Welcome to ShadowSpear.com! Please review this page before posting on the site. Failure to follow the rules will result in your account's deletion (without warning). As you are probably aware, we run a tight community that is well organized. We hope you enjoy your stay and become an active member for years to come!
Introductions and Profiles
Introductions are required for new members. Please take a moment to introduce yourself here before posting on the site, or you run the risk of having your account deleted. Introductions do not have to be works of art, but at the same time sub par intros will not be tolerated. If you are/were military, you may want to highlight what branch you served in, what your job was/is, and what brought you to ShadowSpear. If you're not in the military or a veteran, feel free to tell us about yourself and what brought you to our community.
We require member profiles to be filled out. The member's component and background are required. The "Component" field must list what best describes you. In the "Background" field, please tell us about yourself. You may list your military job/specialty (MOS) or units you serve(d) with. Civilian members can tell us what they do for a living.
Why does ShadowSpear require intros and completed profiles?
In short, we run a tight community and try to provide information that is factually correct. People who pass themselves off as someone they are not are not welcome here. This site is for learning, teaching, and connecting. Remember, no one is forcing you to join this site. You can still read the topics as a guest. Show the other members a little respect, and you will receive some in return.
We require member profiles to be filled out. The member's component and background are required. The "Component" field must list what best describes you. In the "Background" field, please tell us about yourself. You may list your military job/specialty (MOS) or units you serve(d) with. Civilian members can tell us what they do for a living.
Why does ShadowSpear require intros and completed profiles?
In short, we run a tight community and try to provide information that is factually correct. People who pass themselves off as someone they are not are not welcome here. This site is for learning, teaching, and connecting. Remember, no one is forcing you to join this site. You can still read the topics as a guest. Show the other members a little respect, and you will receive some in return.
Rules
1. Do not choose a military-related user name or select site avatars that do not mirror your credentials. For example: Do not choose "ArmyGuy7" if you have never been in the Army. If you are an Army wannabe, do not choose a screen name with the word "Army" in it (ie "ArmyWannabe1").
2. You are required to post an introduction prior to posting or using any other part of the site. If you fail to provide an into, your account will be deleted. Your first post must be your introduction. We encourage everyone to be an active participant on the board; however if you prefer to be a lurker, you are free to lurk after your initial post is made.
3. Be aware of OPSEC/PERSEC at all times. The good guys aren't the only ones reading this board. It is your responsibility to report post violations.
4. Do not post pornographic, racist, or illegal material.
5. If a thread has any content that is not safe for the work environment, you must type NSFW in the thread title.
6. Heated debates are fine, just keep them professional.
7. All personal profiles must be safe for work.
8. The Mentor Section is for SOF/military/LE/tactical circles only. No exceptions.
9. Using curse words on the forum is fine, however do not increase the font size of those words or use them in titles.
10. You may not advertise your business/website in your signature line/avatar unless you add the signature advertising package.
11. You may not advertise/post/link your business/website on this website without first receiving permission from the staff. The easiest way to do this is to create a thread in the help section.
We also recommend the use of "smilies" to convey humor, since it is sometimes misinterpreted on the Internet.
Although the administrators and moderators of ShadowSpear Special Operations will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and the the owner, administrators, moderators, and staff associated with the ShadowSpear Special Operations community will not be held responsible for the content of any message, attachment, posting, or use of the site for any reason.
By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws. The owner, administrators, moderators, and staff associated with the ShadowSpear Special Operations community reserve the right to remove, edit, move, or close any thread.
2. You are required to post an introduction prior to posting or using any other part of the site. If you fail to provide an into, your account will be deleted. Your first post must be your introduction. We encourage everyone to be an active participant on the board; however if you prefer to be a lurker, you are free to lurk after your initial post is made.
3. Be aware of OPSEC/PERSEC at all times. The good guys aren't the only ones reading this board. It is your responsibility to report post violations.
4. Do not post pornographic, racist, or illegal material.
5. If a thread has any content that is not safe for the work environment, you must type NSFW in the thread title.
6. Heated debates are fine, just keep them professional.
7. All personal profiles must be safe for work.
8. The Mentor Section is for SOF/military/LE/tactical circles only. No exceptions.
9. Using curse words on the forum is fine, however do not increase the font size of those words or use them in titles.
10. You may not advertise your business/website in your signature line/avatar unless you add the signature advertising package.
11. You may not advertise/post/link your business/website on this website without first receiving permission from the staff. The easiest way to do this is to create a thread in the help section.
We also recommend the use of "smilies" to convey humor, since it is sometimes misinterpreted on the Internet.
