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Hello again,
New Grad ED nurse here, we get many overdosed patients especially opiates, or benzos, meth or ETOH intoxication, too many medications, &’ then you get the really interesting cases where a patient swallowed some lotion or any substance for “external use only” because they thought it was water.
My question is, when would you refer to poison control? During orientation &’ nursing school, I was told any of the cases above would warrant a call to poison control. Obviously for cases such as acetaminophen overdose or drinking unknown lotion, I would most definitely make the call. Additionally, most recently I had a fentanyl overdose patient come in. Me, under the impression that I had to call poison control for every overdose even if just to cover my ass, I called. Upon finding out, both a provider &’ fellow nurse both questioned my actions as unnecessary. When it came time to discharge, the patient remained drowsy but was AxO4. My thought process being that, if patients who receive morphine cannot wait in the lobby to be picked up per our hospital policy, then a fentanyl OD patient would be the same. This patient did not have anyone to pick them up, so I let them stay until I could figure out how to get them safely home. I was then told they didn’t need to stay and they could in fact wait in the lobby. To the experienced nurses here, what are the guidelines when referencing to poison control? What are the guidelines to safely discharging these patients without it coming back to bite you in the ass later?

Hi folks,
Thinking about getting into arborist/tree care work. Curious to hear from folks?
Is the pay alright? Obviously I’d be starting from the bottom.
It’s still seasonal eh? What’s the typical path? There’s a certification/ticket to be a certified arborist?
I have been in forestry for the last 13 years. Treeplanting, block layout, timber crushing etc. as well as construction and a bunch of other jobs. Lots of odd seasonal jobs so I’m looking for a “town job” that is a bit more stable.
I can run saw, fell most trees (not certified). Have first aid and no problems with heights.
What other things would be good to mention on a cover letteresume?
Located in the Southern Interior. Small/ish town. Is it a competitive job market for somebody without chainsaw tickets?

This is a long book, I found it in hard cover with a jacket. Her name is something like India or Violet, and it’s quite possibly the name of the book. She is an upper class Victorian woman who is betrothed to a man in a lot of debt who is only marrying her to get out of it. She meets a man who’s name is something like Sid, who is trying to get out of the Irish crime family he was adopted into. They meet when she is on the run and he helps her through his shady part of town.
She had to go into the shady part of town for a cure for something, maybe an abortion for herself or someone close to her. There she discovered that the poor people were sick and wanted to help them and kind of became a moonlighting nurse and sort of discovered the concept of bacteria and the importance of cleanliness when dealing with sick people, which she struggled to convince her doctor.
She got sick and ended up marrying her fiancé despite finding out that he was using her. Either her or the male lead were shipped to Australia and they had to find each other in the Outback.
It was more a saga than a fluffy historical romance. The cover was dark with purple lettering and a flower I think. Please, I’ve been looking for this book for years! Long shot but I really hope someone can help me!!

I have been taking dupixent for over a year. It is very expensive, but it is the only thing that works for my eczema. I have been on Medicaid for many years and they have paid for it. I recently also got medicare and I'm having to use signa for my part D coverage.
Signa does not want to pay for it. They paid for a temporary 30 day prescription when I first started using them in March. At that same time they told me they would not pay for it anymore and I needed to apeal. I asked them how the appeal process works. The faxed a prior authorization application to my Dermatologist. The next day they called me with a voicemail saying the appeal was denied. I immediately emailed my Dr, I told her about the denial and asked if she even turned in the application yet. A couple days later my Drs assistant called me saying the application was on her desk, and that she will be in tomorrow to fill it out and send it in. So they Dennied the application before they got it from my Dr.
I called them several times trying to figure out what I need to do. They told me I need to mail in a written apeal. Or I can file one online. The website they gave me didn't work. I assumed it was a typo on my part due to language barrier between me and customer service. They recommend I file a grievance due to them denying the appeal. I did that.
I got a message from my pharmacy on may 9th saying the meds were ready. 2 weeks after I was due to take them. I thought they approved the appeal so I thought that was the end of my troubles.
Today I get a letter in the mail saying the grevience was denied and that I need to send in a written apeal. The meds I got in the 9th was a temporary supply. The appeal instructions are confusing. There is a website that is the same non functioning broken link as before, and a mailing address to send in a written apeal.
They are making this nearly impossible to apeal. There are no instructions on how to send in an appeal or what needs to be on it or anything. I asked them today how I'm supposed to do that and eventually they told me I needed to send in an application for the written apeal. This is when I lost it. I asked them why they didn't tell me this months ago.
This has caused me intense anxiety and depression due to all of the uncertainty. Do I have any type of a case against them for the pain from not receiving my medication for the 2 weeks and the emotional suffering I have been going through?
TLDR- my new insurance won't cover a medication, that my old insurance was paying for. The new company is making it difficult to appeal the denial, that they Dennied before receiving my Drs prior authorization.

To start, my husband is the best. He’s typically incredibly kind, patient, & gracious. We just learned I was pregnant in late April - unexpected.
I’m six weeks & a week ago my MIL suffered a severe stroke. She’s in the hospital, but stable. She has a very long road to recovery. It really sucks & we are heartbroken. We haven’t shared the news yet with our families, but she was the one person we more most looking forward to sharing the news with. She’s been waiting for this. It’s her first grandchild. We hope to share the news with her once she’s more aware & in rehab.
I work FT as an EA for 3 execs & I manage an employee who I probably should have fired two months ago but it’s my first time managing & I thought I could mold them. Now that they will need to cover me while I’m on maternity leave I’m not sure they could handle it. Very low initiative & I will need to have that come to Jesus with them very soon.
Last week I pushed myself a lot. I made dinner for his family, commuted via train, slept horribly for 3 nights at my in-laws, went to a graduation party, sat for a total of 4 hours in traffic. I’m just exhausted even thinking about last week. An absolute blur
He will travel back out to visit his family this weekend & asked if I wanted to see an air show. I’m anticipating 3 hours of travel there & back, if we avoid traffic, & also proposed getting on friend’s motorboat.
He went to bed upset because I heard motorboat & immediately said no. “What’s wrong with you? Is this how it’s going to be?”
I just want some time to myself. This has always been my thing. I want to have my own schedule this weekend & not be on anyone else’s time. I have to start cleaning out my space at home & preparing for the maternity convo with my boss next week. We don’t have leave in place & I need to research what’s available to us & how to negotiate what I want. I also want to sleep & get back to moving my body.
I know he is stressed about his mom’s condition but I feel like I’m being viewed as lazy & selfish.
I’m so tired. Both mentally & physically. Having a baby was not a part of my plans. It’s just a lot to cope with.
While unexpected, I am looking forward to loving this little nugget & being the best momma I can be. As soon I get past my anxiety over childbirth

Fascism has a number of essential characteristics but the most distinct is palingenetic ultranationalism: The myth that the nation is an organic body composed of a downtrodden but authentic "common people" who have been betrayed, victimized, and derived of land and money by out-groups (especially Jews, LGBT folks, immigrants, and liberals), and the nation must be reborn and grown larger, phoenix-like, from the ashes of its downtrodden state through the cleansing fire of violence against those out-groups and their allies (especially their allies among the "common people") and the seizure of their land and property, regardless of how many "common people" must be sacrificed in this process of violent "purification"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palingenetic_ultranationalism
Palestinian nationalism has all these definitional features. Its central myth is that "the Palestinians" (whose language, Arabic, lacks the letter P) have been betrayed, oppressed, and deprived of their land and money by Jews, and "Palestine" must be reborn and grown larger, phoenix-like, from the ashes of its current corrupt theocracy through the cleansing fire of violence against Jews, LGBT people, and liberals (especially liberal Arabs who believe in co-existence with Jews and LGBT people), and all those who support them, regardless of how many human shields, child soldiers, and hospitals with bunkers underneath them must be sacrificed in this process of purification
This Palestinian ideological mythos entirely reverses victim and perpetrator
In the real world, there is an extensive and well corroborated archeological record (starting with the Merneptah Stele) showing the continuous residence of the indigenous Jewish inhabitants in the land between the river and the sea, but that Stele alone independently establishes their presence for at least the last 3200 years
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merneptah_Stele
In contrast, the Arab-Israeli conflict started relatively recently, with the battle of Tel Hal on March 1st 1920, when an Arab militia attacked the Jewish-owned farms at Tel Hal in an attempt to find French soldiers, eventually burning it to the ground. Prior to that there was no organized violence between Arabs and Israelis in the region:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tel_Hai
The next incident in the Arab-Israel conflict was the Nebi Musa riots a month later, on April 8th 1920, when Amin al-Husayni (who later allied with the Nazis and was a big fan of Hitler) gave an incendiary speech from the balcony of the Arab Club, kicking off what resulted in an Muslim mob of around 60,000 ransacking of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem:
https://www.palquest.org/en/historictext/6709/palin-commission-report
That's what started the war. It started with Arab people committing mob violence against Jewish people and that has never stopped to this day. Genocide is what Nazi and Communist-inspired Arab mobs and armies have repeatedly tried to do to the indigenous Jewish people of the land between the river and the sea, starting from the 1920 Nebi Musa riots, and continuing on through 1948, 1967, 1973, 1982, 1987, 2000, and most recently on October 7th
They keep trying to eradicate Jewish people off the land their ancestors lived in continuously for thousands of years, they keep getting their asses kicked every time they try it, and they deserve it every time they do
This makes sense when you understand the history of the region, and how Arab-ness was imposed by force (along with Islam) by multiple relatively historically recent waves of conquering Muslim settler-colonists
The Ottoman Empire was the culmination of those waves of Muslim settler-colonists, and after World War I it collapsed and in much of the Middle East was followed by Pan-Arab nationalism, which was a remarkably Nazi project. The founder of modern Palestinian religious nationalism (Amin al Husseini) was a close ally and personal friend of Hitler
https://time.com/4084301/hitler-grand-mufi-1941/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-official-record-what-the-mufti-said-to-hitle
After waging and escalating series of genocidal pogroms against the indigenous Jewish people (culminating in their alliance with the Nazis in World War II) and getting their asses kicked, Palestinian nationalism (as distinct from pan-Arab nationalism) emerged a fundamentally Soviet project
That is not an exaggeration. 100 years ago most people in the region defined themselves as Ottoman, by their village, or by their religion. Arab nationalism is a relatively new socially constructed weapon, made up by unambiguous fascists (like Sati Al-Husri, Abdulrahman Badawi, and Amin al-Husseini) and communists (like Fawaz Taraboulsi or Suhayl Idris) to mobilize hate against and justify the murder of their imperfect but much more reasonable democratic enemies (who also happened by the enemies of the Nazis and Soviets)
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/liberation-arabs-global-left
Palestinian nationalism, as opposed to Arab nationalism, was created by the KGB after the repeated defeats of the USSR's Arab-nationalist proxies in 1948 and 1967. The blueprint for the PLO Charter was drafted in Moscow in 1964 and was approved by 422 Palestinian representatives hand-selected by the KGB. At that time, the USSR was in the business of creating "people’s liberation" fronts. The KGB founded the PLO as well as the National Liberation Army of Bolivia in 1964 led by Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and the National Liberation Army of Colombia in 1965
The “Palestinian Liberation Army” was contrived by the KGB, much like the KGB devised the Bolivian National Liberation Army, Greek People's Liberation Army, Malayan National Liberation Army, etc etc. It created this Arab army in the early 1960s following the failure of the troops of various Soviet-puppet-ruled Arab states to destroy Israel. The KGB drafted the Palestinian National Charter and handpicked the 422 members of the PLO council that approved it. As the KGB's director said at the time, "We needed to instill a Nazi-style hatred for the Jews throughout the Islamic world, and to turn this weapon of the emotions into a terrorist bloodbath against Israel". Likewise, both the Palestine National Covenant and Palestinian Constitution were drafted in Moscow
https://stanfordreview.org/deception-palestinian-nationalism/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_involvement_in_regime_change
The most popular Palestinian faction currently, Hamas, pointedly opposes multi-ethnic pluralistic democracy. That's what Israel already is and they hate it. Hamas also explicitly opposes a two-state solution, wants to expel and murder Jews, and impose an Islamic theocracy by force
The founding covenant of Hamas, which they created their terrorist organization around in 1988, opens with a message that precisely encapsulates Hamas’s master plan. Quoting Hassan al-Banna, the Egyptian founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is a constituent member (Article 2), the document proclaims, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
After some general explanatory language about Hamas’s religious foundation and noble intentions, the covenant comes to the Islamic Resistance Movement’s raison d’être: the slaughter of Jews. “The Day of Judgement will not come about,” it proclaims, “until Moslems fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and k-ll him.”
Article 11 spells out why this annihilation of Jews is required. Palestine is described as an “Islamic Waqf”—an endowment predicated on Muslim religious, education, or charitable principles and therefore inviolate to any other peoples or religions. Accordingly, the territory that now encompasses Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank is:

consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up … This Waqf remains as long as earth and heaven remain. Any procedure in contradiction to Islamic Sharia, where Palestine is concerned, is null and void.

In sum, any compromise over this land, including the moribund two-state solution, much less coexistence among faiths and peoples, is forbidden.
https://web.archive.org/web/20231010215457/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/hamas-covenant-israel-attack-war-genocide/675602/
And Hamas has the support of somewhere between 65-80% of the Palestinian people
https://www.awrad.org/en/article/10719/Wartime-Poll-Results-of-an-Opinion-Poll-Among-Palestinians-in-the-West-Bank-and-Gaza-Strip
To understand the Palestinian strategy in this latest phase of their forever war, see here:
How Hamas Uses Civilians as a Weapon - The Dark Side of Clausewitzian War
https://deadcarl.substack.com/p/how-hamas-uses-civilians-as-a-weapon
Both Palestinian leadership and street have repeatedly acting as willing pawns, first of the Nazis, then of the Soviets, and now of the contemporary fascist Axis that includes Russia, China, and Iran. The historical Palestinian embrace of Nazi, Soviet, Islamist, and modern Axis fascism (and their rejection of democracy and equal rights) only makes their rationale for doing do so, and the nature of their project, more clear
Palestinian-ism is fascist, and everyone who understands and opposes fascism should oppose it
A contextual note: I am not Jewish or Israeli. My closest relatives in the region are from a bit north of there. None of this should need to be said. The content in this article should be obvious, and generally is obvious to those with relevant experience on the ground. Unfortunately we live in a world where disinformation drowns out accurate historical context so apparently this needs to be said once again

Ok this might be a bit long... I'm in the state of Massachusetts and been on workers comp since October of 2021. The limit here is 3 years and this October makes it the 3. Everything's was going good and adjuster always paid my checks bi weekly and most my meds. I temp at my job went crazy and attacked me with an almost 2 foot pipe wrench that weighed at least 20 lbs. I was in my car and he destroyed it along with my face head and shoulder. I was knocked out for I really don't know how long but was pouring blood everywhere. Me and this man never had an issue or words at all. So I was sitting in my car eating lunch and was dark since I worked 2nd shift and there was basically no supervisors on my shift. I don't really eant to get more into the assault but will say I had eye damage esp. from the glass from the first strike through my window that knocked me out. My shoulder was injured and motion is back but couldn't finish PT due to my migraines which got better but with quilipta and zavzperat spray and Botox injections from a nuero. I still get them and triggered by certain things but did improve a bit since 2021.this man was not even clocked him my boss invited him to live there and sleep at the warehouse whenever the office went home and he would come since he was homeless and sleep wake up drink and just very odd guy which me and a co worker complained many times about his drinking and making us uncomfortable and my boss would just laugh. So they knew there was negligence and co operated fully and so did workers comp up until few months ago started sending me to imes which is when I finally got an attorney.my state can't use for apin and suffering when it comes to workers comp. The thing I face know which I did have anxiety and depression a bit in the past and was in and out of therapy through the years with self medicating before that around 2008 off and on also due to my brother's death. Since this assault though wow I panic daily about little things. Extremely scared to drive or leave the house. My family does almost everything for me and I'm a 37 yr old male. I'm on about 12 meds total and 9 is for mental health. I am diagnosed with post concussion syndrome, agoraphobia, depression, anxiety and insomnia. Of course the imes the insurance sent me to treated me so bad the first was a neurologist and tried to treat me as a psych patient the second wasn't rude and was actually a psychiatrist but could tell was not listening at all to me and wrote I have no issues and I am all good just like the first time. My attorney sent me to his own ime that will say just based on my pictures and medical records that I am disabled for life. My neurologist therapist and psychiatrist all wrote great letters but said they don't know if or when I will get better but also didn't say I am disabled for life and that's what my attorney is looking for but said the letters will help and are greatly written esp. how it goes against the imes. He said the judge knows how it goes insurance gets there guys they pay 900 to to make a report and my attorney gets his guy and plus treating Dr s that the hospital recommended through occupational therapy. My memory is very bad and sorry if I'm all over the place. My question is I have court on June 4. Saw my attorney Dr. Yesterday. Today attorney called me to talk about the case. He said you're payments stop October anyway and I'm sure I can get it to that but October comes the judge can cut off all money or extend it 4 years of checks but cut in half which is like 43000 in them years he said he would like to fight for full life long disability but due to my age being 37 it's an uphill battle but doesn't mean he can't get it but if I was in my mind 40s he said he'd have full confidence getting it. That's one my questions about the age thing also he told me they said well we would offer about 45000 to settle and a little more to settle the mental part of it he laughed at them he said. He said I can get you 100,000 but probably and this is all jus predicted but about 75,000 before I pay him his 20%. I really don't know what to do. I'm afraid it's such a low amount for head I jury and sever mental trauma where I don't have friends anymore and don't leave the house and pa ic non stop. Also want to be done with this and try and move on like my dr.s said maybe you'll start healing once this is behind you. I do have mass health insurance and they fill a lot scripts no problem when workers comp should be. So my attorney thinks it's fully up to me and court is less then 2 weeks and it takes him about a week to put together a settlement amount request hes cobfident about 75,000 i said i need to think hes said of course. I'm thinking I should ask him I won't take less than 80,000 but look more for 85,000 or little more. More I get he gets I know. I just don't want to piss him off he's very intimidating blunt straight forward guy. Any similar stories and advice should I say ok go for 75 or should I say try for 80 or85,000. I feel like if he thought he could get it he would since he gets a percentage. Sorry for the long rant guys. Any advice is helpful,tia.

First a couple legal acronym meanings for those unaware of what these stand forTRO-Temporary Restraining order EPO-Emergency Protective Order.
I 38f reside in Rverside County, CA. I’m wondering how to go about filing a lawsuit against my former landlord for his illegal self-help eviction as well as him knowingly allowing me to live in uninhabitable conditions. When I attempted to withhold rent and make him aware of my decision to do so, He violently assaulted me, harassed me in many other ways, and retaliated against me in the most unbelievable ways (ie. shutting off my electricity, water and plumbing, witholding my mail, and keeping me from my patients as the house on the property that he owns but doeNOT live in was my place of employment at the time.) He also caused my great financial ruin in one of his attempts to have me removed from the property by filing a false TRO and EPO against me forcing me to have to leave for 6 weeks. I had to shell out thousands of dollars in air bnb fees due to that little stunt. He also never allowed me to gather the remainder of my things as when I arrived to do so, he had random people moving my things out of the unit that I was still in lawful possession of. He not only violated my tenancy rights, but also basic human rights and continues to do so with the tenants that still reside there. I want to stop him from continuing to do so. EVERY single government entity I’ve attempted to get help from (ie. Sheriffs dept, code enforcement, fair housing counsel, adult protective services, but especially the RCSD) has failed me greatly as I attempted to reach out to them numerous times and was told by every one of them that “there’s not much I can do for you”. My landlord violated the restraining order I had in place against him the very day he was served with it and when I called the sheriff about it, they did nothing! He has violated the restraining order more than once and neither time was he held accountable for doing so. The RCSD has been MORE than negligent. I even attempted a call to the watch commander whom pretty much gave me the same crap all the officers did. They keep telling me that they can’t get involved in civil matters when I know for a fact that this is not merely a civil matter but a criminal matter finable up to $100per day he stays in violation of my civil rights. It’s even stated in their penal code. So any attempt to hold him responsible for his blatant violations of my rights have been met to no avail So here I am doing everything to the letter of the law and going about this the legal way, while he’s basically being rewarded for being an abusive slumlord who sees my attempts at legal action as nothing but a game. I’ve got mountains of evidence to back up ALL of these accusations and need help persuing a lawsuit… the problem is…all of my savings were squandered when I had to pay thousands for an Air BnB when I was forced off of the property due to his false claims against me which prompted the approval of his EPO. At the hearing for that TRO, his claims were found by the judge to have no merit and so it was not extended. I attempted to seek payment from him for such expenses at that hearing, but the judge wouldn’t grant it to me bc I had not served him with my answer to the TRO prior to the hearing. I truly feel like I have a solid case here against my landlord and possibly even against the RCSD as I feel they pretty much assisted him in illegally attempting to remove me by cutting my utilities. Like I said though, since I accrued astronomical costs not only on temporary housing, but moving costs as well, my funds have been exhausted. Are there any lawyers that would possibly take my case on a winning contingency? I’ve tried to find one, but keep running into dead ends or just being referred to legal aid services which I always feel are kind of scammy. Any advice as far as what I can do to move forward with this matter even though I don’t have the finances to cover upfront costs?

