A Mercenary Perspective: Absorbing new personnel

[deathfrombeyond]

Hey all.

From a mercenary perspective, let's say that in an established mercenary unit, you have a core of long time personnel, and for some reason, your unit is bombarded by requests from a lot of people that want to join your mercenary unit, be it from hiring halls, they were defeated by your unit in combat, etc.

Let's assume that your unit can afford to pay them all.

How much new personnel compared to long time personnel do you enlist before you start worrying about how they will noticeably impact your unit's performance?

[Decoy]

It depends on how big I want to be and how they're flooding in. If they're willing to embrace my unit's culture and they come in as bunches of new recruits, I'll use a lance as a base for a company. If they come in more coherent formations, I may keep them together. If they're willing, I may use them as the base of a formation. However, much personnel swapping will occur. What I want is for my unit's culture to prevail. Skill and Unit ratings can return over time.

[deathfrombeyond]

I've been struggling with the verb I wanted to use here, and I finally remembered.

It's integration of new personnel, not absorbing!

Anyhow, let's assume that the potential influx of new personnel outnumbers your established personnel by a factor of 3 (or more) to 1.

How would that affect a lance sized unit as opposed to, say, a company sized unit?

[Iron Mongoose]

A lot of it depends on your personnel and those you are absorbing.  Now, I've never been a mercenary, but I have been in management in a high turnover environment, and a lot of it can come down to who is being promoted and who expects to be. 

So, if you have a core unit, say a company, and a fair few of your warriors are quite ready to be lance commanders, then that could breed discontent, since they don't really get to shine, since in a company unit there's no real upward mobility.  But, if you can import four extra warriors, then all of a sudden your best warrior can be a lance leader, and perhaps you can make your best lance commander leader of a two lance unit.  So long as the newcomers understand that they're the newcomers and they respect that hierarchy, no problem, because they have old timers all around them, and your people see a chance to grow themselves.  Then you can do four more, or eight, and so on.

But, in your second scenario... I suppose it still depends.  If that lance has a decade in the field with a great record and every member has the skills and leadership abilities, then bringing in more warriors to give each warrior their own lance would very likely work.  But, if you started having new officers over yours, I can see resentment, unless the new officers were so impressive as that their worth couldn't be ignored (ex-elite house guards or A+ merc, for example).  While if you kept your officers for your people and let the newcomers have theirs, then you don't integrate well and that can cause cliquishness and problems.

Though I'd ask if you're gaining three times your numbers, who's absorbing and who's being absorbed?

[Archangel]

First how large is the unit in question?  Obviously a larger unit can afford to hire more before they begin to impact the unit's performance than a smaller unit.

Second while you might be able to afford their salaries, can the unit also afford the cost to acquire the equipment for the new hires and afford the ongoing maintenance/repair costs (techs, parts, supplies, etc)?  After all many will likely be dispossessed.

Third it depends upon the quality of the people who are applying and the quality of the established mercenary unit.  Green soldiers applying to a veteran mercenary unit will have a greater impact than a regular or veteran.  (Note: It works both ways.  New warriors can negatively impact a unit's performance as well as improve it if their quality is better than the unit in question.)

Finally, if your unit is being "bombarded by requests" one can be picky and one can afford them, one can reject those who would negatively impact your unit's and only take those who would have a positive impact.

[AlphaMirage]

Yeah this is a tough business like decision, salary is nothing compared to the Capital needed to outfit them.  I would only hire what I can put to work you can have too large or small a unit depending on era. 

Also what kind of recruits are we tslking here, techs, tankers, and infantry are very different than Mechwarriors and Pilots.

[deathfrombeyond]

The following is an example I am considering. PLEASE DO NOT CONSIDER THIS THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXAMPLE FOR WHICH I AM SOLICITING FEEDBACK. I was hoping that others would provide their own examples.

A particularly famous (and affluent) company commander in an undisclosed Successor State unit decides to start their own mercenary unit and decides to entice members of their former unit to join by automatically promoting them one rank.

This individual manages to recruit a lance commander and 4 'MechWarriors, which translates to a company commmander and 4 lance commanders. If one includes the founder, this is 2 company commanders and 4 lance commanders.

Before going to the hiring hall for recruits to fill out the new unit, the founder decides that this new unit will have an organization that is different from conventional House structure: 2 'Mechs to a lance, 3 lances to a company. Since there are already 6 personnel in commanding positions, the founder will need 6 recruits from the hiring hall, preferably those not from a command background. The founder's intent is to have the initial unit structured with a 1:1 officer:recruit ratio per lance.

