What an anniversary month we have had! While it’s been a great time of celebration and reflection for our fleet, you might also have heard about our very own USS Firebird cleaning up at the recent Khitomer Peace Awards (2026 Q1). Well, here’s the total haul:
Congratulations to Malcom, Rhiana, and the rest of the Firebird crew for an outstanding performance and for being recognized by a premier external organization with these well deserved honors!
We are also pleased to announce that Michael Intermeezo will be promoted to Vice Admiral, assuming the newly created position of Chief of Fleet Operations effective August 1st. In this role, his primary responsibility will be leading our simulations to help them maximize their potential. Intermeezo previously served as Commanding Officer of the USS Chuck Norris, where he did an amazing job guiding the crew through highly imaginative missions.
We are thrilled to welcome Vice Admiral Intermeezo to the staff as he helps our fleet continue to become everything it can be for our members. And congratulations again to the USS Firebird!
One-quarter of a century–a generation by some measures. Yes, it was 25 years ago today that Independence Fleet was founded with three sims and, by our best records, 33 total characters. But for our 108 characters today, we first have a very special message straight from the 24th century (don’t ask how we got it):
While we celebrate our 25th anniversary, the United States (where many members of this fleet hail from) commemorates its 250th. Since our club’s founding shares a date with U.S. Independence Day, our early branding often included American flags. As a piece of trivia, we owe our name to co-founder, three-time Commander-in-Chief, and Hall of Famer James D. West. He happened to glance at either a VHS or DVD copy of the movie Independence Day while we were trying to come up with a name for this soon-to-be-launched fleet. The rest is well, history! The Liberty Bell image was added a couple years later in 2003, again by James D. West, and it has stuck ever since.
To our friends up north, we also acknowledge the recent Canada Day. To our friends elsewhere in the Commonwealth realms, we salute you–your King was here less than three months ago. Finally, to our friends at other locations on the globe, we rotate with you!
Back to today! We have now been around for exactly one-tenth as long as the United States. Moving backward in time 25 years before our 2001 founding would put you right on the July 4, 1976 bicentennial. Who remembers the bicentennial quarters? In that spirit, we have created this one-time challenge coin in honor of our 25 years together as a fleet, which will be provided free of charge to all fleet members.
HeadsTails
All current fleet members as of today are also hereby awarded the Anniversary Medal.
We’re not done yet! We have another message for the fleet from a very special guest (this one is from the present!):
We had an entire page in our 20th Anniversary Almanac dedicated to Gott’s Doomsday Scenario. Back then, there was an 80% chance that we would still be here today. Well, here we are! If you remember, the concept is that absent additional information, an observer (i.e., you) has a 50% chance of being in the first half of what they are observing (i.e., IDF) and a 50% chance of being in the second half of what they are observing. Based on that, here are our updated numbers for Anniversary #25:
Date
Probability that IDF is still active
October 4, 2026
99%
October 27, 2027
95%
April 13, 2029
90%
November 2, 2034
75%
July 4, 2051
50%
July 4, 2101
25%
July 4, 2251
10%
July 3, 2501
5%
June 28, 4501
1%
Until next year, or June 28th, 4501, let’s keep simming!
We did Awardapalooza. And we did Recordapalooza. So why not Commandapalooza? This post is all about our amazing Commanding Officers and everything they’ve accomplished up through the end of 2025. This is one caveat, however: We only have command records for Jul 2001-Dec 2003, Oct 2010-Aug 2018, Nov 2018, and Jun 2019-present. A few years ago, former Fleet CO Jeremiah Griffith gave us records he had saved that cover January 2004 through September 2010. However, they are incomplete and have not yet been integrated into our official record book. Until that happens, we have had 150 unique Independence Fleet Commanding Officers who have guided 58 different sims. And here they are…
They have led 2,361 ship-months, won 207 posting titles, and commanded through a whopping 64,387 posts!
By Sim:
Active sims in bold.
By Commanding Officer:
Commanding Officers currently in command are in bold.
Only the top 25 and active COs are tagged.
What a history! What a legacy! What a group put outstanding role players and leaders do we have! There certainly is a lot I can say, but I’m going to let the numbers speak for themselves. But please do feel free to post your own observations, thoughts, and memories in the comments section below!