So, last year I had cigna and around january I noticed my PCP of 4 years had changed so I called customer support and the representative said that my PCP would be changed back. He said she was in-network and everything was fine. So i continued going to her until April, when the offices informed me that the last 4 visits were not covered by my insurance. After 12 months of communicating with cigna, and having each representative review the original conversations they finally had an appeals board decide on the coverage. And they denied it. I am still waiting on the requested documents from my appeal decision but I am curious if they even acknowledged that I spoke to someone who said my PCP was in-network. In the appeals decision they wrote "this means this EOC does not provide benefits for any services you receive fro an Out-of-network provider" - "in network providers include physicians, hospitals and other health care facilities. Check the provider directory available at www.mycigna.com, or call the number on your ID card to determine if a provider is In-Network" - which I clearly did.
Am i fighting a losing battle here?

I figured I'd continue this sort of thing with the next weapon class down the list.
Historically, straight-bladed, one-handed or hand-and-a-half swords were sidearms. Either as a backup weapon on the battlefield or as personal defense/a status symbol for everyday carry. I think the devs did a good job of capturing that in game. As a class, straight swords are rarely if ever an outright bad choice, but in any specific circumstance they'll fall well behind a more specialized option. Once you have access to bigger, flashier, or more impressive options they tend to fall by the wayside. But if your main breaks or is the wrong choice for a fight, it's comforting to know that you always have something that's basically OK to fall back on.
One thing that's not historically accurate is the power stance. I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The damage output was pretty impressive and the specific way you swing both of them seems to have a more generous hitbox than one alone. Would I recommend doing it yourself? Well, definitely with Blue Flame and maybe with a couple others.
There are 18 straight swords in this game so let's get into individual details.
Shortsword
The main thing you notice using this is it's short. Deep insight, I know. Thing is, this is Dark Souls 2 and weapon hitboxes are at least vaguely the same size as the model. At times you can really feel the lack of reach when you find yourself whiffing attacks more than is healthy. The second thing you notice about the Shortsword is it isn't very strong. Straight swords don't have a whole lot of variance in their damage, but the Shortsword is definitely on the lower end of the scale and the above average counter damage can only do so much to cover for it. The third thing you notice is that the moveset is bloody fantastic. I'm always going to value a straight sword with a thrusting attack over one that only slashes. Thrust is just plain a better damage type than slash, it improves performance in tight spaces, and it gives your attacks more forward momentum to keep up aggression (and make up for short reach). It also may just be me, but it feels like the thrusting heavy attacks are better than slashing against NPC invaders too.
Longsword
It's only the second entry on the list and my thrust attack bias is rearing its head again. The 2 handed strong attack of the Longsword is just plain good. Between the damage and the stagger, there's parts of the game where I treat it more like a thrusting sword than a straight sword. There are a few other swords that have the same attack, but the Longsword is the strongest of the bunch (though it's only in the middle of the pack for the overall weapon class). The free fire infused one you can get is fine enough for the price. It performs about as well on average as the base model but it has some advantages against fire weak or slash resistant enemies and some glaring disadvantages once you hit a water or fire level. It's a lot more useful in vanilla where the Dull Ember is a lot harder to get. One last thing: I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up the Longsword's performance in PVP. I don't know nearly enough about that aspect of the game to really talk about it, but something about the specific intersection of reach, stagger, moveset, and requirements means this gets an S rank in a LOT of tier lists.
Broken Straight Sword
Something has to be the worst option, and it's the broken sword's thankless duty to fulfill this role. It's pitifully short, pathetically weak, and disappointingly fragile. It exists mostly to give players a clearly visible bottom of the barrel to compare other weapons to. One thing it does have going for itself is the lowest stamina costs of literally any weapon which is at least something. Poison or Mundane infusion can even make it borderline usable for the masochists out there.
Broadsword
One thing I've noticed about DS2's weapon design is that the first weapon you find in a specific class gets treated as the "default" and most others will be variants of it in some way. The Broadsword fits that mold here and that's not a bad place to be. It's got a decent moveset, decent damage, and it's decently easy to get and use. The thing is that being the archetype for the Basically OK weapon class means that you don't stand out at all. Its damage is a little above average, but it's reach is a little below and it's still well in the middle of the pack for both. All other stats and its moveset are completely standard. There's nothing wrong with using it, as long as you don't need to stab anything that is, but you'll find plenty of better options down the line.
Foot Soldier Sword
Lightweight, extremely low requirements, good reach, decent base damage for infusions, and an excellent moveset. If it weren't for the incredibly low durability this would be one of the best swords in the game. As it stands, well, it can make a decent emergency backup option as long as you don't need to rely on it too much.
Heide Knight Sword
This got done dirty in the Scholar version. First by being shifted from a guaranteed drop to a rare drop, and second when they made infusion much easier to unlock and devalued pre-infused and natural elemental weapons. It's still a Basically OK weapon but it's been knocked down to niche use rather than a staple. I'd say the best use case is someone who wants to use Faith from the start (for instance, helping a friend with a dedicated support build in co-op) and wants at least some payoff in damage before late game. I used it as my left hand weapon in power stance for quite a lot of the game since I wasn't planning to buff that hand anyway and it pulled its weight. That said, there's a reason I didn't use it in the right hand. I'm not a big fan of the one handed moveset. It's not bad per se but the underhanded swings just feel less powerful and I'm not sure why the strong attacks are borrowed from the Royal Dirk.
Varangian Sword
These first 7 swords are available pretty much at the start of the game, with varying levels of effort, so I'm loosely grouping them together as the "starter pack." Out of these, the Varangian Sword is the most viable as a main weapon rather than simply a backup. Broadsword moveset, Longsword length, and noticeably higher damage output than any of the other 6. Durability is something you have to keep in mind, and it can be especially bad for newer players who aren't as experienced with making it last, but for me it was mostly a non-issue.
Blue Flame
You know, when Elden Ring came out and there wasn't a single melee weapon that doubled as a casting tool I was a little confused. But then looking at the ones that appeared in DS2 and 3 and I start to think that the Blue Flame being actually pretty good as both a weapon and a casting tool was some sort of fluke. It's not really the best at either, as a staff it's a bit slow and only about third place in damage and as a sword it's Basically OK most of the time but suffers from the frequency of magic resistant enemies. But it lets me double buff easily in power stance and when you do, it's a blast to use. Now there is the question of infusion. Both Raw and Magic are basically direct upgrades in different ways. Raw works best if you plan to use it primarily as a sword since while it does improve the magic damage, it doesn't do so by a lot. Magic greatly improves spell damage, but is worse than base as a melee weapon, in no small part because it drops the physical damage down to "might as well not exist" level. Personally I think Raw is the better deal overall, especially since you have the option to apply Aromatic Ooze for an even better boost to spell damage than any spell buff, but I can see situations where more powerful spells could tip the balance in your favor. Also a heads up when you use this, due to some quirks in the buff formulas, Great Magic Weapon is only a few points weaker than Crystal on this weapon.
Red Rust Sword
This is an axe. Normally I would be fine with that since I fucking love the standard axe moveset for reasons I can't fully articulate, but this is not a particularly strong axe either. In fact at 40 Strength it's noticeably weaker than the Battle Axe even before you factor in the complete lack of counter damage. And the Battle Axe upgrades with normal titanite. And that;s not even touching on the Bandit Axe. Though granted it is at least strong for a straight sword if you count it as one. The one unique thing about the Red Rust Sword is its power stance performance (as you might have guessed from the person you get it from). It has straight sword compatibility and moveset priority but axe power stance moveset. This means you can pair it with some things that you normally can't pair with axes (daggers, thrusting swords, greatswords, spears, and lances specifically) and putting it in the left hand means it's less likely to override the moveset if you don't care for the axe power stance (and I don't).
Sun Sword
So the thing about weapons in DS2 with noticeably higher scaling than others in their class is they almost always have much lower base damage. This means that high stats are a requirement for use rather than a reward. Said scaling in this case is also a textbook example of DS2's misleading letter grades. The game tells you A/A but doesn't tell you that means 80%/45%. The other semi-unique feature, the one-handed stab, is not nearly as impressive or effective to me as the Longsword's two-handed one. And farming it is a complete pain in the ass even with the best luck boosts and a good plan. But let's take a step back from negativity and look at what this sword really wants you to do. It incentivizes physical stats and one handed use, which to me suggests one of two routes. Sword and board, especially since it comes with its own shield, but I've never felt that that's a particularly interesting playstyle. Or you can use it as the right hand in power stance, and that's where I think it shines. Again, having the option to use thrust damage when needed is very helpful, and the Sun Sword is one of the better options for this specific niche.
Drakekeeper's Sword
This just barely avoids being a direct upgrade to the Broadsword by having no counter damage. Above average reach and stagger, good damage, and high durability make this a very strong if not particularly flashy or dynamic choice. Just a pity that it's found almost at the end of the game.
Black Dragon Sword
Until you get very high stats, this is the strongest straight sword in the game. Both with a Raw infusion when compared to the physical options and with elemental infusions. And unlike the other strongest options, there's no traditional downside to balance it. High durability, Broadsword moveset, average reach, average weight, and no notable stat deficiencies. The real downside, aside from it being a pain to farm, is the opportunity cost of spending your boss upgrade material on something that is only the best of the Basically OK.
Yellow Quartz Longsword
Imagine a Longsword with a Broadsword moveset, worse damage, half the durability, and a bunch of crud smeared on the blade. Preorder weapons had a couple of hits and a bunch of misses. This one's a miss.
Possessed Armor Sword
This one has a few unique things going for it. The least remarkable thing is the above average reach, nice as it is. The moveset borrows a bit from axes and greatswords for a few attacks, and it works pretty decently. But the real draw is in the self-buff. L2 gives you 25 seconds of boosted fire damage at the cost of durability (much like the Watcher and Defender Greatswords). As for how well all of that works in practice, well it's not great but it's not really bad either. The buff doesn't add all that much damage, and fire is in many ways the worst damage type, but as long as you keep an eye on the durability and are not using it on things that resist it, it's Basically OK.
Ashen Warrior Sword
This sword has the same moveset as the Shortsword, with thrusting strong attacks when both one and two handed, so it makes a good first impression. And unlike the Shortsword it has decent reach so it's even better. The cracks start to show when you see the durability, though even then it's not a dealbreaker for me. That comes when you see the damage output and realize it traded actual real damage for bleed. Heartbreaking.
Puzzling Stone Sword
This weapon is unique top to bottom. The light attacks are already a pretty unique combination before you get into the weird extendo whip sword strong attacks. It's even got some weirdly high Dex scaling. Thing is, even with that scaling it's always on the lower end of damage for straight swords. And taking advantage of the extended reach with the strong attacks means dealing even less damage since they're way out of the sword's sweet spot. Still, as a rollcatcher or zoning tool it's pretty effective. Just ask Fencer Sharron.
Fume Sword
This is the longest straight sword by a decent margin, and acts even longer with those thrusting attacks. It has dark scaling, but no requirements in those stats and can be buffed with resin so it works just fine in physical builds. It also has above average counter damage. I think like the Sun Sword, this works best one handed with either a shield or another weapon, just like how its previous owner used it.
Ivory Straight Sword
It's a lightsaber. It deals pure physical Strike damage. It requires 40 Dex. It has no scaling. It weighs 0.5 pounds. It does not benefit from Flynn's Ring at all. It has 250 durability. It breaks after 25 swings no matter what you hit. It deals the least amount of poise damage of any weapon. It has the slowest attacks and the highest stamina costs of any straight sword. The 2 handed strong attack can deal 4 digit damage. Using that attack costs as much stamina as drawing a Twin-Headed Greatbow. I'm about 70% sure it can headshot. It's cool looking and unique. It sucks so bad. If you're intrigued by this thing's design and want to try to make the most of it, there's two different routes you can take to make it work. 1. Treat it like some sort of weird fucked up pocket great hammer and exclusively use the 2HR2. 2. Go play Elden Ring and build around the Carian Knight Sword or Coded Sword instead.