Although the administrators and moderators of ShadowSpear Special Operations will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and the the owner, administrators, moderators, and staff associated with the ShadowSpear Special Operations community will not be held responsible for the content of any message, attachment, posting, or use of the site for any reason.
By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws. The owner, administrators, moderators, and staff associated with the ShadowSpear Special Operations community reserve the right to remove, edit, move, or close any thread.
Member Vetting
On this site, as in the Special Operations community itself, legitimacy, integrity, and credibility are paramount. We strive to keep information flowing in our community that is accurate and informative, and routinely moderate out hearsay, gossip, and misinformation. We also vigorously scrutinize members’ claimed credentials and remove users from our site who make false claims about their service and/or special qualifications.
In order to ensure the long-term legitimacy, integrity, and credibility of the site we have established a vetting process. This process is NOT mandatory, but is strongly recommended for individuals with military service. Why get vetted? After you pass through the vetting process, your credentials will no longer be in question and what you post on certain topics will likely hold more weight. Vetted members are also eligible for nomination/entry into specific private forums, into which non-vetted folks have absolutely no chance of being admitted. Unverified members do not have access to all the privileges and features that vetted members have.
Site Administrators are in charge of vetting, as well as the protection and destruction of the information you provide. Any information you provide is used for vetting purposes only, and will not be shared with anyone other than site administrators except as incidental to the vetting process. The vetting process can be initiated in the help desk section of the forum.
If you have any reservations about the process, don't request vetting. As previously stated, vetting is not mandatory on ShadowSpear, but if you are not vetted you will not be allowed to claim certain qualifications, service or experience. The vetting process is straight-forward. You are welcome to contact vetted site members if you have any questions regarding the process. Here are some examples of resources you can use to get vetted:
DD214/discharge papers (black out your social security number!).
AARTS/SMARTS/military education transcript.
Email from AKO or military email account.
Official military orders.
ERB/ORB (US members)
A current vetted ShadowSpear member that is willing to vouch for you.
Black out your PERSEC (ie, SSN)! Your name must remain.
Please use the "Vetting" tab to initiate your vetting process.
User Groups:
After completing the vetting process, members may be eligible for certain user groups, earning a “tag” beneath their name. We discourage use of imprecise and non-doctrinal terms like “been there, done that” (B.T.D.T.) in favor of more precise and useful delimitations of members’ experience and qualifications, so we use “tags” instead. Since this is is a special operations website, our tags mostly concern SOF, the military in general, and law enforcement. Unlike on other sites, the possession of a specific tag does not convey special privilege to the individuals, or make that user’s actions above reproach. Nonetheless, those individuals with “Verified” status tags usually have a tremendous amount of training and experience in a surprisingly broad array of topics, and many times will be speaking from a position of subject matter expertise. Those without a comparable level of expertise in those areas would be wise to keep that in mind in their interactions with “Verified” individuals on the site. The explanation of our tags is below:
- These guys own the site, making them the overall authority. Aside from implementing upgrades and changes to the site, they create site policy and have the final say in vetting and banning members.
- The moderating staff are responsible for maintaining the board and being a neutral party in member disputes. The staff position lasts for a year before site elections are held to determine if they will stay or go. These are the people you should go to for disputes, merge requests, deletions, and edits before raising issues with an administrator. Clicking the "report post" button is the ideal method of gaining staff attention.
- Members who have served in an operational SOF capacity. Pretty much anyone assignment to Ranger Regiment, JSOC, or 160th (generally speaking, all such individuals are screened, assessed, selected, and put through a training program prior to assignment). SEAL-qualified individuals assigned to SEAL units, SF-qualified individuals assigned to SF Groups, PJs assigned to a PJ position, certain PSYOP and Civil Affairs personnel, etc.
- Members who have served in a SOF support capacity. Enablers assigned to SF Groups (because there is no selection, assessment, or special training for them), infantrymen assigned to support a Joint SOF Task Force in Iraq, etc.
- Members who have served in their country's armed forces/military.
- Members who have served as a sniper (school trained).
- Members who have completed a special weapons and tactics course and served as a SWAT officer or equivalent.
- ShadowSpear's fallen.
- Generous members are recognized for helping us foot the monthly fees associated with server fees, upgrades, and maintaining the site.
- Distributors, merchants, trainers, etc.
In order to ensure the long-term legitimacy, integrity, and credibility of the site we have established a vetting process. This process is NOT mandatory, but is strongly recommended for individuals with military service. Why get vetted? After you pass through the vetting process, your credentials will no longer be in question and what you post on certain topics will likely hold more weight. Vetted members are also eligible for nomination/entry into specific private forums, into which non-vetted folks have absolutely no chance of being admitted. Unverified members do not have access to all the privileges and features that vetted members have.
