Sanford Armstrong

Sandy Armstrong is a Starfleet Captain in Command of the Federation Starship Montana.

Service Record
RANK                    DATE        ASSIGNMENT         POSITION Cadet - Freshman Grade  2348-2349   Starfleet Academy  Student Cadet - Sophomore Grade 2349-2350   Starfleet Academy  Student Cadet - Junior Grade    2350-2351   Starfleet Academy  Student Cadet - Senior Grade	 2351-2352  USS Gondola    Tactical Training Cruise Ensign              2352-2354   USS Gondola    Tactical Officer Lieutenant JG	 2354-2355  USS Gondola 	Tactical Officer Lieutenant JG	 2355-2356  USS Baddiel    Tactical Officer Lieutenant	        2356-2357   USS Baddiel    Tactical Officer Lieutenant	        2357-2358   USS Baddiel    Assistant Chief of Tactical Lieutenant Commander 2358-2360  USS Canada     Chief of Tactical Lieutenant Commander 2360-2364  USS Canada     Chief of Tactical /2nd Officer Commander           2364-2367   USS Canada     Chief of Tactical /2nd Officer Commander           2367-2372   USS Canada     Executive Officer Commander           2372-2374   USS Florida 	Executive Officer Captain             2374-2379   USS Florida 	Commanding Officer Captain             2379-2382   USS Aires 	Commanding Officer Captain             2382-PRES   USS Montana-A  Commanding Officer

Decorations
Academy Bar, Commendation for Tactical Excellence (x7), Bridge Officer Qualification, 10 Year Service Medal, Combat Merit (x12), Legion of Merit - Officers, 20 Year Service Medal, Klingon Cluster, Klingon War Service Ribbon, Battle of Archanis, Battle of Ajilon Prime, Battle of Deep Space Nine III - Operation Return, Command Cluster, 1st Battle at Chin'toka System Service Medal, Battle for Betazed Service Award, Battle of Amleth Award, Grankite Order of Tactics, Battle of AR-558 Award, Christopher Pike Medal of Valour, Battle of Cardassia, Dominion Cluster, Cardassian Cluster, Breen Cluster, Dominion War Service Ribbon, Award for Scientific Advancement (Unit Award - USS Florida), Diplomatic Shield, Legion of Merit - Commanding Officers, Tactical Cross (x3), USS Aires Service Medal, Starfleet Cross, Act of Distinction, Star of Starfleet, 30 Year Service Medal, Act of Kindness Medal (x2), Captain's Star, USS Montana-A Service Ribbon, Bronze Service Award (OOC Award), Exploration Ribbon (x4), Zeta Gelis Cluster Expedition, Graveyard Survivors, First Contact (x6), Breen Border Relief Force, Hrakert Rift Expedition, T'raQan Cluster, Battle of System A317B, Combat Merit, Outstanding Unit Citation

Family
Wife: Grace Armstrong, Federation News Service Reporter USS Montana-A; Son: Cadet 1st Class Nathan Armstrong, SF Tactical Student Starfleet Academy; Daughter: Summer Anna Armstrong, Baby USS Montana-A; Father: Rear Admiral (RET.) Raymond Armstrong; Mother: Commodore (RET.) Catherine Turner-Armstrong; Brother: Colonel Samuel Armstrong, Commanding Officer 12th Battalion; Sister: Chief Petty Officer Shauna Lorenzo, Chief Petty Officer of Engineering USS Ulysses; Sister: Lieutenant Commander Janet Armstrong, Chief Security Officer USS Bellerophon; Brother-in-Law: Legate Carl Lorenzo, Federation Diplomatic Liaison, USS Ulysses; Niece: Lieutenant Annette 'Annie' Lorenzo, Chief Operations Manager, USS Exeter

Early Life and Academy Career
Sanford was born to Raymond and Catherine Armstrong on board the USS Robertson on the 7th of January 2330. His parents, both Starfleet Officers, he grew up around in the Starfleet lifestyle. He was the Second child that Ray and Cath had. When he was four, his brother Samuel was born, who now Commands a Marine Corp Detachment. The oldest sister, Shauna, was born two years before he was born and his younger sister Janet was born when he was Fifteen. All of them growing up around Starfleet meant that they always were destined to take up a career in the Federation.

