Marine Expeditionary Units - Design Notes

The 478th Marine Division is the Imperial ground force component assigned to the 301st Fleet, deployed to Miazan Subsector. Four Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU) draw their component elements from the 478th Marine Division and are available for rapid deployment. 29th and 30th MEU are based at Celephais/Miazan, while 31st and 32nd MEU are based at Miazan/Miazan.

29th MEU:
1 battalion from 1203rd Marine Regiment
1 Coy from 556th Marine Tank Battalion
1 Coy from 223rd LAR Battalion
1 Coy from 1/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
Battery A 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
1 Coy from 1/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
9803 Squadron COACC Close Support
9791 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

30th MEU:
1 battalion from 1205th Marine Regiment
1 Coy from 556th Marine Tank Battalion
1 Coy from 223rd LAR Battalion
1 Coy from 1/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
Battery C 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
1 Coy from 1/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
9805 Squadron COACC Close Support
9793 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

31st MEU:
1 battalion from 1206th Marine Regiment
1 Coy from 556th Marine Tank Battalion
1 Coy from 295th LAR Battalion
1 Coy from 2/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
Battery B 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
1 Coy from 2/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
9802 Squadron COACC Close Support
9792 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

32nd MEU:
1 battalion from 1209th Marine Regiment
1 Coy from 556th Marine Tank Battalion
1 Coy from 295th LAR Battalion
1 Coy from 2/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
Battery D 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
1 Coy from 2/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
9806 Squadron COACC Close Support
9794 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

The ground-side deployment force of a Marine Expeditionary Unit consists of 1333 personnel, 11 Air/rafts, 18 Light Tanks, 18 Heavy Tanks, and 164 APCs. The Expeditionary Unit usually deploys aboard a Da’sanai Class Carrier, with an associated Imperial Navy Task Group of five to seven destoyers.

While the majority of the Expeditionary Unit are billeted aboard the Carrier during deployment, six platoons and their APCs, plus up to 24 tanks, are billeted aboard three dedicated Heavy Landers. These landers, (Jasaugee Class 1500 ton Landers) plus the 16 pinnaces (KA843 and KA844 type 50 ton pinnaces) and the 30 Heavy Fighters (15 Lorjander and 15 Fhrenrhis Class 50 ton Fighters) also deployed aboard the Carrier, are all crewed by Marine Crews and form the COACC squadrons assigned to the MEU. Between the landers and the pinnaces, a MEU can land to surface around two companies of infantry, two tank platoons, two Light Armour Reconnaissance platoons and a Meson battery per wave.

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Design Note:

I have increased the strength of the attached Marine Tank Battalion to four companies, as this made for an easier division of resources between the four MEUs in Miazan Subsector. The High Guard designs for the Landers, Pinnaces and Fighters have been completed. I am having a small issue with the new version of HGS which has held up completion of the MEU carrier. When computing the space required for the Battalion's vehicles, I discovered that both the APC and Grav tank I am using occupy a similar volume to an air/raft - 4dTons for an APC and 5dTons for a Grav Tank. I have doubled the volumes for all vehicles to provide sufficient space for them to be serviced during shipping, and to allow manoeuvre space for loading and offloading.

I wonder if the Player Characters were Involved?

"Tonight on Primeday News - the Travellers' Aide Society issues a Red Zone warning for Bromus/Miazan."

"Day Two of the treason trial of retired Colonel Orscan Geffajal. We cross to our reporter at the Miazan Ducal Court for the latest."

"The Miazan Stockmarket hits a six month high on the back of strong economic data."

"And in Sport, Eifah takes the Desert Hawks four points clear of the field in Round 17 of the Miazan Jumpball League."

"Good evening. This is Channel 27's Primeday News. I'm Hrui'i Oikhteaearl."

"And I'm Marla Drishnau."

"Leitha Hargan, spokesophont for the Miazan Subsector Chapter of the Travellers’ Aide Society, announced today that the Society was posting a temporary Red Zone travel advisory for the Bromus System.

"Ms. Hargan said that the Travellers’ Aide Society had received credible reports indicating that ground fighting had broken out on Bromus around 118-1109. While she refused to speculate as to who was fighting whom, she indicated that Bromus Downport had been damaged during the initial battle and that at least one off-world starship had been destroyed.

