Operation Pole Dance

 MicroCon, as we've discussed before, is hosted every two years, always in a different city. The 2025 iteration of MicroCon was in Montreal, QC, and the 2027 event is going to be in San Diego, CA. This presents a logistical challenge even beyond the obvious "How am I getting there?" Specifically, there is the problem of the flag poles.

If you've seen pictures from the recent MicroCon events, you'll have noticed the row of flags behind the podium, each hanging from a flag pole. Well, those flag poles are owned (sort of) by MicroCon, and they are transferred from host city to host city. Now, these are fairly heavy items and there's a lot of them, so shipping via a courier company (or even postal service) would be prohibitively expensive. 

To ship them from Joliet, IL (host city for MicroCon 2023) to Montreal, Operation Pole Vault was conceived and initiated. In that exercise, Queen Carolyn of Ladonia (the host nation for MicroCon 2023) brought the poles into Canada, where she was met by a unit of the Slabovian Navey led by our chancellor, Rankin, and they took possession of the poles. They then moved the poles to Eastern Ontario, where they were met by representatives of the Aerican Empire who received the poles for the event.

Now, the poles need to move westward.

Phase one of that move, which we have dubbed Operation Pole Dance, will occur over Thanksgiving weekend. The Aerican Empire will bring the poles into Ontario for a rendezvous with an element from Westarctica, and Slabovia will provide security for the exchange. The Westarctican contingent will convey the poles back into the USA, and arrange for the next leg of the journey.

NOTE: The exact time, date, and place of the meeting have been purposely left vague for security purposes.

The flag poles (with flags) behind the podium at
MicroCon 2023, Joliet, IL, USA