15 January 2023
Yesterday, four citizens of Phillip participated in the conquering of Traqueto, one of the nation's three territories. Traqueto is a small island that was disputed territory between Phillip and the United States. It has been claimed by Phillip since the nation was founded, but no citizen had ever visited. With the permission of newly appointed General Krinkus, President Renny, Vice President Fitzgibbins, and Minister of Elections Cooper Norfolk set out to conquer the island. VP Fitzgibbins' brother Ben Fitzgibbins would also assist in the invasion but did not land on the island.
This invasion was considered a Naval operation, the first ever carried out by the Phillip Navy. The group of citizens declared themselves the 1st Fleet of Phillip. The fleet consists of three kayaks - the SS Phillip, SS Undertimeslopper, and the SS Penguin. The group departed around 7pm PLST at a dock near the Lukous District. As they got closer to the island, they called Ben Fitzgibbins to print out the Flag of Phillip so it could be planted on the island. When they got to a nearby bridge, they had two copies dropped down to them. One was flat and the other was crumpled up into a ball. They planted the crumpled up one on the island because the flat one landed in the water.
After obtaining the flags, they left for the island. They were able to spot a safe place to land at the front of the island. Cooper Norfolk was the first to set foot on Traqueto. The first thing he saw were clear pathways. As he waited for the President and Vice President to dock, he explored the island and found multiple broken structures made out of wood. There was also a plastic slide, a Walmart shopping cart, and remnants of a campfire. After further investigation, the group assumed that the structures were built sometime between 2003 and 2015. These dates were determined by the expiration dates of beer bottles found lying on the ground. After a brief period of exploration on the island, the President and Vice President held an official flag-planting ceremony. The island is now undisputedly a part of the Republic of Phillip. To celebrate, the Vice President started dancing and singing "Can't Hold Us" by Maclemore, which is accepted as one of the national anthems of Phillip. They also established the capital, Qeqe, where the wood structures were found, and named the landing area Port Brownlee after American YouTuber Marques Brownlee. Below are some pictures from the invasion.
Overall, the invasion was a successful first operation for the Phillip Navy and it proved that Phillip can show dominance over its territories. There were no injuries during the invasion except for Cooper Norfolk who got five-starred really hard on the back by President Renny and it really hurt a lot and there was a red mark (this is why you should have voted for Owen Itzen). A short documentary by Norfolk with footage of the invasion is planned to be released sometime this week.