"A Scout Courier refuelling at Sertan VIII, the Bromus System gas giant, received a sparse, but updated, news feed from the Star Port Authority C Class facility on Bromus. The insystem SPA news feed announced that one ship, the 400-ton Fortune, Captain Laura MaiCarmel, with a Feor/Gamelea registry, had been badly damaged during heavy fighting within the Starport facility. Another starship, of unknown registry, has been destroyed – believed shot down by a ship, or ships, unknown. The Starport facility, itself, has been heavily damaged.

"At present, we are aware that the two Dragon Class System Defence Boats, owned by the Bromus planetary government, have withdrawn from outsystem patrols and are believed to have been engaged in combat operations in and around Low Orbit of Bromus. At this time, we are advising all Imperial citizens travelling through the Bromus System to avoid the main world for the time being, until further information is at hand."

“Inquiries for further information regarding the situation on Bromus were referred to the Imperial Navy Office of Public Relations. Late this afternoon, Baroness Elemyl Mahuran, wife of Duke Mah’radys IV of Miazan and aunt to Siridar-Count Sakkan III of Bromus, issued the following statement:"

"We have been advised as to the tragedy currently playing out upon our homeworld of Bromus. We are also advised that, while there has been some fighting in and around the capital city of Hasamton, there has been, to date, little loss of life and that Siridar-Count Sakkan, his family, and the loyal members of his government, are safe and well. While offworld meddling, from a neighbouring polity long known to be inimical to the good governance of the Imperium and its territories, is suspected, it is heartening to know that several captains of interstellar merchant ships have put their ships and crews at the service of our House and reinforced the good efforts of the Bromosian Government to restore peace and tranquillity to Bromus. Great Spirit save the Emperor!"

“To which we whole heartedly concur, ma’am.”

"And after the break, Day Two of retired Colonel Orscan Geffajal's treason trial. Stay with us."

Ghosts of Hefei Kickstarter - Final Days

It's the final four days of this Kickstarter, and they're just under $3k from the target goal. Joseph and the team have recently revised the order and availability of the figures they hope to release with this project, and have even opened up access to copies of The Department, the rules and scenarios that established the Fabricant setting, and to sets of the original The Department figures.

Check out all the details for the Ghosts of Hefei here.

Website Update #21

I seem to be running about half a month behind at present. Finally got my modeling blog updated for March - which was actually kinda fun revisiting finished projects.

So far this month, I have completed another seven mixed civilians and adventurers, as well as two grav tanks. More pictures to come.

Further on Marines

The 478th Imperial Marine Division – Miazan Subsector

The 478th Imperial Marine Division is deployed in Miazan Subsector. The Division’s elements are divided between the two Naval Bases in the Subsector; Miazan/Miazan and Celephais/Miazan.


The 478th Marine Division consists of:

• 1203rd Marine Regiment – 3 battalions, stationed at Miazan/Miazan
• 1205th Marine Regiment – 3 battalions, stationed at Miazan/Miazan
• 1206th Marine Regiment – 3 battalions, stationed at Celephais/Miazan
• 1209th Marine Regiment – 3 battalions, stationed at Celephais/Miazan
• 556th Marine Tank Battalion – 57 Grav tanks, stationed at Celephais/Miazan
• 223rd Light Armour Reconnaissance Battalion - 57 Light Grav tanks, stationed at Miazan/Miazan.
• 293rd Light Armour Reconnaissance Battalion – 57 Light Grav tanks, stationed at Celephais/Miazan
• 9094th Commando Battalion – stationed at Miazan/Miazan
• 1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment – 2 battalions, 1st battalion stationed at Miazan/Miazan, 2nd Battalion stationed at Celephais/Miazan.
• 97985th COACC Wing – 1st Group, battalion landing craft, 9791, 9793 and 9795 Squadrons stationed at Miazan/Miazan; 9792, 9794, and 9796 Squadrons stationed at Celepais/Miazan; 2nd Group, close support craft, 9802, 9806 and 9807 Squadrons stationed at Celephais/Miazan, 9803, 9805, and 9808 Squadrons stationed at Miazan/Miazan; 3rd Group, Lift Units, stationed at Miazan/Miazan.
• 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment – 4 batteries of four Meson grav sleds. Battery A and C stationed at Miazan/Miazan, Battery B and D stationed at Celephais/Miazan.
• 10221st Marine Logistics Regiment – 1st Battalion stationed at Miazan/Miazan and 2nd Battalion stationed at Celephais/Miazan.

