Quality In Rifts: CS Military Structure

By Pete Overton

This file will attempt to organize the Coalition Military into a standardized hierarchy which will represent more accurately the organization of a military force and at the same time update the changes that are unique to Rifts Earth. Well, that's the plan anyways! I am by no means an expert and I drew heavily on Twilight: 2000 for much of this data as well as a few informal talks with Axe who is more organizationally minded than your current writer.

Army
    * Armor
         - Artillery
         - Tank Corps
         - Robot Corps
    * Infantry
         - Airborne
         - Engineering
         - Line Infantry
         - Power Armor Corps
         - Rangers
         - Sniper Corps
    * Medical

    * Intelligence
    * Special Forces
    * Support

Navy
    * Fighter Wing

    * Infantry (Marines)
         - Line Infantry 
         - Power Armor Corps
         - SEAL Division (Special Forces)
    * Intelligence
    * Medical (drawn from Army Medical Corps)
    * Support

Air Force

    * Bomber Wings
    * Fighter Wings
    * Intelligence
    * Medical (drawn from Army Medical Corps)
    * Support


Aerospace
    * Infantry
    * Support

Allow me to explain some of this because it will undoubtedly leave you pondering my strange methodology for choosing this structure. I will handle it division by division. Let me also note for the record that these are not all binding nor the last word -- within a section may be subdivisions. For instance, within the Infantry will be subspecialties, while within Engineering may be an Explosives unit, a Computer unit, and so forth.

Army

The primary emphasis in military the Coalition places is in the army. Its war machine is a powerful juggernaut that seems mostly unstoppable thanks to decades of armament and research that resulted in the massive retooling of the organizational structure in response to changing events. After the Federation of Magic attacked early in its life, the Coalition responded by creating one of the largest military forces on the planet, comparatively rapidly by a systematic campaign of propaganda and use of fear.

Artillery: The Artillery section actually used to be its own division within the Army hierarchy. However, with the destruction or mere loss of the Global Positioning Satellite system (GPS), their golden days of GPS-called coordinates for a fairly precise shelling from miles away was over. Soon it was delegated to defense and areas where a temporary Local Positioning System (LPS) could be set up, which in the old days referred almost exclusively to Chi-Town. At one point they were reduced to a mere skeleton crew, the only reason they were kept around primarily being the advances in artillery ammunition. When it DID work, it was fabulously effective. So it was that a handful of minds within the artillery section created a viable mobile technology for LPS, meaning that they could set up a temporary LPS network anywhere where the LPS Command Center could go, and with the sacrifice of a little space, most Coalition transports and command elements could handle that with ease. Suddenly the artillery section flared back into the forefront, once again reclaiming their old position. While the LPS is far less accurate than the GPS system was, it is usually an effective substitute and saved artillery from going the way of the dinosaurs. Artillerymen tend to be defiant and refer to themselves as a fully-fledged division despite being reduced to sectional status, although some Generals are beginning to consider moving them up to division again as their usefulness increases.

09/18/1999: Well, spank me. John Lee sent me in this piece about artillery that you should keep in mind. Learn something new everyday, my mother always told me.