Well written tension that harkens back to some great elements of not just TNG, but DS9 as well. Many different threads, characters, and a hidden plot make this an exciting and thrilling post.
Best Post (Joint Post)
Lt. JG Jek’Lar Son of Koss & Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Lt. Jackson Smith & Lt. Devin Hadenbeer & Lt. JG Hotaru Wymund ACIO / CO / CIO / IS / IO USS Firebird
Although this award is going to the second part of a two-parter, I highly recommend reading both! The weight on every character, every action, and the consequences of those actions reverberate throughout the story.
Funniest Post
Lieutenant Betaras K’ner & Captain Mira Rodale Lance Chief Medical Officer / Commanding Officer USS Chuck Norris
A great start to a new story by expanding on the previous mission and dealing with its consequences.
MVP
Lieutenant JG Kate Kono Intelligence Officer USS Washington
For the second month in a row, the Washington’s Intel Chief provided a flurry of creative material, both solo and group, and even managed to not only be the W’s top poster for the month, but involved in every single nomination! That’s an MVP!
Most Posts
Commander Jenna Ramthorne Chief Flight Control Officer USS Sunfire
For writing 18 posts.
Most Improved
Commander Samantha Howard Chief Medical Officer USS Washington
The Washington’s CMO had multiple contributions that advanced the plot extremely creatively, and at times, comically as well.
Rookie of the Month
Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale Chief Medical Officer USS Sunfire
The Sunfure’s new CMO came in with a bang, immediately posting and integrating into the crew.
We recently had one big post on community awards from outside IDF. Why not another big post on awards from within Independence Fleet? That’s what this is! We’ve crunched the numbers for everything from our July 4, 2001 founding through the end of 2025. In that time, IDF has issued 1,248 monthly awards to 599 unique characters, representing 52 different sims. Wow, what a history! Since a table with 599 people would be too big for this article, we decided to narrow it down to the 25. On a separate note, we’ll be celebrating our 25th anniversary later this year! Awards were presented Jul 2001-Oct 2005, Oct 2010-Jul 2013, and Mar 2020-present.
Here we go with our monthly awards records…
Active or recently active member Hall of Famer
Active members of the fleet are now 1-10 on the all-time leaderboard, and include 18 of the top 25 spots. Hall of Famers make up only 6 of the top 25 today. It seems we likely have A LOT of future Hall of Famers in our midst! Also, Jenna Ramthorne has (barely) overtaken Bonnie “Bon-Bon” Durnell for #1, with Jonathan Grayson not too far behind at #3. Long-time sims USS Chuck Norris, USS Sunfire, and USS Washington dominate the list when looking at the primary sim of characters:
USS Washington: 4 of the top 10; 8 of the top 25
USS Sunfire: 3 of the top 10; 7 of the top 25
USS Chuck Norris: 3 of the top 10; 5 of the top 25
Breaking it out by sim:
The Sunfire leads the way with 236.5 total awards, with the Washington not too far back at 220. Active sims claim spots #1-4 (the USS Liberty is at #3 overall with 96.5 awards) and 6 of the top 10–the more recent addition to the fleet USS Firebird lands right in that 10 spot with 42 awards. The USS Wayfarer is #6 with 52 awards, and the USS Albion and USS Montana sit just outside the top 10 at #11 (26 awards) and #12 (23 awards), respectively.
Breaking it down further to awards issued since they were reinstated in 2020 (546 total awards):
The Washington leads the pack this time with 155, and the Sunfire is in second place at 118.5. The Washington also has the longest streak of winning at least one monthly award, dating all the way back to May 2021 for 57 months in a row if you count January 2026. I can’t find another streak that even comes close. If the W can make it through April of this year, that would make it an astounding five full years with at least one award each month!
Speaking of the W (and a few others), here is the list of sims that led the fleet in awards each year since 2020:
In case you happen to want to see each year fully broken out, we have that too:
Since they are mentioned throughout, let’s also not forget about our other two outstanding sims: USS Churchill & USS Eminence.
Finally, I would like to thank Rook Mirtoh and Arthur Winters, each whom has served as our Director of Personnel, which is the role primarily responsible for selecting the award winners (Mirtoh, March 2020-September 2023; Winters, May 2024-today, with Ken Gillis and me filling in a few times here and there). It’s more tedious than you might imagine! Thank you for making one IDF’s enduring legacies possible!
