Traveller-digest           Wednesday, 3 July 1996       Volume 1996 : Number 206

(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

         1. Re: BL vs. BR
         2. Re: Virus Flame War, et. al
         3. Re: SDG-313F
         4. Re: Virus by Radio
         5. Re: Uncle Jesse
         6. The Army and Imperial Marines (long!)
         7. Re: SDG-313F
         8. Re: Mathematics in Traveller
         9. Visio for Deckplans
        10. T-Shirts
        11. Solomani Army (longish)
        12. More QSDS ships
        13. Imperial Marines vs Imperial Army

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Merrick Burkhardt <merrick@rt66.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 11:54:24 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: Re: BL vs. BR

 
> Basically, in TNE, if you've got any armor factor over 70, you're doing 
> okay.  If the TL*50 rule is followed as regards to laser discharge 
> energy, then no laser manufactured at TL-15 or below will penetrate it 
> (although nuke detonation lasers can).  I may be off by a few factors, 

Well, yeah, that's off. at TL15 you get a 750MJ laser.  That does
69-1/22.  That means it will penetrate an armor of 1495 with 1 point
internal damage.

You'll want some more to do internals.  It'll still critical hit a small
ship with an armor of 175 every time.

> but there is a point near 70 where the only thing you'll suffer is damage 
> to your surface fixtures (which isn't necessarily inconsequential).  Any 

More like 150 :-)

> around a jump drive, they can carry lots of extra stuff.  Still, you 
> wouldn't go about calling a 400-ton Dragon SDB a battleship just because 
> it had an armor factor in the 90-120 range, would you?

No Battleships should have FFS/BL AVs of between 2000 (light) and 4000
(heavy). (at TL14-15)

- -Merrick

------------------------------

From: Paul Walker <tiger@datasync.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 14:31:15 -0500
Subject: Re: Virus Flame War, et. al

>From: Wes Payne <n9548326@cc.wwu.edu>
>Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 09:06:04 -0700 (PDT)
>Subject: Re: Virus Flame War, et. al
>
>Thus spake Paul Walker <tiger@datasync.com>:
> 
>[Paul Walker (quoting "Survival Margin") says it's all but impossible for 
>sensors to be a path of Virus 'infection.'  Derek (whose last name I've 
>forgotten) says that Passive EMS sensors can 'cause they pick up all EM 
>radiation]
>
>> Sorry to cut out on you like this Derek, but I think I have to side with the
>> ANIT-VIRUS crew on this one.  I don't see it as being possible that Virus
>> can be transported as anything other than code.  The code that virus
>> transmits would be a program that modifies the Deyo Chip that actually
>> "creates" the Virus in the receiving ship.  I don't think sensors can "pick
>> up" Virus and infect a ship
>
>Whoops.  Looks like we've been hit with the "Virus = Data" thing, with a 
>side order of "Virus = Program."

Sorry, you're right.  The code and data instances above should actually be
something along the lines of discussion when referring to the other Deyo
chips.  Survival Margin states that Virus convinces the Deyo chip to alter
it's ofn circuitry, so I guess rather than code it should be referred to as
communication.  However, in the case of Virus infecting through radio (or
any other means of communication) I think it would be more like a program.
My take on this is that Virus immitates the Deyo chip (something it can do
that humans can't) in order to convince the ship's systems to listen to it,
and then transmits a program (in the guise of a landing program, or docking
program, or just a navigational program) that is loaded and runs(executes).
The program really tells the computer to perform certain commands that
eifther alter the Deyo curcuit or it's own curcuits that then become the
receiving ground for Virus.

Yes, this is a bunch of hand waving, but do we really understand what makes
a zygote begin to grow and prevents the sperm and egg from growing?  Without
getting into eternal debates over abortion, do we really know what makes a
zygote (or new born baby) a living being.  How are these things possible?
We are talking about the reproduction of a living being.  We know that our
reproductive system works, and we can give pretty good explanations of how
they work, but we can't tell why they work the way they do.  Why should we
be able to tell this about Virus?


