NationStates Jolt Archive

Camp Justine Marine Corps Base, Innovata

Major Wendy Harper stepped down from the Stallion general purpose vehicle with the initials "ARMC" stenciled along the doors as she overlooked her battalion in formation, standing at attention as ordered that morning. The battalion had been detached from its parent regiment and usual training schedule so that they would take part in a joint exercise with two other battalions, one from the Aequatian Army's 24th Infantry Regiment and another from the Imperial Cravanian Army's 18th Infantry Regiment. The other two battalions formed the rest of the "1st Special Purpose Training Group" in the formation as they awaited the arrival of the group's commanding officer. Harper took her place with her headquarters company as a column of Marine 7-ton transport trucks led by a single Stallion vehicle pulled up to the parade ground and came to a halt.

The soldiers and marines were all equipped for the relatively unseasonal cooler weather by wearing the heavy material battle dress uniforms and field jackets, the Army battalion in the Artemis (http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z317/Aequatio/Camouflage/TW-Scout.png) woodland pattern and the Marines in their Spider (http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z317/Aequatio/Camouflage/TW-Spider.png) woodland scheme. Armed with their standard weapons, they watched as the trucks came to a halt and the Marine base personnel started to unload aluminium containers off the cargo compartments while an officer, an Army colonel by the eagle emblem on his rifle green beret, approached the training group and stood there with his accompanying command sergeant-major at his side, "Good morning, soldiers and marines, and to our comrades from Cravan who spent a long flight to get here on such short notice, I am Colonel Derek Fuchs and I will be your commanding officer from this point on. As I know you are all wondering why you were taken from your normal assignments to form up into the first ess-pee-tee-gee today, I will explain it to you with the help of Sergeant-Major Adams here," The colonel finished as a pair of marines carried one of the containers over to the senior non-commissioned officer and opened it.

Adams removed his armoured vest and field jacket, stripping down to his bare utility battle dress as he started to don the uniform pieces from the container. The first piece was a heavy one-piece, shade 107 olive drab overgarment suit, not unlike the Air Force flight suits, complete with a new set of overboots, knee and elbow pads. The standard issue modular vest was replaced with a new model, complete with a backpack unit with an integrated self-contained breathing aparatus which was connected with conformal and protected hoses to the helmet mounting, which allowed for the protective helmet to be detached with ease when not required and replaced with a standard infantry helmet or other headgear. As he finished dressing in the suit and placed the protective helmet over his head, it snapped and locked in place as he took hold of the G133 ICWS (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13328590&postcount=261) from Colonel Fuchs and snapped the charging bolt back.

"As you can see, the sergeant-major is now prepared for action in any and all battlefields and is protected against all environmental and hostile agent dangers thanks to this suit," Fuchs started, "Driven with biomechanical augments in the legs and arms, the heavy suit moves as your own skin, but protects against all known chemical and biological agents by being a full self-contained environment. Lightweight synthetic fibre materials make up most of the armour protection in the body and limbs, protecting against all splinter and shrapnel damage and most small arms, while there is extensive use of ceramics in the torso and oxygen/nitrogen tanks.

The tanks themselves are connected to the protective helmet with conformal channels in the suit's armour instead of exposed hoses and allow for up to six hours of use with an additional two hour reserve. The helmet detaches and reattaches to the suit easily and allows for removal when there is no threat from environmental dangers such as chemical or biological agents. Within the helmet there is a heads-up display headset with microphone that is linked to the Joint Battle-management Network for complete integration of a unit's entire roster. Each suit is equipped with a commlink and allows for communication at all levels, from rifle section intercom to the company headquarters command link. The HUD is also connected to the "Selous" Advanced Weapon Sight which will be connected to your newly-issued G133 weapons and you will receive training on both the sight system and its use with the helmet's HUD."

The colonel finished his presentation as the suits were prepared for issue to the soldiers and marines of the training group. They would spend the first week of the exercise in familiarization with the suit and its systems, mainly in mobility and endurance tests so that the infantrymen would be best prepared to live in their suits when it came to the field training exercise at the end of the course.

Colonel Richard Henderson watched with delight from the side with his administrative staff who had accompanied the unit to Innovata as the Sergeant-Major donned the experimental gear which a joint team of scientists had spent week after week working on to perfect before testing. He smirked while his Aequatian counterpart illustrated the process as Sergeant-Major Adams applied each component of the combat suit to his person.

"I've been waiting to see this.", Henderson remarked. "When I was sent the memo last week about this project I knew it'd be a treat to watch."
"It's like something out of a science fiction flick.", one of his aides remarked while adjusting his field cap.
"Yeah. And it could very well guarantee our troops' survival in the field in the future."

Meanwhile, Private Alyssa Frempton carefully donned her new uniform, ensuring that while she did so she followed the procedure exactly as had been outlined during the preliminary demonstration.

"You know, you may have to take off your bra to fit in properly.", Private Lewis Caulfield remarked with a sly grin and a wink as he pulled the olive drab jumpsuit up around his waste.
"You know, I might have to take a chunk out of your head so it fits in the helmet.", Frempton came back sharply. "Don't fuck with me, Caulfield."
"God, what crawled in your snitch and died?"

Frempton remained silent, finally donning the helmet and snapping it into place, moving her neck around to ensure she had full freedom of movement in the suit.

"It's kinda nice, actually.", she remarked. "It's definitely nicer than normal combat gear."

Frempton moved to join her fireteam leader, a young sergeant awaiting the rest of his team. While the troops finished donning their new gear, Henderson moved to intercept Fuchs.

The Aequatian battalions worked themselves into their own suits as the senior sergeants and officers directed their soldiers and marines with the advice of the civilian contractors from both nations. The project had long been a sole Aequatian private venture through A.M.I. as a proof of concept system, when the first prototypes had been developed in secret, the project and prototypes were presented to the Cravanians who were more than enthusiastic to adopt the system and improved on the original design concept. Their engineers had improved on the design and ergonomics of the suits and systems and the joint project took off with funding provided by both governments.

Colonel Fuchs greeted Henderson with a curt salute as he approached, "Good morning, Richard, glad to have you and your soldiers aboard for this," Fuchs looked past his counterpart and motioned to the staff soldiers donning their own suits, "Exciting to see our baby come to fruition, isn't it?" He asked with a smile. Meanwhile, Major Harper and her battalion of marines were already getting acquainted with their suits and moving about their area on the parade ground as they waited for the rest of the battalions to be ready for the next set of orders.

"Indeed it is, Derek.", Henderson remarked. "When I received the letter last week I was overjoyed. So much progress has been made on this project since I saw the last prototype."

Henderson watched over the crowd of soldiers with a wide grin on his face.

"So I am to understand we're essentially testing the entire JALCS system here?", he asked Fuchs. "If so I hope the system can be in place soon. The faster we bring our forces into the future the better."

"Your people did so much with our original concept," Replied Fuchs, "I was surprised they had the first production models ready so fast for issuing on this scale," He said donning his own suit's overpants and boots.

"The level of standardization is uncanny," Said Sergeant-Major Adams through the helmet's external vocalizer, "The fact that we'll have a full three battalions ready for action after this exercise is a testament to the ease of integration with the system," He explained as Fuchs finished putting his suit on and held his helmet under his arms.

The Aequatian colonel nodded as he removed his service beret, "After we introduce version one of the joint battlefield-management network and integrate with it in the command training exercises, we'll be introducing the lightfighter vehicles for a fully mechanized field training exercise in the North Innovata Proving Grounds," Fuchs said with a smile before placing the helmet over his head and securing it in place. He activated the vocalizer, "If you'll return to your unit now, we can get underway with the acclimatization."

As Henderson returned to his unit and the last of the training group donned their suits, Fuchs and Adams initiated the acclimatization training with a prepared march from the parade ground to the marine base's training grounds two kilometres away. Prior to leaving the battalions would switch their pieces of kit from their old packs and webbing equipment to that on the suits and although they were not expected to use their weapons on the march, they were still issued with magazines in order to maintain a level of realism in their combat loads. The biggest difference that the soldiers and marine infantry would notice in the change would be the suit's internalized biomechanical augments in the legs and joints, making the nearly fifty kilogram packs feel half that weight.

The layered material of the environmental suits provided a great deal of protection against the elements and other dangers that were normal on any of the world's battlefields. The outer skin consisted of a flexible composite material formed with weaved carbon nanotubes while the middle layer was a series of lightweight; ballistic-resistant ceramic plates covering the most vital areas of the body; and the inner layer has a series of microprocessors that monitored the life signs of the infantryman and provide a power conduit for all of the necessary electronics systems. The prototype environmental suits used a rechargeable lithium-ion battery as its sole powerplant, which also increased the weight of the system since replacements had to be carried in the field. Liquid-hydrogen-fueled microturbines would supply a steady stream of two watts of electrical power, with surges up to twenty watts and use a replaceable, plug-in cartridge can provide the suit with enough power for up to a hundred and forty four hours of constant use in the field.