I have a few thoughts about artillery for you, especially as it relates to your Coalition Organizaition. I was an artillery officer for four years and I can tell you that GPS is not the basis of accurate artillery fire. GPS may help out, but you don't need it. All an artillery man real needs is a map and the ability to find himself on it. Believe me American artillery has been extreme accuratate (within 50m) in Vietnam, Korea and even WW II. Anyone with a little bit of land navigation skill can find themselves on a map, all you have to do is pay attention to your surroundings. As to telling the artillery where the enemy is that's mainly a matter of estimation, which can be made much easier by the use of laser rangefinders. To increase the accuracy of an artillery unit's ability to locate itself the army uses (and has used for 20-30 years) the Position Azimuth Determining System (PADS) which uses completely mechnical systems to track location from a known point. Basically, know where you start, know where you are. The army still uses this system today, even with GPS, because it allows all elements of the artillery team (guns, fire direction, and observers if there is time) to all operate on the same survey relative to each other allowing all the guns to mass at the same point. Palladium has always ignored artillery in thier games, which makes since considering they're aimed at people playing the role of adventurers who won't have artillery of their own and are unlikely to warrant the attention of artillery battalion (about the smallest size artillery will be used in under normal operations). The thing to remember about artillery is that it doesn't need to be all that accurate. In modern mechanized warfare its normally used to suppress the enemy so the direct fire guys (armor and infantry) can take them out. SDC artillery would be perfectly effective against even MDC troops and armor in this fashion, it's generally hard to concentrate when chunks of lead and dirt are flying everywhere, obscuring your view of the battlefield and tossing you around. I hope you'll use this information since you seem to be running a fairly military style of campaign. You might even teach your players no to discount that D-bee militia and their well preserved 300 yr-old 155mm howitzers.

Insignia: A triangle with a bolt of lightning in the middle.

Tank Corps: Emperor Prosek was always extremely fond of the German model for many things, and the infamous "tank rush" was one that he always had wished he was able to duplicate. Tanks were initially very impractical given the very wild terrain and the mobility of the power armors available at the time. It was when the Coalition had expanded and began to re-establish road networks and maintain trails that they realized the power they had in tanks. This, coupled with research into hovertanks (which are still decades away, current generation hovertanks are fan-driven) suddenly made tanks a fair alternative to fixed gun emplacements, given their mobility and their wicked amounts of armor. Tanks remain for whatever reason a great intimidation tool for use against enemy infantry and the analogy has been made between tanks and the heavy cavalry of old. However, the Tank section covers not only tanks but other ground vehicles, including APCs, Command Vehicles, and generally any heavy ground vehicle used by the Coalition military.

Insignia: A square with a clenched fist in the middle.

Robot Corps: Sometime after the demotion of the Artillery division, logistics officers looked at the fact that there were two main classes in their Power Armor corps; quick, mobile attackers and slow, heavy attackers. They realized that this was tactically a bad idea and promptly moved the robots into their own section, consisting primarily of the UAR and IAR robots. While the Power Armor corps and the Robot corps tend to work closely together still, they now have a friendly rivalry against each other.

Insignia: A square with a very boxy depiction of a robot head.

Airborne: The Airborne section has had a long and illustrious career which stretches back into the mists of history. Designed primary to be a very highly flexible rapidly deployable light force, it maintains that tradition today, and still love to jump out of planes, particularly being experts at HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) jumps. They pack lightly and travel lightly but are not truly meant to be a sustained force behind enemy lines for too long at a time. They are the Army's rapid response unit, literally jumping in first to see what is happening and react accordingly.

Insignia: A skull with an open parachute above it. Contrary to what the Coalition War Campaign book says, this is NOT merely given out for completing parachute training, but encompasses the overall training of the Airborne. Parachutists merely get a patch.

Engineering: The Engineering section was once too its own division, but logistics experts decided that making them a subset of Infantry would make more sense. Combat Engineers are still accorded a respect that few other sections get de facto because of their remarkably ingenuity in the field. They are the ones who build impromptu bridges over rivers, or handle explosives and structural demolition. It is generally believed that anyone who would voluntarily handle explosives and explosives removal deserve a drink by them. On top of all of that, they also qualify as riflemen, as per Infantry regulations. Recently, Engineering has taken upon itself more high-tech tasks, such as automatic gun emplacements and security bypassing.

Insignia: An old-fashioned two-sided wrench laying diagonally in a square.

Line Infantry: The Line Infantry have always existed and probably always will exist in warfare. Modern warfare has made mere squads to be powerhouses so that large-scale actions are fairly rare as a rule. Originally, Infantry was its own division and had no attachments to it, but it soon absorbed other sections as they died out of usefulness or were rendered obsolete, so that you end up with a melting pot of specialties that no longer made the grade as full sections, Communications being one of the primary ones, which has since split to either fall under Engineering or as a subspecialty for a Line Infantryman. Most infantrymen have a subspecialty that they know well, such as heavy weapons, communications, wilderness survival, and so forth. Infantry in Rifts Earth has learned that being flexible is the key to successful field operations and each unit is meant to be a small army into itself.

