Introduction

Aquatic Assault Stormtroopers (better known as Seatroopers) are another special unit of Stormtroopers that have been established to operate below the seas of the many worlds that span throughout the Galactic Empire. Seatroopers can be quickly deployed by dropships, but they are often assigned to aquatic garrisons where they can enjoy the support of a fully loaded base and water craft.

Seatroopers and Seatrooper Delivery Vehicle (SDV) Teams, along with Special Boat Units, comprise the elite combat units of the Naval Special Warfare division in the Hammer's Fist Legion. These units are organized, trained, and equipped to conduct special operations, unconventional warfare, interplanetary internal defense and clandestine operations in maritime and riverine environments. These highly trained specialists are deployed galaxy-wide in support of fleet and national operations. The wide ranges of tasks performed by Naval Special Warfare and their outstanding combat records have earned them an enduring and highly respected reputation. Seatroopers handle classifed missions from the sea, air, and land with razor-sharp precision, teamwork, and cool-headedness. Seatroopers are considered the leading offensive force in the galaxy.

Training

As a student in seatrooper training, one will participate in challenging training and encounter opportunities to develop and test their leadership. Initial seatrooper training is extremely thorough both physically and mentally; but through adequate preparation and a positive attitude, one can meet its challenges with confidence. The mental component of training is just as exhausting as the physical. For officers, scores on written examinations must be 80% or above; for enlisted men, 70% or above.

Seatrooper Training is a process that begins with the basic conditioning phase of the course. This training involves not only intense physical conditioning, but also maneuvers that instill the values of teamwork and trust. The Seatroopers program consists of more than seven months of intensive training designed to push one to their physical and mental limits--again and again. If one were to succeed, they'll be part of a seatrooper team that conducts missions and operations most people only read about.

Just to be qualified physically is what keeps from most candidiates from being selected for this training. Out of those that apply, only about ten percent are selected to begin the training. The physical fitness test that all potential candidates must pass consists of the following:

• 500 yard swim using the side or breaststroke - Minimum time: 12 minutes, 30 seconds
• Pushups--Minimum repititions: 42 (two minutes)
• Sit-ups--Minimum repititions: 50 (two minutes)
• Pull-ups--Minimum repititions: 8 (no time limit)
• 1.5 mile run wearing boots and pants in 11 minutes, 30 seconds

There are four phases to the seven month-long training program and they are: the indocrination phase, the basic conditioning phase, the diving phase, and the land warfare phase.

The Indocrination phase is "where the end comes before the beginning". This phase basically gives students an introduction to required techniques and performances. Students will swim, do physical training, run, and basically get dogged pretty hard although they know that training has yet to begin.

First Phase is the basic conditioning phase and includes continuous physical conditioning. Students also study hydrographic surveys and charts prior to the second phase of training. During the first two weeks--known as the "Gut Check"--students will learn life-saving skills, knot tying, underwater knot tying, basic first aid, and small rubber boat seamanship. Underwater swims of fifty yards must be accomplished and the student is usually revived if they pass out. Drown-proofing is put in as another test of confidence as students' hands are tied behind their backs and their ankles tied together and then heaved into the pool. One to two mile ocean swims with fins, two to three mile timed runs and a "gut-burning" obstacle course are also included in daily PT. Surf torture stems from the theory that a seatrooper must be "intimately" familiar with the water. The entire class must wade into the surf zone down to their waist line, then sit down with arms linked. This "training session" usually lasts for an hour. This is an effective way to teach a prospective seatrooper to mentally fend off the effects of hypothermia.

The third week of training is called "Hades Week". "Hades Week" is the make-or-break test during first phase. Five days and five nights of non-stop training with only a total of two hours of sleep. "Break out" is the beginning night of "Hades Week" in which combat is simulated with absolute chaos breaking loose. After "Break out", the students are kept wet, cold, sand and exhausted--their only respite coming in the warmth of the chow hall where about 5000 calories are consumed during breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight rations. The cold makes the weak quit and the determined seek strength through teamwork and helping their fellow students. "Hades Week" is a defining moment in the lives of every seatrooper because it makes them confident that they can endure and accomplish twenty times what they had previously thought impossible. The remaining five weeks of training--after the remaining students are secured from "Hades Week" for a weekend of rest--teaches the students the basics of conducting hydrographic surveys and how to prepare a hydrographic chart.

