CONFLUENCE COMMANDO,
TANSTAAFL MILITIA
INTRODUCTION
The Confluence Commando is a
typical example of the
Tanstaafl Regional Defense Paramilitary Militia’s elite rapid reaction
forces. Named for
the town of its
origin, it is a hover-mobile infantry force well schooled in patrolling
and
other low-intensity conflict operations against Kafer remnants in the
colony’s
hinterland.
NARRATIVE
ORDER OF BATTLE
HISTORY
ORGANIZATION
PERSONNEL
PERSONALITIES
DUTY SCHEDULE AND MANNING
ARMAMENT AND EQUIPMENT
SLANG AND TERMINOLOGY
NARRATIVE
Dien Bien Phu Two
crouched on high ground north of the
Red River valley, with a commanding sweep of the multi-threaded river. South of the river,
‘Shroom forests carpeted
low hills. The flat
bottomland along
the river – sparse clumps of lichenous ankle-break and gravelly sand –
was a
two-kilometer no mans land with eyes watching from both sides.
TBC
ORDER
OF BATTLE
Note: Typical
task organization by call signs is shown.
Actual organization may vary with mission, etc.
Cheetah
6
Headquarters
eaSquad
Logistics
Squad
Mortar
Squad
Cheetah
1 (Ramrod 18)
1st Patrol Squad (Heavy)
2nd
Patrol Squad (Heavy)
3rd
Patrol Squad (Light)
4th
Patrol Squad (Light)
Cheetah
2 (Ramrod 81)
5th
Patrol Squad (Heavy)
6th
Patrol Squad (Heavy)
7th
Patrol Squad (Light)
8th
Patrol Squad (Light)
HISTORY
The Confluence Commando was
originally founded in 2270 as
the 8th Regional Defense Company, in keeping
with the then-current
organization pattern of the TRDPM.
Under that organization scheme, Regional Defense
Companies were rarely
of actual company strength and were intended only for emergency
call-out for
disaster relief or in the event of civil unrest.
For the latter mission they were expected to employ
personally owned
weapons. Enrolled
members qualified for
a yearly deduction on taxes to compensate them for the need to provide
their
own weapons, but Militia members were only nominally paid for training
assemblies, prompting a large discrepancy between enlistments and
regular drill
attendance. The 8th
RDC was
typical in both respects, mustering a strength on paper of between
40-50
personnel, but with only 35 members who attended drills with any
regularity and
only 29 of whom reported owning any sort of firearm.
The 8th
RDC was renamed the 12th
(Confluence) Regional Rifle Company in 2276 and then to the 18th
(Confluence) Militia Company in 2279.
Reorganization led to a structure where the unit was
to have one
platoon-sized “Category One” unit (equipped with SG-77 assault rifles
and some
light support weapons) and two additional “Category Two” platoons that
would
continue to turn out with whatever personally owned weapons they
possessed in
times of civil unrest or other emergencies.
Prior to the Kafer invasion,
the only active service the
unit saw was brief service to deal with labor unrest and rioting in the
settlement of Steeltown in 2288.
Service was limited to assisting the Tanstaafl Rural
Police and other
law enforcement agencies in maintaining a perimeter around the worst of
the
rioting, processing those arrested by the police, and some support of
firefighting efforts after rioters set fire to the Juarez &
Schmidt
Industries smelting facility and other buildings.
As with other militia forces,
the 18th (Confluence)
Militia Company was activated for service in early March 2298, during
the “War
Scare” following the news of hostile encounters between human and Kafer
space
forces in the Arcturus system. Initial
turnout was somewhat lackluster, with only 64 of the then 90 registered
personnel reporting for duty (a dozen more trickled in from remote
ranches and
logging camps over the next several T-Days).
Initial duties were equally lackluster, with some
limited training (ammunition
was in short supply) and several alerts to respond to disturbances in
the
capital and other large settlements that never resulted in any actual
movement
orders. Personnel
strength increased
following the 1st Battle of Tithonus, with the
company mustering 115
armed personnel and an additional 34 unarmed volunteers offering their
services
as drivers, medics, and logistical personnel by 6 April 2298.