Insignia: Four nondescript people in a square (like Fisher Price "Little People"). This also serves to reinforce the fact that each soldier holds the lives of all of the others in his hands and the invincibility of the Line.

Power Armor Corps: As soon as the first exoskeletal frame was available, the Army embraced the concept of the power armor trooper. With rich fictions dating back to Heinlein, they were romanticized by the media and even to this day are still viewed with a reserved awe by their fellow military members and outright awe by the public. Covering primarily SAMAS and its variants but also some other general training, the PAC (Power Armor Corps) are the mavericks of the military, like how F-14 pilots used to be viewed by everyone. It was originally modelled to be its own division but fell under the auspices of Infantry as soon as logistics officers noted that they were primarily used as infantry support. Eventually they grew into their own subculture and today are second only to the Line Infantryman for sheer recognition at the name Coalition Army.

Insignia: A skull with small wings sprouting from the sides of its forehead. The SAMAS majority tend to be viewed as the whole, but other specialties do exist. Quebec was noteworthy for giving Glitter Boy training.

Rangers: The Rangers have had a long history with the Army as well, but for the longest time were considered by the Coalition to be merely an extension of a specialized infantryman and therefore were lumped in with the Infantry. Only after the prolonged efforts of Colonel Charles William Correa did things change, after a long career of flawless service to the Coalition. He showed that the Rangers were more than just specialty infantry and were in fact a force unto themselves, with peak training and the ability to operate long-term without any active support. Logistics and organizational officers recognized this fact a few years after "Chuck" died and made the Rangers its own section. Of course, the Rangers are best known for their sometimes suicidal call to "Never leave a man behind," which has taken on grim new significance in the face of demonic threats.

Insignia: Anticlimatically, it is merely a banner-style patch with "RANGER" on it.

Snipers: When the Coalition was first recreating the military, it was not really primary on their list to have silent killers out in the field. Originally their mission was to survive and that was accomplished by a great deal of infantry assets supported by armor. As time marched on and the Coalition began to deal with local kingdoms, they resurrected the sniper section when they first started to realize that many of the kingdoms would not capitulate to their wave of expansion. At the time there were no Marines, so they reformed it under the auspices of the Infantry for logistics purposes, and for a time they had considered lumping together the snipers and the rangers into a single specialty group, but that mercifully passed into oblivion. Presently, snipers tend to be sent out in groups of two and have an almost mystical zenlike quality about them, and they are viewed with a mixture of romantic awe and horror. Please note that there is rigorous psychological screening for sniper candidates.

Insignia: A triangle with a target sight in the middle.

Special Forces: You would have to be brain dead not to have heard the stories of the Coalition black operations, and the distinctive black berets are the ones who usually carry them out. SF was once under the auspices of the Infantry, but as major reorganization progressed, officers realized that they had little to do with infantry as a rule and were usually off on their own missions, and this coupled with the increase in SF missions created the SF division. They are compartmentalized and difficult to enter into. See also the note about SF divisions below.

Insignia: While they have no official insignia per se since that would defeat the purpose of having secret highly-trained troops, when at home they tend to wear black berets and are known by them.

Navy

While the Navy was always considered a far backseat to the Army, recent events have proven to Emperor Prosek that he needs to have a presence on the seas and oceans of the world. Under the firm guidance of Admiral David Seaton, a classic Navy man, it is gradually drawing more support (and therefore funding) as his sea operations are more and more successful. Seaton also reinstated a critical nationalist force in the Coalition Marines and a public relations gambit paid off as citizens reacted overenthusiastically to them.

