Q: What the heck is a Radio Battalion?
A: In the Marine Corps, a Radio Battalion performs many of the same duties that an Army Military
Intelligence (Combat Electronic Warfare & Intelligence) Battalion performs, namely radio & radar
intercept (a/k/a signal intelligence, or SIGINT), electronic countermeasures (also referred to
as ECM or "jamming") and other intelligence functions.
Q: So why'd you name your Ready Reserve unit for one?
A: I spent sixteen years in the Army, National Guard, and Army Reserve as an EW/SIGINT sergeant,
qualifying in Russian, German, English, and Spanish as well as getting the additional
K3 qualifier that indicates a jammer operator. It seemed a more natural thing to do than name
my unit for a fighter squadron or something like that, and it also allowed the 6th to stand out
from the crowd a little bit.
Q: Is there a Sixth Radio Battalion in the real Marine Corps?
A: Not at this time. The Sixth Marine Division was formed during the Second World War,
staffed mainly with draftees, and disbanded after the war following a short tour in China.
You can read a brief summary of its wartime history
here and the story of the Marines'
intervention in the later stages of the Chinese Civil War here.
Since tactical electronic warfare units are a recent innovation, I think it's safe to assume
that the real-life Sixth Marine Division never had a Radio Battalion.
Worth visiting is this site commemorating the
award of the Medal of Honor to General James Day, who won the Medal during the battle of Okinawa
but due to paperwork screwups didn't actually receive the award until January 1998, mere months
before his death in October 1998.
Q: So what's the story behind your notional Sixth Radio Battlaion?
A: In the "Space: Above and Beyond" timeline, I assume that the Sixth Marine Division would have
been reactivated as part of the massive mobilization taking place during the AI Wars. Following
the conclusion of that war, the Sixth would have become a unit of the Marine Corps Reserve and
as such been activated for the Chig War...along with its Radio Battalion.
Q: Why the name change?
A: Following the resignation of Kate Duncan as Commanding General of the Ready Reserve, Logistics
Officer Jennifer Ray followed her out of the organization. We needed somebody to open a new
mailbox for the SRR, and I volunteered.