The unit was first ordered into
action on 9 April 2298, with
orders to evacuate the survivors
of
Kafer bombardment in Carver, Dudley, and Steeltown.
The company (minus one platoon left in Confluence),
moved to High
Crossing sometime on the 9th or 10th
of April (records
and accounts from unit members are unclear).
The 18th Militia Company was
still located at High Crossing
at the time the first Kafer assault shuttles were reported landing in
the
northeastern area of the colony.
Two days later, the unit was
officially assigned to Task
Force Hernandez (renamed Militia Regimental Combat Team 4 on the 15th
of April) rushed north toward positions along what was dubbed, briefly,
as the
Hernandez Line, a defensive line along the river line running
Gridley-Valley
Crossing-Carlyle. As
events developed,
this line was never manned by more than a delaying force of militia
units, and
was penetrated by Kafer armored forces before 18th
Militia Company
and most other elements of TF Hernandez were anywhere near their
planned
defensive positions.
The 18th
Militia Company and a number of other
units assigned to TF Hernandez were located in Copley when Kafer forces
bypassed that settlement sometime on 16 or 17 April 2298 (again,
surviving
records and reports are inconsistent).
The unit was part of the defense of Copley, cut off
and subject to an
intermittent and apparently uncoordinated siege by several Kafer units
in the
area for over a month. During
the
siege, the company suffered approximately 60% casualties killed or
wounded, a
large number of their losses suffered during a sustained Kafer aerial
attack on
the 20 May 2298.
When the Tanstaafl military
went back on the offensive after
the deployment of nuclear weapons, the siege was eventually lifted on
27 May
2298, with the 18th Militia Company having
suffered over 70%
casualties in the period of 17 April to 27 May.
No longer a combat effective unit, even by
Tanstaafl’s desperate
standards at that time, the company was withdrawn back to Confluence to
reconstitute.
As the war transitioned into a
counter-insurgency operation,
the 18th Militia Company was selected for
conversion to one of the
Militia’s planned “Mobile Strike Force” units.
By the time the company was ready to resume active
operations, the
Mobile Strike Force term had evolved into the familiar Militia Commando. On 15 March 2299, the 18th
Militia Company cased its colors and became the 18th
(Confluence)
Commando, more commonly just known as the Confluence Commando.
Since that time, the Commando
has been heavily involved in
operations, primarily in the Southern military region of the country. The unit has occasionally
been pulled
elsewhere for major operations in the 2301-2 timeframe, but the
activity of
Kafer forces in the broadtops south and west of Tanstaafl’s settled
zone
typically keeps the Command on station along the unofficial borders of
Southern
AOR.
ORGANIZATION
The Confluence Commando, at
full strength, is a sixty-nine
man organization consisting of three officers and 66 enlisted personnel. In practice, the Commando
usually is at
something between 80-90% strength for active operations at any given
time,
excluding personnel detached for training, leave, wounds or illness,
and
general recruiting shortfalls. Fixed,
doctrinal organization of the Commando is deliberately minimal; though
for most
missions the unit organizes two platoon sized Ramrod teams (mounted on
a mix of
armored and soft skin vehicles) and a headquarters/logistical echelon. The Commando uses the
radio call sign
“Cheetah” (a reference to Confluence High School’s various athletic
teams), but
when tasked with platoon-sized QRT missions, the Commando’s two
maneuver units
use the customary “Ramrod” call sign (Ramrod 18 and 81, specifically).
Typical of most Tanstaafl
Militia Commandos, the Confluence
unit is hover mobile, using (circa 2303) a mix of Kangaroo IV hover
APCs and
lightly armored Reynard III utility hovercraft plus ancillary vehicles. The Kangaroos, a recent
acquisition from the
Tanstaafl Free Legion, have significantly increased the firepower the
Commando
can bring to bear and have allowed somewhat more aggressive tactics.
Cheetah 6
Cheetah
6 is the overall call sign of the
Commando’s headquarters and logistical element.
