IvanRomanov steps forward in the streets after the events of the Valentines Day Massacre are over. His thoughts about the matter were his own from his own personal experiences from the ordeal. He had witnessed what many should be striving to achieve and accomplish.

I'd like to cover something that not many people practice or even think about it. But first we need to cover the basics.

Chain of command.

The chain of command is the hierarchy of authority where those at the top of the organization direct and control the activities of the members below them. In our way of life, ours is typically the Godfather then his right hand, and then his underboss. After that point the scheme of hierarchy can go many different routes depending on how your organization sets it. If your organization does things differently, props to them but this is the traditional chain of command.

During the events of the massacre from this past weekend, many people were removed from the competition. As it should be because the whole prerogative was to be the LAST MAN STANDING. Once true identities were revealed, certain individuals based on their known aliases were removed from the competition. This was a smart move on everyone's part. Remove the head of the snake, and the remaining parts of the body are no more. As you think it should. However in some small cases, that is not what happens.

Ivan takes a small break from the conversation to reflect on his prior career of being the military. Fighting in the war was something that Ivan didn't talk about, but he took pride in his service. 

The Army taught me the art of succession of command. Succession of command is the practice of who may become the head of the snake when the head is cut off. This may happen because of incapacity, death, illness, or even a resignation. Now as we have covered the chain of command, you may now put these two together. Once one is removed, the next must be able to step up and take charge. In the Army we were taught that we had to train and know the job of the next two positions ahead of our current ones. For example when I was a private, I had to learn the job of my Team Leader and then of my Squad Leader. As war is unpredictable, you never know what will or can happen.

I am not saying that leaders should be teaching this, but leaders should at least be thinking about this because the unknown does happen.

Going back to my original reason of coming out to the streets. During the massacre from this past weekend, we witnessed much more death, which lead to more succession of command if you will. Some organizations did better than others. Again, I'm not saying that leaders should be teaching this, but why aren't they? Do some leaders think they are untouchable, the inevitable will never happen? Or are they just insecure about the whole approach of anyone else taking point and leading men? What is the case?

Ivan takes a step back to take a swig from his flask. The smell of vodka filled the air as soon as he took a sip.

Oh and if you are keen of house infused vodkas, be sure to check out the Hammer and Sickle in Philadelphia. Sasha behind the bar will take care of you.

A lot of the problem here lies in the role of 'authing' new leaders. Unless the person is in a Godfather position they do not get to choose who succeeds them should the worst happen, the 'ruler' of that district/city does.

Godfathers should definitely be doing this in my eyes, but it's usually done via a meeting between the most powerful people left behind in the vacuum. Which often comes down to who has the biggest gun or the most available hitters as after a big war, nobody wants to mess with the strongest looking boss left.

I don't think anyone believes they're totally untouchable, there have been too many betrayals/surprises down the years that bloodlines are hardened to the fact that eventually (if sometimes it doesn't come soon enough :P), we all die. It's just simply not thinking about it... your speech will probably open a few eyes to the possibility if they can be bothered to come out here and listen.

Of course, there will be a select few that do already have this in place. Some will argue that is why they have a RH and LH... the natural progression should be to the RH, but sometimes that hand is not a high enough rank to take in the whole family which would mean breaking up a solid foundation.

A lot of the problem here lies in the role of 'authing' new leaders. Unless the person is in a Godfather position they do not get to choose who succeeds them should the worst happen, the 'ruler' of that district/city does

I'd like to think that in this day and age, after a Godfather falls people tend to vote on whom the next should be. I won't get into who has done this recently but quite a few districts have continued to progress just fine this kind of theme. But yes, in the past of times it was usually the case. 

I don't think anyone believes they're totally untouchable, there have been too many betrayals/surprises down the years that bloodlines are hardened to the fact that eventually (if sometimes it doesn't come soon enough :P), we all die. It's just simply not thinking about it... your speech will probably open a few eyes to the possibility if they can be bothered to come out here and listen.

I tend to think that people do think they're untouchable. Untouchable on the basis that they think the people that they surround themselves with, are trustworthy enough and are fine to be where they currently sit. I do agree that eventually everyone dies. And I hope my speech does open a few eyes. Not being able to react to to something as important as this is deadly on its own accord. 

Dana grins overhearing the comments and decides to pipe in:

"Command is a funny thing, when you have it and know you have it you don't need to announce it, it is simply there as that is the way it should be. When someone lacks command presence is when questions are raised and usually answered by someone in a higher position. So many even outside this thing of ours feel the need to announce their perception that they are in fact "In charge". Our Dons and Godfathers don't do this because it is simply a fact, they are there in that position and its not hard to see who is the "boss". What though does one do when given no orders? You do whats right, what you've been taught, and you put omerta first."

Just one womans take...