>This is probably the paradigm you should be using when considering 
>Virus.  It does no good to consider Virus to be a wierd chunk of data or 
>a malicious program, because it is neither of these things.  Any 
>Virus-infected computing device of sufficient power becomes your meddling 
>eight-year-old nephew or younger brother,

try eighteen month old son!! ;)

> who will attempt to gain access 
>to your computer and play hob with it while you're not looking, until 
>such time as he's gained complete control of it and everything hooked up 
>to it, at which time he uses it to massacre you, your entire family, and 
>anyone else who happens to be around.

Definitely try eighteen month old son!!!  ;)

>  When any other explanation or 
>hand-waving falls short, I prefer to use the above "Virus = Death Monkey" 
>paradigm.
>
>Now, if it's to a Virus-infected computer's advantage to use a wierd 
>chunk of data, or cook up a malicious program, it'll probably do so.
> 
>I am now transfixed by this irregular, though round, shadow which is 
>steadily growing larger and larger.  What's that whistling sound?  
>Where's my umbrella?

I don't know, but I'm gonna side step outa here!  I don't like the feel of
anvils(or rocks) on my forehead!


Paul  {tiger}


------------------------------

From: Paul Walker <tiger@datasync.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 14:31:21 -0500
Subject: Re: SDG-313F

>From: Jeffery.M.Miller@Dartmouth.EDU (Jeffery M. Miller)
>Date: 03 Jul 96 08:19:54 EDT
>Subject: Re: SDG-313F
>
>- --- Paul Walker wrote:
>OK, I know I'm gonna get the royal flame treatment for this, but I got a
>good laugh out of Sneaks and Geeks.  I, for one (and from what I've seen
>only one), was glad to have a bit of humor thrown into all the facts!
>- --- end of quoted material ---
>Is there no humour left? Is this game we play SO inportant that giggles can't
>be built in? sad.
>
>I never saw the reference, but it IS a hoot!

I'm hoping for your sake, Jeff, that everyone is kind.  The SDG anecdote is
cute and somewhat funny, but Sneaks & Geeks (Hiver & Ithklur) is the type of
material that is only funny to those of us with real senses of humor.
Anyway, I would caution you against jumping on the bandwaggon without
reading the material, You may just get your head bitten off!  ;)


Paul  {tiger}


------------------------------

From: Paul Walker <tiger@datasync.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 14:31:19 -0500
Subject: Re: Virus by Radio

>From: Derek Stanley <dstanley@direct.ca>
>Subject: Re: Traveller-digest V1996 #201
>
>Dulinors strike team, breaks into the facility and beams the info out to 
>Dulinor's ship.  Assume the Strike team is using the cheapest radio 
>system available, why?  No one know's who's going to survive the battle 
>so get the info to as many ships as possible.  They beam this info out on 
>a broad band transmission.  What are the odds that all of Lucan's and 
>Dulinor's ships are listening to the same radio frequency?  Unless it's 
>top 40 I'd say the odds are slim and none, and slim just left town.  

I would guess that they were most of them were scanning the radio
frequencies to find anything pertinent.  When the data transmission was
begun, I'd immagine that many of the ships found that data, but in reality,
all it would take is one, as most of the fleet would share the battle data
after they had jumped.  When virus was dumped, it got on all of them who
were listening.  I doubt Dulinor's strike team bothered to encode the data,
they were in a bit of a hurry as I recall.  ;)


>I agree with you for 90% of the Virus infections out there, but it is 
>clearly evident from the passages in "Survival Margin" that the initial 
>infection of Lucan's and Dulinor's starships did not involve the standard 
>starship transponder unit.  They involved radio communication.

This radio/comm unit transfer would be (IMHO) the main method of entry in
the RC as well.  I doubt the RC still uses the Deyo transponder!  (Shame,
shame if they do!)  So all New Era infections would either be through
physical contact or communications!  Now I'm beginning to see the trouble
the Anti-Virus side has with this concept.  I still will keep the Virus as
long as its part of that C word we all love to hate.


Paul  {tiger}


Paul  {tiger}


------------------------------

From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 1996 13:37:31 -0700
Subject: Re: Uncle Jesse

At 08:01 PM 7/2/96 -0400, James Lindsay wrote:

>Ok seriously, Senator Helms was one of the guys behind the CDA that
>has everybody so angry down here.  He's well liked by certain groups,
>like book-burners...and for some strange reason the voters of North
>Carolina.