It is a roughly platoon sized formation, consisting
of a
headquarters squad, a logistics squad, and the Commando’s mortar squad.
Headquarters Squad
The commando’s headquarters
element is large, consisting of
eleven men (three officers and eight enlisted soldiers) mounted on
three
Reynard III hover utility vehicles.
A
captain is in overall command, with both a 1st
and 2nd
lieutenant assigned to the squad as well.
Officially the 1st lieutenant
is the Commando’s second in
command and the 2nd lieutenant is the
headquarters squad leader, but
in practice both lieutenants lead Ramrod teams.
Other ranks assigned to the squad include the
Commando’s first
sergeant, an Echelon 2 medic (see sidebar below), a corporal and two
lance
corporal signalers (who double as vehicle drivers), and three privates
as
gunners.
On paper, the squad breaks down
into one vehicle carrying
the unit commander and medic, another for the commando’s second in
command, and
the third for the headquarter’s squad leader and first sergeant (all
vehicles
also carrying a signaler/driver and gunner).
In practice, with both lieutenants attached to
Ramrod teams, the squad
consists of the unit commander’s vehicle, the first sergeant’s vehicle,
and a
third Reynard serving as an ambulance and general liaison vehicle as
needed.
All personnel in the
Headquarters Squad are armed with
Hotback Service Rifles (HSRs) and Traylor M-57 pistols, while the three
Reynards are armed with DunArmCo Mini-12 HMGs.
The commander’s vehicle is also equipped with the
commando’s primary R-3
long-range microwave communications set.
MEDICAL CARE &
THE TANSTAAFL SECURITY FORCES
Medical
care within the Tanstaafl Security Forces lags significantly behind
that of military forces from the Core, due to shortages in both
equipment and training. In
addition, battlefield medical care is further hamstrung by the
difficulty of providing airmobile casualty evacuation due to the threat
of Kafer Snapfires.
The
Security Forces classify available medical assets into one of four
echelons, as outlined below.
Echelon One: Echelon
One medics are members of the Security Forces who have received some
advance first aid and trauma management training, either the Security
Force’s Field Trauma Management (FTM) course or comparable training. Ideally an E/1 medic is
present in each squad or other small unit within the Security Forces. In practice, an E1
qualified medic is often the only medical asset available to militia
platoons.
Echelon
Two-Alpha and Two-Bravo:
E2 medics are first-line dedicated medical
personnel, including both military medics and what would normally be
considered non-combat assets like paramedics and civilian ambulance
crews who are often mobilized to support major combat operations. E2-Alpha medics are
military assets that can be used in hot zones and under enemy fire,
E2-Bravo assets are civilian ambulances and medical personnel that are
sometimes pressed into service supporting military operations. In theory E2-B medical
assets are supposed to be kept out of the line of fire (though this
does not always work out in practice either because of enemy action or
the actions of E2B medics themselves).
Ideally,
an E2 medic is assigned to each platoon within the TFL and Militia. In practice the TFL
usually meets this goal, but the Militia rarely does so.
Echelon
Three: E3
medical assets are the regimental medical companies (sometimes
platoons) within the militia and the medical platoons found assigned to
HQ Companies in TFL Area Commands.
In capabilities they tend to resemble
battalion aid stations in Core military forces.
Rural health clinics, medical facilities at
some commercial mining operations, and some smaller hospitals are also
classified at E3 medical assets and treat wounded members of the
security forces and the public under agreements with the Tanstaafl
government.
Echelon
Four: E4
medical assets represent hospital care, to include surgical facilities,
etc, and are not purely military organizations. All
hospitals within the Tanstaafl colony are considered E/4 assets by the
government, and treat Security Forces personnel (as well as civilian
casualties of Kafer action) as needed.
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Logistics
Squad (Cheetah 6-2)
Providing a range of service
support assets to the commando,
the Logistics Squad operates from two Houston Motors HoverPrime 7.5 ton
heavy
hovercraft (referred to informally as “Motherships” and officially as
“Logistics Support Vehicles” or LSVs).