The following is a directive by the 2nd Shock Army instructing its subordinate formations and commanders on how to prepare and carry out a breakthrough, including organizational measures to improve its combat effectiveness. 2nd Shock Army was deployed in the rear of 2nd Belorussian Front in December 1944, preparing to participate in the East Prussian Operation. In mid-January to would successfully break out from the Rozhan bridgehead.

DIRECTIVE FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND CONDUCT OF THE EAST PRUSSIAN OFFENSIVE OPERATION
TO THE CORPS COMMANDERS AND CHIEFS OF THE TROOP BRANCHES OF THE 2ND SHOCK ARMY
When preparing for a breakthrough, I require you to focus particular attention on the following issues:
PREPERATORY PERIOD
[1)]
a) Study in the entire tactical depth of the enemy’s defense his engineering structures and obstacles, infantry and anti-tank fire systems, artillery and mortar groups, and the system of observation posts.
b) Know the areas where reserves are concentrated and the possible directions of counterattacks. Senior commanders (commanders of rifle corps and rifle divisions) must also know the operational depth of the enemy’s defense, the location of his operational reserves, the possibility of meeting them and on what lines.
c) Know where tanks are concentrated and the possible directions of their actions.
d) Using an observation system and studying all intelligence data in detail, establish the combat routine of the defending enemy.
2) Organization of observation
a) No later than December 25 the army headquarters will equip one OP [Observation Point] (main) in each direction and two auxiliary ones, providing them with communications equipment, surveillance equipment and specially trained officers.
b) Corps and division commanders must determine places for OPs and report to me no later than 12/18.
All OPs from the platoon commander and above must ensure complete observation of the terrain from the starting position according to the principle - every commander must see the battlefield.
Telephones should be placed at the OP for those where the commander is monitoring the battlefield.
c) Artillery and infantry observation should be organized by the army headquarters from 12/20/44, corps and divisions - by special order with the obligatory keeping of observation logs and a report to the top.
Observation data for the day should be submitted to corps headquarters and artillery headquarters to army headquarters by 10 p.m. daily.
d) At the OP from regiments and above, specially trained and instructed officers (3-4 people), headed by a staff officer and provided with security (2-3 machine gunners), must be located and monitored.
Observers should change every 2 hours.
The senior officer must visit the OP at least once a day.
e) Each commander must have a map with data from his personal observation and data received from other commanders (in different colors).
Artillery and infantry commanders should compare the data received by each of them about the enemy to clarify them.
f) By 12/28, the Army Headquarters will provide the corps and divisions with maps filled with the situation about the enemy based on data received from the defenders, observation from the OPs and from other sources.
3) Study the area
a) Study in detail the features of the terrain in front of the enemy’s front line of defense, in the tactical depth of his defense, and for higher commanders in the operational depth. Pay special attention to studying the terrain in tank terms.
b) Keeping in mind the open nature of the terrain, carefully study all approaches to the enemy’s front line, possible starting positions for the attack and the directions along which the artillery will advance.
Know the roads leading to the front line from the depths, and the roads in the depths of the enemy’s defense in the zone intended for the offensive.
4) Secrecy and camouflage of measures taken to prepare the operation
a) Regrouping of troops (infantry, artillery, tanks) should be carried out only at night.
Carefully camouflage the areas where troops are located, preventing the appearance of smoke during the day and the lighting of fires at night.
b) Eliminate any possibility of communication and conversations with the local population. Under no circumstances should commanders and fighters be allowed to be housed with local residents.
The headquarters of units and formations are usually located in a forest.
c) Warn all personnel about the inadmissibility of revealing the numbering of army units and formations.
d) Avoid talking on the phone about ongoing events. The commanders of the formations personally approve the lists of persons to whom telephone numbers are left and the right to converse.
Strictly prohibit the use of radio equipment until the moment of the attack.
e) Do not allow signs indicating unit numbers, field mail and commanders' names, as well as identification marks of hospitals and rear institutions to be displayed at intersections and at entrances to areas where formations and units are located. The latter will be displayed by special order.
f) Take the strictest measures to protect documents and maps, preventing their loss. Do not take maps with the details of your units to the front line.
g) Army headquarters, rifle corps headquarters, rifle divisions and rifle regiments organize a commandant service, establish commandant posts and patrols and carefully instruct them.
Commandant posts and patrols should not allow accumulations of vehicles, horse-drawn vehicles and manpower, especially in areas of visibility, and ensure strict compliance with all camouflage instructions.
Inform all personnel that the requirements of commandant posts and patrols are mandatory for all officers, regardless of official position.
h) All reconnaissance should be carried out in accordance with special instructions.
5) Combat training
Combat training begins on 12/20/44.
Combat training of troops differs from general combat training in that it is carried out in a specific environment.
Commanders of formations and units should organize combat training based on the specific tasks of each unit (being in the first or second echelon, with whom and when it interacts, etc.).
Conduct combat training on terrain as similar as possible to the one on which you will operate.
Corps and division commanders should be ready for an operational game at army headquarters by 12/26/44 based on the materials and conditions of the operation being prepared.
6) Work of headquarters
a) All headquarters prepare a complete schedule of urgent reports and the procedure for its implementation.
Establish a list of officers responsible for information from higher headquarters, formations of supporting and interacting units.
Consider the failure of the transmission of at least one report at any link to be an emergency.
Pay special attention to the truthfulness of the information.
b) Check the readiness of all means of communication: telephone, telegraph, radio, mobile vehicles (liaison officers, cars, motorcycles, etc.).
Have a reserve of radio equipment to create intermediate stations, especially for communication with mobile groups.
c) Check the distribution of functional responsibilities among staff officers and their mastery.
d) Ensure control over the implementation of combat orders of commanders. Following a combat order, an officer of the operations directorate (department) must be sent to the troops to monitor the implementation of this order.
The officers sent must be instructed by the formation commander or chief of staff and have a firm knowledge of the mission of the formation, unit or subunit to which they are sent.
e) Minimize the production time for operational documents, without in any way “eating up” the time of lower headquarters.
f) Carefully work out in advance all interaction documents for the entire depth of the battle.
g) Prepare SUV (Covert troop management) documents in advance and send them to the troops.
Immediately upon receipt of them, organize training and ensure free use of them by all officers, especially officers and administrators.
7) Logistical support
a) Carefully check the condition of automatic weapons. Each fighter must have the prescribed number of cartridges, each machine gun must have the prescribed number of belts and disks. Belts should not be damp.
Check the winding of the seals, the tension of the return springs, the availability of spacer rings (spare), extractors and antifreeze fluid.
In rifle platoons, which are intended for special work in clearing mines and laying paths for infantry, have carts for pulling away wire and other obstacles.
b) Check the ammunition from the rifle to the gun. Determine where to store ammunition, who, how and where to supply it.
c) The equipment of each fighter must be checked (fitting of uniform, equipment, contents of duffel bag, etc.).
d) Prepare a backpack supply for soldiers in the amount of one daily allowance, the issuance of which will be carried out by special order of division commanders.
Check the feeding arrangements, especially on the first day of the fight.
e) All vehicles must be repaired, possible routes determined, fuel depots installed. Each driver must be familiar with these routes and road conditions in advance. Cars must have chains and tools (shovels, axes).
f) Put horse-drawn transport in order.
g) On roads in the army zone, install signs at all intersections indicating populated areas, marking altitudes and azimuths of directions.
h) In crossing areas, prepare gaps and exits from roads every 50 m in both directions. Crossings should be distributed among commanders of formations and a commandant service should be established on them, avoiding the accumulation of vehicles, horse-drawn vehicles or manpower.
i) Establish a procedure for evacuating the wounded. Designate sanitary picket points.
Explain to the soldiers that the wounded must bring their weapons to the dressing station, and the weapons of the seriously wounded must be picked up by orderlies.
j) Explain to all fighters the inadmissibility of using captured products and “junk”.
k) All commanders should check the unit’s logistics on a daily basis.
PREPARATION AND OCCUPATION OF THE STARTING POSITION FOR THE ATTACK
1) The day before the troops reach their starting position, mark the routes to it for each company to prevent wandering and mixing of units. Set up beacons.
Take the most decisive measures so that soldiers and officers cannot get lost and fall into the hands of the enemy. Under no circumstances should you allow yourself to go over to the enemy’s side.
2) Study the starting position and equip it so that the infantry and materiel are completely covered. Eliminate the possibility of exposure and losses of manpower and materiel.
Considering the dampness of the soil and the appearance of track marks on it after turning off the road, these marks should be immediately smoothed out.
3) Regiment commanders prepare and fix roads to pull everything necessary to the starting position.
4) Consider the organization of communication when reaching the starting position.
5) Reach the starting position over two nights.
On the first night, bring out heavy infantry fire weapons and direct fire weapons. Those guns that can be seen in positions by the enemy should be brought out on the second night.
On the second night, bring out the infantry.
6) When taking over a combat area from defending units, carefully study your own and enemy’s minefields.
Clear your minefields located in the depths of the defense in advance; those located in front of the front line should be cleared of mines two to three days before the offensive, organizing the protection of the passages.
Clear enemy minefields within two nights. This demining is carried out under conditions of careful camouflage from enemy observation.
7) Before leaving for the starting position, explain to all personnel: for what, where and how should they do it, what secrecy and camouflage measures to take.
Bring the combat mission to the fighters 4 hours before the start of the attack.
INFANTRY ATTACK AND COMBAT IN THE DEPTH OF THE ENEMY'S DEFENSE
1) Build battle formations not according to a template, but taking into account the specific actions of each unit and subunit.
During a frontal breakthrough, the battle formation will be straightforward, in a forest battle - along road directions, when crossing rivers - echeloned, and when fighting in the depths of defense - maneuverable.
Pay special attention to the placement of forces and weapons in combat formations at all stages and in all conditions, so that fire weapons do not lag behind the infantry.
Senior commanders check the decisions of subordinate commanders, carefully explain the shortcomings they made in the formation of battle formations and indicate measures to eliminate these shortcomings.
2) Every Red Army soldier must understand that the main goal of an organized breakthrough of the enemy’s defense is to reach the firing positions of his artillery in the first 2-3 hours of the battle.
3) Remind each officer once again that combined arms combat consists of three elements:
a) organizing artillery fire support,
b) organizing close combat between infantry and tanks and
c) organizing close interaction between these two elements.
4) Remember that the basis of artillery fire support is not artillery preparation, but the organization of artillery fire in the depths of the enemy’s defense.
Every officer must know that the success of artillery fire depends on good organization of reconnaissance, on his knowledge of the capabilities of all means of reinforcement and the correct formulation of tasks.
5) An infantry strike must be preceded by a fire strike. This means that it is necessary to follow this order: reconnaissance, then fire strike, then attack, and not the reverse.
6) During the attack, under no circumstances should infantry be allowed to lie in the first trench. It is dangerous because it causes a desire to take cover and, as a rule, is always targeted by enemy artillery.
Don't linger at temporary stops; The longer people lie, the more difficult it is to raise them, the greater the losses.
The attack must be swift.
7) All means must be used to hit one place. Everything must be linked together.
I forbid pointing at others: “The tanks failed,” “The infantry did not rise,” “The artillery did not support.”
Check the implementation of interaction issues at all levels.
The artillery commanders will be with the infantry commanders.
8) During a battle deep in the enemy’s defense, obtaining accurate data on the enemy’s behavior becomes of utmost importance. Report about the enemy only quantitatively, and not organizationally, i.e. 30-40 soldiers and not a company or platoon.
Report exactly where and what enemy firing points are hindering the advance. Do not allow the expressions: “Heavy machine gun or mortar fire.”
9) Each commander knows at any time the position and condition of the formation (unit). The situation report must always be truthful.
The commander must have the courage to report whether his unit can carry out the order at a given moment, and if not, then for what reasons.
10) The depth of the enemy’s tactical defense in front of the army’s front lies at the line of 6-8 km from the front edge (the artillery positions). Until we reached the artillery positions, the breakthrough was not realized.
11) Consider the tactics of using tanks by the enemy:
a) for counterattacks with small groups of infantry,
b) as fixed firing points (armored fortified points) and
c) in night battle conditions.
Introduce to every officer the procedure for organizing anti-tank defense, which should include:
– a two-tier construction of the AT defense is provided;
– measures to combat both counterattack tanks and armored fortified points are indicated.
Take measures to consolidate occupied lines.
The two-tier construction of AT defense should be understood as follows:
– first tier – fire weapons from platoon to regiment (from anti-tank grenades to regimental guns); this tier is mobile and is located in infantry combat formations; his task is to fight enemy tanks and self-propelled guns encountered along the path of troops;
– the second tier is organized in depth from anti-tank fighter regiments and other artillery reinforcement means. This tier moves in jumps from line to line and ensures the advancement of the infantry.
A solid knowledge by officers and soldiers of the order of constructing anti-tank support prevents tank fear.
Each unit should have groups of sapper-hunters to blow up tanks.
12) The battle must be continuous, waged day and night. Continuity is achieved through reserves and the use of battalions specially trained for night combat. When issuing an order to commit a reserve to battle, the same order should also indicate the creation of a new reserve.
The order for a night battle should be given in such a way that the unit is not late in starting action.
13) The attack must be general. Do not allow the formation's battle to turn into battles of individual units. This can only be achieved by good observation of the enemy, knowledge of the situation, immediate response to the course of the battle, and solving the problem using fire weapons.
14) The battle must be deep, which means that commanders are required to know not only the object they are attacking, but also what is behind it, by organizing deep reconnaissance.
15) Provide advance relocation to new command posts and OPs. The relocation plan must be approved in advance by a senior commander. The axis of movement of the command post must be known to junior commanders.
You can move to a new point only when communication is established there.
16) Commanders who have personal radio stations should always keep them with them and during the offensive do not move forward without them.
17) The names of the commanders of units and formations are addressed on the radio only by their operational call signs, because some of them were published in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and mentioning them will enable the enemy to establish from which front these units or formations arrived.
18) Prohibit communications on the radio in the clear. Use only communications tables, reference diagrams and coded maps.
ISSUES OF ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FIRE
1) All commanders should check their subordinates’ knowledge of the materiel, ability to eliminate delays, and tactically, competently, fire and use each type of weapon.
2) Check all weapons for trouble-free operation and combat accuracy.
3) Require officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel to make full use of infantry fire, especially at the moment when artillery fire will be transferred from the first trench to the second.
Carefully consider infantry fire according to the stages of the battle.
2-3 minutes before launching an attack, heavy machine guns should open fire on the enemy trench under attack. Be sure to take into account which heavy machine guns will go on the attack with the infantry and which ones will support them with fire.
Light machine guns must be completely in the combat formations of the attacking infantry and fire on the move and from short stops.
Fire from machine guns on the move during an attack, taking into account to save ammunition when you need to fight in the second and subsequent trenches.
4) Artillery commanders should not dismiss the organization of fire combat for the infantry itself. Take into account the fire of heavy and light machine guns in planning.
5) The guns will be assigned to companies and platoons; you should always help them move with you, and not abandon them.
6) Commanders of rifle corps and divisions and artillery commanders should give instructions to officers up to the company commander on how and what type of artillery should be assigned tasks.
7) Each commander is obliged to know what assets are operating in his offensive zone in addition to his group. Every leader should inform his subordinates about this so that they can take it into account when making a decision.
8) Division commanders must approve the OP for direct fire guns. Each direct fire weapon must have its own target, the nature and position of this target, the number of shells to hit it, and the time for their consumption.
Rifle corps, divisions and regiments must have general fire plans for direct fire guns.
Direct fire guns should only be placed on the observation posts when the latter are fully prepared and all work is camouflaged. After installing direct fire guns, they should also be carefully camouflaged so that the enemy could not guess their presence even with the help of photographs.
9) In terms of artillery fire for the destruction of trenches, each artillery and mortar battery must have its own area, preventing firing in areas.
Check target numbers with batteries and guns to ensure there are no typos or errors. Also check the trench numbers.
10) Particularly consider the issue of organizing fire to repel counterattacks of small groups of the enemy, with the help of which he seeks to delay our advance. In such cases, the counterattacking infantry must be met with organized fire and, pursuing it, burst into his trenches on the shoulders of the enemy.
11) When moving artillery, first of all move those batteries whose fire has reached the [range] limit.
ISSUES OF USING TANKS AND SELF-PROPELLED GUNS
1) Eliminate the shortcomings in the use of self-propelled artillery that occurred in previous battles: excessive fragmentation of self-propelled units, the use of self-propelled guns as tanks, lack of proper assistance from sappers in clearing mines, building bridges, etc.
Self-propelled guns are used to reinforce regiments as infantry escort weapons.
In regimental battle formations, self-propelled guns should be placed behind the infantry.
2) Provide assigned tanks with fire from the guns of the infantry's anti-tank system. The guns accompanying the tanks must be accurately aimed at the enemy firing points that they need to suppress.
3) Fully use the minesweeper tanks attached to formations. The actions of these tanks will be supported by infantry fire.
To remove and neutralize mines not detonated by minesweeper tanks, assign sapper groups to accompany them.
ENTERING RESERVES INTO BATTLE
(second echelons)
1) Take all necessary measures to eliminate the possibility of delay in bringing reserves (second echelons) into battle.
The commanders of the reserve units must be at the OP together with the commanders of the units advancing in the first echelon.
2) Commanders of reserve units are required to conduct reconnaissance on all possible directions of action of their units.
3) Thoroughly work out on the ground issues of interaction related to the introduction of reserves. Determine the boundaries of deployment, reassignment of reinforcement equipment, establish signals and the procedure for organizing communications.
Avoid delays in switching amplifiers.
INTRODUCTION OF MOBILE GROUPS INTO THE BREAKTHROUGH
Commanders of rifle divisions and regiments can be appointed heads of mobile groups. They need to remember the following:
– more initiative; do not wait for the decision of senior commanders;
– conduct thorough reconnaissance, especially engineering;
– always have a group of sappers ready to clear mine routes, fix roads, and build bridges;
– in case of major damage, use all available human resources to correct it, without waiting for the sapper units to arrive;
– ensure communication both within the group and especially with the highest headquarters of the formation in whose zone it operates;
– before the introduction of a mobile group, check that the issues of interaction, communication and support have been worked out by the commander in whose zone the group operates.
BATTLE MANAGEMENT ISSUES
1) By 12/20/44, check the staffing, composition and preparedness of the headquarters of company and battalion commanders and the availability of communications equipment. Avoid loss of control in this link.
Every officer must once again understand that control during battle is the basis of success; its loss threatens to disrupt the offensive.
2) Rocket signals should be a means of control only by the regiment commander. Other commanders duplicate these signals.
The signals should be common throughout the breakthrough area.
3) Use only white flares to indicate our front line when flying our aircraft. These missiles should only be launched at the very front line. Prohibit the use of white flares for any other signals. Corps commanders should check and report the presence of white flares and signal pistols.
4) Ensure that rifle units (companies) are always combat-ready. It is necessary to maintain a combination of manpower and fire.
After each battle, restore the combat readiness and firepower of the attacking units.
5) Each commander must have two pre-appointed deputies.

