Command Element Composition questions

[deathfrombeyond]

So, allocation of command elements has been a weird thing on my mind lately.

Now, I'm not much of a military guy, but the main purpose of command elements is generally the ensuring the safety of battlefield commanders, yes? In other words, is it safe to assume that command elements are really just dedicated escorts by a different name?

Since the loss of battlefield commanders really has no intrinsic penalty in BattleTech games (outside of scenarios and the like), there really is no purpose for having command elements in pickup games, correct?

However, if there is some scenario condition where losing the commander (or whatever) does carry some intrinsic penalties, how much of your force do you allocate to babysit the commander/king?

Some canon examples, like Bronson's Horde allocating a fourth of their 'Mech assets as a command element or some Clan Galaxies designating an entire Cluster as a Galaxy command element, seem like particularly unwise allocations of assets.

[snewsom2997]

For a Battlemech Unit a Command Lance for a Battalion, would Contain the CO, his Aide, a Comms Specialist, and a Bodyguard. Other than Flavor, it is generally just 4 extra Veteran/Elite Warriors.

You usually wouldn't see them unless you were fielding a Battalion or Larger, or were a Clan and bid a Star of the Keshik. You are correct for Pick-up Games doesn't matter, for Campaigns/Scenarios it can.

For IS Mech Companies, it s a place to put an Odd Lance, but there are square companies with 4 lances. For the Clans a Keshik is just the best of the best, usually attached to a Khan, saKhan, or Loremaster.

[Colt Ward]

Actually Keshiks are generally the command elements of galaxies, although a few Clans organize them as separate units able to move and attach at the Khan or saKhan's will- basically light Clusters.  Keshik strength runs from a trinary all the way up to clusters, again depending on the Clan.  The amount of the Keshiks vary but based on how the equipment is divided in 3145, I think we will see more of them in the remaining Clans- IMO it was a bad dividing point because they are of limited number and limited strength.  I would have preferred to see a Frontline/Secondline/Garrison division in equipment and standards to more accurately reflect previous product cluster descriptions.

Like larger IS units, the command trinaries and keshiks seem to have the troopers wear two hats.  Sure the Star Captain piloting a Stormcrow next to the Galaxy Commander's Linebacker is the second ranking officer in the trinary but he is also the aide to the GalCom.  The Elemental Star Commander is also probably his infantry/security deputy, while another MechWarrior may also have a talent for logistics and the GalCom delegates a lot of that job to them.

The best example I am aware of is that Phelan kept his friends on the Invasion Wolf Beta Galaxy's Silver Keshik and later Warden Wolf Golden Keshik.  Evantha Fetladral and Carew Nygren were both warriors and staff officers for the Khan, taking on additional assignments off the battlefield.

How much that is done will of course vary by Clan.  Not much in the Jags but likely lots in the Adders- I think you also see it as part of the Clans' formations leading into and after Klondike.

For the IS, once you start talking about Battalion or higher you have to get the Staff elements involved but not all or as many will be on the battlefield like among the Clans.  Do we have any idea what sort of Staff models the different Houses' follow?  IIRC, the US follows the Brit/French versions, the Germans (at least prior to end of WWII) had a slightly different model and the Russians follow a totally separate paradigm.

I would also think if you start including some of those commander supporting elements, they can have strategic or tactical implications- if enemy movement forces the HQ to displace then perhaps the intel reports are not passed forward in a timely manner which allows raiding or flanking forces through the screen.  If your logistics network suffers an attack, will all the units in the field get their hot supper?  Not getting it several days in a row definitely causes a morale drop from eating MREs.

[Sir Chaos]

For a Battlemech Unit a Command Lance for a Battalion, would Contain the CO, his Aide, a Comms Specialist, and a Bodyguard. Other than Flavor, it is generally just 4 extra Veteran/Elite Warriors.

Shouldn´t the aide and the comms specialist be the same person? Because what else is the aide supposed to do in the field?

I´d suggest a lance consisting of CO, Aide, Bodyguard and "Specialist" - the last one could be a specialized AA platform to defend the CO against air strikes, an ECM/Probe platform to prevent ambushes, or a specialized anti-BA platform against headhunting Elementals. On the other hand, the Bodyguard is more of a general purpose unit, preferably the heaviest available that can keep pace with the CO´s unit, maybe leaning towards short-range firepower versus the CO´s unit´s focus on long-range firepower.

[Failure16]

Looking through the lens of an American Army unit, a battalion command lance should reasonably be composed of the Battalion Commander (BC), Executive Officer (XO), Operations Officer (Ops), and a specialist of some kind.  The latter could be a 'bodyguard', 'runner', scout of some kind, or perhaps a liaison for close air-support or artillery/fire-support (look up what an S-3 Air does for an example).  The other staff functions, notably administration (S-1), intelligence (S-2), supply (S-4) and other sundry duties, do not have specific battlefield roles requiring BattleMechs or tanks.