The second phase is the diving phase and it covers SCUBA skills. Students will learn open and closed circuit combat diving and how to complete long-distance underwater transit dives. Physical training continues during this phase, but times are lowered for the four-mile run, two-miles swims, and obstacle course. Emphasis is placed on long distance underwater transit dives utilizing a depth gauge, compass and dive watch for navigating. A four mile open ocean swim and a 12-mile rucksack hump are thrown in as additional gut checks. During week three of this phase, "Pool Comp" is the next big hurdle to test the seatrooper candidate. In "Pool Comp", students will don full dive gear with double hose regulators on the dive tanks and swim along the deep end of the combat training tank. As swift as a shark attack, they will be tossed around like rag dolls and have all of the gear and tanks torn from their bodies. The regulator hoses will be tied in outrageous knots by the relentess "underwater aggressor" (one of the second phase instructors). Students find themselves in a precarious position and might easily panic and go for the surface. Those who do re-surface would fail the test and be rolled from training. Those who don't panic, re-gain their wits, find their source of air and untangle the knot to be to breathe underwater. If they accomplish this, they must re-don their gear properly and return to the surface. Students will also learn about the limpet underwater explosive device and how and where to attach it to the hull of a surface ship.

The third and final phase of seatrooper training is the land warfare phase. More than just a mere review of what students have learned during their basic stormtrooper certification course, it includes land navigation, small-unit tactics, rappelling, military land and underwater explosives, and weapons training. Physical training becomes more intense as the runs increase and the times are lowered again for the runs, swims, and obstacle course. students will also learn the art of breath-hold diving to emplace demolitions on obstacles submerged in 20 feet of water. Utilizing the hydrographic reconnaissance skills taught in First Phase, the class conducts a simulated night combat beach reconnaissance, prepares a hydrographic chart, then returns the following night to emplace demo on the obstacles and detonate them. Night patrols, ambushes, and direct action raid skills are honed in preparation for the final field training exercise(FTX). The final field training exercise is held during the last week of third phase. Each squad will enter isolation to begin the mission planning process and conduct four back to back night operations utilizing most of the commando skills taught during the seven month course. This is an exhausting, yet exhilarating time and brings to a close the long days and nights of the most intensive and comprehensive stormtrooper training in the galaxy.

Post Seatrooper Training - Seatrooper training graduates attend several more courses before being assigned to a seatrooper or SDV team:

Basic Airborne Training - Special Operations Technicians training at the Naval Special Warfare SEATROOPER school and center

Diving medicine and medical skills training in the Medical Sergeant Course - for those with a corpsman certification

Seatrooper Delivery Vehicle (SDV) Training - This three month course teaches students how to dive the MK-16 mixed gas dive rig and to pilot and navigate the MK-VIII Seatrooper Delivery Vehicle. The SDV is a "wet" submersible operated by seatroopers to either conduct 100% long range submerged missions or to clandestinely deliver seatroopers and other agents onto enemy territory from a submarine or other vessel at sea.

Seatrooper Tactical Training (STT) - Seatrooper Tactical training primarily focuses on the basics also, but take the individual's skill levels to a higher plateau. Also, the students start to learn how to operate as a team. The course is a little over four months in length and starts with classroom training in mission planning and intelligence gathering/reporting. Students then begin a series of "blocks" of training covering the major skills required to conduct seatrooper missions. These include hydrographic reconnaissance, communications, field medicine, air skills, combat swimmer, land warfare, maritime operations (long range ocean navigation) and submarine lock-in/lock-out.

Air Week - During Air Week, the class will conduct day and night static line jumps, a water jump acccompained by a "rubber duck"-- a zodiac boat with motor and gear sent out the back of a transport under canopy. Fastrope techniques whereby a seatrooper slides down a nylon rope for 80 feet using only gloved hands to brake, and rappelling are taught. The "Special Insertion/Extraction" (SPIE) rig is introduced, allowing six to eight seatroopers to be removed from an area too rugged or dense to land a transport.

Combat Swimmer Training -  the class will conduct over 25 day and night compass dives, starting again from the basics and progressing to full mission profile combat swimmer submerged ship attacks against Naval vessels.

Land Warfare Training  - lasts three weeks and is similar in content to the third phase of seatrooper training--except at a much more advanced level. Students enhance their skills in patrolling, improvised booby traps, stalking, weaponry and military demolition. They begin to practice the fine art of live fire immediare action drills (IADs), which have the team firing and maneuvering in well choreographed sequences.