The squad has a total of six personnel, led by a
full sergeant with a
lance corporal assistant, and is intended to operate as two separate
mobile
support elements as needed. Each
of the
two LSVs has a driver/mechanic, an NCO and an Echelon 2 medic assigned,
though
the medics are usually pushed out to the Ramrod Teams.
The trucks carry a variety of supplies,
spare parts, fuel, etc., sufficient to sustain limited duration
operations
without external support. One
truck
also carries the Commando’s spare R-3 microwave commo set.
Each truck is equipped with a
DunArmCo Mini-12 and a Ranger
LMG for self-defense.
All personnel
in the squad are armed with HSRs and Traylor M-57 pistols for personal
defense.
Mortar
Squad (Cheetah 6-3)
Equipped with two 6cm light
mortars, the commando’s mortar
squad provides it with light indirect fire support.
The squad has one Reynard III (each armed with a
Ranger light
machinegun for self-defense) and a total of four personnel, led by a
corporal
with three privates. Spare
ammunition
for the mortars is usually part of the cargo hauled by the Logistics
Squad, but
each mortar vehicle carries a basic load of 45 assorted rounds (mostly
HE) for
their tubes.
All personnel within the mortar
squad are armed with Hotback
Service Rifles and Traylor M-57 pistols for personal defense. The entire mortar squad,
or a mortar team,
are sometimes attached to Ramrod teams, depending on mission. In situations where the
mortars have to move
dismounted or where sustained bombardment is planned, typically an
extra
rifleman or two will be detailed to help carry ammunition or crew the
weapon.
Heavy and
Light Patrol Squads
Four of the Commando’s rifle
squads are organized into Heavy
Patrol Squads mounted on Kangaroo IV hover APCs, while the remaining
four are
organized into Light Patrol Squads equipped with Reynard III hover
utility
vehicles.
Organization is basically
identical below that level, with a
mounted element (a lance corporal as vehicle commander and a private as
driver)
and a four-man infantry team led by a corporal.
Fire team organization is basically standardized,
consisting of
the team leader, a grenadier, an automatic rifleman, and a
rifleman/Echelon 1
medic (in the Confluence Commando only four of the eight designated E1
medics
have actually completed Echelon 1 medical training circa June 2303). Grenadiers are armed with
AS-89 gauss
rifles, while the automatic rifleman has a Ranger light machinegun and
the
rifleman/medic carries a Hotback Service Rifle. Squad leaders
are mostly armed with AS-89 gauss rifles,
though the leaders of 2nd and 5th
Patrol Squads have
Argentinean F-7 laser rifles instead.
(Vehicle crewmen carry Hotback Service Rifles). All personnel carry
Traylor M-57 pistols as
back up weapons.
The Reynard IIIs are armed with
DunArmCo Mini-12 HMG to
provide tactical and operational mobility, as well as fire support, to
dismounted elements. The
Commando also
has two 10cm Sigurd recoilless rifles and a single
Blindicide-3
ATGM launcher available, as needed.
Typically the 3rd and 7th
Patrol Squads each carry
one of the recoilless rifles but the Blindicide is
usually not deployed
due to the cost of missiles for the launcher and relatively limited
Kafer AFV
threat.
PERSONNEL
All members of the Confluence
Commando are volunteers,
primarily from the town of Confluence and its outlying areas. (Nominally Tanstaafl
Militia policy requires
members to serve in units near their homes, but in practice this is
ignored at
the discretion of unit commanders, as long as personnel are able to
present
themselves for duty in a timely manner when required.)
Tanstaafl Militia policy is
that only experienced personnel
are allowed to serve in the Commandos.
Circa 2303, this requirement is generally
interpreted to mean that a
potential recruit must have twelve satisfactory months in another
Tanstaafl
Militia unit (or the Tanstaafl Free Legion, Rural Police, Metropolitan
Police,
or various settlement police agencies) before transferring into a
Commando. There is
some flexibility in
this requirement, particularly with potential members who can verify
military
service in Core 2nd Tier militaries,
paramilitary police
organizations, and the like.
