Road to War · Command Briefing · S6
Modernizing How We Run Our Systems
Off rented servers, onto modern cloud — so every cadet and commandant gets one account and one profile everywhere. We spend less, move faster, and finish in weeks, not years.
Road to War · Command Briefing · S6
Off rented servers, onto modern cloud — so every cadet and commandant gets one account and one profile everywhere. We spend less, move faster, and finish in weeks, not years.
We are moving every California Cadet Corps website and tool off two rented, always-on servers and onto modern pay-as-you-go cloud. Three returns: we cut our monthly bill by about 52% ($93.50 → $45.00/mo), we build and ship faster, and every member gets one account and one profile that works across every CACC site, tied to their Microsoft sign-in.
The foundation is already built and the hardest piece — creating official accounts automatically — is proven. Because that groundwork is done, the remaining work is measured in days and weeks, not months or years. This is a short, disciplined sprint.
The Plan
Read it like any glidepath: bottom-left is where we started, top-right is the objective. Every marker is a milestone in the full lift-and-shift, color-coded by status. No hard dates — each step is days to weeks of focused work, so the whole march is a matter of weeks.
The Numbers
We collapse six recurring charges across two servers, a database, backups, and storage into two modern plans. Same capability, far lower bill — and the new plans include things we pay extra for today.
| What we pay for today | Now | What replaces it | After | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central server (8 GB) — main site + ~15 subdomains | $48.00 | → | Vercel Pro — hosts every site, one plan | $20.00 |
| Apply server (2 GB) — apply.cacadets.org | $12.00 | → | Folded into Vercel | included |
| Managed database | $16.00 | → | Supabase Pro — shared database + sign-in + storage | $25.00 |
| Object storage — files & uploads | $5.00 | → | Supabase Storage | included |
| Server backups (central) | $10.00 | → | Managed automatically | included |
| Server backup (apply) | $2.50 | → | Managed automatically | included |
| Total recurring cost | $93.50/mo | → | Two plans, everything included | $45.00/mo |
Current figures are our actual monthly Linode charges. "After" uses published list prices — Vercel Pro ($20/seat, one developer seat) and Supabase Pro ($25), within included usage. Beyond the savings, the new plans add capabilities we don't have today at no extra line item: built-in sign-in, automatic backups, a global content network, and hosting that scales itself for encampment surges.
Why It Matters
Beyond the lower bill, three plain-language returns. None of them require anyone to learn anything new — the improvements happen underneath.
Two servers we rent around the clock become two services we pay for by usage — a ~52% cut, with backups, storage, and sign-in now included instead of billed on top.
Sign in once with your Microsoft (@cacadets.org) account and your profile follows you across every CACC site. No re-registering, no separate login per tool.
New tools ship in days, not months, and the system scales itself for encampment surges instead of straining one server. More capability from less effort.
The Headline Capability
Today, standing up a new commandant means manual account setup, repeated on every system they need. That is slow, error-prone, and doesn't scale.
After this work: an application is approved with one click, the commandant's official @cacadets.org account is created automatically, a welcome email goes out, and they can immediately sign in to every CACC tool — because every site shares the same login and the same profile. Onboard one commandant or fifty; the effort is the same.
One Ask
Our unified cadet platform is currently a placeholder called "newtools." As it becomes the single front door for every cadet and commandant, it deserves a real name. A few starters — but I'm taking suggestions from command: