NAPLES–Sixth Fleet (the Star Trek sim club) reached an agreement with Sixth Fleet (the actual US Navy Sixth Fleet) earlier this week to conduct bi-lateral exercises this fall. Sixth Fleet Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Brad Denim (of the Star Trek sim club) and Sixth Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Lisa M. Franchetti (of the actual US Navy Sixth Fleet) signed the pact just before holding a joint press conference on Tuesday. Exact dates and a schedule of operations are expected to be published following a planning conference set for July.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for some time,” said Vice Admiral Franchetti at the presser. “We’re happy to have finally found dates that work for both fleets. This partnership and information sharing should continue to pay dividends to all parties involved for several millennia.”
Fleet Admiral Denim explained a little of what the actual exercises will look like. “Yeah, so um, like, we’re gonna, you know, uh, switch roles and stuff. We’ll run some of their stuff and they’ll run some of our stuff.”
“Fleet Admiral Denim, are you nervous knowing that you’re going to be running an actual Naval fleet, albeit for a short period of time?” asked a reporter.
“Not at all, no. None. Zero.” said Fleet Admiral Denim. “We’re just going to be dropping bombs, shooting torpedoes, and launching depth charges and stuff, you know? I mean, how hard can that be? I think the real challenge is for them. I don’t know if they’ve ever even role played before, right?”
“Fleet Admiral Denim, what’s it like being around a real admiral?” asked another reporter.
“It’s no big deal,” chuckled Denim. “You know, I’ve been an Admiral way longer than she has. I’ve been an Admiral since like 2002. I don’t even know if she was a Lieutenant Commander back then. Besides, last I checked, Fleet Admiral still outranks Vice Admiral.”
The July Sixth Fleet (the Star Trek sim club) / Sixth Fleet (the actual US Navy Sixth Fleet) exercise planning conference is slated to take place in IRC chat rooms with representatives from both parties. The final joint exercises are expected to happen in September or October.