Platoon Training - Seatrooper platoons have a training cycle which includes either a twelve or eighteen month training work-up, then a six-month deployment to any planet in the galaxy in an operational "combat ready" status at a Naval Special Warfare Unit or Detachment. These platoons are incredibly highly trained and can accomplish mostly any task thrown at them. The training that must be accomplished during the year-plus training cycle is based upon several factors:

• Advanced individual and platoon level skills necessary for the conduction of all Special Operations missions (like demolitions, parachuting, shooting, moving and communicating).
• The methods of delivery, insertion/extraction most likely to be utilized while on deployment (like submarine launched SDV missions, submarine lock-out/lock-in, underway shipboarding from a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB).
• The planetary area of responsibility of the seatrooper team.

The first three months of the training cycle in platoon training is usually back to the basics. Hydrographic reconnaissance is covered once again combined with underwater demolition of submerged obstacles. Next, air training lasts two weeks and builds upon STT skills, including several "Duck" drops out of different aircraft, both day and night combat equipment parachute jumps, fastroping, rappelling and SPIE rig. Mission Planning in a classroom environment followed by intelligence gathering and reporting. During the Intel week, the platoon will reconnoiter a local utilities facility, gathering phothographic, visual, and sketch data and compiling a comprehensive report on the strengths and weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the facility.

Next may come yet another combat swimmer course. It will take several years before a seatrooper become an expert combat diver. Combat swimmer training in the platoon is a very arduous and intense training block. The platoon will conduct over thirty dives during three weeks--including a full mission profile where they are inserted by aircraft or surface vessel for a thirty-mile "over the horizon" transit in the CRRC, followed by a demanding turtleback(kicking on the surface toward the dive point in full dive gear), then a four-hour, multi-leg dive into the enemy harbor to emplace limpet mines on the hulls of target ships, then extracting after evading the anti-swimmer measures put in place by the training cadre.

Land warfare training occurs again by starting with the basics in small unit tactics and building to full mission profiles conducted in a simulated combat environment. Land Warfare training ends with a week long field training exercise where the platoon is put in semi-isolation in a simulated combat environment. Each squad will conduct several independent missions--usually special reconnaissance, standoff weapons direct action raid, "body snatch"(where seatroopers capture a high-ranking officer or informant and interrogate him for information), point ambush, or combat search and rescue. These missions are very comprehensive and if the platoon is detected by the training cadre, they are "contacted" with enemy fire from which they must utilize the fire and maneuver Immediate Actions Drills learned during training and evade the pursuing force.

Advanced Training - As for advanced training, seatroopers attend most or all of the advanced individual training courses offered by Naval Special Warfare and other Special Stormtrooper Operations Forces. Some of these include:

Naval Special Warfare SEATROOPER School and Center - this school offers 25 advanced individual training courses to seatroopers and currently has courses under development. Some of these include:

• combat diving supervisor course
• dive medical technician course
• explosive ordnance disposal course
• maritime operations course
• high altitude parachute course
• static line parachute jumpmaster course
• diving maintenance course
• SDV electronic maintenance course
• SDV operator course
• MK 16 UBA course
• Range operations safety course
• close quarters defense course
• advanced applied explosives course
• tactical communications course

Special Warfare School and Center in Fort Branaugh, a school with 30 advanced individual training courses and is the finest special operations training school in the galaxy. Some of these include:

• survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE and Level-C) courses
• target interdiction course
• military freefall and freefall jumpmaster course
• operations and intelligence course
• combat diving course
• counter revolutionary warfare qualification course
• emergency medical technician course
• underwater operations course
• individual terrorism awareness course

Seatroopers also attend even more specialized schools to better learn the skills required of him/her when he/she will conduct their missions and these schools include:

• pathfinder school
• air assault school
• scout trooper school
• sniper school
• hand-to-hand combat fighting school (CFA)
• SCARS institute of combat science (CQB, sniping, surveillance, unarmed combat, etc.)
• intelligence photography school
• Foreign language training institute
• 40 hour operator and 300 hour instructor courses
• Vehicle training
• Sandtrooper training
• Snowtrooper training
• Radtrooper training

The list of possible training skills one seatrooper can master are endless as he/she serves as a part of the most well-known and respected fighting force in the galaxy.

