STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:
This document contains the highest laws of the U.S.S. Olympic NFC-74842. No subsequent policy, law, or handbook can be in direct violation. It will contain all the rules, policies, and basic operational guidelines for our chapter.

RATIFICATION AND AMENDMENT PROCESS:
These by-laws can be ratified or amended in a General Assembly. In attendance of said assembly must be the Commanding Officer and one-third of the General Membership or one-half of the Department Heads. Once ratified, it will supercede any policy, rule, or and regulation currently in existence and to be developed later.

OTHER LAWS:
Other laws and regulations will be compiled in handbooks and manuals. A handbook is the governing literature over a specific part or the entirety of the Olympic. A manual is any other collection of regulations. The Captain can publish, authorize, or order the publication of any handbook or manual without any outside approval. Any Department Head or similar leader can publish a handbook or manual describing their area of influence and expertise, but the handbook or manual must be approved by the Captain and none of the material within may contradict this document.

COMPLAINTS:
This document has been created with each area defining a certain power. Any complaints with the use of these powers or the belief that actions or events contradict this document should be taken directly to the Command Staff for immediate review.

TERMINOLOGY:
All personnel are referred to as "he" or "him". We do not mean to discriminate against females, for we recognize the equivalency of males, females, and other genders. We choose to use this terminology for simplicity’s sake and regret any offence taken.

ARTICLE I: Government
In day-to-day operations, the U.S.S. Olympic is ran by the standard chain of command. The various positions will be summarized as Executive, Primary, and Secondary. During General Assembly meetings, members become equal with each receiving one vote. The Commanding Officer or another appointed officer will host the meeting. The Chief of Security will maintain order and keep the meeting on track.

Section 1.1. Positions
1.1.1. Primary positions are those directly appointed by the Captain himself and have direct control over their area of influence, which can only be superceded by the Captain, unless a special case arises. The Captain can place and remove people from these positions as the situation warrants.
1.1.2. Secondary positions are those appointed by the Primary positions and who only have authority as delegated by the Primary position. An example of said position would be an Assistant Department Head. Division Chiefs also fall into this category.
1.1.3. Executive positions are for the most part Primary positions, but hold the distinction of being able to have influence over other Primary positions, and in an emergency able to make group decisions by themselves. The only such positions are the Captain, First Officer, and Second Officer.

Section 1.2. Officers
The term officer can refer to two different things. Those of the rank of Acting Ensign and above or the holder of any position. So the treatment of such will be divided into the different meanings.
1.2.1. Each Officer will be responsible either in assisting or performing the operation of a specific area of influence. As such, they will need to perform under all existing guidelines and may be called upon to go above the call of duty in extraordinary circumstances. They may also be called upon to make a decision when they are out of touch with a higher authority. They should be willing and able to do so. They should fairly treat those under their area of influence, and realize that they can hold said position as long as they adequately fulfill their duties and follow all restrictions. They can delegate responsibilities and give any lawful order to those in their area of influence.
1.2.2. Only an officer can give orders, enlisted personnel may not. Only an officer may take a position or head up a Department. All officers will have to complete the Officer’s Examination, unless the Commanding Officer has waived it pending a special circumstance. Only an officer may host a meeting of the General Assembly.

Section 1.3. General Membership
The general membership contains every officer of the Olympic, and any of her subsidiaries, including, but not limited to, Departments, Companies, and Exchange Officers. During a General Membership vote, every member will get one vote. Regretfully, due to some circumstances, some members may be unable to vote, and the vote can be taken without their votes.

Section 1.4. General Assembly
The General Assembly is the structured meeting the Olympic has each month. Please note that to be a member of the General Assembly, you must be in attendance during that meeting. Any decision reached there will be final, and may affect the entire group, so it is to the individual member’s benefit to attend as much as possible. Most meetings are videotaped for future reference and so those who missed the meeting may view it at a later time. The Chief of Security may ask members to be quiet, or leave if they are causing a disturbance.

ARTICLE II: Membership
Members of the Olympic are also required to join the IFT. Because of this fact, there are many rules and procedures implemented into our group that involve the application process and rank.

Section 2.1. Application to the Olympic
People that chose to apply for membership to the U.S.S. Olympic are required to fill out an application. This application will either be a document for local members or an online form for foreign applicants. All applications are processed by the Commanding Officer. They collect general information such as address, birth date, departments the member wishes to be a part of, and whether or not that person wants to be an officer.

Section 2.2. Application to the International Federation of Trekkers
Applicants to the Olympic are required to apply shortly thereafter to the IFT. Applications to the IFT can be collected by the Commanding Officer and relayed to the IFT or can be sent directly by the applying member.
2.2.1. Members that wish to be an officer on the Olympic are required to be a paying member to the IFT. Officers are required to continue paying dues annually in order to maintain their position and rank.
2.2.2. Members that choose not to be an officer or hold a position can join via a lesser IFT membership option. This option is free and merely registers the applicant to the IFT. Members choosing this option cannot hold a rank higher than Major and cannot hold a Department Head or Staff position on the Olympic.

ARTICLE III: Dismembership
There may arise a situation where a member’s activities are not appropriate for the club in general. If this situation should arise, every and all measures will be taken to bring about a peaceful resolution where the member can continue to function in the group and still enjoy it. If, however, this is not possible, this document empowers the Commanding Officer, acting as the Executive Branch, to remove a person’s membership status. The person should receive a written reason as to why this action was taken. Also, the Captain must file a report to keep in the ship’s records. He must read the report at the next General Assembly meeting. If there is a motion to reverse the decision, then a vote must be taken. If this unfortunate decision did arise, the individual’s membership would be revoked only on the Olympic, but not in the International Federation of Trekkers.