Fighter Wing: Ever since air supremacy became important, the Navy has maintained their own fighter wings for their ships, usually under the auspices of the Marines but not always. The Coalition has continued this trend with the release of their new aircraft carriers and Naval aviators tends to have an intense rivalry with their Air Force counterparts. Able to master the carrier landing, they are to be respected for that alone if nothing else.

Insignia: A pair of wings with waves beneath it in a circle.

Marines (Naval Line Infantry): Admiral Seaton surprised everyone in the top Coalition ranks by proposing the reinstatement of the Marines. Long familiar with the pride and nationalism the Marines evoked in the old American empire, he felt that such a phenomenon could happen with the Coalition too, and it would cement some ties to old America to legitimize the Coalition's replacement of it as government. Prosek was wary but allowed a small force to be established, and Seaton created unbelievably tough guidelines for entry into the Marines and fanatically demanding training, all of which produces a literal Coalition version of a US Marine. All are qualified riflemen (*ALL*, even aviators) and are now often the first major force to be deployed to a brewing trouble spot and their record has been flawless so far. They inspire a nationalistic pride in citizens that can't be explained and they are an inspiration to the Coalition nation. Seaton's gamble paid off and the Marines were instated fully and they live by many of the modern Marine traditions. Semper Fi! Technically the Marines are under the Navy auspice, but the two cooperate well. Marines are PROUD to be Marines though and few of them act in a way which would hurt the Marine honor.

Insignia: The official insignia is a banner-patch that states "CS MARINE". This was selected by military bureaucrats who were slightly anti-Naval in nature. However, many Marines wear the more widespread and much less official patch of the old "Eagle, Globe and Anchor" of the US Marines. Admiral Seaton, who is a traditional naval man, looks the other way but is secretly lobbying for the change to be official. [Thanks to Joseph Flanagan for this idea.]

Marine Power Armor Corps: Due to their unique amphibious nature which is still very much emphasized, the Marines maintain their own Power Armor section. They tend to concentrate on amphibious power armors that work well both on land and in water. Much as there is a separate aviator wing, so there is a separate power armor section. Seaton procures as much as he can but is currently considered on the backburner as far as new power armor goes, but the Marines can use what they have expertly.

Insignia: A skull with wings sprouting from the sides of its forehead with waves beneath it.

SEAL Section: The SEALs are the Navy/Marine's answer to the Army's Special Forces. Their training is exhaustive and they are forced to master all environments. They can parachute into an ocean and get to land and do their mission and motor out on a boat to a pickup point and be airlifted back out again. Flexibility is the key to the SEALs, and they are exceedingly flexible indeed. Their numbers are small but their reputation is big and sometimes a mission calls for command of more than one environment and that is where they come in as well as acting as standard special operations for the Navy and Marines. See also the note on the SF division below.

Insignia: A grinning red seal in a triangle. No one is sure where it came from and Seaton himself was said to be displeased at it but it has stuck.

Air Force

The Air Force is in a unique position. The Coalition originally used them heavily for carpet-bombing runs, but as anti-aircraft defenses became far easier to use (six-barrelled anti-aircraft lasers hooked into the city's power plant) the Air Force was neglected in favour of the Army. While still used for transport, it no longer sat in prominence. Recently with the unveiling of the new War Machine, fresh designs were introduced that were created to counter those aircraft defenses, mostly under the auspices of "they can't hit what they can't see." Since then everyone has been watching to see how the new Air Force works out.

Bomber Wing: One of the two traditional Air Force disciplines, this section deals with "the big, the ugly, and the heavy" of the Air Force, mainly bombers and transports and so forth. Long a staple of the Air Force, they remain a viable part despite the trend to little aircraft strategy. The Bomber Wing is generally called in after the area has been fairly cleared of defenses and used to... well... bomb, sheesh.

Insignia: A dropping bomb in a diamond.

Fighter Wing: The other half of the Air Force disciplines, this section deal with the dogfighters and the shorter-range attack craft of the Coalition. They also fly escort with the Bomber wing often and reconaissance missions for the extremely fast and undetectable ones. Fighter pilots are still cocky and like to push the limits, but the newer planes practically fly themselves and they grumble about it most of the time.