Armor

The seatrooper armor is light weight and has a two piece environmental suit. The helmet is Equipped with a macrobinocular viewplate, sensor array, built-in comlink and a breathing apparatus. On the back is a portable environmental unit, power cell pack and Propulsion Unit. Worn on the feet are propulsion boots with snap-down flippers. The armor provides both physical and energy protection. The armor also increases swimming skill regardless of swimming level.  

The two-piece environmental suit can be altered to provide more thermal protection in arctic climates, although these tend to be bulky since the zippers are subject to failure and the suit can tear or abrade. As soon as these leak, they are rendered useless, so handle with care.

The breathing apparatus used by the seatroopers can be either open-circuit or closed-circuit, although open-circuit is used more often. The closed-circuit portable environmental unit used in conjunction with the helmet's breathing apparatus, uses a supply of oxygen, a system of bags and hoses and a canister of material called baralyme. A seatrooper preparing for a dive first dons his equipment, opens the O2 bottle, and must carefully purge the system of air. The oxygen flows from the bottle, through a regulator, to the mouthpiece; when the diver exhales, some oxygen and carbon dioxide is exhaled. This mixture is recycled through the canister of baralyme where the CO2 is absorbed and purified oxygen is passed back to the mouthpiece. Only the oxygen actually consumed by the diver needs to be replaced from the tank-a rather small amount-and none of it is wasted. The tiny cylinder holds about 13 cubic feet of oxygen at 2000 pounds per square inch (psi). How long the diver stays down and consumes this amount of air depends on how deep he goes, how hard he works, and how full of adrenaline he happens to be. Ashore, the breathing apparatus is 35 pounds, complete, but underwater it becomes neutral. The open-circuit portable environmental apparatus can be used under the depth of 35 feet because it doesn't have the dangerous effects that the closed-circuit system causes when you accidently go underneath 35 feet. The closed-circuit system is worn on the chest, while the open-circuit system is worn on the back.  

The snap-down flippers that are worn with the propulsion boots are designed to be adjusted to be used for any size foot. Replaceable straps are available in case of breakage of the adjusting strap. The propulsion boots worn with the fins provide extra speed and power in the water.

Gear

The attack board or compass board is a very simple device with an extremely important function; it is basic tool for navigating during sub-surface combat swims. The only thing visible under water will be the luminous dials of the compass, depth gauge, and dive watch attached to the board. The compass will tell divers their direction, the watch will tell them how far they've gone, and the depth gauge is a safety device that also helps predict oxygen consumption. All combat swims are done by pairs of divers; one will be the navigator and will use the attack board and steer the "boat" while the other swims alongside, typically with one hand on the navigator's shoulder. Seatroopers may be capable individuals but on operations, they never do anything alone. The basic element for any underwater operation begins with a "swim pair", two seatroopers who will provide mutual support for each other. 

The depth gauges on the attack boards are accurate to about 18 meters and is used for both navigation and safety. The depth gauge has a critical safety function when one uses the breathing apparatus. The breathing apparatus works well in shallow water, but breathing straight oxygen below 35 ft will quickly poison the body. Without the depth gauge, it will be easy to drift down past the level, with fatal consequences. Navigating accurately underwater is one of the most challenging skills a seatrooper has to learn, but some eventually become adept at the skill. Each seatrooper learns how far each kick propels him through the water; by counting kicks he can calculate how far he has traveled. It works so well that some seatroopers have swum long distances (up to 3mi) and surface within just 5m of their objective.

One of the most important items of equipment for hydrographic recon missions is also one of the most simple and inexpensive, a slate. Instead of a grease pencil, it's used with a common lead pencil on the end of a short lanyard. Once the surface is roughened with sandpaper it is quite easy to write upon and the lead pencil won't smear as readily. The slate is used for the beach survey mission conducted by seatroopers.

The BlasTech Firearc49 Blaster Speargun is great for most close-in situations, especially when seatroopers have to swim ashore but its maximum effective range is only around 95 meters: the speargun attachment on the blaster having the range of 50 meters and the blaster having the range of only 45 meters. The blaster is made water-proof by the process of capping the muzzle with a cover, then applying silicon sealant around the magazine and bolt cover. Once ashore, each seatrooper will drain and check his weapon for proper function before proceeding with their mission. The only other weapon carried by seatroopers are the highly lethal concussion grenades in quantities of five. 

The equipment carried by seatroopers on missions rarely differs from the equipment used by regular stormtroopers. Seatroopers carry a utility belt which carries the regular loadout of equipment and survival equipment used by regular stormtroopers except for the inclusion of a small fishing kit used by the aquatroopers in case of unintended desertion at sea. 