Hi there,
My dad passed away a few months ago in Virginia. He was in the hospital (ICU) for almost 3 weeks before ultimately passing away, he was also uninsured (unbeknownst to me). Fortunately, he did have a Will and instructions for a Trust to be setup.
We have a lawyer who seems knowledgeable but she's not the most responsive and I've been beyond stressed out about all the "what ifs". She (our lawyer) has instructed me to send her any bills my dad receives and her firm is sending them letters regarding the status of his estate (less than $15k).
Now here's where it gets "interesting" - he had paid off his home, which is a huge accomplishment, but I fear that the creditors will go after his house or put a lien against it. Our lawyer has said that in VA they only have one year from the date of his death to come after any real estate. I've yet to receive any bills for his actual hospital stay (a few from random doctors totaling ~$5k) but I'm expecting bills in excess of $350k from what the counselors at the hospital had told me.
If those bills haven't arrived yet (2.5 months in) I suspect/hope when they do arrive, I'll share with the lawyer, she'll send the letter, we'll then be forced to assign an executor to the will/estate, they'll need to go through any necessary steps of the house being in the trust, place a lien against the home, etc.
I guess what I'm looking for here is reassurance that the "obstacles" our lawyer has put in place (not assigning an executor until forced to do so, sending letters declaring the estate is only $15k, and the house/assets being in a trust) will hopefully and succesfully delay any creditors beyond that year to place a lien against the home?
I apologize if this convoluted, I'm beyond stressed, worried, and grieving and trying to wrap my head around things. Thank you so much for taking the time to read through all this - I really do appreciate it and this was rather therapeutic :).
Have a great day.

