Battlegroups Report 6

Greetings and welcome to a new edition of the Battlegroups report!

NEWS FROM THE BGS

As you may have noticed on the TC web page, the Relentless Commodore position has been opened for applications! If you think you’ve got what it takes, and meet the requirements spelled out on the TC news page, send your applications to myself and the FO. I want this position filled ASAP.

Most of the ships in the BGs have internal competitions in progress, and Wing XI issued a challenge looking for outside competitions that was recently accepted. Activity!

The next BG-wide competition will involve both flying and a certain amount of role-playing, mostly in the form of battlegroup orders and situation reports. You can expect to see detailed rules quite soon, as the first missions are already in the works. But for now…Provisional Battlegroup I (Challenge and Colossus) has been recalled to the shipyards for some fleet-level service while PBG II (Relentless and Immortal) await the assignment of a new RelCOM before starting their patrol circuit.

STANDING ORDERS AND PROCEDURES

You may have seen the Security Officer commenting in his last report about the failure of people to make use of the chain of command before filing complaints with his office. I can only echo that statement, and stress that we’re all here to help you have fun in the TC. If you have problems with your direct superior, you can always talk to his superior about it. And as BGCOM I’m always here to help sort things out. The SO has enough to do without having to sort out every squadron-level dispute in the fleet.

I’d also like to take a moment to touch on the concept of ‘elite’ squadrons within the BGs. Now I know these aren’t authorized, and will never appear on the order of battle, but I also know that some ships do have them. Whether it’s the winning squadron from a ship-level competition or a group of top pilots labeled the “WC’s Escort” or “Commodore’s Guard,” there’s always that urge to have a unit of the top pilots in your Wing. Personally I see nothing wrong with this. In fact, I think it’s a good idea. But I would like to get an idea about how those ships who have such ‘squadrons’ are selecting them. It might be possible to develop a standard system for such ‘squadrons’, thereby guaranteeing their ‘elite’ status. And I’m putting those terms in quotes to show their unofficial status, not to mock their status in any way.

MSE time is drawing near again. Don’t forget: I need these by the fifth of next month, so your WC will need them a few days before that.

Finally, I’m giving consideration to drawing up a set of Battlegroup Standing Orders. These would be done to standardize the way things are done in the BGs, especially at the higher levels of command. If you have any thoughts about them, sound off to me.

Reporting is getting better, and I’m starting to see things from units that I haven’t heard from for some time. Don’t forget – this isn’t an optional activity. It’s also a great way for you to keep in touch with your people and share their accomplishments with the rest of the fleet. And don’t forget to put that report on the database!

TACTICS CORNER

This is a new feature of the BGs Report, and will highlight some of the missions of our various Squadrons. The Training Manual discusses these to a degree, but not in the depth that may be required in the future (say for a competition). In each report I’ll select one type of Squadron and go into some detail about how I view its mission and role. Comments and discussion are welcome.

In this report we’ll take a look at the Deep Strike Squadron. The Training Manual says this about the Deep Strike Squadron:

To launch surprise attacks DEEP in enemy held territory, and assault locales where either (A) The Strike Fleet cannot go, (B) The Strike Fleet can go but would be in extreme risk of destruction/capture; OR (1) Assist other Imperial Forces when the fleet is otherwise engaged, (2) Once particular individuals/ship targets have been identified by Fleet Command but cannot be reached through normal means, LAUNCH AND STRIKE!, and (3) Assist Recon by providing reinforcements, if available...

This is perhaps one of the more interesting Squadrons, as it is one of the few (other than Recon and some of the SpecOps units) that is given a clearly independent role in the TM.

The Deep Strike Squadron is intended to (lifting a catchphrase from another SciFi giant) ‘boldly go where few Imperials have gone before.’ It is, in essence, a crack deep strike force that is intended to have enough organic firepower to accomplish almost any mission it is given. It also has to have the speed to get in, get the job done, then get out before it’s cut off and chopped to pieces.

The commander of a Deep Strike squadron needs to be both a master of tactics and ordnance selection. Operating deep in enemy space, or out of range of easy support, weapons selection is often half the battle. Unlike the Reconnaissance Squadron, the Deep Strike Squadron exists only to attack, so its basic mission will almost always be clear. The means of accomplishing that mission may not always be so, however.

The commander of a Deep Strike Squadron should be aggressive, and make sure that his pilots are as well. One of the keys to any strike mission is surprise, and that becomes even more important when you’re deep in the enemy’s back yard. Speed is one sure way to attain surprise, and a Deep Strike Squadron should always be looking for the quickest way to accomplish its mission. Drawing out an engagement is sure to allow the enemy enough time to bring in reinforcements, and that can only be bad for the squadron.

When assisting a Recon squadron, the Deep Strike Squadron can be doing one of two things: bringing in enough firepower to allow the Recon boys to disengage; or pinning the discovered enemy in place until more EH forces can arrive. This will alter both weapons selection and the choice of tactics. Make sure you know what your commander has in mind before arming those fighters and launching!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I just realized that I’ve done a few reports now and the ‘R’ word (recruiting) hasn’t come up. Well…RECRUIT! Recruit for your flight, your squadron, your wing, or the BGs in general. We may not be as vocal as the other TC battlegroups, but I still think we’re one of the best places to be. We’ve got four ships, each with very distinct personalities, and a variety of activities. We offer advancement, if that’s what you want, or just a fun place to hang out with good people and learn how to be a better pilot or mission creator (seeing as how we’ve got some of the best in the fleet in our ranks). And if you want to be a better officer and TC leader, we have some of the best in the business waiting to teach the next generation.

Recruiting is important for a number of reasons. Almost every Wing in the BGs has at least one closed squadron. That’s one unit with a proud history and heritage sitting in mothballs because we don’t have enough butts to fill the seats. One of our Wings is also hovering at a dangerously low level, and when numbers get that low you don’t have as many options as you might like when it comes to dealing with people. Every BGCOM has tried to hit the 200 mark, and we need to continue with that goal. But to do that, we’ll have to be aggressive and innovative.

There is no “rant from the ranks” this time for the simple reason that none were submitted. This is YOUR chance to be heard, and if you don’t take advantage of it you can’t complain about no one listening to you. I’m also thinking about opening up the Tactics Corner to submissions about tactics for either SP or MP flying. This is another chance for our top pilots to share their tips and tactics with their BG fellows. If you’d like to contribute to either the Tactics Corner or Rant from the Ranks, send it to me at krax@ehnet.org with the column title as your subject (Tactics or Rant will work fine).

That’s all for now. Keep flying and having fun!

BGCOM/VA Krax Tarnisar/TIE Corps Battlegroups