Personnel serving in Militia
Commandos are required to
contract for a minimum period of service of 100 T-Days (roughly eight
months). As of
2303, privates in
Commando units are paid the Militia standard wage of Lv25 per local
day, plus a
Hazardous/Special Duty bonus of Lv5-15 per day based on experience/time
of
service and specialist training completed.
NCOs and officers earn roughly 10% above this rate
for each rank above
private.
PERSONALITIES
CAPTAIN WILLIAM R. BEAULY
The commander of the Confluence
Commando, William R Beauly
is a first generation Texan immigrant who arrived in Tanstaafl in 2290
after a
twenty-year career as an NCO in the Republic of Texas Army. Though he initially did
not involve himself
with the Militia, this changed rather abruptly with the Kafer invasion. He was quickly offered a
commission in the
force, and was further promoted to captain in 2299 and was posted as
the first
commander of the Confluence Commando.
Since that time he has declined further promotion
and repeatedly
expressed a desire to stay in his present duties.
Beauly may be encountered
anywhere the Confluence Commando
is operating or in and around the town of Confluence when the unit is
not
actively tasked to QRT missions (formerly a rancher, he now resides
inside the
town of Confluence itself, about a block from the Commando’s pre-war
drill
hall). He is a
vigorous, weathered
figure in his mid-50s who walks with a slight limp despite the lower
Auroran
gravity.
FIRST
SERGEANT TOMAS “CANO” RODRIGUEZ
Rather unusual for Tanstaafl,
Confluence Commando’s 1st
Sergeant, Tomas Rodriguez, is a Mexican expatriate, having come to
Aurore in
2295 after working mining operations on a half dozen worlds in the
French
Arm. When the
initial Kafer invasion
occurred, Rodriguez was in a mining camp very much on the wrong side of
the
primary alien landing zones. He
was
among a group of 50 miners who attempted to escape back towards human
controlled areas and, some months later, was one of four survivors who
stumbled, half-dead, into Equator Flats.
He enlisted in the Tanstaafl Free Legion shortly
afterwards and served
in that organization until 2300, when he joined another Militia
Commando as a
squad leader. In
the last three years
he has risen rapidly through the NCO ranks of the Militia, being
promoted to
First Sergeant rank at the beginning of 2303.
LANCE CORPORAL HERVE McKENDRY
The assistant squad leader of
the Logistics Squad, LCpl.
McKendry was a mechanic, specializing in the repair of tractors and
other farm
machinery, before the war. If
unproven
rumors are true, he also subsidized his income as a small time dealer
in
illegal narcotics, stolen automotive parts, and other minor criminal
activity. In any
case, he is the
Confluence Commando’s logistical “fixer,” able to finesse the Security
Forces
logistical system and various other contacts to secure hard to find
essentials.
Outside of being encountered
with other members of the
Confluence Commando, Lance Corporal McKendry can occasionally be found
away
from the Commando’s AOR (sometimes as far away as Tanstaafl City and
Port
Blackjack) pursuing some task or deal.
He has an unusually good ability to locate obscure
pieces of Kafer
equipment, which he often trades for essentials the unit cannot obtain
through
conventional supply channels.
CORPORAL IGNACIO GARCIA
Obese, sloppy, and socially
incompetent, Corporal Ignacio
Garcia would be an unlikely figure to encounter in a 2nd
Tier
military organization, and, indeed, is an uncommon figure to encounter
in the
more professional corners of the Tanstaafl security forces like the
Militia
Commandos. He is
also, however, a
communications technician with a rare gift for sustaining effective
communications in the electromagnetic soup present on Aurore, this
being the
sole reason he has reached NCO rank in the Tanstaafl Militia. He has been repeatedly
reprimanded by higher
headquarters for insubordinate (and usually extremely profane)
statements made
over radio networks when the Commando has been in contact, which is the
primary
reason he has not been offered more significant responsibilities in
line with
his abilities (and commensurate rank).
