Date: August 1, 3027
Title: BattleTechnology 0101
Author: William H. Keith Jr. (Editor)
Type: Magazine (BattleTechnology)
Synopsis:
What is Hanse Up To?: This article, by "Special Correspondent Wallis Hasek" looks at the impact of the GALAHAD 27 exercises, in which AFFS expeditionary forces carry out planetary invasion maneuvers in the Fallon, McGehee, Groveld, and dozens of other systems in the Draconis and Capellan Marches, in a follow-up to the GALAHAD 26 exercises.
Hanse Davion, at the Summer Palace at Stirling (on Argyle), announced the exercises as defensive in nature, intended to protect the people of the Federated Suns from the "forces of Darkness and tyranny" that beset them on every side. Though the announcement was made in August, maneuvers began in July.
Hasek takes the position that the exercises are needless, and squander precious resources needed elsewhere, further depleting the stores of parts needed to keep precious LosTech functioning. Critics note that the Third Succession War is still ongoing, and question whether fighting the actual war wouldn't be better training. The estimated cost of GALAHAD 27 is 250 million C-Bills, not counting the DCMS and CCAF raids that may be provoked by the GALAHAD exercises.
Hasek quotes the Combine Ministry of Information's statement that "Davion's posturings and saber-rattlings are meaningless," and Pavel Ridzik's announcement that "Davion's threats and warmongering are of absolutely no account."
A sidebar features Minority Leader Naomi Gavin Rollings, who argues that the Third Succession War has been deadlocked for at least 20 years, leading to the promise of peace through sheer exhaustion. She worries that Hanse Davion may waste money, time, and resources with his wargames, and may prompt a resumption of high intensity military activity on the borders. Rollings suggests Davion can end the fighting either by launching an all-out crushing invasion of House Kurita and House Liao, or seek peace with his exhausted neighbors. She dismisses GALAHAD as being unhelpful for either option.
A rebuttal features General J. Wesley Fairfax III, of the Davion Command Staff on Klathandu IV. He defends GALAHAD as vital for verifying combat readiness of the AFFS. Rather than provoking new attacks from enemies, he predicts that the demonstration of AFFS might will encourage those enemies to refrain from invasion. He notes that the cost of the maneuvers is far less than the damage that would be suffered if enemies thought the Federated Suns was ripe for invasion.
MechWarrior: Mind and Machine: MechWarrior Keith Douglas summarizes his interview with Colonel Kuan Li-Po (Ret.) to give an overview of training processes for new MechWarriors.
Poor worlds often go without training. Bandit kings often press-gang recruits and shove them into a 'Mech cockpit, with predictably poor results. Great Houses have elaborate training facilities where cadets get years of intensive training in simulators, but only the best graduate to command House-owned 'Mechs.
The creation of the BattleMech came well after the development of the WorkMech - machines that took no real skill to operate. The neurolinkages of the BattleMech, however, make the motions of the BattleMech instinctual, making it an extension of the user's body. While anyone can handle a BattleMech competently after a minimum of training, it takes more to make a soldier into a true MechWarrior.
Li-Po recommends physical training to toughen the body and hone reflexes, operational training to understand how to use the 'Mech, and mental training to help the Warrior become part of his 'Mech.
Martial artists apparently make good MechWarriors, due to the physical and mental discipline they develop. Dispossessed MechWarriors generally make good scouts, due to their physical training.
A good MechWarrior should have trained in operating not just bipedal 'Mechs, but also in quads, armless units, and specialty units like LAMs. If they cannot master a wide variety, they should concentrate on one type of chassis and become a specialist.
To get the most out of neurohelmet operations, operators must think clearly and precisely to avoid feedback loops or overloading the system with extraneous impulses. Martial arts helps with this kind of mental discipline, which lets them suppress emotions, ignore temperature extremes, and pilot by instinct. One who has mastered mental control can also abandon it, becoming a short-term berserker.
House Liao's training is ineffective, due to manpower shortages. Most troops get a bare minimum of training - 3-4 months of boot camp, except for a few elite units. Elite units draw from the five major academies in Liao space, including the Tikonov Military Institute. They learn ju-jitsu and karate, along with the philosophy of the Golden Way.
House Marik's training system is politically fragmented. Oriente troops get the best training. Most cadets attend privately-owned academies.
House Steiner's state-owned academies teach tactics and strategy, with a focus on the Neo-Zen philosophies of the late 28th century which promise the "union of flesh and thought." However, only the top 20% get such instruction, while the rest (militia, rank and file, and mercenaries) get just the basics.
