Publication and delivery
This course is published for study. Publication does not confirm an available class, appointed instructor or completed practical validation. Before booking, obtain a session brief naming the organiser, instructor and assessor, equipment access and any independent review arrangements.
Before live assessment, the organiser must record the current LIVE build, validation date, ship and equipment used, tasks checked and any known limitations. If a required mechanic is unavailable, defer the affected assessment rather than certify an unobserved outcome. A material game update calls for a check of affected tasks, not cancellation of earlier academic achievements.
Your brief
For prospective watch leaders practising delegation and relief.
Command Studies develops Case CT–2 into a practical handover. The replacement has not attended planning and must not depend on the departing leader’s private memory.
The plan’s author has to leave
Practice case · CT 301 · 2956 teaching edition
- The outgoing leader can stay through the brief but not the next movement.
- One cargo discrepancy is open. Receiving has shortened its availability.
- The relief leader can direct the next agreed session but has not seen the earlier discussion.
Before you begin: entry and equipment
One completed specialist certificate or an independently approved equivalent outcome portfolio, with evidence reference and reviewer.
Reasoned command recommendation or independent entry review; no insider sponsor is required.
Bring or arrange
A team exercise and second watch leader; command entry review is required.
The organizer must confirm equipment access before booking. No ship purchase, pledge tier or donation is required.
Technical knowledge and game skills
Practical instruction revision 1 · 9 October 2026
Lead a squad and a multicrew watch
Give a short executable order
State the objective, current situation, route, assignments and stopping condition. For a ground team identify movement pairs, sectors, rally point and casualty contact. For a ship identify who flies, monitors engineering and operates weapons. Ask one operator to explain the first action and another the fallback; this reveals gaps that a general “understood” will miss.
Control changes without controlling every input
Let the pilot fly and the medical operator choose the supported game interaction within their trained role. Ask for capability reports and set priorities, rather than issuing competing key-by-key instructions. On the ground, use named pairs and “moving/set” calls to avoid moving every player at once. Stop the affected action when sectors or responsibilities become unclear.
Relieve the leader as well as the stations
Transfer objective, current positions, unresolved contacts, resources and next decision. The incoming leader repeats what happens if the missing player returns or the transport fails. Announce the transfer to the whole team so urgent reports do not continue going to a person who has left. Retain a reduced plan for a smaller crew.
Practical drill
Lead a short ship-to-ground movement, then transfer leadership while one pair remains in motion and a receiving check is open. The new leader must account for both before continuing.
Observed-skill checks
- Each role can state its first action and stopping condition.
- Movement and technical work proceed without competing orders.
- Leadership relief transfers positions, resources and the next unresolved decision.
Use these checks to document the technical evidence supporting the course outcomes in your agreed role. Record what you personally performed, what assistance you needed and what remains unobserved. A discussion or simulated action does not certify live equipment handling; Crew Support evidence does not confer Pilot qualification.
Game references and build-sensitive details
The linked pages were read for this revision. Community references mix release eras; each source note identifies what is used and what is excluded. Technical explanations below are an Academy synthesis, and drills and performance checks are Academy-designed. Before practice, compare the named actions with the installed LIVE build and actual equipment. Bind actions by name rather than copying old default keys. Research is not an in-game validation.
- Star Citizen Wiki — Defend Occupants
A specific lawful bunker mission, shared access, allied NPCs and friendly-fire consequences. Other contracts have different conditions. Squad drills below are Academy teaching methods, not claimed game rules.
- Star Citizen Wiki — Engineering
Engineering terminals, components, fuses, heat and fires. This community overview is incomplete; verify each interaction and vessel’s support in the session.
- Star Citizen Wiki — Medical
Body-part injuries, Hemozal, symptom medication, BDL, bed tiers and regeneration. Ship tables, resource costs and ranges change; inspect the actual bed and tool.
Check the official LIVE release notes and record the session build, equipment and observed limitations before practical sign-off.