Actually, Sen. Bob ("I've never used a computer") Exon, Democrat from
Nebraska, was the brains (?) behind the CDA.  Jesse is another sort
entirely.....

Jesse Helms would strip the basic protection of law from homosexuals.  He
believes that the United States is a Christian nation, and that no other
religion has any place here.  He advocated a nuclear first strike against
the Soviet Union.  He comes from a tobacco state, and has been the leader in
keeping this cancer causing killer on store shelves.

When I first found out I had cancer, I put together a list of the people I'd
like to take with me.  Jesse Helms was second on the list, right behind Rep.
Bob Dornan, who is like Helms, only *worse*.

+----------------------------------------+
| Douglas E. Berry     dberry@hooked.net |
|  Professional Driver - Traveller Guru  |
|   This is the thread that never ends,  |
|   It just goes on and on, my friend.   |
|  Some people started flaming it, not   |
|          knowing what it was,          |
|     And they'll continue flaming it    |
|         forever, just because          |
| This is the thread that never ends.... |
+----------------------------------------+


------------------------------

From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 1996 13:37:24 -0700
Subject: The Army and Imperial Marines (long!)

To bring the discussion back to Traveller, let's examine what roles the two
ground pounder services would play in the Third Imperium.

A quick disclaimer.. I've based most of my work around the British forces of
the Victorian period.  The similarities are marked (far-flung colonies
months from the seat of government, huge Navy), and makes my job a little
easier.

The Planetary Defense Force:

Each world of the Imperium is responsible for providing for the defense of
its surface and near-orbit.  Depending on a planet's placement and needs,
this may range from hundreds of divisions trained to a razor's edge to a
handful of show battalions, more suited to showy "changing of the guard"
ceremonies.  Some LowPop worlds may simply contract with mercenaries to
provide training for a militia type force.

The Subsector Army:

Each subsector in the Imperium raises a permanent force of ground troops.
These are generally equipped to the highest tech level found in the
subsector, or in a nearby area.  Each world provides a number of
regitmental-sized units, based on the population.  By the 1100s, many of
these Regiments have long histories and traditions.  Entry into some units
are so sought after as to cause duels between young officers seeking platoon
leader slots.  (The 4th Jewel Rifles, "The King's Guardsmen", date back to
the settlement of the planet.. each vacancy in the regiment brings hundreds
of hopefuls forward.)

The Subsector Army equips and trains based on the perceived threat to the
safety of the subsector.  The Regina subsector makes sure that its equipment
includes psi shields, for example, an addition that makes no sense to a unit
on the Solomani line.

Subsector forces are considered Imperial.  The proper name is "Imperial
Army, (subsector name)".  Large units are organized on an as-needed basis.
Divisions, Corps, and even Field Armies will be brought together only for
large scale training or actual operations.

This structure has the strengths of tradition and being able to select only
the best for service.  Weaknesses include regimental snobbery, and a shaking
out period whenever large units are brought into being.

The Sector Command:

Normally the highest level of Army authority, the Sector High Command
oversees the Army for the entire sector.  It controls no actual force, but
instead holds the purse strings.  SHC also sets the standards for training
and doctrine.

SHC is sometimes referred to as the "Officer Back Shelf", since many
officers unable to find posistions sutible for their rank in their Regiment
come to SHC's huge pool of staff officers to wait for a command.

The Naval Infantry Force, aka the Marines:

The only true Imperial ground force, the Marines are tasked, as part of the
Navy, to keep the Imperial peace.  Marine Regiments may be scattered in
platoon strength formations throughout a subsector, but when brought
together represent an almost unstoppable military machine.

The NIF gets the best of everything available; battledress, fusion weapons,
battle robots, etc.  The Marines always are on the cutting edge of Imperial
technology, some Marine raids have even included experimental tech being
sent on its "smoke test".

The NIF, in theory, assigns one Regiment per Regular Fleet.  In practice,
the frontiers tend to get more of the crack regiments, leaving the "lesser"
(in Marine eyes!) groups to patrol the Core.  NIF Regiments are self
contained, and get support from the Fleet to which they are assigned.  The
Marine Regiment is *not* under command of either the Subsector Marshal or SHC.