House Kurita's training is modeled on the Bushido code, which urges excellence in the military sciences, inner harmony, and art to be in touch with their inner selves. Neo-Zen philosophies are also taught.
House Davion trains their warriors in the art of "Quick-Kill," a synthesis of karate, judo, aikido, and savate. Since 3015, the New Avalon Institute of Science has added instruction in tactics, operations, strategy, and leadership.
In current trends, longstanding traditions focusing on bloodless maneuver and static defense are giving way to aggressive tactics that unleash total annihilation, as demonstrated by Natasha Kerensky and Grayson Death Carlyle.
A sidebar focuses on apprentices/squires. Young candidates are taken into a military household (like a MechWarrior family) between the ages of 8 and 10, and serve as laborers or servants in exchange for military training. Manpower shortages in mercenary units and feudal armies make this practice expedient. The quality varies according to resources available. Grayson Death Carlyle is presented as an example of a successful apprenticeship.
Notes:
What is Hanse Up To?: Wallis Hasek is clearly carrying water for his relative, Michael Hasek-Davion, in writing a condemnation of Hanse's GALAHAD plans. The last thing Michael wants at this point is Hanse stirring up trouble on the Capellan border.
It's interesting that the Summer Palace is back in operation, just a few years after its security was so massively breached during Operation DOPPLEGANGER. Hanse's speech is clearly modeled on Ronald Reagan's "evil empire" speech re: the Soviet Union.
The cost of the exercises is estimated at 250 million C-Bills. Yet the cost of launching a two-week battalion-sized raid against Scheat was estimated at 800 million C-Bills. By that metric, shuffling dozens of regiments around for 250 seems pretty cheap. (Was the Scheat cost estimate including the property damage done on Scheat to the Combine? Unless the entire AFFS force was wiped out, including their DropShips and JumpShips, there's no way the AFFS suffered that much in terms of material losses.)
There have been debates as to when the Third Succession War ended. Clearly, in William Keith's view, it was still a going concern as of mid-3027, and probably only really ended when the Fourth Succession War began, without a formal interbellum period.
The existence of an opposition leader suggests the presence of political parties in the Federated Suns High Council. Since the High Council is described as more or less a rubber stamp for the Prince's policies (albeit one bogged down in parliamentary maneuvering), one would assume that the "opposition" party is a minority that favors Michael over Hanse. (Each planet gets to send one representative to the High Council.) I wonder if there's a Skid Row caucus in the High Council?
There's a bit of clear foreshadowing for Operation RAT in the opposition party sidebar, noting that one of Hanse's options is to utterly crush his foes with an all-out invasion.
It's clear that the concept of H-Bills hadn't been developed at this point, since the opposition leader makes a point of noting that Hanse is wasting the "C-Bills" our citizens pay in taxes. It's doubtful that the Federated Suns would use C-Bills, rather than D-Bills (aka Pounds).
MechWarrior: Mind and Machine: I wonder to what extent the House sourcebooks (which each had info on training academies) were completed and available to Keith when he wrote this? Was he summarizing and adding on to what was in the sourcebooks, or making it up in parallel? He references the Tikonov Martial Institute and the NAIS, but doesn't namecheck any other academies, suggesting he was on his own, for the most part. Certainly, his concepts of "Neo Zen," the "Golden Way," and "Quick Kill" didn't jump the gap into the mainline canon.
I like the explanation that a MechWarrior can run a 'Mech competently, but that the difference between the Hogarths of the world and the Kai Allard-Liaos comes down to mental focus, martial training, and operational experience. It's unclear, though, as described here, whether the 'Mech just uses the signals from the neurohelmet to aid the gyro in balancing the unit, or if the MechWarrior can speed reaction times and improve other functions with specific thoughts through the helmet. The passages on that topic can be interpreted both ways.
I heard once that the original intent had been for the Capellans to be dogged, skilled troops, undercut by a lack of resources. That profile seems to have been transferred to the DCMS samurai, leaving the CCAF as a cadre of unskilled stumblebums that the AFFS can tear through like a vibroblade through silk.
The authorship isn't listed, but given the shout outs to Grayson Carlyle (who, at this juncture, runs a minor merc unit that has two battles under its belt), it's a pretty sure bet that it's by William Keith, BattleTechnology editor and author of the Gray Death Legion trilogy.