Realistically, given a structure as seen above, it would be exceedingly rare to see a whole battalion headquarters lance together on the field at the same time.  Using operations of the 11th ACR (in the guise of the Opfor/32nd Guards MRR) in the late 1990s at the National Training Center as a template, the BC would be leading the battalion main-effort, the XO would be leading the Jump Tactical Operations Center (imagine a stripped down version of the primary operations center) or the supporting effort, the Ops would be observing a critical part of the battlefield or involved in the secondary/supporting or diversionary efforts, and the supernumerary (fourth member) would either be protecting one of the principals or conducting their own specific duties.

But, you know, the BTU is a place where significant portions of available combat power assemble at a given point and charge at the other guy like reenactments of American Civil War or Napoleonic era battles.  See in that light, having the BC supported by three bruisers as a personal defense detachment par-excellence is not strictly a bad thing.  That is not how I run my universe any more, though (but in my younger years, that is exactly how my campaigns rolled, and I made the most out of BattleForce in doing so).

[Arkansas Warrior]

Generally speaking, you probably aren't going to have more than one bodyguard in a command lance, and even that guy could just be a staff officer or the Battalion Chief NCO if said person is a really hot hand in a mech.  I'd probably go with CO, Chief NCO, Staff Officer, Bodyguard.  Maybe two staff officers and no senior NCO.  Since in BT the unit XO tends to be a line company commander and not a separate staff position, the staff officer(s) is more likely to be someone like an S2 or S3, maybe the HHC commander.  Still a fairly senior officer who knows the overall plan and can pick up the pieces and keep thigs rolling if the CO goes down and the XO is busy fighting with his company or whatever.

Once you get to the regimental level maybe all three in the CO's lance are bodyguards and the ret of the Command Company are staff officers/Regimental SGM/etc.

In the clans, Keshiks are a mixed bag.  Some of the clans that tend to be more meticulous in their planning like the Adders likely have lots of staff types and special troops in their Keshiks.  Clans that are more "traditional" probably see them simple as prestige assignments, gathering all the best of the best warriors together around the GC/Khan/Loremaster (who is himself an excellent warrior most of the time, considering the Clans advancement procedures).  An elite within the elite (at least in the case of frontline galaxies).  I'd expect at least one very elite warrior not so much as a bodyguard (because the GC/Khan/Loremaster like doesn't need one) but as an "Enforcer", someone to handle the boss's light weight.  Whenever some non-Bloodnamed upstart wants to challenge the GC's decision or whatever, he says "Fine, but I have no time for surats such as yourself.  Mechwarrior Carl will handle this challenge."  Carl of course being known far and wide for his 48-1 record of victories in single combat etc etc.  I'd expect such an Enforcer to either be the commander's protege or else a relatively unambitious warrior, since he might well be a better fighter than his commander, just not ambitious enough to want his position.  Maybe even a freeborn or a warrior seen as "over the hill", one who was well aware of his own lack of potential for advancement and knew that riding the boss's coat tails was the most power he'd ever get.

[snewsom2997]

Shouldn´t the aide and the comms specialist be the same person? Because what else is the aide supposed to do in the field?

Paperwork, when not shooting stuff, the mundane things that eat up a lot of time, that the CO could better spend doing something else.

[Nebfer]

An some what alternate view of the command unit, is that it's the HQs escort unit that at times has the units Co taking charge of. In short it's not necessarily the command staff riding around in the mechs/tanks...

[Colt Ward]

So you are thinking of the HQ's QRF?

While the HQ unit's primary task is not combat they should be able to somewhat defend themselves as well as have guard units assigned.  During the planning for one dusty trip many moons ago I found out that in addition to the heavy weapons assigned to the BOC we also were supposed to have Bradleys or such assigned as defensive units.  The mess, maintenance, supply, and ammo sections were also tasked with perimeter guard which could turn out to have everyone on the line during skirmishes.

[mbear]

For the IS, once you start talking about Battalion or higher you have to get the Staff elements involved but not all or as many will be on the battlefield like among the Clans.  Do we have any idea what sort of Staff models the different Houses' follow?  IIRC, the US follows the Brit/French versions, the Germans (at least prior to end of WWII) had a slightly different model and the Russians follow a totally separate paradigm.

Don't forget the presence of the Star League and the SLDF. This is important (IMHO) for two reasons:
1. House forces needed to integrate/coordinate with SLDF forces, so having a similar (if not identical) structure makes sense. (Granted, plenty of counter examples from real life.)
2. After the SLDF left, there were plenty of ex-SLDF troops entering House military forces and bringing their ideas of organization with them. So over time the House militaries could model their staffs on the SLDF model.

So you are thinking of the HQ's QRF?

And I assume BOC is Battalion Operations Center. Am I wrong? (And in this context, it could be BattleMech Operations Center. ;) )