Well, that's my view.. your comments will be met by falling, Virus-infected
rocks looking to set up a feudal technocracy where they can train forward
observers to use overly long quotes in their replies.

So there.  :P




+----------------------------------------+
| Douglas E. Berry     dberry@hooked.net |
|  Professional Driver - Traveller Guru  |
|   This is the thread that never ends,  |
|   It just goes on and on, my friend.   |
|  Some people started flaming it, not   |
|          knowing what it was,          |
|     And they'll continue flaming it    |
|         forever, just because          |
| This is the thread that never ends.... |
+----------------------------------------+


------------------------------

From: Jeffery.M.Miller@Dartmouth.EDU (Jeffery M. Miller)
Date: 03 Jul 96 16:38:12 EDT
Subject: Re: SDG-313F

tiger wrote-----
I'm hoping for your sake, Jeff, that everyone is kind. ......
Anyway, I would caution you against jumping on the bandwaggon without
reading the material, You may just get your head bitten off!  ;)
- --------------------

puh-lease. I suspect that I will never have to lose sleep over whether I toed
the line for some self appointed correct-thought net police. My ignorance may
be worthy of someone's ire, but if weeding out that lack of knowledge at the
expense of free expression is the way some get their jollies, they can have the
lot. Thats a game I have no time to play.

------------------------------

From: jlindsay@direct.ca (James Lindsay)
Date: Wed, 03 Jul 1996 21:04:41 GMT
Subject: Re: Mathematics in Traveller

On Tue, 2 Jul 1996 19:00:50 -0500 (CDT), Joe Walsh wrote:

> Geez, I didn't want to start a war.  Couldn't we avoid this if I just 
> proclaim you Wizard of Mathematics All Supreme?  No?  [sigh] :)

Wizard?  Me?  I can't even add up all the candles on my birthday cake (one
per 12 degrees  8-)

------------------------------

From: Tom Opgenorth <topgenor@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca>
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 13:39:25 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: Visio for Deckplans

Pete, 

What version of Visio are you using for the deckplans?  I use Visio 4.0,  
and it can save files to BMPs, WMF's, and CGM's.  All of these are easy 
to convert to JPG or GIF.  If you e-mail me the files, I could convert 
them for you, if you don't want to sink the $$$ into buying a copy 
of/upgrading to Visio 4.0.

Also, do you think that you could put the stencils/templates in a place 
where people could get at them?  I for one would be interested in checking 
out your work.


===========================================================================
Tom Opgenorth                               topgenor@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
Edmonton, Alberta,Canada                 http://www.worldgate.com/~topgenor
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manubay's Laws For Programmers:
  1.  If a programmer's modification of an existing program works, it's
      probably not what the users want.
  2.  User don't know what they really want, but they know for certain what 
      they don't want.
===========================================================================


------------------------------

From: Steve Charlton/Avalon Software Inc <Steve_Charlton@khan.Avalon.COM>
Date: 3 Jul 96  9:28:06 MS
Subject: T-Shirts

>Hi all.  Has anyone noticed that IG is now offering Traveller shirts?  
>The page for them is: http://www.ImperiumGames.com/TShirt.htm
>Of course you can get to that through their home page.  I wanted to order 
>one, but I'm confused by the size listings.  All they have there is 
>Large, XLarge, XXLarge and XXXLarge.  Now, I know that gamers tend to be 
>an out-of-shape lot, but that's ridiculous!  I'm a little under 90 kg 
>(about 195 lbs) and I usually take a medium, so what do I take here?
>
>Awaiting your sartorial specifications,
>Charles.

Your answer really depends on your height.  Being a couple inches over six foot 
and more than 250 pounds of strapping manhood (oh lord, that sounds great), I 
find that I can wear a good-sized XL T-shirt, but the things are usually not 
long enough.  To get a decent length, I find myself getting a 2XL, or even a 
3XL as often as not.

Thanks for mentioning the shirts; I'll need to get one.

Steve Charlton
scharlto@avalon.com

------------------------------

From: Steve Charlton/Avalon Software Inc <Steve_Charlton@khan.Avalon.COM>
Date: 3 Jul 96  9:32:47 MS
Subject: Solomani Army (longish)

Well, since I've already begun this core dump, here's another one; a White 
Paper I did on the Solomani military.  Sorry for all the text, but hey; its the 
start of a four-day weekend.  Besides, if I have to sit here and reorganize my 
hard drive, you should all suffer along with me.