When Shauna went to the Academy she shocked her family and parents by going down the Enlisted Path. His Parents weren't disappointed, because she'd achieved what she wanted, but in some ways it fell to Sanford, as the next in line to make it as an Officer. During his life on the Robertson and the USS Stanford, Sanford developed an interest in Weapons, particularly shipboard weapons. So to the Reed Building he went, named after Malcolm Reed, a legendary Tactical Officer from Starfleet's Early days. He majored in Tactical Protocol and Scenario's, minoring in a Command Course, hoping that one day he would lead a ship to a great discovery of Scientific or technological importance.

Early Starfleet Career
Graduating in 2352, he took an assignment on the USS Gondola. As an Ensign his responsibilities were limited, but he went out of his way to impress his superiors and to show what he could do. It wasn't long before he was recognized by the Gondola's Captain. In 2354 he received a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade, and an elevated responsibility. In 2355, the Gondola's Executive Officer took Command of the USS Baddiel, and requested that Sanford be assigned to it's Tactical Department. It was only 7 months after his transfer when he was promoted to full Lieutenant. Again he was given greater responsibility, and he certainly enjoyed it. Now having become a sought after officer, he put less energy into getting noticed by the Command structure, and more energy into being noticed by the opposite sex.

It was on the Baddiel that he met Federation Reporter Grace Nichol. They dated for several months, in an on off relationship before Sanford asked her to move in with him. In mid 2357, Sanford was promoted to Assistant Chief Tactical Officer, the increased role helped him to revive a career that he'd been letting slip because of his relationship with Grace. The relationship also got a benefit out of it, when he began giving her hints about what to write in her stories for the FNS. In 2358, the Nebula class vessel USS Canada, was launched, and he was selected to assume the Chief Tactical Officer Role with a promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Of course he accepted it, and he asked Grace to go with him.

Their young love blossomed further on the Canada, and in 2359, Sanford asked Grace to Marry him. They were married the following summer, and almost as a wedding present, the Canada's Commanding Officer gave the vacant Second Officer's Position to Sanford. In 2364, Sanford was promoted to Full Commander. He was looked up to by many members of the crew, and they enjoyed his easy attitude to work. During his Command duty shifts on Gamma watch, members of the bridge crew walked around barefooted, obviously enjoying the relaxed atmosphere that Sanford preferred to work in.

In 2365, Grace found out she was pregnant, and nine months later, on July 15th, 2366, Nathan Armstrong was born. Being a Father matured him in many ways, but it also taught him that life was no rush, and that his relaxed attitude to life and work was the right one.

Fortunately for the Canada crew, the ship was not called upon to face the Borg at Wolf 359 in 2367, but they did face combat with a rogue Klingon ship. The Canada did succeed in during the battle, but not without the loss of the ships Executive Officer. Clearly, Sanford was the right man for the job, and he took it without hesitation.

Klingon and Dominion War
Just as war broke out in Arkanis with the Klingons, Sanford was transferred to the USS Florida as it's Executive Officer. Most officers would have preferred to have their family with them, but not Sanford, he sent his wife and son to Earth, to keep them safe. He had his father, who was a Rear Admiral at Starbase One at the time, make sure that they never left the system. Admiral Armstrong never had to do anything, because in the end, it was Grace's responsibility as a parent that led her to resigning from the FNS and becoming a full time parent.

When the war with the Dominion broke out, Sanford took part in many successful engagements, as Executive Officer, against Dominion ships. Like many other vessels during the war, the Florida incurred casualties, but for months the Florida held somewhat of a Record in Starfleet. During the month of January 2374, it's Death Toll was the lowest across the fleet, and that record remained until November 2374. In the meantime, however, the Florida conducted one to many successful engagements and took heavy losses against a Dominion cruiser. Amongst the casualties, were the ships Captain, Second Officer, Command Master Chief, and Chief Engineer. The ship was ultimately rescued by the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E.