A specialized h-harness is worn with the seatrooper gear to help keep the weapons at ready for underwater combat. This h-harness is also developed to hold two canteens, short-range combat pistol holster, and a scabbard for sharp-edged weapons. For those trained in lightsaber combat, it can be custom fitted with a lightsaber hook.

Missions

Mission: Recon - The very first mission of the very first seatroopers during their formation in the period of the clone wars, was reconnaissance. There are many variations on the idea, some very small and covert, others large-scale, long-term studies of terrain, towns and tactical units. Recons can be done in the water, on the beach, or far inland. The best seatrooper recons, though, don't go much past the high water mark. Here's how it works:

It starts with the man they call the CATF: Commander, Amphibious Task Force- the Imperial Navy Admiral who brings the assault elements on the beach. When the possibility of an assault begins to loom, the CATF directs his staff-the intel officer and operations officer-to begin the planning process. The CATF will designate one or many possible beaches for study and consideration. The intel and operations officers will turn their staffs loose on the problem, at the same time tasking the most available seatrooper unit to provide the hydrographic survey information. This will be the ARG platoon, the Amphibious Ready Group. ARG deployments weren't really popular in the community during the inception of the seatrooper units because there was a perception that the personnel would be out of action if something cooked off. The attitude towards this, however, has changed since the ARG platoons started leading charges for many recent galactic ops. 

The seatrooper platoon commander will recieve his or her mission; it will include a description of what the seatroopers need to provide, but it will not (or should not) tell the seatroopers how to accomplish the mission. The "how" part is something the seatroopers are to design. The platoon will brain-storm the problem, then present a solution back to the Ops and Intel sections; there may be several solutions, or just one. There will be negotiations about resources required. Finally, the plan is presented to the CATF for approval or denial. If denied, the process starts over. After approval, the mission is scheduled ("laid on" is the operative phrase), and launched at the appointed hour. Insertion will normally be from a CRRC (Combat Rubber Raiding Craft), or patrol boat; the boat will bring the swimmers to 600 to 1,000 meters off the beach, then send them overboard. This kind of recon is normally conducted in water, so the seatroopers will execute it as a surface swim, typically at night. The squad swims in, spreads out, and moves in, line abreast. The water depths are charted with a lead line, recorded on a plastic slate. The team, or elements of the group, may move all the way into the beach, recording reefs, rocks, obstacles. Above the high water mark, any fortifications are identifed, i.e. bunkers, artillery, and machine gun positions, plus structures, roads, and any terrain features like sea walls that might prevent the assault force from exiting the beach and driving into the hinterland.

Receiving the Mission - Seatroopers are in a service industry; they solve problems for other people-the most senior officers of government. When these people decide that there is a problem, they hand it off to the Imperial Navy. Today, seatrooper mission taskings trickle down a chainf of command that can begin many thousands of miles from Carrida, from Coruscant's military headquarters, or from a theater or task force commander. The problem gets handed to an admiral, handed off to a series of subordinates, until at last it lands on the doorstep of the young officers and enlisted personnel on one of the teams.

Planning for a mission is a group activity. Members of the platoon tasked with the job will participate; so, too, will people from the Group operations staff; the team commander will join in. They brainstorm the problem for hours, or days-or longer. They will typically pull in every kind of information available that will help design the best solution to the problem. If there is lots of time, someone may actually visit the location where a raid or rescue might occur. Sometimes, as has happened in the past, a prisoner will be snatched out of the objective area, brought back to the compound and interrogated to provide fresh information.

If the mission happens to be one that has been "wargamed" in the past, a contingency plan might already be on the shelf in the operations section. But normally the plan is presented in ritual format, then presented to the commander in a dog-and-pony act called a "brief-back". The commander is ultimately responsible for the success of the mission, even though he or she doesn't go along, and he or she is likely to be quite careful about the overall intent and the details. He or she will either accept the plan as designed, accept with modifications he or she requires, or he or she may tell the planning group to go back and try it again.

Planning from the inside out can take anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of months. It depends on the magnitude of whatever you are trying to do, and the schedule for when you have to complete it. Interestingly, seatroopers teams plan from the center out-beginning with the "actions at the objective", then working forward and backward from there. That means they decide where and when they will be on the objective, then they calculate how long it will them to get there-that tells them when they have to infiltrate-and how long it will take them to get to the extraction point-which tells them when they'll exfiltrate.

