I used this article as the basis for one of my own USMC campaigns set on Aurore,
back when it first was published in Challenge magazine. My thanks to Clare for
granting permission for me to host it on my web site. - Kevin Clark - Aug. 20th, 1998.
I used this article as the basis for one of my own USMC campaigns set on Aurore,
back when it first was published in Challenge magazine. My thanks to Clare for
granting permission for me to host it on my web site. - Kevin Clark - Aug. 20th, 1998.
HTML entry/layout/editing by Kevin Clark
( kevinc AT cnetech DOT com )
Please report errors to me.
http://www.geocities.com/pentapod2300/mag/loa.htm
Disclaimer required by Far Future Enterprises: This item is not authorized or endorsed by Far Future Enterprises ( FFE) and is used without permission. The item is for personal use only. Any use of FFE's copyrighted material or trademarks in this file should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, this item cannot be republished or distributed without the consent of the author ( Clare W. Hess).
This article gives referees some background information concerning the marine presence on the colony world of Aurore ( Eta Bootis IIc) during the Kafer conflict. With this information, along with GDW's Aurore Sourcebook, referees should be able to run adventures involving the American Marines. The information provided is based on a current date of February 2303. However, it should be accurate from the time period between November 2302 and about May 2303. Beyond that time, circumstances in the French Arm may change. Further material covering the American Marines may be found in GDW's Mission Arcturus and 3W's Operation Overlord, as well as in Challenge 39. Also, be sure to look for a marine combat mission in Challenge in the near future. This adventure takes place on Aurore and is based out of Marine Outpost Foxtrot, which is described later in this article.
Throughout 2301 and 2302, the Kafer War continued to burn throughout the French colonial arm. With the Kafer War typing up vast amounts of French, German and Ukrainian ground forces, additional aid had to be brought in. Among those drawn into the conflict were the American Marines. While best known for their use aboard warships of several nations, the marines have begun planetary deployment in several spots along the French Arm to assist the existing battle-weary forces.
On Aurore, the American Marine presence began in November of 2302 with the arrival of advance elements of the 6th Marine Brigade. Local construction firms were recruited to begin construction of Marine Base Alpha on the outskirts of Tanstaafl. Marine engineers were immediately landed to begin the construction of four additional small bases across the region stretching from Tanstaafl south to the sea. From north to south these small bases, referred to as outposts, were labeled Charlie, Delta, Echo and Foxtrot. The marine battalion was divided up into its three rifle companies and one weapons company, and assigned one company per base. Additional assets were split up between these bases.
Recently, local construction contractors were again being recruited -- this time to build Marine Air Station BBravo. This is scheduled to be completed by May of 2303 but is now partially operational. Elements of the 12th Air Transport Squadron ( CV-120 equipped), the main bodies of the 29th Fighter Squadron ( AV-90 equipped), and the 7th Air Transport Squadron ( UX-10 equipped) are based here at this time. Also in progress is the expansion of Outpost Charlie to make room from a battalion-sized unit to set up operations. This project, being undertaken by marine corps engineers, has made it difficult for Delta Company to conduct normal operation, but the expansion is scheduled to last only until March 2303. When completed, the facility is expected to be termed Marine Base instead of Marine Outpost. The present plan is that 3rd Battalion, now deployed among the three outposts to the south, will be moved into Marine Base Charlie, while either 1st or 2nd battalion will be used to man the outposts. However, new brigade operation plans are now calling for the construction of three new outposts to be located further east. The idea will be to establish a strong foothold directly south of Mount Phaeton in hope of forcing the Kafer ground troops into the Auroran hot backs. Such a plan would call for a major brigade operation to take and maintain the foothold to the east.
Referee's Note: In addition to the arrival of the 6th Marine
Brigade, the Americans are also deploying the 8th Marine Brigade.
This unit is scheduled to arrive in force in May of 2303. The 8th
Marines are scheduled to be deployed north of the Novoa Kiev region to
assist the Ukrainian Army against the Kafer ground forces.
Marine Outpost Foxtrot is one of four outposts located along a line reaching south from Tanstaafl to the sea. Foxtrot is the southernmost of this line. Constructed by Marine Corps engineers, the base is nearly identical in layout to outposts Delta and Echo located farther to the north. The outpost currently serves as the home for C Company of the 3/6 Marine Battalion. Also stationed at the outpost is one air defense team and one mortar team assigned from D Company, one tank section from H Company, one AV-90 VTOL fighter team ( two fighters total) from the 29th Fighter Squadron, and two teams of utility X-wings ( four UX-10s) total from the 7th Air Transport Squadron.
The outpost itself is a circular area roughly 700 meters across and
ringed in a double row of concertina wire. Eight two-man observation
posts are located along the perimeter about 10 meters back from the wire.