There are several reasons for this preference:

1. Green recruits should be particularly easy to find, which reduces time invested in recruiting (which doesn't earn profits).
2. 4 of the "officers" haven't commanded anything before, so having them in charge of a wingman instead of 3 wingmen reduces the learning curve.
3. The other officer is used to commanding a lance of 4 'Mechs. A demi company of six 'Mechs reduces the learning curve.
4. The officer:recruit ratio is intended to accelerate the integration process, so that no one sub unit is overly burdened with new recruits, as it is spread evenly.

[pheonixstorm]

The problem I see is that 1:1 doesn't really get you anywhere fast. If the 4 lance commanders need training then it should happen by the CO and XO splitting 1:2 during command training BEFORE you get into a contract or at the very least during an easy contract such as pirate hunting. At 1:1 your newly minted lance commanders aren't going to learn how to command, but if they are leading at least 2 others (with real officers in the rank to act as instructors) then it becomes easier.

Integration is not an issue at this small a level because there is nothing to integrate into to begin with.

Now I have run items like this in past campaigns from a company adding on a lance of recruits. Since the company has been around for awhile you need to either promote from within or reassign one of the officers to the new lance to help with training and getting everyone on the same page on how the unit functions and other interact within the unit etc.

In larger units it is far easier to train them up with the help of a company commander showing them the ropes. I did this in one of my larger merc units. I bought the debt for a small company sized merc unit who was about to disband from debt. At first I kept them as an independent force until they got used to how things worked farther up the food chain and offered transfers to other units to further integrate them into the main force.

But back to your unit beginnings. If you are building a unit from the ground up then the CO should really spend all of his time training the other 5 members and take on contracts as a demi-company. As it stands that second Captain isn't going to be very happy until (s)he has an actual command which the CO may or may not be able to afford. Especially if the other unit members didn't bring their rides. Plus you have to worry about who you are hiring. Will they have their own units or will you have to buy units for them to use?

There is a lot that can go into this and a lot that can go wrong. An aero wing is far easier to train as far as tactics than a ground lance. Not to mention that the tactics for a two man team won't work for a full lance.

[Colt Ward]

Most important thing will always be maintaining and fostering your culture- aka in the military as espirit de corps.  I will discuss this in general terms, the specifics you offer and my own unit's fluff.

First, general terms . . . your unit's culture is also part of the reputation they present, which is a selling point in the merc market.  While bringing in outside specialists, perspective and talents is always a good thing you want them to fall into line with the unit culture.  Depending on cultural background depends on how closely- Cappie & traditional Drac (bannermen for NIH syndrom) will require stricter adherence than the more free wheeling Leaguers.  Rasalhague & Azami splinter cultures of the Dracs might not require as strict following of the culture.  You ALWAYS want them to assimilate to your culture rather than outnumber those who embrace & spread your unit culture.  This was why some merc commands would take bondsmen and allow them to become warriors in their unit rather than cut them loose.  But other units less sure of their culture did not keep the skilled warriors, because they did not trust their ability to bring them on board.  Even for the mercs who did, this sometimes cause problems- but their unit culture was strong enough to prevail (Snords on Odessa & Dragoon Civil War) but not without repercussions.

For the specific example . . . well, I think you need to recruit from a similar culture pool- since you are trying to establish a unit culture along with the unit.  If your lance leaders are from a strict school of thought and you want to foster rigid adherence to orders then you do not want someone from the League, Skye or maybe the FedCom in general.  You probably also want to avoid potential rivalries if they are green merc candidates.  They may not have yet had a opportunity to become 'professional' mercs who do not care if their lancemate is from the Combine if they grew up on a Draconis March border world.  You also need to consider if that green candidate will help build the culture or be a hindrance.  You made it sound like we were initially talking about a Kell Hound splinter after Morgan broke them up or one of their farm teams in the '50s.  Or a Dragoon doing a start up as part of the AMC . . . and there you have cultures that can carry over their stamps as long as they do not start believing the parent formation's reputation extends to them in all ways.

For my example . . . yeah, my unit expanded with influx of recruits of random backgrounds.  It was not something I thought about a great deal as I built the unit with FM Mercs (R) rules, but for a core of the unit I did keep to certain themes.  I billed them as a Highlander unit, a Clan ruling line who left the Northwind Highlanders to form his own unit after Bulldog.  Presently 3 of the members are of the same family (older brother, little brother, cousin) and others are from the Highlander tradition to form about half the unit.  The remaining half are random recruits from a diverse set of cultures but with acceptable backgrounds for the most part (occasionally you just need a able body in that heavy mech's seat).  The infantry portion, most of which were random recruits, were trained by NWH infantry as part of a short run contract on Northwind while they were looking for a contract- they were most the recruits at that cycle.  But its also changed, the senior Battle Armor officer is a Diamond Shark Elemental (amazing roll for Elemental suits when buying, go figure) which brings his experience and the Clan attitude of the superior warriors being in charge can be grafted into the unit's culture.  But he is also not on the Command Council, instead the infantry representative if a Jump Infantry commander who was with the unit from the beginning.