There are two basic planning procedures - deliberate and ad hoc. The first is done by the intel section of the seatrooper community; a target list of possible scenarios is developed and kept ready on the shelf. Once the plan for the mission has been approved by the commander, the squads who will actually be launched on the operation will go into isolation. No contact with family or friends are allowed during this period and there is no chance to compromise the operation before it even gets started.

All the assets are laid on: weapons, dive gear, boats, transportation, ammunition, demolition material, maps-the works. The key players will rehearse the operation, if time permits. The Stormtrooper Legion gets a tasking, then hands that off to a suitable seatrooper team. That team then develops a proposed course of action-or several options-for presentation to the commander.

Ship & Oil Platform Takedowns and Anti/Counter-Terrorism Ops - Until the techniques invented for Close Quarter Battle were invented by a 25 year veteran of the Hammer's Fist during the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, the Galactic Empire had virtually no way to counter terrorists except massive firepower-and massive firepower tends to kill all the hostages along with the terrorists. But the Fist studied length, width and heights of rooms that most likely would hold hostages and terrorists bunched together, developed techniques for clearing rooms with precision, leaving terrorists with head shots and chest wounds and the hostages in one piece, even developed heartbeat sensor technology which would decipher which were the terrorists and which were the hostages, which proved to be a great asset once these techniques were approved by the Commander of Training. Now, the Fist had specialized technqiues for conducting counter-terrorist and VBSS (Visit, Board, Search and Seizure) missions with ease. Teams learned how to conduct these grueling missions in the dark, with the confusion of flash grenades. There are ways of arriving at the target oil rig or ship without detection. One way is to fly a transport with radar jamming equipment and have it approach from an angle where the oil rig is vulnerable. Another way is by sea: either insertion by submarine and swimming towards the target or by means of lock out/lock in from the inserting submarine and driving rubber boats to the back of the target ship or the base of the oil rig. As for large transport, platform, cruise liner, and frigate hijackings, there are rarely any of those anymore. But to execute such a mission, the inserting transport would have to have radar jamming equipment so that the team can enter the hijacked craft through the unused escape pod chambers. As soon as the team was aboard, then the transport would return back without confrontation and the rescue team would then have to make their way quickly to the hostages and eliminate all threats aboard. The only situation in which a seatrooper team would be selected for this counter-terrorism op would be if the starship crash-landed in water.

Mission Specific Training - There are five primary missions for the aquatic assault trooper teams. These include unconventional warfare--which is basically behind the lines guerilla warfare during times of conflict; Interplanetary Internal Defense (IID)--which includes the training of interplanetary nationals and relationship building during peacetime; Direct Action--which includes any mission that a seatrooper element may undergo against an enemy target that includes the use or potential use of deadly force-these missions include ambushes, standoff weapons attacks, hostage rescue, target assaults on maritime and land based targets amongst others; Anti/Counter-Terrorist--which is described in the above paragraph, and finally Special Reconnaisance- which includes hydrographic reconnaisance and SDV Beach Feasibility studies, point and area recons, Indications and Warning missions and any other overt, covert or clandestine mission whose primary purpose is to gather information.

The Platoon

A seatrooper platoon consists of two officers, one senior non-commissioned officer, and thirteen enlisted men. Responsibilities are divided into positions in a patrol (such as point man, patrol leader, radio man, repeater rifle gunner, corpsman and rear security), department leadership (such as diving department head, air department head and ordnance/demo department head) and by rank--the senior officer is the platoon commander, the junior officer is his assistant, the senior enlisted is the platoon NCO, the next senior enlisted is the leading NCO who is in charge of the day-to-day management of the enlisted platoon members.

The seatrooper platoon is the largest operational element that will normally be employed to conduct a tactical mission. Multi-platoon operations should not be planned or conducted without extensive preparations and rehearsals. A platoon is usually divided into two squads or four elements. A swim pair is consisted of two seatroopers and is the smallest operational element that can be employed.

Platoon capabilities of a seatrooper platoon are few. They can destroy or sabotage enemy shipping, port and harbor facilities, bridges, railway lines, communications centers and other lines of communication in and around maritime and riverine environments. They can infiltrate and exfilitrate selected personnel by submarine, surface vessel, aircraft or land vehicle. They can conduct reconnaissance and surveillance in multiple environments. They can organize, train, and assist Imperial, allied and other friendly military or paramilitary forces in the conduct of special operations.

