View source for Airborne Kitchen Utensil Assault Group

[[Image:AKUAG2_large.gif‎]]


== Introduction ==
The "Airborne Kitchen Utensil Assault Group" is a squad who fly in the Main Arenas in Aces High with all members from either Australia or New Zealand.


== History ==
The current AKUAG was born in November of 2006 from a reunion of two of the original members of the "1st Airborne Kitchen Utensil Assault Group" (Spatula and Whisk), and with new-comer Ladle who has experience in jet combat sims and is a real life pilot. Whisk, Ladle are both personal friends of Spatula and both ex workmates. Chanzi is Whisk's brother, and Tongs and Akromstr (formerly known as Extreme) are ring-ins.  


== Principles ==
The AKUAG prefers survivalist tactics over mindless furball-and-get-picked mentality. The mantra is to always try to bring your aircraft home in one piece. Of course there are many exceptions to this and pilots are free to fly as they see fit, and having fun is encouraged. We fight hard and at times fight dirty, but always to win. We make no apologies for the way we fly - war is hell...

The Airborne Kitchen Utensil Assualt Group (AKUAG) may well be a very silly name and our pilots may well sport very silly game handles, but we do conduct our online selves by some shared common-sense core values. I believe these values to be important for all members of the AKUAG to help them become a more proficient pilot, to foster their, and the squad's in-game reputations. All pilots in the AKUAG should strive to adhere to these core values whenever they conduct themselves in the online arenas.
The Airborne Kitchen Utensil Assualt Group (AKUAG) may well be a silly name and our pilots may well sport silly game handles, but we do conduct our online selves by some shared common-sense core values.
 I believe these values to be important for all members of the AKUAG to help them become a more proficient pilot, to foster their, and the squad's in-game reputations. These values come from my personal philosohphy towards conduct in Aces High. This philosophy is encouraged with all squad members.

Flying to live is one principle of the AKUAG. Where ever practical, members should always aim to return safely to base after each sortie. To achieve this, pilots should attack only when they are in a position of advantage. To quote Sun Tzu from the Art of War: "He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight." This should not be mistaken for timidity, you cannot learn if you avoid situations you can learn from. 

Strength in numbers is another principle of the AKUAG. While this is not always possible if other members are not available, you should always fly and fight where mutual support can be found. Always support your allies, each one lost swings the odds away from your success. Two battles of two verus one, is likely to yeild success over one battle of two versus two. This is another form of attack with the advantage.

The AKUAG finds strength in knowledge. Knowledge is the key to victory. Knowledge of your own and your enemies capabilities; your equiptment and your enemies; of yours and your enemies tactics and strategies. In practice this means learning the capabilities of all the aircraft, learning the styles and strengths of all the other online pilots, learning combat tactics, learning to recognise tactics that are used against you, and lastly to learn the possible permutations of all. This is a technically unacheivable goal and the learning curve is extremely steep and never-ending, but the more you learn, the more you will know, the better decisions you will make, and thus be a better pilot. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles." - Sun Tzu: The Art of War.

An easy route to eliminating one of the multitude of variables is to focus on learning and flying one aircraft. This way you only need to know the relative performance of your specific aircraft versus the rest of the plane-set, not all possible permutations. This is what i tend to do.  My aircraft of choice and the default squadron aircraft is the P-51D Mustang. There is NO mandate for members to fly it or any aircraft exclusively; members are free to fly what they prefer. The exception to this is squad nights which tend to be the Mustang or otherwise noted.

The learning curve in Aces High is extremely long (if not un-ending) and very steep. This is not an overstatement! I have been playing WW2 combat flight simulators for over 6 years now, and i still see a long road ahead of me. It will take a new pilot many, many months, and many seemingly impossible hurdles to overcome just to feel like they arent just cannon-fodder. The road to winning 1/2 (a 1:1 kill/death ratio) of your engagements is difficult and its not uncommon to take up to a year. A prospective pilot needs to understand there's no quick route to being a virtual red baron, just hundreds of hours of hard work and humility. I dont want to put people off, but the people who succeed in this tend to be the types who enjoy and excel at tough challenges and have a relentless passion for it. These are the people we seek and those are one of the core values of the AKUAG. With the bar set so high and the frequency of defeat common, the thrill and pure reward of victory is the driving factor. Only when the lows are truly low, will the high seem so truly and deeply rewarding. 

AKUAG members should always conduct themselves with courtesy and sportsmanship. This both applies to members of your own country, as well as those who you fight. Doing so gains you respect and credibility. Never underestimate the value of respect from friend or foe, it can be the difference between touching down, and being shot down. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Dont take the taunting and bad manners on the public chanel seriously. Ignore the idiots, salute the sportsmen.

Here's some more key qoutes from the Art of War by Sun Tzu:

    What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.
    The more you read and learn, the less your adversary will know.
    What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.
    A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.
    He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.
    The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.
    Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.
    To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.
    In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them.
    The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.

== Roster ==
Current active members:


*'''Tongs''' : CO 
*'''Spatula''' : XO  (AWOL)
*'''Whisk'''         (AWOL)  
*'''Ladle'''         (MIA)    
*'''Blender'''
*'''Skewer'''
*'''micro'''
*'''beefie'''

== Arena ==
Mostly we can be found in one of the two Late War Main Arenas, and usually fly for Bishop.


== Time zone ==
As all the members of this squad are from either New Zealand or Australia, our timezone is NZST and Australian Eastern. Our squad night is every Tuesday evening 10pm NZST/8pm Aussie Eastern.


== Voice Comms ==
Vox channel is 154

== Aircraft ==
Members are free to fly any aircraft they wish, but faster aircraft tend to be more survivable in the Main Arena environments.


== Recruits ==
From time to time we may take recruits, but we're a tight-knit bunch and we normally wont just accept anyone. Email me if you want to try convince me your made of the right stuff. Kitchen Utensil themed names are preferred.


== Web Page ==
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[http://www.major.geek.nz/AKUAG official web page]
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[[Category:Squads]]