Each of these is equipped with spotlights, binoculars, a phone, and a supply
of grenades and aerial flares. One M720 machinegun and a pair of
Javelin anti-vehicle missiles are usually kept at each post as well.
The central compound is a 330 meter diameter circle ringed by a three meter
high wall of packed dirt. The top of this wall is about three meters
wide and is solid enough to support the weight of a standard light vehicle.
Within the central compound are nine major facilities. These are laid out into a rough circle. Starting with the lower left-most facility and going clockwise are the troop barracks, landing pad one, fuel dump, landing pad two, ordnance storage, landing pad three, vehicle repair and maintenance facilities, landing pad four; and in the lower right- most location, medical, mess, and storage facilities. All buildings are of standard pre-fabricated type which were flown in by CV-120 Planet Lifter tilt-rotor cargo aircraft. Each building is self contained, utilizing roof-mounted solar collectors and large banks of batteries for providing electricity, and water tankage and waste water recycling equipment.
The troop barracks facility consists of three large pre-fab buildings and one small one. Each of the three large buildings is designed to house one full platoon of infantry in a large bay-style arrangement. Because of the additional air and armor assets attached to C Company, these facilities tend to be a bit crowded. At one end of the building are two large rooms with shower and latrine facilities. At the opposite end of the building is the main entrance, which can be equipped with an air lock, if necessary. The small building at the troop barracks facility serves as the company headquarters building. Here the company CO, XO, and first sergeant have their administrative offices. Also located here is a central communications facility and tactical operations center. A small storage room contains a large number of the more expensive and high-tech pieces of equipment, including a pair of inertial map displays, a pair of portacomps, a variety of communicators, plus extra rifles, pistols, two M720 machine guns, two M10 sniper rifles, and four extra Javelin missile launchers. Only a small amount of rifle ammunition is stored here. The rest is kept at the company ammunition dump.
The outpost's fuel dump consists of a pair of reinforced buildings mostly buried at the bottom of a four-meter deep, oval-shaped pit. These buildings, again pre-fab modules, house banks of fuel tanks which contain hydrogen fuel for use by all air and ground vehicles. An earthen ramp leads down between the two buildings, allowing the outpost's fueling vehicles to easily resupply.
The ammunition dump is the northern-most facility in the central compound. It consists of a single reinforced building located at the base of a four meter deep pit. The single building houses rows of bombs and missiles for use by the marine ground-attack fighters, along with boxes of rifle and machinegun ammunition, cases of grenades, and Javelin missiles, and a number of spare infantry weapons as well.
The maintenance and repair facility is made up of one large pre-fab building and two small ones. Of the two smaller buildings at the repair facility, one is used as a storehouse for spare parts and tools. The other is used as a repair shop and storage for spare parts for other non-vehicular equipment located at the outpost. Repair and maintenance handled here ranges from communications equipment to firearms, and from water recycling systems to solar energy collectors. The large building is a standard vehicle maintenance modules. It is only lightly equipped, as the marine rifle company does not directly possess many vehicles. The facility is equipped to handle most repairs of light vehicles and aircraft. However, armored vehicles are a bit of a problem, and only light repairs can be made on these. Moderate to major repairs require the vehicle to be pulled out via Planet Lifter or CIT ( combat interface transport) to better equipped facilities. The same is usually done whenever possible for major repairs on light vehicles and aircraft.
The final buildings at Foxtrot are the company medical and mess facilities. These consists of three pre-fab modules. The largest of these serves as the company mess hall. When meals are not being served, the building is an indoor recreation center for the troops. The facility consists of a large dining area with a fully equipped kitchen at one end. The two rooms are separated by a counter for chow-line-style service. However, most outposts are currently serving high-quality, pre-packaged, autovend-style meals. The second of the three buildings is a small pre-fab which is used as a medical station. This consists of a large room containing four beds. In a smaller room in the back of the building are a pair of tables. Upon each sits a single, lightweight automed unit. Two additional automeds plus a quantity of medical supplies are kept in a storage room just off this treatment room.
The third and final building is a small pre-fab storage module which contains four storerooms situated two on each side of a central hallway. Two of these rooms contain standard autovend-style meals, as well as some fresh food supplies. The third room contains field supplies and equipment, including compact rations, ropes, flares, folding shovels, one-man shelters, extra backpacks, ponchos, inertial locators, maps, canteens, belts, spare helmets, inertial combat armor, and other items. The fourth room is used to store personal hygiene and other living supplies, as well as various types of cleaning equipment and supplies. Some non-prescription-type drugs are kept here also.
Outpost Operations: Besides the outpost's small repair and medical
staff, at least one platoon is kept here at all times. While this
platoon does not have to face the rigors of field duty, it provides general
manpower for the outpost. Under normal circumstances, half of the
perimeter observation posts are manned constantly. This ties up 10
marines at any one time. With a total of roughly 30 marines available
for duty, each must spend eight out of every 24 hours on guard duty.