Platoon limitiations of a seatrooper platoon are few. Seatrooper platoons require specialized support for infiltration, exfilitration and resupply. Seatroopers are restricted in their ability to conduct sustained firepower, mobility, organice combat support and combat service support assets. Seatrooper platoons are dependent on the theather Navy component or the JSSOTF (Joint Stormtrooper Special Operations Task Force) commander for logistic support. Seatrooper platoons are not equipped for sustained, direct engagements against enemy forces. Seatrooper platoons carry minimum amounts of equipment, munitions, and light armament consisting primarily of individual weapons.

Insertion and Extraction Techniques

Seatrooper operations are obviously hazardous, but the most critical parts of special operations, the most hazardous moments of all, tend to be getting in and out of the operational area-inserting and extracting. If a seatrooper squad was to be ambushed, it would most likely happen at these two times. Despite the challenges of long ocean transits in "rubber ducks"(nickname for the CRRC's), or lock in/lock out submarine procedures., the water provides a kind of armor for seatroopers that isn't available to any other special operations teams, or the conventional forces of all the Galatic Empire's combatant formations. After years of combat swimming in the seatrooper community, they have polished and refined their insertion and extraction techniques to a fine art.

There are a lot of choices:

• They can ride a small boat in from over the horizon; a small boat witha minimal radar signature can easily disappear into the "sea clutter" on a radar screen. Depending on the kind of boat, they can disappear into the routine offshore vessal traffic, looking like an innocent fishing boat, a pleasure craft, a small freighter, a barge or a sampan. A black CRRC won't blen into the traffic, but if the operation is executed at night, it will eventually blend in.
• They can launch from a submarine close inshore, with or without a CRRC. If the sub can get in to 600 to 1,000 meters of the beach, they will probably dispense with the rubber duck and swim in. (Such a mission will give the sub crew heart failure, but that's their problem. :-P)
• They can launch from a sub well offshore, 5 miles or more, (which will only give the submariners indigestion-tough luck..:-P) if they have the use of a Seatrooper Delivery Vehicle (SDV). The SDV is a mini-sub that can cruise along under water at four or five knots; it will take two swim pairs-a fire team-well in shore, completely submerged.
• They can jump in, either on shore or into the water, using para-capsules.
• A transport can drop them off, either by landing (or hovering 10 feet off the deck, more likely), rappeling, or fast-roping from 50 feet or so.

All of these methods, properly executed, should deliver them to the beach and from there on, they work whatever magic the team has been assigned for its mission. then it's time to (as they say) "get the heck out of Dodge City".

The same techniques you used to get in work just as well coming out-but seatrooper units try to avoid using the same techniques both times. Despite all the training for exotic insertion and extraction techniques with SDV's and subs, perhaps ninety percent of all ops in the seatrooper community involve boat rides.

Launching out of an submarine is an ordeal, too, wet or dry. The subs are crowded, with little space for the seatrooper team. There are never enough bunks for everybody, so they "hot bunk", or trade with someone else who works while they sleep, who sleeps while he or she works. Then, there's the problem of claustrophobia; the sub itself is bad, but the lock in/lock out chamber induces panic even among some seatroopers.

Once the chamber hatch opens, there are several ways to get to the surface and back. One is the "breath hold" technique; one just holds their breath and swims to the surface. If they were to do this, they have to remember to gradually exhale during the whole ascent, otherwise the lungs will explode. Another technique involves "open circuit" SCUBA tanks-the safest method for the diver but objectionable to the sub crew because of the noise of the bubbles, a "signature" that makes the sub a target to any nearby alert adversary with modern detection technology. Finally, there is the closed circuit SCUBA Draeger tanks-which can be dangerous since its maximum safe operational depth is only about 35 ft. Then there's the problem of available equipment for the lock-in/lock-out procedure. Even with the CRRC stowed in an exterior locker, getting the rubber duck deployed and recovered is the seatrooper's worst nightmare. Operations won't usually bother with recovering the boat and motor, but during training work-ups, these inflatables have to be deflated and dragged down to be folded, lashed, and secured back in the locker forward of the sub's sail. The loading and launching is another nightmare; there will be wind and current pushing and pulling the sub and the rubber boat, towed by the sub at the end of the ascent line. The seatroopers have to swim up the ascent line, clamber aboard the boat with their gear, then huddle in the wind while the rest of the team come out through the chamber, three at a time, up to the surface. Unless the sub crew is very experienced at all this, they may take a "depth excursion," towing the boat and its crew back under water. The motor for the boat is a special one, modified and prepared for immersion. Even so, salt water is hard on equipment and getting the engine started can be a challenge-or an impossibility.