Captain Picard personally recommended Sanford as the first candidate to assume the Command of the Florida, and the two have been friends ever since. When no other suitable candidate presented themselves, Sanford Armstrong was promoted to Captain and given Command of the Florida. In his first major act as Florida Commanding Officer, he broke the record held by his previous Commanding Officer (See Above).

In Mid 2375, Sanford was given joint mission Command with Klingon Captain Gra'Wa. The Fleet in the mission involved A Starfleet Task Group, Four Bird-of-Prey, and a small wing of Romulan Vessels (Which Included One D'Deridex Class Warbird). The Target of this engagement was the Dominion Ship Yards in the Amleth System. The Mission turned out to be a non-starter right from the beginning when they were ambushed on route to the Amleth System by a massive Dominion Battle Group. Fortunately, the Florida, and the Majority of the Fleet survived due to the Battle tactics put into practice by both Armstrong and his Klingon Counterpart. He's been Friends with Gra'Wa ever since. Sanford received the Grankite Order of Tactics for this.

The Florida was one of a few ships not to make it to Cardassia in the final battle with the Dominion. The Florida had been severely damaged en route, and Sanford took the decision to turn around and head for Deep Space Nine instead. However, he was there during the negotiations that led to the treaty with Founders, his negotiation skills proving to be a helpful skill in Starfleet's Favor.

Post-Dominion War
So, in 2375, with the war over, Sanford once again reunited with his family, began to explore the possibilities of Command, discovering it's many perks. The Florida conducted many research assignments that proved to be big break through's in Starfleet Science. Until the war was over he never knew that he could enjoy doing that kind of assignment, sitting near a nebula, taking scans and analyzing the results. It was here that his very own unique Command style began to flourish.

USS Aires
In 2379, after five years in Command, the Florida was decommissioned. The ship had been due for retirement in 2373, but with the War they had refitted it instead. With the retirement of the Florida, Sanford and Family, and a large portion of his crew from the Florida (Who requested to be there), took to the USS Aires. Again making a name for himself as a relaxed Commander, the Aires became one of the most popular assignments for any officer in the fleet. In Late 2379, the Aires was part of a Task Force that awaited for the USS Enterprise-E to exit from Romulan Space.

He volunteered for that assignment, eager to offer his assistance to his friend and the man who supported him in getting his first Command. However, the Task Force was not necessary, as the Enterprise never made it to the rendezvous. Fortunately after some assistance from the Romulan Military, the Enterprise survived an attack by a Reman Scimitar class vessel that eventually led to the Peace treaty with the Romulans and the establishment of the Reman Ascendancy at Galvanis.

Sanford and the Aires were not part of that particular encounter, but he did read about it when his wife wrote the editorial on it, signifying her return to Journalism. In 2380, the Aires and the USS Ford, were paired up to bring down an arm on the Orion Syndicate. As Sandy had been Captain longer than the Fords own Commanding Officer, and as the Aires was significantly better equipped, he was placed in charge of the mission. Together, the two ships were able to put a stop to a massive drugs trafficking scam, which wiped out nearly 1/5th of the Syndicate revenue.

USS Montana-A
Then in 2382, Fleet Admiral Paul Simmons stepped down from the Command of the USS Montana, which had been severely damaged at the hands of the Tal'Shiar. The Montana class was deemed a failure, and scrapped, but a new Starship was offered to the crew. The Admiral personally requested that Sanford take Command. With that change in Command, the USS Montana-A was launched, a Jupiter class Starship.

Zeta Gelis Cluster Expedition
Sandy's first assignment as Captain of Montana was a mapping expedition, deep into the Beta Quadrant, that was scheduled as a four month exploratory tour. In Montana 's first week of this tour, they came across the beginnings of a new Star. Montana 's crew were witnesses to its formation, and tagged it as BXNAF-79. Captain Armstrong recommended that Starfleet send a Science Vessel to monitor its continued growth.

By November, half way though the expedition, Montana had also made two first contacts, one with a species called the Omeron, and another with the Athon. Sandy and Grace discovered that they were expecting in November of 2382, with the baby estimated to be due in July.