CORPORAL STEVEN PENDLETON
The squad leader of the 7th
Patrol Squad, Steven
Pendleton was a young writer of some note on Earth after the
publication of his
first novel, Doldrums of Gravity, in his native
Canada in 2295. For
reasons not entirely clear, he abandoned
an unfinished second novel and his life on Earth after the first news
stories
of the Kafer invasion of Aurore reached Earth.
He turned up in Tanstaafl some months later and
enlisted in the
Tanstaafl Free Legion promptly, eventually transferring to the Militia
Commandos. Pendleton
is an unassuming
and nondescript figure off duty; on operations in the field he is
solidly
professional and apparently unflappable even during the most confused
and
stressful situations. Captain
Beauly
and others have attempted to talk Pendleton into attending Officer
Candidate
School, but he has declined.
DUTY SCHEDULE AND
MANNING
Tanstaafl Militia Commando
units are full-time units, unlike
lower readiness units that normally spend one month out of three (circa
2303)
on active duty status.
Typically, Commando units work
a schedule where they spend
300 hours at forward operating bases performing QRT missions, and then
300
hours back at their home station (normally half that time is used for
continuing training, maintenance, etc., and the other half for leave). Though it is not always
possible, the
preference is for Commandos to operate in the same region, allowing
good
collective knowledge of local geography and the local population. It is also preferred that,
when possible,
the same two Commando units switch off QRT responsibilities. For the Confluence
Commando, the usual
counterpart unit is the Adam’s Ford Commando from the community of that
name
(roughly 50km east of Confluence).
In some cases (including the
Confluence Commando) local
conditions circa 2303 is sufficiently unsettled that the unit has to
stagger
training and leave times during its down time to maintain augment the
garrison
for its home community. When
the
Commando is deployed, local security is provided by a part of the 9th
or 10th Militia Companies.
While the usual mission of the
Commandos is to provide
Ramrod teams, they also occasionally draw various other missions as the
military situation demands. A
common
alternate tasking is augmenting the Tanstaafl Rural Police and
motorized infantry
companies in the Militia conducting convoy escort missions. Less common are taskings
to augment the
Tanstaafl Free Legion in major anti-Kafer sweeps, though these happen
occasionally.
For normal QRT missions,
Militia Commandos usually base out
of set staging bases (though Ramrod teams or portions of them may
patrol away
from their staging bases). Staging
bases are identified by various simple alphanumeric designators
(Alpha-One,
etc.), though they often acquire nicknames that are more widely known
among
Tanstaafl security forces and the population in general than the actual
military designators.
The Confluence Commando
normally operates from bases
“Whiskey-Two” and “Whiskey- Three,” more commonly known as “Dien Bien
Phu Two”
and “the Cellar.” Whiskey-Two
is
located at the ruins of a formerly sprawling farm/lumber camp
approximately
thirty-five kilometers southeast of Confluence itself.
This location allows the Ramrod team to
support the remaining scattered small settlements and farms along the
Red River
and interdict any reported Kafer crossings of the river. The ranch site is not a
formal firebase, but
is continually occupied by either the Confluence or Adam’s Ford
Commandos. The site
usually also has a rifle squad or
platoon from various Militia infantry units posted as a security
element,
though a concerted surprise attack by a Kafer raiding party is a
constant
concern. Whiskey-Three
is the Militia
firebase outside the town of Mushroom, providing similar coverage to
those
remaining settlers on the western side of the Sage River (and otherwise
operating in more secure and comfortable circumstances).
Confluence Commando normally
stages its headquarters element
and one Ramrod Team at Whiskey-Two and the other Ramrod Team (plus a
Logistics
Support Vehicle) at Whiskey-Three.
It
is customary for the two Ramrod teams to swap out duties at the two
staging
bases.
ARMAMENT AND
EQUIPMENT
The Tanstaafl Security Forces
are poorly equipped by the
standards of Core military organizations, with only the Tanstaafl Free
Legion
having anything approximating the light/obsolescent end of modern
equipment
scales. The Militia
is a comparatively
poor relation of the TFL (and what modern equipment it has is mostly
donated
gear from Core nations). The
Militia Commandos
are better provided for than most units, but they are still far below
the
standards of 2nd Tier military units.
