| Military Unit
Composition | |
The composition of all Minnesota Tribe military
forces, from Corps size to Company level, are made up of three parts
in their TOE (table of organization and equipment) plus the unit's
headquarters group. In practice, commanders are trained and even
encouraged to task-organize their elements to more easily take
advantage of situations in battle.
These four core elements
are:
- The Command Element (CE) is the
headquarters group of all units. It is task organized to provide
command and control capabilities (including intelligence and
communications) necessary for effective planning, direction, and
execution of all operations.
- The Ground Combat Element (GCE) is
task organized to conduct ground operations in support of the
parent unit's mission. It is normally formed around an infantry or
BattleMech organization reinforced with requisite artillery,
reconnaissance, armor, and engineer forces and can function in
size from a rifle platoon to one or more BattleMech divisions.
These tasks can range from reconnaissance, as in the case of
Striker and Light Horse regiments, to full planetary assaults,
such as Heavy Assault and Dragoon regiments.
- The Air Combat Element (ACE) is
task-organized to support the unit's mission by performing some or
all of the six functions of aviation: offensive air support,
anti-air warfare, assault support, air reconnaissance, electronic
warfare, and air asset control. The ACE is normally built around
an aviation organization that is augmented with appropriate air
command and control, combat, combat support, and CSS units (see
next paragraph). The ACE can operate effectively from orbital
naval assets, ground airfields, or austere forward operating sites
and can readily and routinely transition between the three without
loss of capability. The ACE can vary in size and composition from
an aviation detachment with specific capabilities to one or more
Ground or Fleet Aero Wings (GAWs and FAWs).
- The Combat Service Support Element (CSSE) is
task organized to provide the full range of combat service support
functions and capabilities needed to support the continued
readiness and sustainability of the unit as a whole. It is formed
around a logistics headquarters working closely with the parent
unit's HQ, and may vary in size and composition from a support
detachment to one or more field service support groups. CSSE units
are usually attached at Regiment level and above, although
regiment commanders using smaller subunits on independant missions
will detach CSSE elements to support them.
(See figures below for Divisions
and Regiments)
Corps
A Corps
is a group of divisions, regiments and warships that fight and train
together. A Corps contains one to three BattleMech divisions, two to
seven Infantry divisions, and a number of Independant regiments.
Each Corps has a contingent of warships and transports from the
Navy, which also include additional troops in the form of Royal
Marines. Corps also formed into Armies and Army Groups
in the past for spectacularly huge campaigns, such as the
recapture of Terra and the destruction of the Rim Worlds Republic.
Armies and Army Groups were created as needed, as an operational
framework, and were not permanent formations. The TOE of a Corps is
also open to rewriting by Force commanders for constructing
Battle Groups from any and all available resources at will to
tailor them to particular situations.
Divisions
A Division is the heart of the Regular Army. A Division
is responsible for protecting a group of worlds in a distance of one
hyperspace jump from its base. Divisions are comprised of three
Brigades of three Regiments each, plus reserves, a Ground Aero Wing
with 54 fighters, and support units for the Division. Some Divisions
may have fewer than 3 Brigades, and some contain more than four or
more. There are three types of Army Divisions:
- The offensive punch of the Regular Army is the BattleMech Division.
Each Division has two Brigades of BattleMech regiments and a
brigade of Mechanized Infantry regiments. A BattleMech Division is
expected to create holes in enemy lines, and Mechanized Infantry Divisions, made up
of two Brigades of Mechanized Infantry and one
Brigade of BattleMechs, are expected to exploit those holes as
well as hold up in defensive stands.
- On the lower end of the spectrum are Light Infantry Divisions , slow and not
as dependant on vehicles but much more able to infiltrate enemy
lines without detection. Light Infantry Divisions contain two
Brigades of dismounted infantry and one Brigade of Light
Mechs.
- Related to Light Infantry are the Jump Infantry Divisions, created for
missions that require surprise and swiftness. These Divisions
contain two Brigades of parachute-trained and jumppack-equipped
infantry and one Brigade of Mechs, also equipped for the most part
with jumpjets. These Divisions also contain two Ground Aero Wings,
totalling 108 fighters combined, to carry and protect the infantry
and to land airmobile artillery & supplies.
Light, and
especially Jump, Infantry Divisions are used in terrain that
prohibits vehicles, such as heavy forests, cities, and mountains,
and many contain parachute and commando Regiments to provide special
services and liason with units of the Intelligence and Special
Forces Commands. The infantry units of a Division also provide basic
fire support for the BattleMech units and hold urban areas without
destroying the area around it on a massive scale. Usually the
infantry will move in after the majority of the world is secured by
the BattleMech Division, although they will often infiltrate a world
beforehand as circumstances require. Infantry also play a major role
in helping to maintain and guard the long supply train of the
Division and assist Marines in guarding landed Naval shipping.
Intermediate
& Special-Purpose Formations
The Army
groups Light Horse regiments together, along with Striker Regiments
for a solid offensive punch, as quick-response units into
Regimental Combat Teams. RCTs are deployed for reconnaissance, infiltration, and
breakthrough attacks, when the action is mostly on the ground.
Other multi-regiment formations include Marine Expeditionary Units, which are made up of groups of Marine regiments, often
supported by Army parachute, combat engineer and special forces
infantry units for such things as infiltration of enemy lines or
hostage rescue missions. MEUs are used when speed is crucial but
combat as likely in space as on ground. MEUs are often deployed
alongside Independant Mech regiments as needed. Battle Groups are created
by Corps commanders in special situations, such as to exploit the
strengths of specific regiments against weaknesses that appear in
enemy formations, or when all the regiments of a Corps are not in
the same location and action must be taken immediately.