Sorry for the long post, but I promise, its a good one. For some context, I work at a busy medical clinic that is its own standalone entity, no hospital attached to the clinic. We have 50+ rooms being used at any given time and have an urgent care that allows for walk-in appointments. Yesterday, I was asked if I would be able to stay after my normal shift to cover urgent care as the PA working had a sick kid. Not a problem, I do this all the time and am happy with the OT and knowing its either incredibly busy in urgent care until doors close, or its completely dead. Yesterday, we saw basically no one after 4p.m. (we are open until 10p.m)
All that changes when 45 seconds prior to closing, in comes boomer, boomer's husband, son-in-law, and two grandchildren. I hear, "glad we made it! Looks like you guys were just about to go home." Front desk staff checks boomer into the computer and then hands her an iPad to do her intake forms as she was a brand new patient for our clinic. Cue the stereotypical "back in my day" BS I head multiple times daily about how the iPad is so difficult to fill out for anyone who isn't a child.
In the interest of getting home sooner, I decided to get her back into a room, get tests started, and help her with the iPad. Going through the intake questions everything seemed fine. A few minutes go by when boomer's husband starts yelling, and I mean SCREAMING, at the top of his lungs at me that their wheelchair "didn't have the leg rests like the hospital's wheelchairs did. Why don't you have those wheelchairs here????" No problem. I can help with that, literally part of my job. I showed them how to use the wheelchair, got her leg supported, and continued asking questions. Then, boomer AND husband start screaming telling me the clinic is too cold, that I should have offered her a warmed blanket, coffee, and some kind of item to eat prior to bringing her back to the room. Like this is a restaurant or 5 star resort.
At this point I was flabbergasted, I've spent 15 minutes in the room with the patient helping with the iPad, explaining "a friend who you treated like family and had cancer has no medical relevance to your medical history," and trying to keep the rest of the family comfortable as their wife, mother-in-law, and grandmother was being treated. I looked at them and said, "we don't have any warmed blankets as this is not an emergency room or surgical center, but I can try to find a few gowns or towels we can use as blankets." Nope. Continued screaming and complaining. However, the tone had shifted from "this clinic is bad" to "you're the issue," meaning the screaming started to be directed towards me. As a healthcare provider, I have fairly thick skin and am able to shrug most things off with no problem. I generally will just leave the room for a few minutes to let the situation calm down and then return with a "kill'em with kindness" attitude. I left, ordered the tests I wanted to be run, and went and ended up finding a few blankets we had from a previous shipping mix-up. I walk back into the room, smile on my face, ready to give them the good news that nothing seems to be abnormal on any of the tests and she will be completely fine in a few days.
Oh boy was I wrong, in more ways than I could have thought. I open the door and feel like I was clothes-lined. I stumble backwards, supporting myself with the door, look up and see husband going in for another punch. A total of three punches connected with my face before son-in-law was able to hold husband back enough for me to leave the room. We have panic buttons placed around the clinic and I told one of the clinic staff to call the police and push the panic button. Told them under no circumstances do you enter that room.
Few minutes go by and you hear sirens approaching, shortly followed by three police officers coming into the clinic. I explain the situation to the police, explain I am not looking to press charges, I just want husband removed from the location so I can treat his wife. Police understand and say they will remove husband and have him trespassed from the property. Husband must have heard this through the door because he SWUNG the door open, smacking his grandchildren who were sitting behind the door, quietly the whole time. The police saw this, grabbed husband and detained him in cuffs immediately. They then explain he could be charged with two counts of aggravated assault and a count of aggravated assault on a juvenile. He turns ghostly white, turns to me and says "I ONLY hit you three times, you're just overreacting. Why did you need to call the police? I did nothing wrong!!"
Now our policy is quite black and white in regards to unruly patients, especially since we are an outpatient clinic and not an emergency room. Absolutely zero, and I mean ZERO tolerance of verbal, physical, or sexual abuse of any staff member or patient by any patient, family, or guests will be tolerated. I mean, I was punched three times by a dude I wasn't even treating, close to 30 minutes now past closing time after a 10 hour shift. IDK what constitutes calling the police to this dude, but I feel this was warranted. Once husband had been removed from the room, I returned to the patient, now in tears because her husband was just taken away by police. She is yelling at me that I "should have known he was just having fun and joking." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I ended up giving the son-in-law the directions for her care that I had written on her discharge sheet, checked out her grandchildren (no injuries other than a very small abrasion on one of their arms), and escorted them out of the clinic.
Seriously could not have made this shit up. After being assaulted by her husband, I was the one in the wrong for calling the cops? Nah. That ain't right. Normally love my job, but last night was a tough one.
Edit: wow, didn’t realize how not pressing charges lets them get off my bad guys. I will chat with my bosses tomorrow and see how I can press charges. Sorry guys, I’ll get that changed right quick

Letters from Bermuda – The Arena Challenge
…..
To: Gregor
From: Steven
Today was an amazing experience. I’ve shared a lot about the amazing things here in Bermuda, but today was beyond all that! Marcel put on one of his acts, “April Showers,” which was fantastic, but the big thing was a group of four slaves taking on The Frost Gauntlet!!!
The whole place has been abuzz since these four stepped up for the challenge yesterday. Word has it that they killed two of the sorcerers here. The arena was packed this morning to see them face the first challenge – the Arena Battle.
Now, typically, they ask for volunteers from the guests to destroy the upstarts, but today’s battle was different – clearly something more personal to Tanner Freeman. Instead of allowing us guests to volunteer, they had brought in much more interesting opponents. I hadn’t seen these combatants on the island, so I suspect they magically summoned them for this fight.
You won’t believe it when I tell you who was in the lineup!
Freeman was running the show, which was odd – typically, Petoir Demavich is the Arena Master, and runs everything.
We could see the ragged group of four slaves chained in their waiting area via viewing monitors. They were pathetic in their useless clothes and robes. As the Thralls unshackled them, a very comely female started singing. Her voice was as enchanting as her delicious figure under her burlap clothing.
They emerged into the arena, huddled together like mice. Of course, the comely one with the sweet voice was in the back, along with a shifting-looking male in sorcerer’s robes. Leading them was a hideous-looking woman all covered in puss and sores and a bare-chested male who looked like he had just finished deadlifting twice his weight. Clearly, the two in the front were the brawlers of the group, and the two in the back were the brains.
The Thralls shoved impoverished clubs into the hands of the slaves, and it was interesting when the bare-chested one quickly passed his club to the bandaged and ugly woman. She looked like she could handle those shitty clubs pretty effectively.
Then Tanner introduced the winning team. Gregor, you must sit down for this!
First was Master Carlos of Dark Gate, armed with his majestic, heavy, silver sword and laser pistol. I commented to Darnmark, seated next to me, “Laser pistols are’nt good at range, but they pack a hell of a punch!”
Next was Master Timothy of Bloodforge, who also had his tell-tale heavy, silver sword and a GH2 Submachinegun. Darnmark remarked back, “Not a good range weapon either!” Which it is not!!!
I was on the edge of my seat as they announced the third opponent, Lord Steven of Frosthold. Can you believe it? I don’t know how Ms. Frost convinced him to join into this fight, but he’s an incredible sorcerer and him alone could defeat this ragtag group. Unlike the other two in light armor, Lord Steven was just in his robes and was wielding that incredible focus of his.
It was almost as if they didn’t need to introduce anyone else. This ragtag group of pathetic slaves was soon to be a skid mark on my underwear after these three took care of them. But we still were to have one more introduced.
Last, but not least, as Piotr Demavich himself, armed in his glorious heavy armor and wielding his amazing heavy, silver sword. Now, it's no wonder why Tanner was running the show. Clearly, they were pissed off at these four!
The entire arena was alive! I don’t know when we’ve seen such great compatants gathered in one fight – maybe the Bloodmoon Wars? This was sure to be a quick and very bloodly fight.
Well, that’s what we thought…
The four slaves, led by the ugly one, reacted instantaneously. Immediately, the comely one with the shapely legs started singing, and it sounded good. Immediately afterward, the bare-chested fighter surprised everyone as a purplish blast of energy fired across the arena straight at Piotr. As it exploded, all four of them easily lept to safely. In fact, Piotr was the only one who crashed into the ground on his belly – everyone else nimbly dodged the blast. The first shot fired seemed to do little more than disorient the inevitable.
The leader stepped forward as if to dare the four masters to come forward while the sorcerer started flying off to the side and concentrating. I was a bit concerned, but it was clear that Lord Steven would end this fight before it ever started.
That being said, I almost struggle to write this next part.
The bare-chested Spaniard, whom I had given little consideration, blasted Lord Steven brutally in the back. It was almost as if we were witnessing the attack over and over again as that evil purple energy drove into Lord Steven’s back, killing him instantly. And just like that, the crowd was as stunned as I was!
Piotr sprung forward, as did Carlos and Timothy, and gunfire rang out in the arena. Within seconds, the ugly female leader was down and unconscious. It was time for the tide to change, and we could see the fear on the slave's faces – they had got lucky, that was all!
Then, Piotr lost his grip on his sword, and it flew several meters away. Suddenly, an enormous wolf appeared, summoned by the slave sorcerer. Everything was happening so fast. The bare-chested one was blasting Pitor with his purplish energy that seemed to drive right past his armor and the wolf leapt onto Master Timothy. Meanwhile, Master Carlos was suddenly encased in some kind of rock crystal with his leg jammed in a crack in the arena floor.
Then, Pitor was unconscious, and Timothy was dead. It happened so fast, my head is still swimming Gregor! The attendants were immediately out in the arena, and the slaves were being ushered from the space. There was nothing but stunned silence in the entire arena – that, until Darnmark sneezed, pulling me from my surprise.
Letters from Bermuda – The Hunting Challenge
…..
To: Dimvhall
From: Heidee
I have to say, I love my job here at Bermuda. Manning the Control Room is always so much fun. Yeah, most of it can be boring, Heidee, but every once in a while, we get excitement. The past few weeks have been awesome! We have these new slaves that have caused nothing but trouble, and they’ve been on the drone-radar ever since – especially the one they call, Emer.
Well, this morning, they entered into The Frost Gauntlet!
We didn’t see much of it this morning, as it was in the arena, and Danny Boy mans those drone cameras, but he was upset. It seems that the slaves won the first stage and were moving on to the Hunting Challenge. Best yet, I was put in charge of the team that would monitor them.
The slaves were tasked with retrieving the Star Master – you know, the one I told you about – and they were totally going to fail. The drones zipped around and monitored their moves. One, a sorcerer, was super fast and kept losing us. Another one was really sneaky, and she kept slipping away. However, it was clear that they had no clue what to do and were totally lost.
Then, this Spaniard, whom they called Diago, blasted the Star Master and totally disrupted the whole creature. The sorcerer grabbed up the controlling Star Master and zipped to the bridge – man he’s fast at flying! The other three struggled to sneak there way back to the bridge, but one of them was dropped by the guests.
Suddenly, the sorcerer turned into a huge air bison and rushed over and rescued the downed slave. Everyone in the Control Room stood there with their mouths agape. I’m actually worried that I might get demoted to some lower duty.
But I do wonder how these four will fare in the next challenge.