Section 3.1. Writing Off
In the event that a member does not pay their application fees to the IFT within a one month period, they will be removed from the IFT roster. They will then be given another month to make the payment before they are removed from the Olympic’s crew manifest. Once payment is made, the member will be restored to both lists.

ARTICLE IV: Promotion
Rank is very crucial to the operation of the U.S.S. Olympic. Promotion in rank can only be obtained through time and hard work. As you climb in rank, you will notice that it is harder and takes longer to advance to even higher ranks.

Section 4.1. Starting Rank
Starting rank will be based on whether or not a member wishes to be an officer. If not, then the Captain will assign the individual an enlisted rank. I the member chooses to be an officer, then they will be made an Acting Ensign until their IFT membership dues are paid. Once the dues are paid, the member will become a full Ensign.

Section 4.2. Promotion Authorization
Only the Captain, under the advisement of the Command Staff, is authorized to promote anyone onboard the Olympic. Department Heads are to suggest promotions for those in their Departments. The First Officer, Second Officer, and the Counselor can suggest promotions for everyone. The Captain has final say in all promotions.

Section 4.3. Promotion Process
Members will receive promotions according to their time of service and their work ethic. Other factors may include their past actions, any commendations, and their ingenuity. Department Heads recommend their members for promotion. Department Heads and Staff members are recommended for promotion be the First Officer and Second Officer. The Captain then calls a crewman evaluation to be performed by the Command Staff to look at the particular officer’s situation. If a member is promoted, they will be notified at the soonest possible meeting in a ceremony. If a member is turned down for promotion, they will be notified as to the reason.

Section 4.4. Exams
Promotions can be awarded by taking exams. The Officer Candidate Course is an exam that is administered by the IFT Academy East. It is designed to familiarize the officer with the inner workings of the IFT. Once an officer takes this exam, he is able to be promoted as high as Lieutenant (j.g.). The Staff Officer Course is also administered by Academy East and is designed for people who wish to be a Department Head. Taking this exam will allow an officer to be promoted as high as Junior Lieutenant. The Bridge Officer’s Exam is for officers that have reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After serving at this rank for at least six months, an officer is eligible to take this exam which is administered by a member of the Command Staff and will cover Bridge Operations, Engineering Operations, Diplomacy, and First Alien Civilization Contact. The examinee will also be required to host a General Assembly meeting. When the officer passes this exam, then and only then, he will be promoted to the rank of Commander.

ARTICLE V: Special Powers
While each position carries with it certain responsibilities and benefits, some have particular capabilities. These may be viewed as a responsibility or a capability, depending on how you look at it. For simplicity’s sake, we will refer to them as Powers. Only a few are listed here, the ones that are considered special because of their scope.

Section 5.1. Chief of Security
He will maintain order during the General Assembly. He can use any moral or ethical means to do so. He has the authority to dismiss the Captain from a function, only if the Captain is committing a wrongful act. The new Commanding Officer could ask him to reverse this decision.

Section 5.2. Chief Medical Officer
Since the Chief Medical Officer is concerned with the entire ship’s health, his authority extends over everyone. He can relieve anyone from duty. He may also relieve the Captain from duty with the cooperation of the Counselor and the First Officer.

Section 5.3. Counselor
The Counselor’s role is very similar to that of the Chief Medical Officer’s, except dealing with the crew’s psychological well-being. He has the power to relieve anyone from duty. He has the power to relieve the Captain from duty is the Chief Medical Officer and the First Officer concur.

Section 5.4. Captain’s Checks and Balances
As mentioned in Sections 2.2 and 2.3, the First Officer, Counselor, and Chief Medical Officer can remove the Captain from command, due to definite wrong-doing or actions that positively have damaged the club. A General Membership Vote could be made to either repeal this decision or to make the decision if one or more of the three stated officers disagree.

Section 5.5. Department Equivalency
Even though certain powers may make it seem that one Department is superior to another, that is not true. All Department powers balance out and the Department Heads should always work together to ensure that they are helping each other, instead of trying to best each other.

ARTICLE VI: Delegation
Besides the fact that Executive and Primary positions can delegate their work to others, those below them may assume their powers in certain cases where they are not present. If the Captain cannot be reached, the First Officer can act as the Captain if a situation arises. This goes for any officer that is under any primary position.

Section 6.1. Act
If an immediate decision needs to be reached and the person who needs to make it cannot be reached, the person next in line by the Chain of Command or by seniority should go ahead and make a choice.

Section 6.2. Stand Until Reserved
As stated above, if you make a decision that would normally be made by someone else, then your decision will stand unless they can be contacted and they reverse the decision.

Section 6.3. Re-Delegation
During an event or a ship’s function, if someone is not present, the Commanding Officer may re-delegate that responsibility to someone else.

ARTICLE VII: Companies
A group that is not a Department of the Olympic is hereby known as a Company. Companies are formed to handle a specific task.

Section 7.1. OmniPursuits Entertainment
This is the company that is in charge of the operation of the U.S.S. Olympic. They copyright all materials involved with the operation of the ship, including handbooks and manuals.

Section 7.2. Distress Call Publications
This is the publishing house of the U.S.S. Olympic. All creative written materials, including the Distress Call, will be copyrighted by Distress Call Publications. The Editor-in-Chief and Distress Call Publications can pull any material in its periodicals due to subject content.