Yeah, saw those when I was looking into Rasalhague's military and political structure on Sarna. Thought it odd they apparently divide 'Mech divisions up by weight, since in the novel "Malicious Intent" an officer being yassigned a company of light 'Mechs is seen as a huge aberration. To quote, "They invented a do-nothing unit for him!"
It’s not unusual in the BT universe as a whole. The SLDF had Heavy Assault, Battle, and Striker regiments for their divisions and Dragoon, Hussar, and Light Horse regiments for their independent formations. The FedRats have their Assault, Heavy, and Light Davion Guards. Clanners have assault, battle, and striker clusters. Entire light brigades like the Deneb Light Cavalry and the Amphigean Light Assault Group exist. Etc.
I don’t know that Malicious Intent passage but since that’s a Falcon vs Lyran novel, I would guess that passage reflects Lyran biases against lighter units more than military organization in the universe as a whole. The Rasalhagians might have inherited some of that bias, but after centuries of guerrilla warfare, I suspect they appreciate speed and stealth as much as any other military.
Though I guess that would be a general trend rather than a hard rule. . . Kavalleri skew towards the light end but have a few heavies and assaults, Drakons skew towards heavy and assault but have a few lights.
Yeah, that’s my assumption as well. If you look at the TO&E for the ELH in the original Merc’s Handbook, even the Light Horse regiments had a heavy/assault battalion backing up a couple light/medium battalions.
That's because you're a devious old maid, my friend. 
Convincing old Tor Miraborg to stand down was Phelan’s doing. I don’t recall if it was Natasha or Ulric who sent him.
Well, if MechWarrior 5 is to be believed, the Lyrans didn't exactly let the 1st Tyr go willingly. Just recently played through Rise of Rasalhague, in fact, in part in prep for this.
I don’t know MW5, but the idea that the Lyrans supported a guerrilla movement by sending it an assault regiment is funny and typically Lyran. The MW5 plot probably makes more sense.
And it's interesting to see what factories they've effectively captured from the Combine, but what does their output look like? I know the books tend to leave that sort of thing vague, in part to give people like me freedom to play what we want, but the small part of my brain that constantly shouts "REALISM!" looks at this tiny breakaway nation and wonders: who pays for all this?
Granted, building up their military as big and fast as possible would be a top priority.
It’s just a guess, but as a rule-of-thumb, I would assume that the closer and longer a unit has been in proximity to a mech factory, the more of that factory’s mechs show up in the unit. Transportation costs more C-bills. Buying from other states costs more C-bills. All other things being equal, better to buy local. Based on that, it would make sense for the Archer, P-Hawk- and Panther to be the most numerous models both inherited by, and still purchased by, the FRR. Although I skipped the Panther for being too light (and slow) against Clanners, that’s why I doubled down on the Archer and P-Hawk upthread.
I wouldn’t worry about the state of the FRR’s finances at the outset of the Clan invasion. Even if the government started off dead broke, they had 80-odd worlds — as much as any major province or march in the Successor States — to draw taxes from over the next couple decades. They also had wealthy allies in ComStar and the Lyrans who could have given them a big bridge loan to get going. Even if it doesn’t make sense, stuff like economics, resistance movements, etc. are determined by the needs of the plot, not by logic. The FRR needs to exist, so it has access to federal funds somehow.
Of course, by the time the FRR is reduced to a half dozen planets right before/after Tukayyid, it would not be surprising if your unit has not getting paid on time (or at all) for a while.
The Rasalhagians know they're a ComStar/Combine compromise, a speed bump for the next time Hanse Davion is in conquering mood. Realistically, if the Combine or FedCom wants them, there's nothing they can do about it.
Yeah, they’re obviously modeled on Cold War Sweden and Finland, which secretly worked with NATO and the West, but publicly put on a show of neutrality or appeasement for the Soviets. Again, the 20-Year Update mentions that the FRR maintains an economic policy of equal trade with both the Combine and Commonwealth, a goofy position that only makes sense if you’re trying to appease a hungry bear or dragon on your border. And then that shows up again in the description of the military’s mech models.
As an aside, the more I think about it, the more Rasalhague as a buffer state is a stroke of genius. Granting independence to the Rasalhague district essentially removes an excuse for war from the FedCom arsenal. The Lyrans would doubtless be on board for a war to liberate their Scandinavian kin from an oppressive regime that refuses to allow them to openly practice their culture and heritage. It removes a border between the Combine and FedCom, meaning if Hanse wants to concentrate troops he'll have to spend a fair amount of time getting them into position first. And it allows the Combine to consolidate and focus on worlds that actually want to be there. One could even argue the Ronin Wars were a boon, thinning the ranks of the old-school diehards of Honor Before Reason from the DCMS, letting Theodore recruit or promote warriors more accepting of his more flexible combat doctrine. And, of course, it fractures the Inner Sphere further, which plays into ComStar's ultimate goals at this time.
If you don’t have it, you should buy the PDF for the 20-Year Update. Only $7. Link in my prior post.
In my original story, House Northman
Great movie that more accurately depicts the Viking Age than any other. I wish it had done better at the box office.
Scandinavian (my patrilineal line is Swedish) surname conventions are usually patronymic (Magnusson = Magnus’s son, Olafsdottir = Olaf’s daughter, etc.) or reference a locality or nature (Berg = mountain, Holm = small island, Blomquist = flower twig, Wallgren = pasture branch, etc.). There are exceptions, especially among former old and recent lines of nobility. Nothing wrong with Northman, but that’s the general rule, FWIW.