As Montana 's exploration continued, the ship was attacked by a species called the Zantax. The starships crew were subjected to a life reality simulator, a device used by the Zantax to test a Species' higher cognitive skills, and their concepts of reality. Montana's crew found themselves on 21st Century Earth. The Senior Staff were all Actors, playing their own characters, on the Television Series, STAR TREK. Other members of the crew were cast in other positions, somehow associated with the TV Show.

Sandy's own persona in the Simulacrum was an Actor known as Patrick O'Neill, who played Captain Sandy Armstrong on the STAR TREK: Montana TV Show. He'd had limited success prior to being cast as Armstrong. He was also an Alcoholic, although it wasn't public knowledge. Another little known fact about the Actor was that he hated the character he played week in week out.

The Simulation came to an end when people began to realise that they weren't where they were supposed to be. The vision of boxing against his TV character led Patrick O'Neill to believe that all was not as it should be. After a brief surreal conversation between himself and the Actor Persona, the Captain, labeled by the Zantax as Subject 1-1, was amongst the first few to wake.

The Captain met Supreme Archon Trkellenach, a Senior Government Minister for the Zantax, who's responsibility it was to study the races they encountered using this method of testing. The Archon explained to the Captain why they conducted their business the way they did. They also informed the Captain that they'd broke a few records amongst the Zantax' testing methods, and that they'd shown themselves to be worth further contact, inviting Federation Diplomatic Teams to their world.

From the Captains Log... ''"Captains Log, Supplemental. As more and more of our crew are waking up on the surface, life on the Montana is returning to some semblance of normality. I was surprised to learn that Grace hadn't been included in the simulation, her pregnancy negating her probability to successfully integrate, or something they said. Thanks for small favours I guess.

Nathan, on the other hand, was included in the Zantax' simulation. Their Archon was quite open to furtherance of discussion, and to demonstrate that, he shared with us their results on us. Apparently, Nathan came in the top 50. Out of close to 400 people, I'm quite pleased with that. They had Nathan as a Writer on a PbeM, set around the "Star Trek" theme that our Actor counterparts were cast in. Not exactly sure what PbeM means, but I'm sure someone will explain it to me. Nate probably will when I get the chance to sit down with him.

The chance of that being soon depends on when all of our crew exit from their simulation. When everyone's back on board, we'll break orbit, and head for home. Our Four month Tour out here is as good as over. The sooner the better I think, once we're back up to speed and our crew is back at full complement, we'll be able to adapt properly. And get back on track."'' SEE - [ STM - "And Cut..." ]

In May 2383, Sandy let his Son Nathan go, as the young man left for Earth, and Starfleet Academy.

Hrakert Rift Expedition
In May of 2383, the Montana left Deep Space Three on a mapping Expedition into a region of space known as the Hrakert Rift. This Region of space bore properties similar to the Briar Patch, although lacking in the Metaphasic properties found within the Region.

''-[As Montana entered the Rift, they detected a Temporal anomaly, and upon further investigation, encountered the Montana-C, a Saturn class Starship, from the early 25th Century. It's Captain, Captain Armstrong's own son, only considerably older than he had been the last time Sandy Armstrong had seen his son Nathan. Both Montana 's were trapped in a Temporal Bubble, Parallel to the normal timeline, until Montana Science Officers found a way to return the Montana-C to its Original Time, and seal the Rift. When this happened, the meeting of the two Montanas was erased from history, and the meeting never happened.]'' [ STM - "Back to the Future" ]

The Armstrong's celebrated the Birth of Summer Anna Armstrong on July 19th, 2383.

Personality Profile
Sanford, or Sandy as he prefers, is a laid back character. His Command style has often been said to be too laxed. During duty hours he can sometimes be found not in complete uniform, preferring to feel comfortable on the bridge. On his previous Command duties he has even allowed eating and drinking on the Bridge, but obviously only snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. He's also been known to never start a Command briefing without making sure that everyone had a drink and that the Biscuits are on the table.

Special Notes
Until coming aboard the Montana, Sanford was going through a slight marriage crises. However for now it seems to be over. Sanford is a member of the Ancient Brotherhood known as the Buffalo's. This is how he knows Fleet Admiral Paul Simmons, the Montana's former Commanding Officer and Commander of Starfleet Intelligence. Sandy has also, on occasion been referred to as the 'Sandman'.