Marine Expeditionary Units are mixed ground units usually formed around the core of a battalion combat team, and deployed as missions require. Marine Expeditionary Units are normally deployed from Battalion Landing Craft and Lift Units. Marine Expeditionary Units for the 478th Marine Division are as follows:

29th MEU:

• 1 battalion from 1203rd Marine Regiment
• 1 coy from 223rd LAR Battalion
• 1 coy from 1/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
• Battery A 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
• 1 coy from 1/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
• 9803 Squadron COACC Close Support
• 9791 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

30th MEU:

• 1 battalion from 1205th Marine Regiment
• 1 Coy from 223rd LAR Battalion
• 1 coy from 1/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
• Battery C 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
• 1 coy from 1/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
• 9805 Squadron COACC Close Support
• 9793 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

31st MEU:

• 1 battalion from 1206th Marine Regiment
• 1 Coy from 556th Marine Tank Battalion
• 1 Coy from 293rd LAR Battalion
• 1 coy from 2/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
• Battery B 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
• 1 coy from 2/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
• 9802 Squadron COACC Close Support
• 9792 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

32nd MEU:

• 1 battalion from 1209th Marine Regiment
• 1 Coy from 556th Marine Tank Battalion
• 1 Coy from 293rd LAR Battalion
• 1 coy from 2/1553rd Marine Engineer Regiment
• Battery D 895th Marine Meson Artillery Regiment
• 1 coy from 2/10221st Marine Logistics Regiment
• 9806 Squadron COACC Close Support
• 9794 Squadron COACC Battalion Landing Craft

Marine Platoon with Scout Section

Marine Expeditionary Units rotate their ready status between “Standby 1” Condition – all component elements are aboard transport ships and the transports are ready to Jump within the hour – and “Standby 24” Condition – all component elements are on base and can be aboard their transports and ready to Jump within 24 hours. “Standby 12” Condition is often observed during times of heightened political tension. Units currently not assigned to a MEU are usually involved in training, or the Infantry elements are assigned as Ships’ Troops or as security for bases or officials (“dry” targets or “wet” targets in Marine parlance).

For Jump capable transport, Marine Expeditionary Forces rely upon Imperial Navy transports, for moving ground units, and Light Carriers for moving COACC elements. The Marine Expeditionary Force is usually assigned a Sector Navy Task Force as an escort, or will be attached to a Sector Navy Fleet. All COACC vessels are crewed by Marine crews and fall under the command of the Force Commander, Marine Expeditionary Unit. The Lift Units of 3rd Group, 97985th COACC Wing are assigned to MEUs as and when they require heavy lift for armour deployment.

Iain Banks is officially Very Poorly

I have been a fan of Iain Banks' Culture novels for a long number of years. Banks is a Big Idea writer and the Culture seems to rate up there as a Type III Civilization on the Kardashev Scale.

From a Traveller point of view, the Culture inhabits that airy-fairy technology topography somewhere north of Tech Level 16+, but some of the concepts do help illustrate technology concepts and systems at more mundane levels. Banks is also great at creating and describing very alien aliens in a very believable fashion.

It was very disappointing to read, today, that Iain Banks is suffering from cancer. The official announcement is on his website and it would appear that the prognosis is not good.

It would be great if this announcement is just a late-posted April Fool's joke, but I suspect that it is not.

"I wish you all the best" - Marain characters by Daniel Solis

Ghosts of Hefei on Kickstarter

I saw this announced on Dropship Horizon the day before yesterday:

From the creative team that brought you The Department, and using the Goalsystem game engine underlying Blasters and Bulkheads, the Fabricant story continues as rival criminal gangs battle for supremacy on the mean streets of 2060's Hefei. Compatible with The Department, players can move between the worlds of Investigator and gangster, pitting their DFM Agents against criminal gangs, or battle it out for dominance amidst the decaying glory of a rotting city.

A figure range, projected to be in both 15mm and 28mm, and sculpted by PF - the famous French Maître du mastic, is planned for release with the rules.

I like both The Department and Blasters and Bulkheads, and I love PF's figures, so I'm really looking forward to this Kickstarter succeeding.

For more information on the game check out the Ghosts of Hefei website, while Kickstarter details can be found here.