Insignia: A "swooshing" jet in a square.

Aerospace

The Aerospace (or just Space) division was created as a result of Prosek's long-range vision, although it is admittedly the joke of the military at this point. Usually only assigned as a punishment by other units, the Space Division still trains for the day when its zero-gee skills are necessary, pointing out that harnessing a rift could end up in a hostile environment. They are trained in hazardous environments in general and space in particular and only extremely rarely are they called in to do their job. The impression is that they are bad seeds and are lazy as civilians, but they in fact are quite expert at what they train for, but their services are so rarely required. Someday in the future Prosek will be vindicated as humanity reaches again for the stars.

Space Marines (Aerospace Infantry): No one is really sure which wit in Command came up with the term Space Marine but it stuck much to everyone's amusement. Often they are referred to it in rather derogatory terms ("Spaced Marine" is a favourite) but they are experts in zero-gee combat and no shake at underwater actions as well. They are trained in the use of radiation-shielded hardsuits and the physics of zeo-gee and while perceived as a bunch of lazy louts, they are in fact one of the most educated military sections, on par with the Engineers. Emphasis is placed on technology rather than hand-to-hand since space combat probably will not consist of a lot of martial arts.

Insignia: Saturn (a ringed planet) inside a triangle.

Cross-Divisional Sections

These sections are typically structured as one common pool that are drawn upon by all sections of the military (or at least the majority of them).

Intelligence: The Ministry of Intelligence is part of the Coalition government, not the military. The Coalition expanded Intelligence to include both military and civic purposes, meaing it is an all-encompassing bureau. The Intelligence sections of each military are in fact merely liasons between the section and the Ministry. Officers will request data from their liasons who will pass the request along to the Ministry and return with the data (hopefully). Likewise, analysts take what data the field military gives them and processes it and passes it along to the liason officer who passes it to the Ministry. Note that the Space section is not considered necessary enough to warrant an Intelligence section.

Insignia: A plain eye in a triangle. Some wit picked this based on some ancient symbology mysticism and it stuck.

Medical Corps: Nominally under the Army, the Medics are sent out to all the sections of the military as they are universally necessary. Each medic sent out is given the appropriate training (so that Navy medics are adept at the bends, nitrogen sickness and so forth) and is then given to the section of the military who needs it. Officially, all medics are technically under the logistics of the Army, but in actuality they draw upon their own services for what they need and essentially for all purposes become whatever unit they join. The Space division *does* get medics, but they don't get anywhere near enough to make a platoon, much less a section.

Insignia: The red cross on a white background. Even the most callous of enemies acknowledges this symbol, and the Coalition even adheres to its rules. Problem is, D-bees don't know it and misunderstandings over it have fueled the anti-D-Bee rage further when they attack medics who they think are resurrecting the body.

Special Forces Note: As pointed out by Paks Chang: "Yes, Navy and Army have two different SF groups. However in the real world they both fall under Special Operations Command. SOC gives the SF there orders and they decide who gets to go in, not the Navy or Army. I know the movies and TV show this but it is totally false to some degree. Unless the highest ranking of the Coalition is giving orders the Special Forces of both the Navy and Army should fall under a joint command such as The SOC." What this means is that while the SF forces are considered part of their respective forces, they are technically outside of the standard chain of command with regards to operations, instead getting their orders from CSOC. The obvious exception to this would be a direct order from the Emperor (Commander-in-Chief) which can mobilize pretty much whatever he likes. Thanks to Paks for pointing out this wee error.

Support: The Support division is what makes the military run, and they would like to see you prove them otherwise. They handle the administration, bureaucracy, processing, and a million other tasks that the Coalition doesn't want to waste troops on. It ensures logistics and makes sure everything gets to where it needs to be and handles all the paperwork, which is a miracle in a chaotic world like Rifts Earth.

