The Arabian Knights( http://www.aksquad.com )
Skin designed by AKMadMass+, Battalion CO
ak1sst.vol



	The Arabian Knights Brigade has announced the formation of an Independent Starsiege Tribes 
	unit. The First Battalion, SST Regiment of the Arabian Knights Brigade, dedicated to one 
	primary principle... to Win with Pride, Lose with Dignity and Fight with Honor. Their 
	dedication to teamwork has been polished to a phenomenal degree. The Arabian Knights are 
	dedicated to organization,teamwork, training, camaraderie and above all enjoyment. Members 
	of the Arabian Knights participate in weekly meetings, private training arenas, and 
	unfettered commitment to the primary principle. Facilities include dedicated IRC, 
	Public/Private High Speed Tribes server, Battlecomm server and Web facilities. Skill as a 
	warrior is not the deciding factor to membership. Attitude, commitment and behavior are 
	considered just as important. Interested recruits are welcome to stop by the Brigade web 
	site and browse the entire history and activities of the Arabian Knights. Recruits who feel 
	they can meet the requirements can send a message to sstrecruit@aksquad.com or the Battalion 
	S1, AKDingo@aksquad.com. 

History of the Arabian Knights

  
      1992 - Present 

      	The Arabian Knights squadron was formed in January of 1992 for the sole purpose of competing 
	in multi-player Red Baron on the Sierra Network (which later became The Imagination Network. 
	The squad was actually formed about 2 months before MP Red Baron was released by Sierra, 
	making the Aks the first Red Baron ever formed.  The AKs were conceived and formed on the 
	Genie network in Scorpia's Flight Sim Round Table. The original idea for forming a squad to 
	compete in Red Baron can be credited to Major Tom, and the name "Arabian Knights" was chosen 
	to reflect our Genie heritage. The first few weeks of existence were tough ones for the Aks. 
	Our first war was not with another squadron, but with the Genie network itself. Genie it 
	seems felt that we were trying to convince people to leave Genie to join TSN, and at first 
	wouldn't allow any posts relating to the AKs, TSN, or MP Red Baron. We eventually convinced 
	them through a vigorous letter writing campaign that we were not trying to get people to leave 
	Genie. In fact the original AKs would ONLY accept people in the squad who had a Genie account, 
	so in fact we were PROMOTING Genie rather than trying to steal members. That war was eventually
      	won, Genie decided to allow our posts, and the AKs were on our way. I was elected as Squadron 
	Leader (this title was later changed to CO to be more consistent with the other squads on TSN), 
	and after a couple of misfires, Malachi was appointed Assistant Squadron Leader (later changed 
	to XO). The AKs were ready for battle. The release of Red Baron on TSN was greeted by the arrival 
	of two squadrons, The Arabian Knights and the FS squadron from Compuserve. Our first rivalry on 
	TSN was with the FS squadron , and while I honestly can't say which squad got the better of that 
	conflict, I can say that I've never had the privilege of competing against a finer group of pilots.  

	Soon other squadrons began to form, and new tournaments were developed such as King of the Hill and 
	Sky Wars. The AKs remained a Genie only squad for quite a while, but eventually interest in Red Baron 
	began to wane on Genie, and we decided to open up our roster to non-Genie members for the first time. 
	The first non-Genie pilot we accepted into our ranks was AKKarl, who later became my wingman and is 
	still with the AKs today. Soon after we changed the officers titles to CO and XO, and divided the squad 
	up into two wings, lead by Karl and Seraphim, who was one of our original members from Genie. This was 
	the command structure that lead the AKs for the better part of the two years we competed on TSN/INN; 
	CO - Cobra, XO - Malachi, Wing Leaders - Seraphim and Karl. The Arabian Knights prospered on TSN/INN 
	for about the next year and a half. During that time we fought in many wars and tournaments, and we 
	always made a good accounting of ourselves. 1993 was probably our best year. We adopted some great 
	pilots from the disbanded Living Legends squad, a few of which became some of our best combat pilots. 
	By the end of 1993, the Arabian Knights were at their peak, and were generally considered among the 
	top squadrons on INN. Unfortunately, 1993 proved to be the end of the golden age of RB, and things
	took a turn for the worse, both for the AKs and for Red Baron in general. 