Individual Armament
The Security Forces have
struggled since the initial Kafer
invasion to procure adequate military weaponry, partly due to lack of
funds and
partly due to the recurring interruptions of commercial traffic to
Aurore due
to Kafer military action. Even
in 2303
many standard militia infantry units only have enough assault rifles
for a
third or fewer of their members, with the remainder of personnel armed
with
privately owned hunting rifles and shotguns (or privately purchased
military
weapons). Militia
Commandos are better
off than most militia units, but weapons like modern gauss rifles and
laser
rifles are recent acquisitions in 2303.
As outlined above, the bulk of
the Confluence Commando is
equipped with locally manufactured Hotback Service Rifle assault
rifles
and Ranger light machineguns, augmented by a
decent number of AS-89
gauss rifle/grenade launchers (most donated by the Russian government)
and a
few laser rifles. Light
mortars,
DunArmCo Mini-12 heavy machineguns, and heavy recoilless rifles provide
heavier
fire support. This
level of firepower
is typical of Militia Commandos, though the particulars tend to vary
from
commando to commando (i.e. many units are equipped with SG-77 or M2
assault
rifles rather than HSRs, likewise some units omit
mortars but carry
automatic grenade launchers instead, etc.).
The HSRs tend to be popular
with militia members primarily because
they are new production (or at least remanufactured), whereas
militia-issue
SG-77s and M2s are sometimes older, heavily used surplus weapons that
leave
something to be desired in terms of accuracy and reliability in their
current
condition.
All personnel in the commando
are issued a Traylor M-57 9mm
pistol (though some opt to carry their own privately owned pistols). These weapons are part of
a lot obtained by
the Tanstaafl government on the surplus market, and were previously in
service
with the Portland, Oregon, Police Department in the US back on Earth. Most still carry “Portland
PD” markings on
the slides and frames, and are often referred to as “Portlands” by
troops. Despite its
single column, low capacity
magazine, the M-57 is fairly popular with the Security Forces for the
simple
reason of its legendary reliability, which is valued more in a
secondary weapon
by many than large magazine capacity.
Issue of pistols to all members is common practice
in Militia Commandos,
though precise make and model of pistols issued again varies.
In addition to handguns,
various other privately owned small
arms are allowed and relatively common in the commando.
Most Patrol Squads will include some form of
combat shotgun, submachinegun or scoped civilian hunting rifle
(possibly more
than one example of each) stowed in their vehicles as well as the
weapons
officially issued to troops.
Individual Uniform and Equipment
During the initial phases of
the war, even basic uniforms
were in scarce supply for members of the militia, including the
Commandos. Currently
(2303) the issue has been
partially addressed with a mix of local production and imported
uniforms. Members
of the Confluence Commando are
issued local copies of the Texas M-87 pattern combat uniform, with the
camouflage pattern modified to better reflect the environmental colors
found on
Aurore (primarily the substitution of slate gray for the sage green
color seen
in the original). The
copies of these
uniforms are easily recognized by the scuff pads on the Tanstaafl
copies; made
of locally produced nylon in a pattern matching the rest of the uniform
they
have a tendency to fade to a uniform khaki-yellow color after repeated
washings.
All members of the commando are
issued standard (AV 1)
helmets and non-rigid armor vests (AV 0.8), providing protection from
fragmentation but not from Kafer small arms fire.
Some personnel augment or substitute additional,
personally
purchased armor, for the issue vest.
Helmets lack integral communications, audio filters
and electro-optical
enhancement seen on many current issue 2nd Tier
helmets, and
personnel often patrol wearing bush hats or ball caps as helmets are
felt to
impair hearing (and are uncomfortable as well).
Vehicle crewmembers are also issued locally
manufactured
semi-rigid over-vests (AV 1.2 when worn with standard non-rigid vest),
but the
weight of this item (12 kilograms) makes it prohibitive for infantry
troops.