Insignia: Well, no offical one, but you can bet everyone knows them by name.

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I understand that I may have missed things or my symbols suck or whatever, so please mail me with your suggestions and critiques and I will update the file as necessary. I do NOT claim to be an expert on this and I am sure Axe will have a heart attack when he finds out I posted this without his look over. :)

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Units of Note

1st of the 9th Air Calvary Company (53rd Group Coalition States Air Forces Division)
By John Stevens

The 1st of the 9th was an American Calvary unit that traded in its horses for helicopters in Vietnam. They gave Charlie some nasty surprises and went a long way to demonstrating the combat effectiveness of helicopters in modern warfare. The Coalition States Air Forces Division has revived this unit and added hovercraft to the helicopters making this new Air Calvary unit extremely versatile and mobile. Typical missions include rescue, surgical strikes, and "barn-storming" raids on enemy outposts and towns in order to secure the area for regular army units. As a part of the 53rd Group, the company is composed of "Fly Boys" specializing in helicopter and hovercraft piloting techniques, it also has a platoon of regular army soldiers trained in the use of jetpacks and parachuting. This often leads to wild times within the company as each grunt and airman competes in a constant game of one-up-manship. This has lead to the troops being designated by the general staff as "bombastic wild men who have no sense of the boundary between bravery and stupidity."

Under the command of Colonel Conrad Killdeer the unit has seen limited action but has always been successful. The Colonel is as wild as the rest of his men and can often be seen leading the charge on a Sky Cycle or in his trusty custom painted Super SAMAS Power Armor. Perhaps more than any other individual the Colonel has helped to create the image of this new Calvary unit by instilling some odd traditions and customs he got from watching too many pre-Rifts films, and reading military history in the library at Chi-Town. He recruited a bugler from the Chi-Town Service Band and has him play a traditional Calvary charge every time the unit is about to launch into action. As odd as the Colonel can be he has earned the respect and gratitude of his men in the fine tradition of John Wayne and General Patton, by leading the charge and fighting along side the men in the trenches.

Although they proudly wear the 53rd combat patch, the unit also has it's own badge, which is not allowed to be worn on CS Dress Uniforms but which the Colonel allows worn on flight suits and combat gear. This badge has the traditional crossed swords of the American Calvary superimposed over a CS Death's Head, what makes it unacceptable to High Command however is the unofficial motto of the 1st of the 9th Air Calvary Company "From Horse Shit to Hovercraft, We kick ass!"

Unit Breakdown: 161 troops, divided into 4 Platoons of 40 and 1 Bugler, plus a support unit of Communications Technicians and Mechanics.

1st and 2nd Platoons
80 RPA "Fly Boys" specializing in Helicopters and Hovercraft (40 each)
3rd Platoon
40 RPA Elite/SAMAS Pilots
4th Platoon
20 CS Grunts trained with Jet Packs, Parachutes, and Hover Cycles.
10 CS Commando specializing in SAMAS Power Armor, Parachuting, and Hover Cycles.
10 CS Rangers trained with Jet Packs, Parachutes, and Hover Cycles.

Unit Hardware:
1 Death's Head Transport (Mobile Command also for Transporting Rocket Cycles and Power Armor)
1 Spider Skull Walker (comes with the Death's Head, used for ground support)
5 Demon Locust Helicopters
5 Black Lightning Helicopters
10 Scout Rocket Cycles
20 Warbird Rocket Cycles
10 Wind Jammer Cycles
10 "Smiling Jack" Light Assault SAMAS
20 "Super" SAMAS
30 "Old Style" SAMAS

Unit Tactics: Being "air mobile" means the Company has to be able to move out to anywhere at a moments notice. It also means that the company can attack anyone from any direction and often does just that. The Colonel prefers morning attacks, coming in low over the tree line or small hills with the sun to his back. This allows for radar masking and makes the unit harder to spot visually because the sun will be in any observers eyes. During the attacks the Colonel often uses his ECM Technicians to blast rock and roll music over enemy radio nets. To quote the Colonel, "It scares the shit out of the savages, and motives my men."

