[quote=Sep] the ready room is really just so I can grab the ground team together before I go[/quote]
That, is the problem. [i]That[/i] makes the ready room just another briefing room. Just presume you've got those you need and go.

[quote=Sep] Don't worry, you know me. I won't wait forever.[/quote]
you tend to wait too long. Its not healthy for he RP to have such long waits all the time. You don't need to control all the time that the players are there.

When an RP moves too slowly, people find other RPs that engage more, and then their activity rate goes down even further in the current one. This is, as you're so fond of saying, Casual, not advanced. The pace you're moving at and the length of these briefing/ready/etcroom posts belongs in advanced.

Let the players loose, and they will reward you in the long run.