With that, let’s keep these amazing awards coming!
That’s how you start a mission! I can’t wait to see where it goes.
MVP
Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis Chief Security/Tactical Officer USS Firebird
She does it month in and month out: writing outstanding posts, collaborating on the mission, planning for the future, recruiting, and managing the Discord channel. Well done!
Most Posts
Commander Jenna Ramthorne Chief Flight Control Officer USS Sunfire
For writing 13 posts.
Most Improved
Lieutenant Imik S’Niohun Chief Security/Tactical Officer USS Washington
Returning from an LOA, she jumped back in with the crew with some great writing that she’s already well known for.
Rookie of the Month
Lieutenant Devin Hadenbeer Infiltration Specialist USS Firebird
The new Infiltration Specialist wrote an amazing character, has been a joy for the crew to sim with, and has already positively influenced the ship’s culture.
Recruitment
Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis Chief Security/Tactical Officer USS Firebird
Due to her work and diligence, the Firebird has welcomed two new players to the sim.
Rear Admiral Aurther Winters Director of Personnel Independence Fleet
A nice ironic look at Klingons and how absurd things can be when you take it to the exact opposite of how a culture should act and be treated leads to the laughs.
Genesis
Capt. Malcom Llwyedd & Cmdr. Rhiana t’Aegis & Cmdr. Jörgen Leed & Lt. Cmdr. Elias Ford & Lt. Hank Solomon & Lt. Jackson Smith & MCPO Harris Zim & Cmdr. Elizabeth “Beth” Boyle CO / CSTO / CDO / CMO / CSO / CIO / CB / XO USS Firebird
This is just a great classic beginning to a Star Trek story. The suspense, multiple different views to a problem, and best of all, a problem that needs to be addressed and a high level of urgency.
MVP
Lieutenant JG Kate Kono Intelligence Officer USS Washington
The Intel Officer was outstanding from start to finish showing a wide range of emotion in her writing.
Most Posts
Commander Jenna Ramthorne Chief Flight Control Officer USS Sunfire
For writing 18 posts.
Most Improved
Ensign Kit Thenis ie-Jia’anKahr Science Officer USS Sunfire
The Science Officer returned to the Sunfire after a short break and slid effortlessly back into action with 7 excellent posts.
Rookie of the Month
None this month.
Recruitment
None this month.
Rear Admiral Aurther Winters Director of Personnel Independence Fleet
Commander Jenna Ramthorne Chief Flight Control Officer USS Sunfire
She has been an absolute powerhouse this month with a great mix of solo and joint posts while simultaneously wrapping up one mission and setting up the next.
Most Posts
Commander Jenna Ramthorne Chief Flight Control Officer USS Sunfire
For writing 11 posts.
Most Improved
Lieutenant JG James Phoenix Tactical Officer USS Washington
Coming off a non-stop action month, he somehow still found a way to step it up with some truly outstanding posting.
Rookie of the Month
Ensign Fiona Flores Communications and Operations Officer USS Montana
She jumped right into joint posts with multiple crew members, improving both the quality and quantity of the ship’s posts. She has just the right recommendations to improve the story–a welcomed addition!
Recruitment
None this month.
Rear Admiral Aurther Winters Director of Personnel Independence Fleet
Ensign Emilynn Dove Operations Officer USS Firebird
The Ensign is a dynamic presence in and out of the story, writing truly outstanding posts while constantly helping others. She is the type of player the who raises up everything about the sim.
Most Posts
Commander Jonathan Grayson Executive Officer USS Washington
For writing 11 posts.
Most Improved
Ensign Kitiuas Thenis ie-Jia’anKahr Science Officer USS Sunfire
The Ensign returned from LOA with a bang, complete with excellent posts and plot twists. It was as if she had never left.
Rookie of the Month
Lieutenant JG Thalek zh’Vareth Chief Medical Officer USS Sunfire
New new CMO dove straight in with complex medial storylines. An amazing entrance–that’s how it’s done.
Recruitment
None this month.
Don’t worry, we’ll be back to your regularly scheduled host next month.