Both
MEUs and RCTs are assigned under the Special Forces Command of the
Star League Defense Forces.
BattleMech Regiments
The Regular Army has six
different types of BattleMech Regiments, with the Naval Command
providing a seventh with its Marine units. Unlike BattleMech
regiments of the Inner Sphere, MT regiments more closely follow the
model of the SLDF, with companies and even whole battalions made up
of a single 'Mech type. Though this might seem to make a unit
vulnerable to attacks that take advantage of a vulnerability in a
particular type of 'Mech, it vastly simplifies maintenance and
repairs. Occasionally the Army goes against this principle and makes
special "Multi-Mech" or "Buddy" companies of MechWarriors who had
been friends in the academy but who qualify in different 'Mech
designs. Other times, "Multi-Mech" companies are created for
specific purposes so that a Regiment is much more self-sufficient
down to its component parts. In both cases, these companies are
found only in the Independant Regiments.
Line Regiments appear
only in BattleMech Brigades, never separately. Their simple
organization of lance-company-battalion have been the pattern of
Inner Sphere units for almost a millenia, although SLDF Line
Regiments usually do not have their own AeroSpace Fighters, instead
getting air support from the Division's Ground Aero Wing or from
Fleet Aero Wings from orbiting warships. Most line regiments'
coat-of-arms incorporates a a sword into their design.
- Heavy Assault: The knock-out
punch of most 'Mech brigades, these regiments had 'Mechs of
heavy-to-assault weight and Battalions have a fourth company of
attached artillery to support the 'Mechs.
- Battle: The core of most 'Mech
brigades, and the most numerous of Line regiments, these units
contain medium to heavy BattleMechs.
- Striker: These regiments are
used by their parent Division for reconnaissance and breakthrough
attacks. They use light to medium BattleMechs and have at least
one, usually more, Recon company made up of Land-Air BattleMechs.
Striker regiments often have Flights of 2 AeroSpace Fighters
permanently attached to them.
Independant Regiments are
designed to operate without support from a Division, and sometimes
appear in BattleMech brigades to give the Division itself the
ability to send detachments off of the main group. They are usually
used against enemies too small to justify the use of an entire
Division, but too large to leave to infantry regiments. Independant
regiments often fight alongside Infantry divisions. In keeping with
their independant nature, these 'Mech regiments have companies of
non-'Mech weapon systems, such as Jump troops, hovercraft, tanks and
fighters, and the Marine regiments often contain water warships and
a higher percentage of LAMs. To describe the three types of
independant 'Mech regiments, the SLDF used the names of ancient
types of horse cavalry. In keeping with this sense of cavalry, their
coat-of-arms often incorprorates a horse.
- Dragoon: Against well-equipped
enemies, the Army sends a Dragoon regiment, normally composed of
Heavy to Assault BattleMechs, tanks and hovercraft.
- Hussar: Hussar regiments are
the most common independant regiments. They use medium to heavy
'Mechs, tanks and hovercraft.
- Light Horse: The Light Horse
regiments are extremely mobile, made up of light to medium
vehicles and 'Mechs, with a special emphasis on reconnaissance.
Each Light Horse regiment has at least two Recon companies of
information-gathering 'Mechs, like Ostscouts, and
information-gathering vehicles, as well as regular 'Mechs and
airmobile artillery. MT often drops a Light Horse regiment onto a
world to discover the size of enemy forces.
- Marine CAAN: The Naval Command
also contributes Marine Corps forces to the Army in the form of
Cavalry, Armor, Aerospace and Naval regiments. Marine CAAN
regiments deploy directly from the Navy's warships, and, although
they are usually not part of a Corps, they operate very closely
together on the operational level during campaigns. Marine
regiments contain a large amount of Land-Air-Mechs of all weights
to more easily deploy to support the Navy in space as well as the
Army on ground. They also hovercraft tanks & infantry fighting
vehicles, Aerospace Fighters, and water warships for water-rich
worlds.
Aerospace & Other
Regiments
Aerospace Fighters are also
grouped into Wings of 9 squadrons. Like ground units, Wings are made
up of only one fighter type. Ground
Aero Wings are assigned to Divisions,
maintaining air superiority above it and providing extremely mobile
and timely fire support. Attached to Ground Aero Wings are combat
engineers to build runways and erect hangars & other buildings.
Fleet Aero Wings are formed by fighters from all DropShips and WarShips
in a Naval task force, and are responsible for security in space as
well as protecting transports and landing 'Mechs during a planetary
assault. Independant Aero Wings
are unattached GAWs assigned by Corps
commanders to whereever a division needs extra support. A battalion
of mechanized infantry is attached to each IAW.
Tank,
Hovercraft and Wheeled Armour
regiments are also grouped into regiments of
their own, with Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault Tank regiments,
each having only one type of tank in each of their three battalions.
Most tank regiments are assigned to Divisions as anti-'Mech
regiments and as garrison forces.
Infantry Regiments are
made up of four types: Mechanized, Light, Jump and Marine, organized
with three battalions of three companies, each containing three
platoons. Marine Infantry regiments form MP squads on naval bases
and on-board ships as well as special ship-to-ship assaults for
taking over enemy shipping and warships.
Artillery regiments
are assigned to divisions, made up of three battalions, each
containing three companies of three batteries each. AirMobile
batteries are usually seen in Striker, Marine and Light Horse
regiments, with their own integral transport assets, and do not
gather into entire
regiments. | |