1st Urban Rapid Deployment Combat Battalion
By John Stevens

The Coalition's Battle against The Federation of Magic at the ruins of Old Chicago in 12 P.A. saw the need for troops capable of removing firmly entrenched enemies within the confines of ruins and urban areas. This battle saw the rise of the UAR-1 Enforcer. With the Coalition's plans for expansion involving the siege and capture of many large urban centers it was deemed necessary to train infantry to fight in a confined environment with support from the Enforcer Robots. Thus, the CS used this battalion not only as an urban combat unit but also as a dumping ground for it's surplus "old style" equipment. Borrowing tactics and personnel from the ISS and NTSET the 1st Urban Combat Battalion was born. Although all infantry are given new CA-4 Standard Body armor and the new rifles and equipment the battalion's robot support and transportation consists mainly of UAR-1 Enforcers, Old CS "Sky Cycles", and Old Style SAMAS units. The troops of the 1st UCB are mean, hard people, who could spend all day fighting for 10 feet of ground in a city proper. They specialize in close combat, using pistols, SDC weaponry, and HTH techniques. Unlike their frontline brethren these soldiers have no artillery support and the destructive nature of explosives is frowned upon. Control is more important than volume of fire, when using weapons that could blow holes the size of basketballs in a building accuracy takes precedence over bursting.

The 1st UCB is commanded by Major Clifford McKinley, as CS Military Specialist whose younger days consisted of organizing "urban guerillas" (read terrorists) in cities with Coalition sympathizers. McKinley is an expert in urban warfare, he knows that regular army tactics just won't work in a city, small unit, infantry style, house to house fighting are his specialties and are imparted on his men through rigorous training. McKinley also realizes that fighting in a city cannot be hindered by worrying about innocent bystanders and has been known to use crowds of people and school children as cover from local defenders. In fact a tactic taught to all UCB members is to use local non-human as shields since local defenders will hesitate to fire upon their own people. Major McKinley has often being regarded as "a brilliantly ruthless man, whose tactics will intimidate, anger, and eventually demoralize defenders."

Unit Breakdown: 640 Troops divided into four companies, plus a unit commander for each Company and Platoon and one HQ located at Chi-Town.

"A" Company, Combined Arms Force
1st Platoon, 40 ISS Peacekeepers and NTSET Protectors
2nd Platoon, 40 RPA Elite Enforcer Robot Plots
3rd Platoon, 40 CS Grunts, trained in urban warfare
4th Platoon, 40 RPA Elite SAMAS and Sky Cycle Pilots

"B" Company, Robot Assault Force
5th Platoon, 40 RPA Elite Enforcer Robot Pilots
6th Platoon, 40 RPA Elite SAMAS Power Armor Pilots
7th Platoon, 40 RPA Elite Enforcer Robot Pilots
8th Platoon, 40 FASSAR-20 Skelebots

"C" Company, Infantry Assault Force
9th Platoon, 40 CS Grunts
10th Platoon, 40 CS Dog Boys
11th Platoon, 40 CS Dog Boys
12th Platoon, 40 CS Light Cyborg Troopers

"D" Company, Air Support
13th Platoon, 40 RPA Elite SAMAS Pilots
14th Platoon, 40 ISS Peacekeepers trained in SAMAS Power Armor
15th Platoon, 40 Sky Cycle Pilots
16th Platoon, 40 Sky Cycle Pilots

Unit Hardware:
As a non-mobile unit with a fixed HQ the Battalion has greater access to the CS supply system and has a wide variety of available resources. Most often however they have enough Enforcers, Sky Cycles, and "Old Style" SAMAS units to outfit the battalion. The UCB's use of old CS equipment and their recruitment of ISS and NTSET personnel has earned them resent of these two entities.