Solomani Ground Forces Doctrine
There are 4 major ground force components in the Solomani Confederation;  the 
Confederation Marines, the Confederation Army, the Party Guard and the armies 
of the individual member worlds.  

Unlike the Imperium, the Confederation does maintain a standing army, which is 
used for large-scale ground operations for the Confederation.  The 
Confederation Marines are an elite raiding force, and is rarely deployed in 
units larger than a Regimental Combat Team (equivalent to a Imperial Marine 
brigade).  Party Guard units are used to guard Confederation political 
facilities, and to ensure loyalty in Confederation Army units and those of the 
Confederation's member worlds serving their Federal Duty.

Nearly all Confederation member worlds have their own standing armies.  There 
are incidents of fighting between Confederation worlds.  In these cases, if 
Confederation mediation does not succeed, the parties are allowed to fight it 
out, with certain restrictions;  The combatants must restrict their fighting to 
each other's worlds.  Attacks on neutral worlds or property will bring 
Confederation intervention, as will the use of atomics or biologicals.  Also, 
the combatants are prohibited from damaging each others economy or environment 
too thoroughly.  Finally, any such war must be formally declared, with at least 
three month's warning, and the war must be settled either militarily or 
politically within three years.  After three years, the Confederation Security 
Council will impose a settlement, enforced by Solomani Army units.

These independent militaries can be drafted for Federal Service, by 
three-fourths vote of the Security Council and majority vote of the General 
Assembly.  Such forces are generally assigned Party Guard advisors and security 
units to ensure loyalty.  Party Guard units are assigned to Confederation Army 
forces at one battalion per division; more so for Federalized forces of worlds 
with questionable loyalty.  Confederation Marine units rarely have Party Guard 
units attached, outside of a few security advisors in the headquarters units.

While member world organizations are flexible, the Confederation Army and 
Marines follow a fairly typical Terran-style pattern;  three platoons and a 
weapons platoon per company, three companies and a support company per 
battalion, three battalions and supporting units per regiment, three regiments 
and supporting units per division, etc.

Confederation Army units are uniformly equipped to TL14 standards.  
Confederation Marine units are uniformly equipped to TL15 standards.  Party 
Guard units are uniformly equipped to TL15 standards.  The military of members 
worlds have widely-varied technology, but will only be federalized if TL8 or 
better.  The Security Council classifies member world militaries by tech level; 
First Line is TL14+, Second Line is TL12-13, Third Line is TL10-11, and Fourth 
Line is TL9-.  Units are federalized in order of Line standing; Fist Line will 
be called up long before Fourth Line is alerted.

Tactically and operationally, Confederation forces are expected to show high 
levels of initiative.   Solomani NCOs and both junior and field-grade officers 
are arguably some of the best-trained military in known space.  Confederation 
operations are marked by their lightning strikes and deep-penetration raid 
tactics.  However, this competence does not extend to the strategic level.  
Confederation and Party politics are major factors in the selections of 
generals, and overall Confederation strategy is controlled by the Security 
Council, with the General Staff acting merely as advisors and expeditors.   
While many such appointees are career officers,  good commanders and planners, 
many more are merely adequate, or worse.  This makes Solomani strategy very 
subject to political whim.  This is  especially true in the logistical and 
support areas, where nearly all of the generals are political appointees.  Many 
Solomani attacks have failed due to bungled logistics or communications.

