NORTHERN LIGHTS, UKAHALA–Why are our ranks abbreviated differently from U.S. military ranks? Does RFCP have a physical-world political stance? Is the official policy for our name “*the* RFCP” or just “RFCP”? Read on for some fascinating lore about our army. This blog series has not been done since November 2022, but it is one of our best!
Despite the critiques of autocracy, one thing is for certain: Having an authoritarian leader makes for pretty simple answers when it comes to official army policy. After all, whatever Commander Prior Bumble says is RFCP canon by default. So let’s dive into some of the fun questions about our lore and see what he has to say.
- Why are our ranks abbreviated differently from U.S. ranks? For example, in the U.S. military, the abbreviation for Commander is “CDR,” whereas we use “Cmdr.” Likewise, we use lower case “Lt.” and “Sgt.” instead of LT and SGT.
This is a great question, and something I have considered changing; I take pride in being perhaps the most military-centric army in Club Penguin Army history. However, I chose alternative abbreviation styles for our ranks for two reasons: First, I wanted the abbreviations to phonetically clue people in to the rank more than U.S. military ranks do. If you are not familiar with the abbreviation “CDR” and you sound it out, you might have a hard time figuring out what the rank is. On the other hand, “Cmdr.” is easy to decipher phonetically (by sound). Because many soldiers join RFCP without much education in military customs, this makes our abbreviations more accessible. Second, the lower-case style abbreviations are less jarring in text, and since we are a mostly text-based operation, more smoothness in writing is favorable.
2. Does RFCP have a physical-world political stance?
In terms of political party affiliation, no. But we have made political statements in the past. We assert political statements rarely, and only when our core values as an army are offended and demand speaking out. Two examples of when we’ve made political statements were following the murder of George Floyd and following the terrorism of Hamas against Israel. Above all, however, we are inward-focusing, and there is nothing wrong with that. I believe we can make a greater impact on the world by deeply caring for the members of, and expertly running, our OWN political organization far more than we could by commentating on every political happening in the physical world. Of course, we can always informally debate politics in our fun #gentlemen-with-cigars-and-brandy channel.
3. As the official policy, is our name “the RFCP” or just “RFCP”?
At its heart this question is a challenge of my own consistency. You can find examples of me, the officers, and many others using both “RFCP” and “the RFCP” in sentences such as: “We are proud members of [the] RFCP.” The truth is that either is correct. But there is a slight difference in them. “The RFCP” is a reference to a specific noun: the army entity specifically. This is why you’ll ALWAYS see the “the” before our name when our name is spelled out (i.e. The Recon Federation of Club Penguin). “RFCP” without the “the” has an ever-so-subtle difference. It references not just the specific entity of the army, but sort of the army’s values, ideas, and intangible being as well. Put more directly: “The RFCP” is a place, “RFCP” is a way of life. That’s why you can say “RFCP is life” but “The RFCP is life” doesn’t sound correct. Of course, when using RFCP as an adjective, such as “He led the battle in true RFCP fashion,” you’ll always leave off the “the.”
We hope these three questions have ignited thoughts and patriotism within your black-and-purple soul!
What do YOU think of these answers? Let us know in the comments!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Leave a Reply