Unit Tactics: As mentioned above the UCB is renowned for it's use of civilians when fighting in the streets of an enemy nation, especially if they are non-humans. Major McKinley is not above taking hostages or using civilians as a shield with which to advance behind. Military historians (those allowed to read pre-Rifts military history) have compared the unit's ruthless tactics to the VC in the Vietnam War, they'll use whatever means necessary not only to defeat but demoralize defenders. More often than not, the acts of atrocity committed on the populace by the UCB has caused defenders to become angry and make mistakes or to out rightly surrender to prevent further violence. The General Staff is worried that it cannot send this unit into Free Quebec as their methods would be used against human civilians who were once members of the Coalition.

1st Special Naval Task Force (Against Pirates)
By John Stevens

In order to eliminate any surprises in the impending war with it's enemies, the General Staff has deemed it necessary to eliminate the possibility of other nations giving refuge to pirate ships in exchange for attacking the CS. This was to be achieved by a pro-active campaign against all major pirate forces acting on the Great Lakes, rather than dedicating a strictly Naval force to the job, a task force was formed under the command of Captain(N) Frederick Slater. This task force consists of Naval Infantry, Navy personnel, and transfers from the regular army. The Task Force Commander decided that in order to battle pirates the unit had to be organized like pirates, thus this is an ad-hoc unit with only a few regular units that act in co-operation with regular units for large scale operations. That being said the Task Force consists of highly motivated individuals who are ready, willing, and able to "kick ass and take names". The combination of many different services into one Task Force has led to much competition in the ranks as each jar head, squid, and grunt battle it out as to which service is the best, this often leads to brawls and mean practical jokes. When the first shots are fired, however, these are the most disciplined soldiers in the CS and they act accordingly.

Captain Slater is an oddity in the CS Navy. He was around before the CS Navy was its own official branch as a Nautical Service Specialist. In this capacity Slater has participated in maritime assaults, served on Naval patrol boats, and done everything else to keep the Great Lakes safe. Thus, Slater knows the ins and outs of this waterway system like the proverbial back of his hand he knows what works, what doesn't, and what'll get your ass kicked. He expects nothing but the best from his men and can often be seen and heard (more often heard) shouting and disciplining his men for the most particular of reasons. For some reason, however, the rank and file appreciates this and performs above and beyond the Captain's high standards.

Unit Breakdown: As an irregular unit the Task Force consists of various groups lumped together, with a HQ at Sault Ste. Marie.

1st Task Force Special Operations Squad: An enlarged squad consisting of Navy SEALS, Marine RLT Commando, and Army Specialists. Its composition is up in the air and depends on the mission.

"A" Company, Naval Infantry
160 Naval Infantry Soldiers, borrowed from the 2nd Naval Infantry Division
"B" Company, Regular Army
160 CS Grunts with limited amphibious training, borrowed from 1st Army in Chi-Town

1st Task Force Naval Skirmish Company
160 CS Sailors assigned to patrol boats, wave skimmers, and other Naval Hardware
2nd Task Force Naval Skirmish Company
160 Naval Infantry RPA Pilots

Unit Hardware: If the Task Force is lucky it has enough Power Armor and Robots to outfit its troops. Many high tech Naval Patrol boats, hydrofoils, and wave skimmers are avaliable to the 1st Naval Skirmish Company. The Task Force is also authorized to draw upon any hardware and personnel located at Sault Ste. Marie.

Unit Tactics: The Captain likes to go right into the lions den. Assaults on fixed pirate bases will often start with sabotage or assassination by the 1st Special Operations Squad, then a full scale combined land and marine assault by "A" and "B" Companies. If the enemy is very large and cannot be contained solely by the Task Force's resources then whatever is currently avaliable will be used by the Task Force, whether that is an Airborne Company or a local militia unit. When engaging enemy naval vessels the Captain fights like the pirates, avoiding the open waters and trying to use speed and surprise to overwhelm the enemies. The 1st and 2nd Naval Skirmish Companies are infamous for committing nighttime and early morning raids that catch pirate forces completely with their pants down.