Usually the new recruits get plugged into 'added lances' . . . when they expanded I split one of the early lances, commanded by a recruit but also had 'family' on it for culture, so that two long time members were in each lance (salvaged mechs & bought a heavy).  The previous lance commander became a captain and 2nd in the command company while the new lance commander was the family member in that lance.  I organized them more on mech abilities but it worked out that way.  And while I have dependents the timeline has not progressed far enough for second generation members, which is why when recruiting I do a roll to see if they can get someone retiring from the NWH.  I also do a roll to see if the recruit comes from a similar culture in the background (Scots prevalent culture on whatever world- like Firgrove).  I also fluff them as doing things to encourage the unit culture- dining in, Highland games, and encouragement to set up dependents at the base.  They also have a stone carved with the names and dates of those who died in service of the unit.  Fluffed the unit as trying to foster the old Highland clan spirit where everyone is a part of the whole.

[Beazle]

Because I am an intensely distrustful individual (at least when I'm gaming  >:D ) I would never allow more than 1/4 of my force to be new personnel at a time.  They would also be spread out, not focused into their own units.  So the typical lance would be 3 long-term members with 1 recruit.

There are 2 benefits to this.

First, if they all turn out to be traitors, they will be outnumbered 3 to 1 in every encounter.

Second, by spacing them out you force them to integrate with the existing members.  If you clump new members into a new unit, you could end up with them forming their own clique which could result in a divisive new-vs-old mentality.  If the new members have only the older members to associate with on a daily basis, they will be more likely to conform to the existing standards (tactical and cultural) than change them.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

Because I am an intensely distrustful individual (at least when I'm gaming  >:D ) I would never allow more than 1/4 of my force to be new personnel at a time.  They would also be spread out, not focused into their own units.  So the typical lance would be 3 long-term members with 1 recruit.

There are 2 benefits to this.

First, if they all turn out to be traitors, they will be outnumbered 3 to 1 in every encounter.

Second, by spacing them out you force them to integrate with the existing members.  If you clump new members into a new unit, you could end up with them forming their own clique which could result in a divisive new-vs-old mentality.  If the new members have only the older members to associate with on a daily basis, they will be more likely to conform to the existing standards (tactical and cultural) than change them.

It's a good idea, but it can have problems in units with long histories.  If you happen to have a bunch of undermanned lances, great. Plug the holes with new recruits.

But if you're simply expanding in size, breaking up existing lances to make room for recruits has issues.  There's more to it than breaking up an existing, experienced team by removing a known member for a new addition (hell, that's mundane and happens every time someone dies/retires and is replaced).  The problem is what happens to the member who was cut from the lance to make room for a newb?  Do you throw three of such mechwarriors in with yet another newb?  That might mathematically be the answer, but it's terrible for those 3 veterans who are now part of a mob of 4 tasked to become a lance.  It's not just a bigger challenge than taking 3 veterans used to working together and making a 4th work with those 3; you have a lack of unit tradition and the morale problems that accompany.  Unit identity is a bigger thing in the BTU than sports team fandom identity is in the real world.  Imagine taking a Dallas Cowboys fan or a New York Yankees fan and being told "yeah you have to root for this new team now".  That's what it'll be like for veterans forced to forge new lances.

[Kovax]

I'd be more tempted to break an existing lance into two, giving each new lance a pair of already familiar lance-mates to train the newcomers.  Two people can carry on a tradition a lot better than one, particularly if you stagger the arrival of the new members by at least a few weeks so only one "total newbie" needs to be integrated at a time.

If the new hires are all brought on board at roughly the same time, that may require some kind of temporary training assignment for half of the newcomers until their eventual lances or squads are ready to deal with them.

Historically, there have been two different methods of integrating newcomers to a combat unit.  The first method involves throwing them into the working unit and let them sink or swim while they attempt to learn the basics of staying alive while under fire.  The second method involves pulling the entire unit off of active duty while the new recruits are familiarized with basic operations, which gives them a higher chance of surviving when the unit is put back into action.  The survival rate of new recruits in the first situation has been historically a lot lower than the latter, but pulling a unit out of combat isn't always practical.  Note that Germany during WWII tended to run units to the verge of collapse, then pull them back for several months for rest, refitting with new equipment, and the integration of replacements.  The Allies for the most part sent replacements directly to the units at the front, and the new recruits suffered a disproportionately high share of casualties compared to the experienced members.