I know this has been getting a lot of press in the news and a lot of posting on this sub, most of it being about the conservation angle, but bear with me here. If you're sick of hearing about threatened swallows and bats and salamanders and rare wetlands and native grasslands, let's talk finances, and a plan to shift funding that the developer had already committed to onto Alberta taxpayers. (Credit to my dad here, who like a good rural Albertan always reads the county council minutes in the local papers. I've generally read the stories on this that go through the major news outlets but I haven't seen this angle covered.)
This is from Kneehill County Meeting Minutes, May 02:
https://www.threehillscapital.com/news/11453

The background for the request is stated: “James Zelazo has been working very hard to move this project forward. The proposed project is within an approved Area Structure Plan. As per his subdivision application and his Development Agreement, he is required to build and pave 5.88 miles of the access road from Highway 9 to the site. He has found it challenging to raise investor funds for the construction of the road as well as the security required since it is an asset that they won’t own, so he has been in contact with different ministers to see what funding may be available to help facilitate this portion of the project.” The County has heard that the STIP – LMI (Local Municipal Initiatives) stream would be the best program for funding; a grant that is 75% province and 25% municipality “and suggested the Developer (Badlands Motorsport) could make an arrangement with the Municipality to pay the Municipality’s 25% share.” The cost could be $15M total. This information was shared with Council by the Developer.
Council moved to send a letter to confirm the above information with Minister Dresheen, and to ensure that this funding would not decrease the County’s normal STIP funding which is used for bridges and roads. Council, with all in favour, approved the writing of a letter. Reeve King noted that this is a made in Kneehill County project, with all revenue staying in the County.

So just to summarize:

• One of the only requirements that Kneehill County* gave the developer is that the developer had to develop and pave the road to connect the site with the #9 highway, which the developer agreed to. The estimated cost for this is $15m.
• Now, the developer has been unable to raise those funds through its investors.
• The developer has been in touch with ministries regarding funding.
• The county has heard that a local municipal initiatives fund would be most appropriate for this grant, which stipulates 75% paid by the province, 25% paid by the municipality.
• The muncipality is further suggesting that the developer pay the municipality's share, and is sending a letter to Minister Dresheen to inquire further, making sure doing so wouldn't impact other funding the county receives through this grant.

Now, there are a lot of things to unpack here. I think the biggest is that the developer is already reneging on financial commitments made. This should be absolutely a red flag that the project is not on solid financial footing, and devoting provincial money to it, especially with the lack of review that this has received, is absolutely irresponsible. And if the investors are looking to shirk responsibility for the road because it's an asset they don't own, how can we expect them to uphold the bare minimum of the environmental protections they've given vague lip-service about honouring?
Additionally: who are the ministries that the developer inquired with? Presumably Minister Dresheen's department of Transportation. Then someone with the county heard that the MLI grant would be appropriate? Who advised them of that? The Department of Transportation, perhaps? Then a plan is hatched for the developer to pay the county's share of that, removing any county obligation? Is it just me or does it sound like this is all a plan for the government to back the project specifically with taxpayer money, without having the province have to go through the usual optics of supporting a controversial project, and without having the county pony up their end of the cash normally required for this grant?
Regardless of who's idea this end-around is, it's an abuse of the concept of shared-infrastructure spending. The point of having shared infrastructure spending between multiple levels of government is so that both levels of government have skin in the game, so to speak; that a municipality identifies priorities that it is willing to put its own budget behind. If the municipality is not standing behind this grant as something that they are willing to invest in, then it is no longer a shared infrastructure expense but a direct government handout to support a controversial development that lacks its own solid investors. If his own investors don't want to pay for this road, and the county doesn't want to pay for this road, why should provincial taxpayers be paying for this road, when it serves nobody except the developer and the track's private users? The purpose of infrastructure investment should be to support things that are to the benefit of people who live in the area, not prop up a high-risk development that primarily provides benefit to people outside the district, in the hopes of future tax revenue. Are people in other small towns okay with the government taking money out of this infrastructure investment fund to save private developments?
* For some additional background on the county politics here, the development is on the very corner of Kneehill County, and bordered on three sides by Wheatland County; this includes the nearby community of Rosebud. As such most of the locals who object to this are in Wheatland County, and have no standing or connections to challenge this in Kneehill County. This would absolutely be quashed if the development had to go through Wheatland County instead. Kneehill County is highly financially motivated at the moment because another one of their big-development-for-tax-revenue schemes, a plan to build a massive landfill near the village of Carbon to handle waste material from Calgary, fell through this month after a huge local outcry. But with the racetrack, the outcry isn't from their own constituents so they'll do whatever they can to push that through, and the more of the bill the province foots, the better.
TL;DR: After having already talked to the government, a racetrack developer tells county to get $15m provincial government grant for the road development, which he had previously agreed to pay. He promises to repay the county for their share so that the development gets an $11.5m injection of provincial funding without the county needing to contribute anything.
edit: An additional detail, last year the largest grant under this program was $2.9m. Again, this project requires $15m in funding, with 3/4 of that from the provincial government. Last year, the town of Linden within the county of Kneehill was one of the few communities to receive money under this program, with $1m for a levee repair. The program lists paving park access roads as a valid reason for applying to the program, but it's hard to equate a road to an exclusive pay resort as having equal footing as to a public park.

