NationStates Jolt Archive

It has been a long held belief with many tactics gurus that a small, very mobile, and highly trained unit of men capable of engaging and defeating a much larger unit is preferable to said much larger unit, even if the cost should be more per man. This doctirine has proven itself time and time again over the years, from the British troops of WWI, to the American soldiers involved in the Gulf War. However, the trend in nations of today's world to ignore this well-tested principle and go for overwhelming force in the eyes of an enemy as opposed to a better supplied and more easily managed force less in number is something that has disturbed generals throughout the Mutual Benefit Pact. When these aging men and women finally gained a loud enough voice on the ICRC Intervention Council a few years ago, they began to influence decisions, leading to much smaller scale involvement in conflicts such as the extraction of Camian soldiers by a small force of air mobile Industrialite troopers in the face of a massive Austian onslaught. Now, their largest push into the ICRC military structure yet will involve a complete reconstruction of the way the military is organized and also the designing and deployment of a new type of foward firebase.

This reorganization will introduce into the military a blending of the power represented by the ICRC airforce and the force provided by the ICRC army. This blend will be the invention of small, yet highly mobile, units of infantry with a specifically assigned transport craft and several escort fighter craft. Not only will this allow for a familiarity between the two branches, we also hope that it will cull a comraderie between the entire unit, so that they may work together all the more better. This more personal level of involvement between each soldier and pilot will, if the past may be used as a precedent, create a greater caring, understanding, and efficiency amongst military personnel throughout the MBP and ICRC held territory.

Also, to promote mobility, several of these units will be gathered into small firebases, known as FARFABs (Fast Attack and Response Foward Assault Base), which will be easily constructable and small so that they may proliferate with ease. With ICRC member nations all having quite mountainous terrian, these FARFABs will be quite conducive to construction in the mountains.

Without further ado, the details.



As you all know, we are here to discuss the newest revision to the ICRC's military forces. Currently, we are working with the proposal that each army unit be broken down into Infantry Squads, which will be placed as part of a Fast Attack and Response, or FAR, Unit. In turn, this FAR Units will be grouped together into companies, with 3 FAR units in a company. Each company will be assigned a Foward Assault Base, or FARFAB, which will have a minimal garrison to defend themselves in the event of attack while the FAR company is away on duty.

Here are the details:

Infantry Squad:

1 Commanding Officer (SAW Equipped)
1 Strategy and Tactics Officer (SAW Equipped)
6 M-16 Equipped Riflemen
1 Demolitions Man (M-4 Equipped with M203 Grenade Launcher)
1 Communications Man (M-16 Equipped)
2 Electronic Warfare Personnel (M-16 Equipped)
1 Medical Officer (M-4 Equipped)
1 'Specialist' Personnel (Equipment and Capabilities Classified)

All personnel are trained in basic combat techniques, medical techniques, demolitions techniques, and EW techniques in the event that any one of the men specializing in these fields is killed.

Fast Attack or Response Unit (FAR Unit)

1 Infantry Squad
1 V-25 Osprey-II VTO/L Dual-Rotor Transport
6 Pilots (1 Per Phoenix-N, 2 for the V-25's, and 2 back-up pilots)
2 F-35 JSF Phoenix-N Variant
15 Technician and Mechanic Crew

FAR Company (One FAR Company per foward assault base) = 3 FAR Units

Each FAR Foward Assault Base, or FARFAB, is staffed by a small contingent of five commanding officers, twenty base personnel, and a garrison force of fifty army guardsmen, nicely supplemented by a small squad of six Special Forces men from either Pride or Military Experiment. Also, there are 12 F-35 JSF Phoenix-N Variant VTO/L Jet Fighters along with 2 AH-64 Apache Attack Helicoptors. There are twenty pilots for the F-35PN's, and 6 pilots and 6 gunners for the Apaches.

The guardsmen, pilots, infantry units, and SF men are all stationed in the main barracks building along the east side of the base. The administrative staff and base personnel are stationed in the administrative building. There are five different hanger units in the base, three of which house all the F-35PN's, one of which houses the three V-25's, and one of which houses the AH-64's. The armory, food stuff storage, and equipment storage rooms are all located in the administrative building. Also, the main communications and radar arrays are on the top of the administrative building.

There are six guard towers, one at each corner and two on either side of the main gate. Also, the base has five Patriot SAM Missile cells, one on the administrative building, two on the barracks building, and two on two different hanger units. Fuel for the aircraft is kept in each individual hanger unit.

A FARFAB can be built by a trained crew in the space of a week, and will be fully combat capable within two. They take up very little space in relation to other military bases of the same basic classification and are ideal for mountain warfare or establishing foward bases within newly occupied territory. They are well-equipped for projecting a maximum of force throughout a certain radius with a minimum of cost and effort.

http://a.1asphost.com/Plushie/FARFAB.JPG


Exact specifications to the base and its personnel are classified and are not for sale now. However, in the future, said plans may be available for those that prove themselves friendly to the ICRC.

Questions? Comments? Criticism? Flames?

We welcome the change from traditional tactical thinking, and we shall watch the progress of this new military grouping closely, with the intent to analyse its efficiency and effectiveness for our own use.

Ministry of Defence Spokesmen,
The HEWC

Very cool, good approach to sensibly conducting war. We use a similar system of deployment(dropships are big workhorses in our forces) and find it to be much smarter than the usual ideas seen on NS.

The only problem I can see is the guerilla tactics issues you'll be facing with your bases.

In our doctrine, we base outside enemy range, especially with valuable equipment like planes. Because we have dropships of great efficiency and escort planes to match, we conduct everything from naval sources or bases in nearby friendly countries.

What may end up happening with your FARFABs is after you've had them set up for a month, some guerilla forces will lug mortars out of their basements and do a hit and fade. There is a great amount of difficulty involved with responding to such attacks, because not only are your planes grounded during the barrage(because one $20 mortar shell will get rid of $40 million in plane, which is bad), but your ground forces will be left with only land vehicles to attack the enemy. In mountainous terrain especially, ground vehicles are severely limited in mobility making the chase even harder.

It is still a great deal better than conventional tactics, but it may almost become more expensive should ongoing guerilla warfare be conducted. In a conventional doctrine, soldiers are based with their tanks and basic jeep type vehicles inside enemy territory, and their air support comes from either far away sources, or from small helipads. In your tactic you increase the size and cost of the air function, and also put it at the same risk as the ground forces.

Essentially, you may be putting too many eggs in one basket.

While we understand your concerns, Sileetris, we would like to point out the reason for these bases. The bases themselves are mean to be cheap and very mobile. We of the ICRC do not believe in being stuck to one place. While the FARFAB's in the mountains of our own countries will be more permanent, the FARFAB's in enemy territory will not be in use for long, certainly not the month or two required to set up a guerilla campaign. Should we require a base to be built for such long periods of time, we would follow traditional military thinking, with ground forces being posted in base and air strikes being launched from carriers and FARFAB's in friendly territory.