Being appointed editor of The Europa News is the greatest honor of my wargaming career. That may sound corny, but it's the simple truth. So my first official act in office is to sincerely thank Winston Hamilton and John Astell for entrusting me with this prestigious position. I pledge to do all in my power to merit their confidence.

Next, I salute the departing Ben Knight and acknowledge the outstanding job he did during this tenure as editor. Anyone who has followed TEN from its inception has observed the giant strides made by the magazine under his guidance. Speaking both as a long time admirer of his articles and the man who must fill his shoes, I thank Ben for his contributions to TEN and Europa and wish him well in his new endeavors. Ben will continue his job as Europa Chief of Police and will provide rulings in TEN through his "Rules Court" column. We even hope to coax an article out of him from time to time.

The editorship presents me with great challenge and responsibility. The goals of TEN are ambitious and lofty. In the area of content our objectives are clear. We must provide The Europa Association members with a consistently interesting mix of material: thoroughly researched OB and historical data; useful articles on game play; official rules' clarifications and design information; and a lively exchange of new ideas and constructive opinions. We will also keep the readership up to date on the exciting new product developments and special Europa events unfolding before us. Being part of GR/D, the magazine is uniquely positioned to provide you with the latest word on all official Europa products and developments.

Finally, we intend to go the extra mile by actively serving as a stimulus to invigorate this finest of wargaming's systems and series to draw new players into the fold. To this end TEN and GR/D will be extremely active in the hobby as a whole to showcase the Europa system, promote its virtues, and draw full attention to its excellence.

As I take on this job the ship has already gathered a full head of steam. The pipeline is full of terrific articles. My challenge is to maintain this momentum. To accomplish my goal I must rely most heavily upon you, the readers. TEN depends on you for the high quality material that appears in these pages. My most demanding and important job will be working with you to bring your ideas to fruition, get them down on paper, and see them published in TEN. To that end I look forward to meeting and working with you all.

For my part, I plan to stress consistent open-mindedness, timeliness in publication schedule, and pure old fashioned work ethic to supply you the best magazine possible.

This issue was in the finishing stages when I came on board and so my contribution to it consists only of this column. I look forward with keen anticipation and enthusiasm to putting together my first issue in TEN 7. Until then, may all your attack rolls be sixes.