Individual communications gear
for commando members is
scarce. Currently
only squad leaders
are provided with short-range personal communication sets, though the
line of
sight nature of this kit limits its usefulness in any case.
The commando is somewhat better
equipped with night vision
gear, though still deficient compared to Core forces.
Personnel issued the AS-89 gauss rifle have that
weapon’s
standard day/night battle sight. In
addition, each Patrol Squad has two sets of night vision goggles, one
set
usually reserved for the squad’s driver and the other issued as needed. All DunArmCo Mini-12s and
the two recoilless
rifles in the commando are equipped with Polish wz. 9082 thermal
weapons sights
(an economy model intended for the export market) that provide adequate
night
vision and target acquisition out to about 2000 meters.
SLANG AND
TERMINOLOGY
|
|
Bump
|
Unexpected contact with
Kafer forces, especially at night.
Can be used as both a noun (“we had a bump
last night on Route 2”) and verb (“we bumped a bunch of Kafers last
night on Route 2”).
|
Canadian
|
TRDPM slang for a helmet. (Canada provides several
thousand surplus military helmets as part of a military aid package in
2299, so at one time most personnel were using Canadian helmets.)
|
“Cleared Black”
and “Cleared Red”
|
These literally mean
higher headquarters has cleared aviation operations in a non-permissive
environment (see Niebla below), typically only
authorized for high profile operations and more occasionally for
critical casualty evacuations. More
figuratively it is used among the TRDPM to refer to any mission or
operation where a great deal of latitude is given by higher
headquarters (“you’re cleared black to get the road to Equator Flats
opened back up”).
|
Dish Hill
|
The former Dish Hill
Correctional Center (DHCC) low security prison on the outskirts of the
capital. Transferred
to joint Militia and Rural Police control in 2299 for use as a military
disciplinary barracks. Most
sentences are short term, and are expressed as “doing a Dish Hill 600”
or similar (in this case a 600 hour sentence).
|
“Fine Ground”
|
A post-Kafer invasion
polite term from the food industry for ground meat of mysterious
origins or marginal quality. Commonly
used by TRDPM members to describe missions or situations where
intelligence is deficient or completely lacking (i.e. “That patrol was
a fine ground mess from the moment we left the wire.”)
|
Guardia
|
Tejano
term for the Tanstaafl Militia
|
“K-Zone”
|
Ubiquitous term in
Anglophone portions of the French Arm for Kafer occupied territory.
|
M-Zero
|
A shorthand term among
the Tanstaafl Security Forces for training exercises that do not
require the presence of medical personnel due to very low risk of
injury. It is
generally used as an adjective to describe easy, boring and/or low risk
missions (i.e. “We did an M-Zero patrol north of the copper mine.”)
|
Mortar Magnets
|
Can generically refer to
any object or aircraft elevated over a Security Forces unit, to include
tethered aerostats used as mobile microwave antennas, circling UAVs
providing overwatch of a unit or convoy, in bound air ambulances or
other aircraft, etc.
|
Niebla
|
Tejano word
for “fog.” Used
with traffic light color codes (red/yellow/green) as a brevity code for
the local Kafer air defense threat.
“Niebla Black” is used when the threat level
is unknown, but presumed to be present.
|
Panzer
|
Uncertain origin, slang
term for Kangaroo hover APCs among Militia and TFL personnel.
|
Rurales
|
Tejano term for Tanstaafl
Rural Police
|
Rondero/
Ronderos
|
Tejano slang for
non-Commando militia members (literally “those who make the rounds”). Often used as a pejorative
term by members of Commandos or TFL members.
|
Segetov
|
Standard name of AS-89
gauss rifles among members of the Tanstaafl Security Forces
|
“Tackle
the Wall”
|
TRDPM slang for
ill-conceived frontal assaults, analogous to “going at the thickest
part of the hedge” or “hey-diddle-diddle-right-up-the-middle” in other
Anglophone forces.
|
War
Tourist
|
Derisive term for new
recruits from off-planet to the Militia or TFL with no prior combat or
military experience.
|
Copyright James Boschma, 2010.
23/07/10