Learn the method
1. Build the roster from available people
Ask when people can participate and which roles they can cover. Mark a gap before filling it with an assumption. The watchbill must include a viable handover; a long scenario timeline is not a reason to require continuous attendance.
Design relief around the real availability of people and the attention demanded by each role. Do not count a person as simultaneous cover for two stations that need concurrent action. Include overlap for a genuine handover and name the reduced operating mode if relief is late or unavailable.
- Practise
- Build a roster from the supplied availability windows.
- Ready when
- The roster covers the required tasks and relief without relying on unavailable people.
2. Delegate the decision as well as the task
State the result needed, resources, limits, reporting point and decisions the receiving leader may make. Ask them to explain the assignment back. If they must request approval for every step, you have not delegated enough to let them run it.
Delegation combines purpose, task, resources and decision boundaries. Explain which result matters if the original method becomes impossible. A relief leader who understands the purpose can choose a supported alternative within their authority; one given only a sequence of steps must either stop unnecessarily or guess what freedom was intended.
- Practise
- Brief a movement phase to a second leader.
- Ready when
- The receiver can state their task, decision limits and escalation point.
3. Step away only after acceptance
Give the next leader the current record and unresolved work. Confirm acceptance, then let them direct the phase rather than issuing competing instructions. Record any responsibility you have retained so neither leader assumes the other owns it.
Once the delegate accepts, communicate through the agreed reporting arrangement rather than issuing parallel orders to their crew. Intervene when a retained limit or stop condition requires it, and state why. This preserves accountability without making the nominal leader a messenger for someone who never actually relinquished control.
- Practise
- Transfer a phase and observe without taking it back.
- Ready when
- The delegate runs the phase and both leaders can identify the remaining responsibilities.
A worked decision
The relief leader accepts the next session with an updated brief. The outgoing leader leaves after acceptance rather than remaining online for the fictional watch duration.
- Build the watchbill from the actual availability and identify which decisions must be completed before the outgoing leader leaves.
- Give the relief leader the accepted plan, discrepancy, changed window and limits on diversion or reduced scope.
- Ask the relief leader to state the next decision, then step back. Record retained tasks separately instead of continuing to command through side messages.
Try it yourself
Prepare the relief brief and transfer the next movement. The incoming leader makes its first decision without private coaching.
What changes during the exercise
The planned relief leader becomes unavailable.
Keep this record
- Role / availability / relief window
- Delegated task / resources / decision limits / escalation
- Open discrepancy / changed receiving window / accepted handover
Plain-text worksheet with this case, your working fields and the assessment criteria. Fill it in privately; downloading does not submit work or record completion.
Check your reasoning
Your delegate needs to change the destination. What should the original brief already have told them?
Compare your reasoning
Whether that decision is delegated, which limits apply, who must acknowledge it and when to escalate. A task without usable decision limits forces avoidable delays or guesses.
Answer first, then compare. In a later session, explain the decision using a changed case without referring to this answer.
How completion is judged
An availability-based watchbill, delegated brief and observed handover.
The assessor checks your own work against all three “Ready when” criteria above. Use the observed-skill checks in the technical chapter to establish the applicable game-handling evidence in your agreed role. A successful team result does not replace an action they did not observe.
Findings, another attempt and review
- Demonstrated
- Your observed work meets the criterion in the agreed role.
- Further practice required
- The assessor identifies the observed gap and the specific practice needed.
- Interrupted
- Equipment, staffing or personal circumstances prevented a valid assessment. This is not a failure.
- Not assessed
- There is not yet enough evidence for this outcome.
A fresh attempt
Make the original receiver unavailable after acceptance. Check whether the delegated limits are sufficient for the replacement to act.
Reassess the missing outcome, plus any linked skill that needs new evidence. For prior learning, compare existing work with the same criteria and observe any missing practical action.
Ask for the reasons behind a finding. Reviews must be handled by someone independent of the original decision; defer the review if that person is not available.