This effect would be even more drastic in the style of warfare depicted in Battletech, where close cooperation within a lance is crucial to success and survival.

[Colt Ward]

One thing to note . . . mercs are a business right?  Most modern businesses have a 'orientation' (aka indoctrination) period where you learn about policies and what makes your company special.  When you go through basic, a good chunk is learning skills but a lot of it is also indoctrination- the Marines do this very well, the point they create their own culture . . . which is what it sounds like you want.  Obviously you will not have the time or perhaps even the inclination to copy the Marines practice, but a orientation where staff imparts their unit doctrine and builds espirit de corps then you make things easier to integrate the new individuals into the unit without diluting identity.

[Kovax]

If incorporating a large number of new recruits in a short period of time, you probably want to give them some initial "introduction" to the overall organization before shoving them into combat slots.  After a couple of days of "familiarization", some with the right experience and compatible backgrounds can probably be added directly to the combat units as replacements, with no more than one at a time going to any single lance or squad.  The rest may need to be given additional training or temporary assignments until their eventual destination units are prepared to receive them.

For a variety of security, morale, and cultural reasons, you probably want to avoid creating new combat formations built from a diverse collection of mostly newcomers, if possible.

[Archangel]

That is assuming circumstances give the unit the chance to complete (or even start) their indoctrination phase.  Events may conspire to prevent the indoctrination from being started/completed.  After all mercenaries either go where and when they are told or risk their contract.

For a variety of security, morale, and cultural reasons, you probably want to avoid creating new combat formations built from a diverse collection of mostly newcomers, if possible.

The key part is "if possible".  Again events conspire to prevent such a luxury.

[Kovax]

Unless you've taken a lot of casualties and are bringing new personnel on board in mid-contract, you probably have some say over what sort of assignment you're accepting.  If rebuilding, it really doesn't pay to dive into a major offensive, when a garrison assignment or some other lighter duty would allow you to rebuild and still cover your expenses in the mean time.

As said, "if possible".  There will obviously be cases where you have no choice but to throw fresh meat into the grinder, but in MOST situations, a mercenary unit should be able to maintain training cadres, and gradually incorporate the new members into the actual combat formations in a controlled manner.

[Archangel]

As said, "if possible".  There will obviously be cases where you have no choice but to throw fresh meat into the grinder, but in MOST situations, a mercenary unit should be able to maintain training cadres, and gradually incorporate the new members into the actual combat formations in a controlled manner.

True with the obvious caveat that they are able to afford a training cadre in the first place which most mercenary units aren't.  (Note:  I am talking about an actual training cadre with a more formal training structure not simply the son/daughter of a unit member being taught the ropes by his/her parents and other unit members whenever they have time.)

However, don't forget that a lot of 'new meat' will have previous experience whether from serving with a Great House, mercenary unit or a paramilitary organization and after a brief orientation they will usually be assigned to a field unit to train with their new lance-mates and learn 'how we do it here' as opposed to 'how they did it there'.  Those promoted to officer rank will of course have a steeper learner curve which would vary wildly depending upon their duties (callsigns, codes, preferred tactics/strategies of the unit CO and their immediate CO, the always popular admin tasks, etc).

[Tai Dai Cultist]

A "training cadre" isn't that hard to pull off.  Designate 1/3 your force to be the place where new recruits go.  And stay, until a permanent position opens up somewhere else in your force.

You can also use the idea for an elite cadre.  Trainees/newcomers go into the 3rd company.  When a position opens up in the 2nd company, the most qualified member of the 3rd company moves "up" to the 2nd.   Same thing for the 1st company: when a position opens up, the most qualified pilot from the 2nd company moves "up" to the elite 1st.

[Archangel]

A "training cadre" isn't that hard to pull off.  Designate 1/3 your force to be the place where new recruits go.  And stay, until a permanent position opens up somewhere else in your force.

The most common mercenary units are company or lance sized units.  How well does that work for them when 1/3 of their force isn't bringing in any income but is still a big expense on the spreadsheets (salaries, cost of maintaining/repairing the equipment, cost of ammunition, etc)?  Even a battalion will likely have difficulty paying the costs of an entire company when there are only two companies bringing in income.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

The most common mercenary units are company or lance sized units.  How well does that work for them when 1/3 of their force isn't bringing in any income but is still a big expense on the spreadsheets (salaries, cost of maintaining/repairing the equipment, cost of ammunition, etc)?  Even a battalion will likely have difficulty paying the costs of an entire company when there are only two companies bringing in income.

I wasn't saying to turn 1/3 of your force into a noncombat formation.

Think of your "training cadre" as a "farm team" if I didn't make sense.  You reserve the more challenging assignments for your elite/regular corps and use the 3rd bn/company/lance for less challenging assignments.