Seatrooper Delivery Vehicle (SDV) - The SDV is equally challenging, although nobody makes it to the surface. But both the vehicle and the troopers have to be launched from the sub, and the SDV hangs on its tether for long minutes while the troopers get the pieces of the puzzle together. Two troopers crew the SDV while another four ride in back. All breathe air from open-circuit systems installed on the SDV. Nobody-not even the SDV pilot or navigator in the front-can see out. Navigation is entirely done with instruments, with inertial guidance technology indicating position; sonar and other sensors provide obstacle avoidance and beacons help the SDV and sub rendezvous. The masks worn on the SDV permit speech between troopers.

Fast Rope - Fast rope is the insertion method of choice from a transport, unless the transport can somehow land on the ground and let troopers jump out. Troopers can come in fully loaded, from 90 ft above the deck of a ship, a roof, a bunker, or oil platform. It takes only a few seconds to deposit a whole transport-load of seatroopers on top of a startled, confused enemy position. The procedure for fast-roping is as follows:

The rope is a heavy, 2in line rigged from the transport's hoist bracket. The trooper takes a good door position, reaches out, firmly grasps the rope with both hands (encased in heavy leather welder's gloves) and slides down. He or she essentially falls for about 60 ft, then applies braking pressure with their hands. The rope still needs to be still new and still rough for best braking-and one needs to have a powerful grip and excellent upper body strength.

Parachute/Paracapsule - Parachute jumps look interesting during demonstrations, but out in the cold and cruel world of real-life operations, jumps are a great way to get troopers killed. A modern-day philosophy coming from a trooper states: "Don't consider using it unless there really isn't any alternative-and then seriously question whether you should do the operation at all." While the canopies on the parachutes are reliable, they occasionally fail, sometimes dramatically. Parachute drops are the most riskiest military operations-not because the chutes fail, but because they deliver people and equipment in ways that are difficult to control.

Seatroopers can also be deployed along with their equipment and Waveskimmers from an orbiting Imperial vessel using twin-pod paracapsules. To leave the paracapsules once on the planet's surface, the troopers must cut their way out to get to their equipment, so they can ultimately complete their assigned mission.

Transport - Insertions by transport are just as dangerous as extraction by the same means. A transport will be escorted by an escort shuttle fitted with laser firing cannons so that the seatrooper team can disembark safely without conflict. Extracting by transport is accomplished in the same means, but more dangerous since the opposing force may catch a hint and try to shoot down the getaway vehicle the team will use. Another way of insertion by transport is by means of the transport hovering at least thirty feet above the water at thirty knots and by the trooper jumping in the drink, along with his team and the equipment needed for the job. This method of insertion is used upon inserting into a river or for areas where a paracapsule launch is not practical.

Rappelling - Although not as aggressive as fastroping, seatroopers will use rappelling as a means to get on the ground. This method is not used unless the landing zone is completely free of any hostiles on the ground.

SPIE (Special Purpose Insertion-Extraction) - When areas are too rugged or too dense to land a transport for extraction, the transport will hook a 70 foot long rope to the side of its door, the troopers below will attach themselves to the rope using snap links. Once all of the troopers are in place, the transport will gain altitude until all those below attached to the rope are at least 50 feet clear of the ground below. Then, the transport will fly to some clear area where it can land and have the troopers clamber aboard for the rest of the ride home.

While SPIE rigging and helicopter rides may look glamorous, the traditional method of extracting seatroopers is to have them stagger back aboard a boat, soaking wet, covered with mud, blood oozing here and there, overall them being exhausted to the core. Another alernate method for getting out of Dodge to climb back aboard the transport via the ladder dropped down. A long, hard climb when all of your gear is soaking and you've absorbed a bullet or some shrapnel-but it beats the alternative.

Conclusion

Though Seatroopers like to remain within one day's hump from the water, they will train to move great distances in any environment, complete their mission and get out undetected. The bad guys may never know the Team was there(unless of course they leave a twenty-foot crater where there was once a weapons cache). Such is the nature of Naval Special Warfare!