Hello again velo, It's me. The guy that rides uphill in Japan. On my last post I mentioned some differences in racing in Japan saying it was for another post. Well, there appeared to be some interest in me making that post. As I mentioned then... I tend to ramble. I'm an English teacher at a small high school which leaves me with a lot of free time. I enjoy spending that time researching anything from training methodology to obscure Japanese history. I decided to use some of that time to write about road racing in Japan and it turned into... well, whatever this is. It's (sort of) a guide to racing your bike over here. I've organized it into sections, so feel free to read it all or skip through them. At the end I've attached racing adjacent notes as well as a small bio.
If this post is not appropriate for this subreddit, I understand. And while I don't want to self-promote I spend most of my time reading about Japan not only because I live here, but also because my wife and I host a podcast. We mostly ramble about our lives here as foreigners. It's mostly cultural, but as long time competetive cyclists we often talk about bikes too. We host a website where I write random articles, which is where this is ultimately hosted, with photos. If you're curious you can google my username and find us.
I tried to think about things I've learned along the way and put it into writing for anyone in the future that might move to Japan and have an interest in racing. If you have any questions or see any information gaps, feel free to ask! In September we'll be moving to the Netherlands... so maybe I'll have to do this all over again then. Anyway, without further rambling, here it is.
Race License
There are actually quite a lot of road events throughout the country. However, many are marketed towards recreational cyclists. Going as far as incorporating anti-competition clauses in their rules. So what do you do if you want to race? For starters, you’ll head to the Japan Cycling Federation’s website and register for a license. It’s in Japanese, but with the magic of Google Translate it shouldn’t be too hard to navigate. This is also for those currently residing in Japan. I think otherwise you would need an international license issued from your country’s governing body.
While on their website you can check the calendar of events that are scheduled. But, it’s not as simple as where I am from (USA) where once you have a license you can register yourself for almost any event and just show up.
Race Organizers
In most cases while the JCF is the licensing body, they are not the event coordinator. Events are hosted by a number of different governing bodies within the country. There’s the Japan Intercollegiate Cycling Federation (JICF), Japan Cycling League (JCL), prefectural federations such as the Yamaguchi Cycling Federation and finally the Japan Bicyclist Club Federation (JBCF). There are a lot of Js, Cs and Fs in the acronym lexicon over here. In this post I’ll be focusing on the JBCF because it was sold to me as Japan’s premier race organizer and the highest level of racing in Japan. It also seems to have the most robust calendar of events.
Declaration of my bias and shortcoming: The JBCF is the only organizer I’ve had any meaningful experience with. No, they’re not paying me. However I have won a cool towel, a coffee cup and some bar tape at their events. Actually I’ve given them quite a bit of money…
Teams
So you’ve got your JCF license and like me you’ve decided to participate in the JBCF. What’s next? Register for a JBCF account, sign up for events, race your bike? Almost. You do need to register for an account. After that, you need to find a team. That’s right, you need to be registered with a JBCF team to participate in races. This was a surprise to me and also a barrier to entry at first. As a new resident of Japan I didn’t know anyone here let alone a team that would let a random foreigner join.
How’d I do it then? Well, the first team I joined was through a friend of a friend of a friend. My second and current team I ended up getting to know because I took a bunch of KOMs around my new home. I guess Strava KOMs are worth something after all. If you’re looking for a team you could start by asking local shops, they often have a club organization that you can sign up for. If you’re desperate you can also make your own team. It used to only require two people, but I think they increased that to three or four.
Costs
I’m writing this in May of 2024, so the costs will be current as of that month. The USD to JPY conversion is sitting around 1 USD = 155 JPY.
Your first cost will be the JCF license fee. In my case, an elite rider over 23 years old, it was 5,000y for an e-license and 6,300y for the physical one. My first year I used the e-license, but my second year I paid for the physical one as a cool souvenir.
Beyond the license. You’ll need a team kit (bibs & jersey) and you may also be required to pay the athlete registration fee. To join my E1 team in 2024 I paid 43,000 yen. That included one team kit and the registration fee plus some small accessories (gloves, bottle, etc.). In E1 I paid all my own entry fees, which were approximately 8,500y per race.
My JPT experience was a special case. I paid roughly $1,200 (usd). But I received two kits (jerseys & bibs), a speed suit (SS skinsuit), windbreaker, vest, socks, etc. I also had the benefit of the “pro” treatment at races with lots of assistance. Was it a cold rainy day? I could ask for embro and they’d oil me up with a little massage. Needed a bike wash, snacks, or a trainer to warm up on? All provided. And all of my entry fees were covered. I never paid those out of pocket. It was a really cool experience and honestly I think I got my money's worth just in the races that I attended, let alone all the extras. Plus the team was above and beyond hospitable. A really great bunch of people.
Categories
Once you’re on a team you’re good to go! So which category should you race in? The JBCF has 5 big categories: Japan Pro Tour (JPT), Japan Elite Tour (JET), Japan Feminin Tour (F), Japan Youth Tour (Y1 & Y2), and the Japan Masters Tour (M). JET is further broken down into E1, E2 & E3. The general idea is male riders start as E3 and through results they work their way up to E1. If they’re highly motivated they’ll target a placement on a JPT Team.
Unfortunately for the women, I believe there is only one lump “Female” category. But in one of my most recent races a woman lined up with us for our race start. So that may be an option. For the Youth there’s U19 & U17. Masters is similar to the women’s category and I believe there is simply one “Masters” event, without age ranges.
Using what I know (USA Cycling Categories) I’ll try to make a comparison. E3 is your Cat 4/5 or Novice rank. E2 is around Cat 3/4 and E1 is roughly one big P/1/2/3 field. JPT is something like the US’s Domestic Elite field. Some JPT teams (and even some E1 teams) are UCI Continental teams. Although, honestly, some JPT riders are probably equivalent to strong Cat 3s.
In America I raced as a Cat 2 on the road, albeit I was a pretty weak 2. My first year in Japan I raced JPT and was able to hang in the peloton and finish events. My second year I raced as an E1, where I was very competitive and able to fight for podium finishes. That’s my experience and my basis for the above comparisons.
Events
Once you’ve got all the above figured out, it’s time to finally race! The JBCF organizes the following events: Road, Criterium, Hill Climb, Time Trial and Track. Criterium, Time Trial & Track are pretty similar to what you’d find anywhere else in the world. So for this post I’ll really just focus on Road and Hill Climb.
It’s worth noting that except for track, all of these events take place on public roads. But, unlike the USA, it seems the general rule in Japan is that for a race to be a “race” the roads need to be closed to traffic. Sounds great, right? Right! Or, mostly. Japan is a beautiful country with incredible scenery and fantastic road riding. Unfortunately, the JBCF uses very little of this. I think to minimize inconveniencing locals, cut costs, and make their lives easier, most of these events will take place on already closed circuits or around agricultural land (where no one lives or drives anyway). In practice they are “public” roads, but they only need to shut down one or two entrances to close off the entire loop.
Many “road” events are just very long short circuit races. A popular venue that hosts multiple races throughout the season is the Gunma Cycle Sports Center. This is a defunct cycling theme park built in the 1980s with a paved 6 km circuit. Some of the races in the higher categories can be up to 150 km! That’s 25 laps! And, they’ll be pulling riders. When I was racing JPT it was often a big accomplishment just to finish a race. It was a common occurrence for a break to get established with the big teams represented and the rest of the field to sit up, inevitably getting pulled before being lapped. It’s not uncommon for well over half of the field to DNF early on in these longer races. Sometimes to add a little spice to your life, they’ll run the course in the opposite direction one weekend.
So, I’m biased, but that style of “road racing” wasn’t for me. That’s what led me to the Hill Climb. At first, I thought it was just an uphill TT. But, it's a mass start! The last one I did was Mt. Ontake HC which was a 17.7km race gaining 1,150 meters in elevation finishing at an altitude just under 2,200m. I finished in 51 minutes. It’s more like an uphill criterium. You might explode, but you won’t get pulled. It’s also, of course, point to point.
Good things to know about a Hill Climb are the controlled descent and luggage delivery. When you finish you’ll be waiting at the top of the climb for all other riders and categories to finish. Sometimes this means you’re waiting for an hour or more! Thankfully the morning of the race you can give a bag to the organizers and they will deliver it to the top of the mountain. This is a great way to make sure you have extra layers and snacks waiting for you. Just make sure it’s packed in a bag that you can then easily carry with you on the descent.
Be extra mindful of the forecast. At Ontake in 2024 we started at the base of the mountain in temperatures around 16 celsius. At the summit it was 7 degrees and it started to rain! Thankfully I had a teammate who had driven to the top (you must register your vehicle) and he gave me a lift back down. If you’re riding down, the descent will be done in waves which are chaperoned and controlled by officials on motorcycles.
Registering
I can only tell you my experience and I’m not certain that this is how it always works. When I was in the JPT, I never paid for an event. Each team could send six riders and the team manager made a selection based on which riders requested to go to which event, they would then register you to go. In my E1 team I haven’t run into any rider maximums (we only have a few E1 riders), and I pay for each event. I still tell the team’s manager which event I want to travel to, they register me, but then I pay them back.
The Day Of
The JBCF events have been very organized. The week before they will release a list of registered riders along with a technical guide. The technical guide will include information about the course, where to park, where to check in, how to pin your numbers and more. It’s only in Japanese. Google Translate will be your best friend. Or if you’re lucky you may have a teammate that can speak some English and help you out.
Usually the check in process begins a couple of hours before the start time. You’ll go to license control and pick up your numbers and timing chip. If you’re doing a hill climb and need to, this is also the period of time you drop off your luggage to be taken to the summit. Get kitted & pinned up, then go to the “vehicle control”. They will check your bike against a jig, kind of like what the UCI might use, as well as check the weight (take your bottles off the bike when you hand it to them) and make sure your numbers are pinned correctly. A keen eyed inspector may even look at your helmet to make sure it has the JCF certification sticker. You could possibly be told to change helmets if yours doesn’t have the sticker. When they tell you that everything is OK, you’ll go to the table and sign the box with your name.
There are also meetings that will be happening. But, you shouldn’t have to worry about that. If the team manager can’t be present they will send an “attendant”. This person is responsible for going to the meetings and reporting back to the riders.
Podiums & Prizes
Look how far you’ve come. After all that you’re headed to the podium, which in many events will be six deep. What should you expect? Maybe a cool trophy or a medal? It’s even better. How about a formal certificate signed and stamped by the JBCF President! That’s right, you’ll be receiving an A4 sheet of paper. And yes, when they hand it to you they’ll turn it to face you, use both hands to hand it over and bow. And yes, you should receive it with both hands and bow in return. I plan to frame and hang mine like some kind of college diploma. You’ll probably receive a prize as well. Something like what I mentioned earlier in this post, a towel, cup, umbrella, etc.
Where’s the money? If you want to hold a giant cheque with a big number (because it’s in yen) you’ll need to be racing in the top category, JPT. In this category the podium is only three deep. One time in a race I had a teammate finish 3rd and win some money. I never saw any of it, which was fair as I didn’t really contribute to his result. And I never podiumed myself. So I’m not sure how the payout actually works. Did he get to keep it all? Did the team take it? Who knows. I hope he kept it all, he’s a great guy.
Other Notes
Gachinko Cycle TV & Photo Galleries. Almost all JBCF events are live streamed & archived on YouTube! There’s a company called Gachinko Cycle TV that provides coverage. This includes camera motos as well as stationary cameras. A lot of photographers also come to the events and a photo gallery is posted on the JBCF website after the events take place.
Events & Categories. Not every event will be run for every category. A motivator for me to move from JPT to E1 was that not every hill climb has a JPT category, but they all seem to have E1. My first time racing at Ontake I was in the “Open” category and not eligible for any points or placement.
Outlier events. There are some events like the Niseko Classic (Gran Fondo World Championship Qualifier) and the Tour of Okinawa. These are one off events which are not part of the JBCF or any other federation I mentioned above. But, they are “real” road races on closed roads. There are also plenty of “cookie” rides. But be aware, like mentioned earlier, many of these explicitly say you shouldn’t come and try to ride for a certain time. I think it’s related to what I’ve been told about races having to take place on closed roads. These cookie rides likely have no traffic control. And instead of a cookie, you might get a bag of dry rice to cook later. Happened to me once.
The Hill Climb might be Japan’s most accessible event. There are actually quite a few of them around the country outside of the JBCF and they can be registered for on SportsEntry - I don’t think you need a JCF license.
What about other disciplines? I’ll toss this in here at the end because I think it’s worth mentioning. If you’re not racing Track, Cyclocross or Road… you’re not going to be doing much racing. Mountain biking is still very much in its infancy here in Japan. Despite its incredible landscape, there’s a shocking lack of good mountain biking. My wife and I moved here from Western North Carolina and she’s a former Age Group XC National Champion as well as podium finisher in events like the Pisgah Stage Race and Collegiate Nationals in STXC, XC & Omnium. So believe me, we have tried to find some good mountain biking here and it’s rough.
There are some lift-access downhill courses and we actually went to one for a “gravel” race which my wife won. This was held on what was essentially a non-technical STXC course. Disappointing is a bit of an understatement. There IS Grinduro Japan… but it’s insanely expensive and again, not really a race.
This honestly has had a big impact on our decision to ultimately move away from Japan. But, keep an eye out for developments in places like: https://www.minamialpsmtb.com/ https://namba.ngo/ https://www.nsd-hakuba.jp/iwatake_mtb_park/en/
Cyclocross has a big following in Japan and the calendar appears to be full of events throughout the season. If we were staying long term, I’d be buying a cross bike. Unfortunately I don’t have one, so I never got into that scene while living here.
Although this is mostly about racing in Japan, if you come here to race you’ll also (hopefully) be riding your bike for fun. Please be aware some laws work differently here. Although I’ve never personally run into trouble I’ve been told things like: bikes MUST use the crosswalk if turning across traffic (no turning like a car turns) & that bikes CANNOT exceed 30 km/h (a bike shop owner told me this). My wife and I have often talked about this as well… while in the USA drivers can be malicious towards cyclists, Japanese drivers are often blissfully ignorant towards them. Always ride defensively. Drivers will make eye contact with you and proceed to pull out in front of you expecting you to either not be traveling with speed or to stop for them. Even in “polite” Japan, the Car is King. I’ve had far more close calls with drivers here than I had in America. Having said that, it’s still a wonderful country to explore by bike.
Who Am I?
If you read all of this, thanks! I hope that you learned a little bit about road racing in Japan. But, who am I? I’m an American from Western North Carolina, now living in Japan. Ishikawa Prefecture to be specific. I’ve been a cyclist since 2011 when I bought my first road bike. In America I’m a Cat 2 on the road and an XC MTB Cat 1 with extensive experience training for and racing in a variety of disciplines. Road riding and racing is my true love and I honestly only got into MTB to hang out with my girlfriend. I guess it was worth it because the only National Championship medals I have are from Team Relay & Team Omnium. Oh, we ended up getting married too. So that was cool. I also got into the gravel craze thanks to the plethora of racing options in the South East. I’ve stood on multiple podiums with the internet’s favorite privateer, Dylan Johnson. And I’ve dabbled in bikepacking, bike touring & ultra endurance riding. Really, I’m just a guy that thinks about bikes too much.

As the post states, I had to have surgery and hospital stay for 2 weeks and many appointments after.
Some things to note:

1. There is an english speaker to help with the process. Although, you might have to google translate some medical terms. I had to translate "Staph infection" with "ブドウ旧感染症" and explain what they did for surgery in some basic Japanese. Google translate helped a lot.
2. They can send the documents by email or snail mail. So if you have a preference, then you can get one or the other.
3. I opted for email, so they said they would send a link to upload receipts and things they need. I am covered from the date I FIRST started going to the hospital for the injury (a week before surgery) to 180 days after that date. All follow up appointments and medications and doctors notes are covered by this, and, except 5000yen, you get ALL this back. (my total is 200,000yen and climbing, so yeah. thats a welcome bonus.)

I will be updating this post as things happen, but I wanted to let people know that this is relatively painless, and if, heaven forbid, you need to be hospitalized while in Japan on JET, you can recover some of the money you have to spend. Please dont slack on this if you have been hospitalized.
edit: if there are any questions, please ask, and if I don't have an answer, I can ask the insurance people when I talk to them again.