure
that the airsoft weapon has no ammunition, no batteries/gas and that the weapon
is not taken out of the confines of the event. Please remember to be
responsible and sensible with weapons while in public. Safety is paramount and
if you are ever told to holster your weapon by a member of the Mountain
Garrison crew, event staff or by the authorities it is essential you comply.
Adhere to any specific rules and guidelines for an
event and pay attention to any briefing given. Please be aware that information
or requirements may change during an event.
A Mountain Garrison event is defined as an event
pre-arranged by the Mountain Garrison Command Staff. These events will be
subject to all Mountain Garrison rules and protocols.
Pre-arranged and agreed "freebies" are
okay in moderation, and these will be agreed by the Command Staff up front. Do not ask for “freebies” from the event
organizers or staff.
Do not ask for goods or donations from the event
organizers or staff. If you feel there is an opportunity for a donation or to
obtain items to be raffled/auctioned off to raise money, bring this to the
attention of a member of Command Staff or POC.
Please refrain from the usage of alcohol and/or
recreational drug paraphernalia immediately prior to or during an event. An
event is defined as:
When we are in the public eye we
have additional rules for interviews and photo opportunities:
Do not conduct an interview with a helmet on. Ideally we need to have a handler do these interviews so we can keep to rule 3.7 (Stay in character).
During National Anthems,
stand at attention and be respectful. (Some armor makes it hard to move to put
your hand on your heart.) Keep your buckets on. Officers and other characters
wearing caps, can remove the caps. (Sports team mascots do not remove their
heads)
What may sound like a great
picture will probably make for a great picture, but please keep your time and
place in mind. No staging of bank hold ups, lewd poses, posing with alcohol,
drug paraphernalia, etc. At non-convention troops, please keep your photo ops
tasteful.
We get asked to hold
people's' kids for photos, but for liability purposes this is a no-no. Some of
our costumes have restricted movement, and we do not want to risk dropping
someone's child.
Do not pose for pictures with
brands or mascots not affiliated with the Star Wars brand and Licenses.
No wearing of ANY uniforms,
team jerseys or brand logos.
As we continue
to grow, and with the new films getting ready to roll out, the potential for
events that we are invited to and asked to attend will only continue to increase.
We love to see and encourage our troopers to find those "other cool"
events for us to do, and that is hopefully going to continue.
One element we
do need to address is having better acknowledgement and accountability at
troops. In order to maintain our trooper tracker, we need buckets on and
buckets off pictures of troopers from each event. If we expect to do several
events on a single day/weekend across two states, we need other boots on the
ground to help out, as the Squad Leaders cannot be in multiple places at once.
And while we like to think they are all things to all people, not every
Squad Leader (or any for that matter) can troop EVERY event. This is where the
Point of Contact (POC) process comes into play.
If you have a concern or complaint about another
member (including a member of the Command Staff), you should bring it to the
attention of the Garrison Captain of the Guard in the first instance. If the
Garrison Captain of the Guard is unavailable, unable to satisfy your
complaint/concern, or is the subject of your complaint/concern, direct the
issue to the Garrison Executive Officer.
If, after it
has been escalated to the Garrison Executive Officer, the Commanding
Officer should be approached, the
Garrison Executive Officer will escalate to the Garrison Commanding Officer
when necessary.
After this stage, the Garrison Commanding Officer will advise you of the escalation
procedure, which ultimately
means it will go to the Legion Captain of the Guard for 501st
related issues. All complaints will be dealt with confidentially and according
to Mountain Garrison and 501st rules as applicable.
The level of disciplinary action taken will be
determined on a case by case basis. This may range from a suspension from the
Mountain Garrison forum and/or a suspension from trooping, to a formal hearing
at Legion level if charges are being filed with the Legion Captain of the
Guard, and these charges are found to have merit.
The disciplinary procedure will be applied as
follows:
Incident 1: Verbal warning from an appropriate
member of staff.
Incident 2: Written warning from the Garrison Commanding Officer.
Incident 3: If a third incident occurs, action
against the offending member will be taken. This may result in a suspension
from the forums and/or suspension from trooping, but may also result in
escalation to the Legion Captain of the Guard. This in turn may result in a
formal hearing once the Legion Captain of the Guard determines the charges have
merit.
This disciplinary procedure does not necessarily
apply to cases of "Conduct Unbecoming" (see section 6.4), which may be grounds
for immediate escalation to the Legion Captain of the Guard.
The following list is an indication of some
offenses which may fall within this category, these include but are not limited
to:
In the event of a member being involved in an
offense of this nature, a full investigation of the circumstances will be
undertaken. If appropriate, the member may be suspended during the period of
the investigation. If charges are
deemed necessary, or if another member requests charges being brought against
the offending member, the Mountain Garrison Commanding Officer or Executive
Officer will take the request for charges to the Legion Captain of the Guard
per the current 501st processes and regulations. This may result in
a formal hearing if the Legion Captain of the Guard determines the request for
charges has merit.
The Mountain Garrison reserves the right to amend
and update these rules at any time. In such instances, where possible, due
notice will be given. In all cases an announcement will be posted to alert
members to the update.
It is the member's responsibility to stay informed
about the rules and to familiarize themselves with the new or amended rules.
These rules are a condition of your Membership.
Failure to familiarize yourself with the Mountain Garrison Code of Conduct will
not serve as an excuse if you are confronted with breaching the Code of
Conduct.