This is usually handled in four hour shifts, with each person on guard
duty four out of every 12 hours. Along with guard duty, each person
generally spends about four hours on some other duty. These range
from supply-handling details to cleaning and maintenance details or training
sessions. Each person on garrison then has about 12 hours a day off-duty
time to use for sleep, meals, personal hygiene, personal equipment maintenance,
and general recreation time. Outpost duty assignments are usually
filled by fire teams, so all members of a fire team end up doing the same
type of work together and have their off-duty time together. Whenever
one person is put onto a special detail as a disciplinary action, that
person's fire team often suffers as well, as it ends up with one less person
to handle the work. This provides incentive for a person not to make
a mistake, as he not only has to pull more difficult duties but often has
to face the wrath of other team members.
Lt. Colonel Linda Dionne, Commander, 3rd Marine Battalion: Dionne is a short and stocky career marine officer, in charge of 3rd Battalion. She has been a good officer, but lately she has been showing signs of stress. An effort was made by an ASF physician to have her put on psychological profile due to a mental imbalance. However, Dionne managed to have the doctor's report discredited. Since then, she has continued to show certain eccentricities. The most obvious is her tendency to bicker about details, especially when it comes to money. Around others she tries to keep this under control -- not because she knows she has a problem, but because when she haggles over things, others around her start acting peculiar. In any case, if she thinks she's being taken, she'll get the culprit back one way or another by using her influence and power as a marine battalion commander. In at least one recent instance, the colonel has had two marine sergeants transferred into hotly contested combat areas when she suspected them of lying to her about a large supply requisition. Unable to prove her claims, she simply had the two re-assigned. Colonel Dionne is an Experienced marine ( space military.)
NPC Motivation Results: Major Joker: The colonel is quite insane, though she appears to be normal, if slightly eccentric, hard-charging officer. Diamond 5: Dionne's regard for money is the primary symptom of her insanity. It is always her first consideration, though she is good at keeping this to herself.
Captain Jack Fleischman: Captain Fleischman, commonly known to his subordinates as Captain Jack, is a local militia officer who has been working closely with the American Marines since their arrival on Aurore. While the militia captain generally trusts the Americans and is definitely comforted by their presence, he is somewhat concerned about their impact on the colony. Whenever trouble arises, he is likely to show up on the scene searching for the cause and attempting to right the situation. If necessary, he will knock around a few heads to do it, no matter who they may be attached to. Fleischman is a Veteran NPC in ground military.
NPC Motivation Results: Club 7: Fleischman is an aggressive man who accepts violence as a means to solving problems. Heart Ace: To this militia officer, justice is the greatest virtue. He hates liars, cheaters, and crooks and he will assist in any attempt to right an injustice.
Major Timothy Dunn, TFL: Dunn is an officer of the Tanstaafl Free Legion. He has been assigned to work as an advisor to the American 3rd Marine Battalion. He does his job fairly well, though he would prefer being in command of his own unit. He has a good rapport with his militia counterpart, Captain Fleischman, due to their similar jobs and apparent values. However, Dunn has a strong interest in money. It is a big weakness of his, and though he prefers not to admit it, he is a man who has his price. His conflicting values are a problem for him, and he has a difficult time dealing with this. His strong commitment to fairness is probably the result of a strong sense of guilt. Dunn is a good man at heart, and if confronted about his problem, he will confess to his weakness. Major Dunn is an Experienced NPC in ground military.
NPC Motivation Results: Heart 9: Dunn has a strong commitment
to fairness and reacts with anger to injustice and brutality. Diamond
5: He values money and can be bribed.
A group of marine characters can get involved in a lot of other things that make for good adventures. Think of this as "Tour of Duty: 2300". The Kafer War is the backdrop, and fighting Kafer troops is the players' job. The work is hard and dangerous, and it pays lousy. The adventures begin when other factors come into play.
Some questions that the PCs may answer in their adventures are: What happens if the PCs run across Colonel Dionne? The PCs may discover her mental instability, perhaps the hard way. Will they be able to do anything about it, or will she stop them before they stop her? What about the political motivations behind military missions? Is a TFL unit being endangered for the benefit of an American Marine unit or vice versa? What do the PCs do when civilians, possibly their friends, are caught in the middle of an action with the Kafers? What about enmity between the PCs and another unit ( perhaps French, TFL, or American)? How will that affect the PCs or other unit if one or the other needs assistance?
This is just a small sample of ideas that may involve the player characters
as American Marines on Aurore. As an alternative, the referee may
wish to run a game with the PCs as civilians, or as TFL or French troops.
In this case, the information provided in this article should suffice for
contact with the American Marines.
-Clare W. Hess
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