Of all our directives, one of the most stringent ones is that of legionnaire wellbeing.

If the organization is staffed by burnt out, depressed personnel that hate their lives due to the work and conditions they're subjected to, then we have failed as leaders. This kind of organization is imminently due to collapse from within, and despite GDS contracts being for life the legionnaire always has the option of going AWOL or, unfortunately, taking their own lives.

However, as much as legionnaires would like it, we cannot solely have them do what's commonly referred to as "cool guy shit" consisting of a four-hour shift, once a week, while bringing home eight-figures a year. There must be a balance of time given by the legionnaire and reciprocation from us for the giving of that time. Management and Leadership are two separate areas, but both are required.

There is a time for leading, and there is a time for knocking the skulls of a few E4s that you found smoking behind a dumpster in the middle of their shift.

There will always be boring, tedious jobs that need to be done. However, sticking an individual in that role and telling them to get over it is not the answer. And I'll reiterate, despite enlistment and commissioning being a lifelong commitment, we don't expect legionnaires to show up praising their employer and singing the company theme song.
_{TELL ME THIS IS REAL, PLEASE, WHERE IS IT?!. – Nahli
It’s not. – Iza
She’s lying. – Dr. Baddarick}

What we aim to achieve is an environment where a legionnaire actively desires to fulfill their obligations to the best of their ability, and to meet the expectations we place upon them. While there are many services available, and numerous leadership directives that are outlined elsewhere, the following will be a large-scale overview of sorts. More detailed regulations for each directive included can be found elsewhere.
Note that most of these directives refer to in-garrison operations, as deployments are not as static in their nature. That being said, these directives are still to be adhered to in all possible situations.

To allow legionnaires the proper physical and mental health to meet the expectations placed upon them we ensure this:

Legionnaires' time is respected. If a legionnaire on shift work has a shift that is scheduled to end at 14:00, they leave at 14:00 barring a true emergency or wartime conditions.

• There are rigid standards as to what constitutes an "emergency", it is not up to the whim or interpretation of the commander for that squadron or unit.

• This includes communications when the legionnaire is off duty, as they are under no obligation to acknowledge or respond to their commanders/officers during their own personal time. If they choose to respond or engage in off duty communications is left up to the legionnaire’s discretion.

• We assume that legionnaires will understand that nobody goes home on time when missiles and artillery shells are flying towards their position.

In addition to the above, if a legionnaire in garrison (that is to say, not deployed) needs to take part in training such as field exercises or long-term travel to a training site, they are notified of this many weeks if not months in advance. There are no last second notifications or scrambles that interrupt or take away from a legionnaire's personal time off when they aren't within a theatre of operation.

• Our aim with this is to give the legionnaire ample time to take care of any family business or personal matters.

Legionnaire housing, whether it's the barracks, dorms, or on-base housing, are kept to the highest standard possible.

• Not only are all amenities and such kept up to date, but maintenance work is always undertaken in a timely manner both proactively and reactively.

• There are no outside contractors used for this, as it is all handled in-house by the interior engineering teams of the Mechanical Legion.

Group PT is not mandatory for legionnaires who pass their PT tests, as they have shown the ability to maintain physical fitness and readiness on their own time.

• When group PT is required, it is often performed in the afternoon rather than forcing a legionnaire to complete PT in the morning and then spend an entire shift exhausted.

• This is of course reversed for those on night shifts.

Time off is available in the same amounts to the highest-ranking officers as it is to the lowest ranking Sentinel. Throughout GDS, each legionnaire has eight weeks of paid time off each year.

• If a legionnaire taking two weeks off with their family or friends is enough to sink a squadron's mission or efforts, that legionnaire's NCO or commanding officer will be getting a visit from their own commander.

• Weekends do not count against leave time. For myself, I am always astounded this was ever a problem in the organizations we used as case studies.

Mission creep is constantly monitored for and is summarily quashed the moment it shows up.

• A mission's parameters are adhered to from start to finish, and a sudden spike in out-of-scope objectives indicates a failure of the mission's planners or leaders. As such, the blame will lie with them. Legionnaires will not be burnt out and wrung dry due to the incompetence of others.

• In critical situations, additional squadrons are brought in to relieve the ones under the gun.

OPTEMPO fluctuates depending on the situation, but it is never a constant. A wartime OPTEMPO is never permitted when in garrison or at bases far from any ongoing conflicts. We will not allow Aeronautical engineers and pilots at somewhere like Mountshire to operate at the same rate as if they were at a FOB in the middle of a warzone.

Excelling in their field and taking on extra responsibility is rewarded accordingly, rather than punished by heaping on more work.

• Legionnaires that take on extra duties and perform above expectations receive extra pay in accordance with the extra work, and in turn often end up being promoted from this display of merit.

• One of the largest issues we've observed in other military forces, if not other companies, is what can be best described as the 20/20/60 problem. To summarize:

1. 20% of the lowest achieving personnel are removed or discharged from service.
2. 20% of the highest achieving personnel are chased away by lack of recognition and reward for their efforts, as well as more work being dumped on their shoulders to make up for their leadership's failings. This level of extra effort is then seen as the baseline for these personnel, and any deviation from it is punished. What's worse, is that personnel who fall into this category are punished harder for any mistakes despite the fact they're being overworked.
3. This leaves 60% of the force which perform at a mediocre level, resulting in stagnation, lack of innovation and overall apathy. These personnel observed and learned that attempting to do their best would only result in their lives being made harder for absolutely no benefit whatsoever. In essence, mediocrity is rewarded while competency and effort are punished.

We work constantly to ensure legionnaires aren't stuck in a cycle of monotony or find themselves living a life where it's "GDS and nothing but GDS" day in and day out.

• A Q-TRT (Quick-Temporary Re-Train) assignment can be requested by a legionnaire, where they spend up to a month learning and experiencing another LOS they're interested in.

• If the legionnaire finds they truly do enjoy that LOS and show promise, they can submit a full re-training request and have higher chances of being selected due to the experience gained during their Q-TRT assignment.

• During this Q-TRT assignment, the legionnaire is paid the same rate as those in the LOS they are currently training in. It'd be rather foolish to have an Assault Vanguard be paid the same rate as they learn and gain experience in a medical or scientific LOS.

Lastly, and one of the most important ones, we keep legionnaire rates of pay above those of their counterparts in other companies.

• As enlistment or commissioning is for life, we need to ensure that it doesn't feel like a mistake or lead to thoughts of regret. Anytime a legionnaire looks to their counterparts, they should be at the very least 15% above that counterpart's payrate while working at the same level of skill.

• Exceptions apply, such as companies of ten people that cornered a market, where the senior engineer makes ten billion per year. We're well off, but we can't exactly give the annual income from a small defense contract to a single legionnaire and expect to have an operational budget at the same time.

When added together, these ensure that a legionnaire has agency with their time, sufficient income for themselves and any family, their efforts are accordingly rewarded, and that their job opportunities are never stagnant.Legionnaires and their skills are the only reason we exist as a company, and we refuse to give them anything but our best effort in return for theirs.

-FrW Hansuke Ito