Within an hour of preparation, the group started their march towards the training grounds and any bugs or failures discovered in the system would be examined, troubleshooted and remedied by the civil contractors as they followed in the Joint Systems Combine vans in a column behind the battalions. Major Harper took the lead with her headquarters company as the the marine rifle battalion took the point position in the marching orders, her G109A1 battle rifle replaced with the more advanced G133 individual weapon, as were the rest of the battalions weapons, save for the support weapons such as the MG148 and MG260E1 machine guns and FGM-330A "Halberd" man-packed anti-tank missile launchers.

As the Aequatians gathered up their gear, so too did the Cravanians. A group of contractors from Sapinian Arms had accompanied the infantry unit to the exercise, and the Cravanian troops began to line up as ordered and trade in their CR20A2's. The contractors pulled out a few large crates marked with "FRAGILE" and "CONFIDENTIAL." They cracked open the first lid, and there sat the first production models of the CR20A3 Advanced Infantry Assault Weapon.

"This is the CR20A3.", one of the contractors announced as he lifted a rifle from the crate. "As you can see, it has a slightly different look to it, but in comparison to the A2's it's a completely different rifle. To start, it's a different caliber. The brass decided they don't like 6.5mm anymore, so they dropped it. Congrats, you're using 6.8x50mm now."

The contractor lifted a small canister from another crate, and slammed it into a slot on the underside of the buttstock.

"The rifle runs off of a long lasting rechargeable lithium ion battery, insulated from the elements with rubbers and composites to keep the insides from getting all muddy. As you can see, you've got a built-in flashlight in the foregrip underneath the barrel. However, you also have something else courtesy of Sevile OptiTech."

The contractor lifted a box from another crate, and cracked it open. Unraveling the packaging, he revealed a strange looking attachment with the proper provisions to attach to the rifle via standard rails. There was also a small latch which came off of the right side of the sight, hanging down off from some switches and buttons which sat on the right side of the scope.

"This is the XF670 Advanced Combat Sight. It will probably be one of your best friends in the field. Be careful with it, it is not cheap."

The contractor quickly attached the sight to the top rail, and plugged in the latch to a port on the right side of the rifle.

"The ACS directly siphons its power from the battery pack on the CR20A3. It has four modes, some of which can overlap. Firstly are red dot and zoom. The red dot sight does what any red dot sight does, it gives you a direct and unmagnified view of the target with a reticule overlayed. The zoom mode, on the other hand, switches lenses so you can view a target zoomed in up to six times with a normal crosshair. The crosshair glows blue in the dark, it's quite a pretty shade, too. These two switches underneath, the green and the orange, toggle night vision and infrared. Toggle them both for a combined view."

The contractor set the rifle down, and motioned to the Sergeant at Arms who promptly began handing out the weapons and necessary attachments to the troops, along with CR20A2 LMG rifles modified slightly to accept the 6.8mm round, a temporary solution until Sapinian Arms could release their next generation support weapon. As units were outfitted, they began the trek to the Marine base, joining with the Aequatians on the march.

The marching was no different than any other exercise that the soldiers or marines would have been used to in the past, but the new suits and the difference in weight limits meant that many of the infantry personnel, despite their level of physical strength and endurance, would find themselves succumbing to undue fatigue in their overcompensation of effort in moving the armoured suits. At one of the rest halts on the side of the paved roadway, Colonel Fuchs and his retinue of staff with Sergeant-Major Adams approached a mortar platoon being examined by the parent company's combat medics, "People, you need to remember that you have the augments built into these suits, don't strain yourselves trying to carry the extra weight of the suits," He said through the helmet's vocalizer.

"With all due respect, colonel," Said one of the soldiers with the tube of a 60mm M226A1 mortar sitting next to him, "The suits are so clumsy, even moreso than the old mark fours," He said, referring to the previous issue chemical protection suits.

Adams shrugged his shoulder into the assault sling on his G133 as he addressed the lance corporal, "The suits are clumsy if you don't learn to rely on the augments, they amplify your movements so they can move the heavier armour. Putting too much effort into your movements is going to force the augments to overcompensate and tire you out very quickly, just move as you normally would and let the suits feel like a pair of gloves."

The colonel and his staff continued on to one of the rifle companies as the medics prepared the mortar crews to start moving again in the marching orders. The battalions would continue to have troubles with the suits and their systems for the duration of the march, effectively "breaking in" the suits took several days of trials when done with the prototypes and things would be no different this time around for the soldiers and marines in the training group.