Mercenary and Marines

Rereading the introduction to Book 4: Mercenary for the first time since the early 1980’s was a rather telling experience. Mercenary was the first Traveller rule book to suggest the likely shape of the future 3rd Imperium, and it was quite a different thing to what it later became. In fact, part of the passage is worth quoting as, on rereading it, I begin to remember what formed my ideas on Nobility within the Traveller setting, and where the general political shape of my RimWorlds campaign came from:

“Traveller assumes a remote centralized government (referred to in this volume as the Imperium), possessed of great industrial and technological might, but unable, due to the sheer distances and travel times involved, to exert total control at all levels everywhere within its star-spanning realm. On the frontiers, extensive home rule provisions allow planetary populations to chose their own forms of government, raise and maintain armed forces for local security, pass and enforce laws governing local conduct, and regulate (within limits) commerce. Defence of the frontier is mostly provided by local indigenous forces, stiffened by scattered Imperial Naval bases manned by small but extremely sophisticated forces.”

-Traveller Book 4: Mercenary 1978

I started thinking about the Imperial Marines again after a couple of my players rolled up Marine characters. How are Imperial Marines organised – beyond the company/regiment TO&E that appeared way back when in a (paper) copy of the Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society? How are they deployed, and what is their mission?

I recall reading somewhere - and I can’t remember where, though I think it was in connection with a discussion about the Fifth Frontier War boardgame on the Citizens of the Imperium discussion boards – an estimate that there is a regiment of Imperial Marines assigned to each Subsector. Looking at my population figures and likely budgets for the Imperial Navy, a regiment of Marines seems far too few to both serve as a ground force spearhead and to provide ships’ troops for the fleet. After doing a little research – reading up on the US Marines (basically a pocket army) and the Royal Marines (basically a short division within the British Armed Forces) - I began come up with ideas about how I wanted Imperial Marines to work in the RimWorlds.

The Imperial Marines are a pocket army. Serving primarily as Light Infantry (deploying on potentially hostile worlds, their support equipment is constrained by what can be landed from orbit in what could possibly be a “hot” landing zone), their primary roles are to spearhead planetary assaults and secure a perimeter for larger ground force commands to deploy; secure and protect Imperial property planetside, or within a system; and to protect Imperial Navy and Subsector Navy installations and starships. The Imperial Marines are a ready-reaction force intended for rapid deployment to stabilise situations of hostility, or to rapidly overwhelm hostile forces.

Marines have two initial career tracks – Marine Infantry and Support. All Marines, regardless of career track, are riflemen first. That is what they are trained as in Basic Training. The annals of Marine History include many famous actions where the cooks, drivers, storemen and datatechs dropped what they were doing, grabbed their FN187 Gauss Rifles, and manned the barricades alongside their more combat oriented brethren. Looking through the potential Skill List for Support track personal, we find the artillerymen and vehicle gunners, the drivers, the mechanics, and the Combat Engineers who support the Marine Infantry during planetside deployments. Marine Infantry are the teeth of the force. Trained to fight in hostile environments, and in space and aboard starships, as well as on conventional battlefields, Marine Infantry are combat specialists. A third career track, that of Marine Commando, is only open to the best of Marine Infantry and Marine Support. Marine Commandos are the eyes and ears of the Marine deployment force, reconnoitring and feeling out the enemy, and often operating deep behind enemy lines.

Fleet Marine Force Command RimWorlds Sector (FMFCRw) is based at Sector Fleet Command Headquarters, currently on Thiroor/Gazolan, and falls under Sector Fleet Command RimWorlds Sector. Fleet Marine Force Command consists of nine Imperial Marine Divisions, deployed in the nine Subsectors of the RimWorlds controlled by the Imperium. The deployments, from Coreward to Rimward, are as follows:

827th Marine Division, Kaorin Subsector
852nd Marine Division, Berimer’s Sceptre Subsector
853rd Marine Division, Daltharmai Subsector
900th Marine Division, Gazolan Subsector
902nd Marine Division, Thurgandarn Subsector
351st Marine Division, Gamelea Subsector
409th Marine Division, Nolgor Subsector
478th Marine Division, Miazan Subsector
496th Marine Division, Gazul Subsector

Each Marine Division consists of four Marine Infantry Regiments, an Armoured Battalion, two Light Armour Reconnaissance Battalions, a Commando Battalion, two Engineering Battalions, a COACC Wing, an Artillery Regiment, and a Logistics Regiment. From this formation are drawn the Ships’ Troops of all Imperial Navy and Subsector Navy ships within that subsector, all Navy Base and Starport Security details within that subsector, the Security details for many high ranking Imperial Officials within that subsector, as well as garrisons for important installations, troops deployed on Police Actions and Counter Insurgency Operations, and the Marine Expeditionary Units - Ready Reaction forces deployed aboard ship for months at a time, awaiting the order to Jump and deploy.