------------------------------

From: William A Humphrey <wh2a+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: Wed,  3 Jul 1996 19:31:56 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: More QSDS ships

OK, so I've only got one; drop a rock on me. :)

HUNTER GUNBOAT

Tons-   200     Volume-          2800           Cost, MCr-     221.2 
Crew-   15      Passengers H/M-  0              Passengers L-  0
Cargo-  15      Controls-        Std/Bridge     Tech Level-    12

08 Size Rating                       00 Jump Rating
04 Fire Control Rating               04 G-Rating/Thruster Plates
01 Battery Hvy Mil Laser 4-4-3-2     06 Power Plant Rating (200 MW x3)
03 Battery Lt Mil Laser 2-0-0-0      3.3 Fuel Rating (6 mo.)
03 Battery Missiles 10 (4)           00 Meson Screen Rating
                                     03 Sandcaster Rating
                                     00 Damper Rating
                                     02 A  03 P  00 J Sensor Ratings
                                     40 Armor    12 Structure

Crew: 1 Engineer, 1 Sensor/Electronics, 1 Pilot, 10 Gunners, 2 Command

Notes: The Hunter-class gunboats were designed in response to the
increased threat of piracy accompanying the rapid growth of interstellar
trade in and around the Federation.  Few, if any, corsairs can survive a
one-on-one engagement with a Hunter.  Although the price of the Hunter
is comparable to a Type-T Patrol Cruiser, the increased combat
effectiveness offsets the lack of jump capability.  The Federation Navy
has investigated modifying large bulk freighters to "piggyback" a
squadron of Hunters.  The only significant deficiency in the design is
the sensor ranges.  Since additional sensor data is usually available
from ground/orbital or capital ship sensors, this does not pose an
operational handicap.  The ready capacity and control ability of the
missiles are listed per battery, so there are 30 missiles total, and up
to 12 can be controlled at a time.  The cargo hold is a magazine
carrying one complete reload (30 missiles) for the ship's missile
barbettes.  The command crew have small staterooms, the remainder have
bunks.  
- --
                                            Bill H
"Only one...has survived battle with [us].  He is behind me; you are in 
front of me.  If you value your lives, be somwhere else!"
                                                    - Ambassador Delenn 

------------------------------

From: Steve Charlton/Avalon Software Inc <Steve_Charlton@khan.Avalon.COM>
Date: 3 Jul 96  9:00:23 MS
Subject: Imperial Marines vs Imperial Army

Larry Hadley did say:
> That's one thing I started thinking about. Does the Imperium even
> have any kind of standing army, other than planetary services?

Well, according to *canon* and other sacred writ, the Imperial did have 
something called the Imperial Army, but outside of the 5th Frontier War you 
never heard anything about it in any adventures or other source material.  Its 
units showed up in the FFW board game, as well as Invasion:Earth, and a few 
sourcebooks mentioned Imperial Army Intelligence's rivalry with Naval 
Intelligence.

In my campaign (my own version of holy writ and canon), there is usually no 
such thing as the Imperial Army; it is a construct that appears when the 
Imperium or its agents "imperialize" planetary defense forces.  For the sake of 
acceptable command and control, the Imperium does maintain a command and 
support structure for the Imperial Army, but the actual fighting forces come 
from the member worlds (kind of like a feudal levy; called when needed, 
diismissed when done).  Here is the longish White Paper I wrote up on the 
Imperial ground forces for my players.  Remember that this is written for the 
1110-1120 period, so the tech levels are a wee bit inflated compared to Mileu 
Zero.

Imperial Ground Forces Doctrine
The Imperium's ground military is divided into two organizations; the Imperial 
Army and the Imperial Marine Corps.  Both organizations share a similar overall 
structure; 3 squads to a platoon, 3 platoons and support to a company, 3 
companies and support to a battalion, 3 battalions and support to a brigade, 3 
brigades and support to a division, etc.  On Vilani-worlds, different names are 
used for this structure, but 3 children plus a support to the parent is usually 
the rule.

The Imperial Army does not normally exist below the corps level.  In general, 
it consists of corps- and army-level support and headquarters units, equipped 
and organized to Imperial Marine Corps standards.  The bulk of the Imperial 
Army forces are made up from the military of Imperial worlds in the area.  The 
Imperial Army is made up of Army Districts, roughly analogous to subsectors.  
Some subsectors do not have enough population or military forces to create an 
Army of four to ten divisions; in these cases Army Districts may encompass 
multiple subsectors.  Also, some high-population subsectors might support two 
or even three Army Districts, but this is fairly rare.  The support and 
headquarters units are known as Regular Army units, while the rest of the fo
rces are called Colonial Army forces.