	In early 1994 Sierra announced their coming price increases, which lead to a huge upheaval on INN. 
	The increases were to be effective immediately for newcomers to the service, and as of January 1, 
	1995 for existing customers.  At about the same time as the price hikes were announced, the AKs began 
	to suffer some internal dissension. The squad was split on which direction we wanted the squad to go 
	in. Some wanted to expand, in order to stay competitive with squads such as the BKs and NBs, which were 
	widely considered the two top squads on INN at that time. Others wanted the squad to remain small, to 
	preserve the "family" feeling that had always made the AKs special. It was decided at this time that the 
	old leadership format would be dissolved, and replaced with a 5 person council, each of which would have 
	an equal say in the direction of the squad. Unfortunately, the new format didn't help, and the dissension 
	continued. Several top pilots left AKs, some for other squads, others left INN altogether for Air Warrior. 
	Eventually an election was held and the old leadership format was re-instated, but it was too little too 
	late. The slide continued. Finally, after a disastrous Air Supremacy tournament in mid 1994 a special 
	meeting was held, and it was decided that it was time to disband the Arabian Knights. 

      	After the squad disbanded, several of us found a home with the Wing Walker squadron. The WWs offered us the
      	opportunity to form our own wing consisting of ex Arabian Knights flying under the Wing Walker banner. We
      	continued to fly for the WWs until the price hike on January 1, 1995. December 31, 1994 is known to many ex 
	Red Baron pilots as the exodus. Many pilots signed off of INN for the last time that day, myself included. 
	It was the end of an era, and for many of us multi-player gaming would never be the same again. 

      	That should have been the end of the story for the Arabian Knights, but strangely, it wasn't. Several of us 
	ventured out onto the internet, in search of new ways of multi-player gaming. A few of us flew in an Air 
	Warrior squad called the Boneheads, which was run by AKKarl (now knows as HeadHunter) and which 
	consisted of mainly ex AKs and other displaced Red Baron pilots. Many of us experimented with internet 
	gaming technologies such as IHHD and the Concentric game connection. Eventually, programs such as Kali and 	
	Kahn arrived on the scene, and games such as Warcraft II, Descent, and Diablo kept us busy since departing 	
	INN. Although the AKs no longer existed as an organized squadron after our departure from INN, the spirit 	
	that made the AKs special remained in tact.  

      	When it was officially announced that Red Baron II would include multi-player and internet support, a call went 
	out to all ex Arabian Knights pilots. With the return of Red Baron, so came the return of the Arabian Knights.
      	Unfortunately, Sierra remained true to form, and Red Baron II proved to be a major dissapointment.  About this
      	time however, the newly re-formed AKs discovered a brand new multi-player WWI Internet flight sim called Flying
      	Circus.  While still early in development, this sim proved to be exactly what the AKs were looking for.  Sierra 
	and Red Baron forgotton, the AKs hit Flying Circus like a sledgehammer and made an immediate impact.  After a
      	month of heavy recruiting, the squad now includes many of the best pilots on Flying Circus, and is widly considered
      	one of the top squads flying on FC.  

      	As the squad continued to grow, it became evident that it was time to think about branching out into other areas. 
      	After much debate, it was decided to re-structure the Arabian Knights Squadron into the Arabian Knights
      	Brigade,  allows us the flexability to operate squadrons in several different theators of operations simultaneously. 
      	The incumbant Flying Circus officers were promoted up to staff the Brigade level officers positions, and a new
      	command staff was selected to run the Flying Circus regiment, which soon became 1/FC.  Shortly after, the
      	Confirmed Kill (2/CK) and Red Baron II (3/RB2) regiments were formed, and more recently the probationary IBS
      	(4/IBS) regiment was added. 

      	The new AKs are a mix of old friends and new faces, some who were with the squad back in the early days of 10.4
      	Red Baron, and some who never got to fly under the AK banner on INN.    After nearly 7 years of existance, the
      	Arabian Knights organization is bigger, better and stronger than ever, and continues to be a force to recon with in
      	every arena in which we compete.  I don't know what the future holds for the Arabian Knights Brigade, but no
      	matter what your favorite on-line sim is, don't be suprised if someday you look behind you and find an AK on your
      	six. 

      	AKCobra 
      	CO, Arabian Knights