Read the Academy Ordinance and review rulesFor instructors
Session setup and coaching
Prepare the session
A team exercise and second watch leader; command entry review is required.
Assign crew stations and tell each learner what they will practise. The instructor must be able to hear the calls and see the action being assessed. Brief the callsigns, channel, route and expected duration. Replace the example locations with the places you will actually use.
- Ask the learner to explain the relevant earlier procedure without notes; correct any gap before the practical.
- Teach and demonstrate the technical chapter using the actual game indications. Run its drill with feedback before connecting those skills to the three methods and worked decision. Use the observed-skill checks to identify missing handling evidence.
- Let the learner complete the normal procedure first, then introduce the change described in the exercise. Give them time to respond without coaching. Keep unrelated failures out of this attempt.
- Record the learner's action against each criterion. Give one specific next step for any gap and transfer unfinished operational work before closing.
What to watch for in CT 301
Questions are allowed. Distinguish a useful clarification from the original leader supplying every judgment after supposedly handing over.
If another attempt is needed
Make the original receiver unavailable after acceptance. Check whether the delegated limits are sufficient for the replacement to act.
Running the exercise
Before the crew assembles, try the exercise in the ship you intend to use. Check station access, equipment and the route. Brief the crew on any faults that affect the task. If a bug prevents someone completing it, repeat that part once it works; do not record a failure for a broken mechanic.
Brief the command “Stop exercise” before starting. On that call, cease the drill and tell the instructor what needs attention. For weapons practice, identify the participating ships and crew; anyone else entering the area is a reason to hold fire.
Session administration: use player handles in your notes. Ask before recording voice or video, and agree when the recording will be deleted. Academy rules and review procedure.
Reading into practice
MCDP 1 · Warfighting · United States Marine Corps (1997)
Read: Chapter 4, The Conduct of War: Mission Tactics and Commander’s Intent.
Give the subordinate the task and its purpose. State the limits that matter, but leave room to change the method when conditions change. Brief who takes over before the leader becomes unavailable.
Crew exercise
You lead two escorts and a cargo ship. The task is to deliver the cargo, not pursue attackers. Name your successor, a rally point and a withdrawal condition. During the route discussion, the instructor removes the flight lead from communications. The successor must identify themselves, check the cargo ship’s position and issue the next instruction.
Debrief
- What is the mission’s purpose, and what would count as completion?
- Who takes command, and how does the rest of the flight learn that?
- Which decisions can the successor make without contacting the original lead?
Applying the source aboard ship
Use the ships and communications available to your crew. A player disconnect is a loss of command contact, not proof that their ship has been destroyed.
This is a supplementary discussion exercise, not an additional completion requirement. Use the source to examine the decision; the course criteria above remain the assessment standard.
Sources and edition
Lex Astra · Command Studies programme
Course CT 301 · edition 2956.3 · 2956 teaching edition · revised course text.
Case CT–2: relieving an unavailable commander
Command Studies case issued by CDR Maren Haldorsen in 2956. The course variants develop its test: can the next leader continue without access to the original planner’s private assumptions?
Professional references and instructional revision
Instruction revised 9 October 2026. Lex Astra cases supply the teaching situations. Professional references inform communication, decision-making and instructional design; they do not confer external qualifications. LIVE capabilities remain subject to the recorded session check.
Editorial context and teaching basis
The lessons are current Academy teaching, not newly discovered historical records. Lex Astra opened in 2891. Historical sources keep their original issuer and date; all case callsigns, quantities, times and conditions are supplied for practice.
Your session brief names the instructor, the crew assignments and the equipment provided. Contact the teaching office above to arrange a place.
Course-text revision: 8 October 2026. Educational references were reviewed for the framework on 8 October 2026; they inform the teaching approach, not external accreditation or current game-capability claims.
Teaching research and its limitsWhere this leads
Command Studies requirementsCourses that use this work
Course records retain the edition and role assessed. New teaching text does not erase earlier achievements.