Imperial Army units are given one of three ratings.  Tier One units would be 
TL14-15 units, including the Regular Army forces in the headquarters and 
support units.  Tier Two units would be TL11-13, and Tier Three would be TL7-10 
units.  No units below TL7 are used in the Imperial Army, and Tiers are not 
mixed below the divisional level.  In addition, tech levels are not mixed 
within Tiers below the battalion level.

Imperial Army units are activated via orders from the Emperor, Domain Duke or 
Sector Duke.  In most cases, no more than 20% of a planet's military would be 
activated into the Imperial Army, and usually this would be no more than 5%.

The Imperial Marine Corps is the Imperium's main source of full-time ground 
forces.  It is uniformly equipped to TL15 standards.  All Imperial military 
facilities are guarded by Marines, and many Imperial Navy ship carry Marines 
for security.  Each Fleet has Marines assigned to it for ground combat; smaller 
fleets may only have a brigade or division, while larger fleets may have two or 
three corps.  The Marines are divided into three groups:  Fleet Marines are the 
marines assigned to Imperial Navy ships for security, boarding actions or 
raiding, or who are assigned to guard units for nobles or embassies.  Line 
Marines are those Marines assigned to larger combat units that are often 
transported by Fleet ships, but are not permanently assigned to those ships.  
Garrison Marines are those marines used to guard Imperial facilities.

There is also a separate grouping called the Imperial Guard, a division of 
Marines assigned to protect the Emperor and the Royal Family.  These marines 
are better trained than most Marines,  and  better equipped (to TL16 
standards).  They are rarely found away from the Royal Family or Emperor.  Many 
Fleet, Line or Garrison Marines who win high honors in battle are offered a 
chance to get an Imperial Guard assignment.  Most Imperial Guards are only 
retained for a few terms, but some particularly good members serve a full 
career in the Imperial Guard.  Marines leaving the Imperial Guard are assured 
of prime assignments and rapid promotions upon return to their old unit.

While there is little consistency to the doctrine used by various Colonial 
Imperial Army units, the Imperial Marines (and the Regular Imperial Army) have 
consistently adopted a doctrine of battle in depth.  An enemy attacking or 
being attacked by Imperial Marines can expect to be met with large volumes of 
heavy weapons fire and air attacks on all parts of its forces.  Its rear areas 
will have numerous small commando units roaming around destroying supplies and 
communications assets.  Its front-line units will be attacked repeatedly by 
combined-arms teams mixing infantry, armor and battledress-equipped shock 
troops.  Strongpoints will often be bypassed and surrounded by infantry, who 
will secure the perimeter while the strongpoint is bombarded from orbit.  The 
tempo of operations is maintained at a very high level, with the hope of 
breaking the enemy forces early in the campaign.

In defense, the Marines will keep as much mobility as possible, using ambushes 
and raids to weaken the enemy in expectation of a counterattack.  If the 
Marines lose a world, several commando units will remain behind to harass enemy 
forces, using numerous equipment stockpiles placed there during the original 
attack as a hedge against failure.  Imperial doctrine requires that civilians 
be spared as much as possible, but that the mission is the primary objective.  
Marines will take prisoners, but only when feasible and convenient.  Marines 
who are captured are deemed killed in action, to reduce their usefulness as 
hostages.  The prisoners may be rescued, or the areas they are held in may be 
bombed, but the Marines do not leave their comrades in enemy hands unless there 
is no other alternative.  This attitude extends to other Imperial personnel; 
Navy, Scouts or government personnel, or even civilians.  In the case of 
civilians, the Marines will usually try a rescue, but the overall philosophy is 
the same in either event.

As a matter of Imperial doctrine, if the Marines are used in an operation in 
which a noble has been taken hostage, or in which illegal nuclear weapons have 
been involved, the Marines will not only take no prisoners, they will in fact 
try to cause as much damage and terror as possible.  This activity will be 
carefully recorded and used in Imperial propoganda, to discourage such 
activities in the future.

------------------------------

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #206
**********************************

To unsubscribe to Traveller-Digest, send the command:

unsubscribe traveller-digest

in the body of a message to "traveller-request@MPGN.COM".  If you want
to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from,
such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the
"subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-traveller":

subscribe traveller-digest local-traveller@your.domain.net

A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to
subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "traveller-digest"
in the commands above with "traveller".