Site Administrators are in charge of vetting, as well as the protection and destruction of the information you provide. Any information you provide is used for vetting purposes only, and will not be shared with anyone other than site administrators except as incidental to the vetting process. The vetting process can be initiated in the help desk section of the forum.
If you have any reservations about the process, don't request vetting. As previously stated, vetting is not mandatory on ShadowSpear, but if you are not vetted you will not be allowed to claim certain qualifications, service or experience. The vetting process is straight-forward. You are welcome to contact vetted site members if you have any questions regarding the process. Here are some examples of resources you can use to get vetted:
DD214/discharge papers (black out your social security number!).
AARTS/SMARTS/military education transcript.
Email from AKO or military email account.
Official military orders.
ERB/ORB (US members)
A current vetted ShadowSpear member that is willing to vouch for you.
Black out your PERSEC (ie, SSN)! Your name must remain.
Please use the "Vetting" tab to initiate your vetting process.
User Groups:
After completing the vetting process, members may be eligible for certain user groups, earning a “tag” beneath their name. We discourage use of imprecise and non-doctrinal terms like “been there, done that” (B.T.D.T.) in favor of more precise and useful delimitations of members’ experience and qualifications, so we use “tags” instead. Since this is is a special operations website, our tags mostly concern SOF, the military in general, and law enforcement. Unlike on other sites, the possession of a specific tag does not convey special privilege to the individuals, or make that user’s actions above reproach. Nonetheless, those individuals with “Verified” status tags usually have a tremendous amount of training and experience in a surprisingly broad array of topics, and many times will be speaking from a position of subject matter expertise. Those without a comparable level of expertise in those areas would be wise to keep that in mind in their interactions with “Verified” individuals on the site. The explanation of our tags is below:
- These guys own the site, making them the overall authority. Aside from implementing upgrades and changes to the site, they create site policy and have the final say in vetting and banning members.
- The moderating staff are responsible for maintaining the board and being a neutral party in member disputes. The staff position lasts for a year before site elections are held to determine if they will stay or go. These are the people you should go to for disputes, merge requests, deletions, and edits before raising issues with an administrator. Clicking the "report post" button is the ideal method of gaining staff attention.
- Members who have served in an operational SOF capacity. Pretty much anyone assignment to Ranger Regiment, JSOC, or 160th (generally speaking, all such individuals are screened, assessed, selected, and put through a training program prior to assignment). SEAL-qualified individuals assigned to SEAL units, SF-qualified individuals assigned to SF Groups, PJs assigned to a PJ position, certain PSYOP and Civil Affairs personnel, etc.
- Members who have served in a SOF support capacity. Enablers assigned to SF Groups (because there is no selection, assessment, or special training for them), infantrymen assigned to support a Joint SOF Task Force in Iraq, etc.
- Members who have served in their country's armed forces/military.
- Members who have served as a sniper (school trained).
- Members who have completed a special weapons and tactics course and served as a SWAT officer or equivalent.
- ShadowSpear's fallen.
- Generous members are recognized for helping us foot the monthly fees associated with server fees, upgrades, and maintaining the site.
- Distributors, merchants, trainers, etc.
Subforums
Please be aware that some of the forums have additional forums inside of them. You can see this demonstrated on the image below.
Account Upgrades and Contributions
ShadowSpear is an expensive site to maintain and operate. Member contributions in all amounts are greatly appreciated to help pay for the cost of running and improving the website. You may contribute here. Account upgrades are also available through this link.
Our contributors who set up a monthly subscription plan will be recognized for their generosity by being placed in the Contributor usergroup, which allows them to have a number of added benefits including more conversation space and so on.
Advertising on ShadowSpear
Advertising is prohibited on this site unless you receive consent from an administrator. This means that you may not post about your business, blog, or website. You may not also advertise in the signature line of your posts. You can, however, post the link in your profile.
There are a couple of ways we will allow advertising on this site.
1. Contribute to the site in exchange for permission to advertise in your sig line/avatar. Details can be found here.
2. Prepare a custom discount or offer for all ShadowSpear members in exchange for the right to advertise. You must have this approved by an administrator beforehand (click the "Vetting" tab and complete the necessary application).
1. Contribute to the site in exchange for permission to advertise in your sig line/avatar. Details can be found here.
2. Prepare a custom discount or offer for all ShadowSpear members in exchange for the right to advertise. You must have this approved by an administrator beforehand (click the "Vetting" tab and complete the necessary application).
