Albion Military Academy

Albion Military Academy
Albion Military Academy Logo
Albion Military Academy Logo
Academy Information
Location New Avalon[1]
Founding Year 2400s[2]
Course Information
BattleMech unknown-3079[1]
Aerospace unknown-3079[1]
Armor Unknown-3079[1]
Battle armor Unknown-3079[1]
Infantry Unknown-3079[1]
Spacecraft Unknown-3079[1]
Artillery Unknown-3079[1]
Technician Unknown-3079[1]
Specialist Unknown-3079[1]
N/A N/A


History[edit]

Foundation to Star League era[edit]

Founded during the 2400s,[2] the Albion Military Academy (AMA) has graduated many cadets who went on to become successful officers; an education at the Academy was commonly seen as a guarantee of a successful career in the future. Many Davionists were members of this proud institution and put their support behind it.[3] Already the oldest and most prestigious of the military academies in the Federated Suns by the founding of the Star League, the AMA's status rose even further when it was designated as an official Star League military academy in 2604.[2]

Over the course of the next century and a half some of the finest officers to serve in the Star League Defense Force would graduate from the AMA, including at least one Commanding General, Admiral David Peterson. All graduates of the academy were required to serve in the SLDF Regular Army for five years, but one of the legacies of the cooling in relations between the Star League and the Federated Suns after the War of Davion Succession began with the appointment of Richard Davion as First Prince. Richard exercised a loophole within the AMA charter that allowed a graduate to avoid the requirement to serve in the SLDF by "buying out" his or her training; this practice became increasingly common from the 2740s onwards, with the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns paying the bill so that it could enlist AMA graduates directly.[2]

Succession War era to FedCom Civil War[edit]

Returning to Davion control upon the collapse of the Star League, with the bulk of its instructors choosing to stay with the Academy rather than join Operation EXODUS the Albion Military Academy would quickly resume its position as the Federated Suns premier military academy. Almost completely overshadowing the New Avalon Military Academy, the AMA would train a number of key soldiers whose skills were ensure the AFFS would weather the ravages of the early Succession Wars.[4]

By the end of the Third Succession War however, Albion found its position reversed upon First Prince Hanse Davion's creation of the New Avalon Institute of Science and the transformation of the New Avalon Military Academy into the NAIS College of Military Science, only inflaming the rivalry between the academies. As of 3025 the Commanding Officer of the Albion Military Academy was Colonel Fethu Simons.[4] One of Colonel Simon's successors as Commanding Officer, Frederick Hastings, would go on to reach the rank of Field Marshal and was serving as commander of the Department of Military Education in 3067.[5]

The AMA training cadre was the second largest of any in the Federated Suns prior to the Jihad, and included two full regiments and support units, the largest formation after the NAIS cadres,[3] and notably more than the majority of other military academies and schools who rarely mustered more than a battalion in 3067. Both schools were also notable for receiving the best equipment available and for the high level of loyalty shown by their students.[6]

The Albion Military Academy was located in the Camelot region of New Avalon,[7] some thirty kilometers south of Avalon City itself, and the academy offered access to anything the cadets might need; despite the greater public attention lavished on the NAIS, the Albion Military Academy received almost as much funding and the greater attention paid to the NAIS was a cause for some resentment amongst Albion cadets.[3]

During the period of resistance against the rule of Katherine Steiner-Davion prior to the FedCom Civil War students from AMA and the NAIS found themselves receiving support from the students of the two major Schools within the Gogh-Bukowski University for possibly the first time; students within the University were notable for their liberal and antigovernment politics, attitudes that saw many of the students and the teaching staff being arrested for sedition prior to the Civil War, an act that ensured their opposition to Katherine and her supporters, although the activities of the university students were limited to organizing demonstrations and similar forms of civil disobedience.[8]

Dark Ages[edit]

Dark Age era logo

The oldest and one of the most respected academies of House Davion, the Albion Military Academy virtually ensured successful careers for its graduates until its greatest competitor, the NAIS College of Military Sciences, was founded. Cadets of the Academy are often hazed, but those that are graduated usually go on to become decorated officers.[9]

Atmosphere[edit]

Albion cadets faced an education that demanded far more than other institutions do from their cadets; because of this the number who dropped out each year was high, a by-product of both the exacting physical and academic standards but also the hazing that was commonplace within the Academy. Academy cadets would also frequently interact with - and compete with - students from the NAIS College of Military Science - and the culmination of this competition had been formalized into annual wargames for the title of "the Young Lions of New Avalon."[3] The difficult curriculum remained in place at least as late as the eve of the Jihad, with the school providing the most emotionally and physically challenging program of any academy in the Federated Suns. Even though the dropout rate remained the highest of any Federated Suns military academy, so many of the senior leaders within the AFFS were Albion graduates that the curriculum was sure to remain undiluted.[10]

Special Notes[edit]

The academy is so closely located to important facilities that every new student must pass heavy screening at the hands of agents from the DMI.[3]

MechWarrior graduates of Albion are known to take a 'Mech Charm, a piece of salvage taken from their very first 'Mech (especially one shot out from under them). Superstition holds that the charms can help protect loved ones from danger, and it is considered the greatest honor for a MechWarrior to give someone a charm.[11]

Training[edit]

At the height of the Star League in 2765 the AMA was one of just three SLDF comprehensive academies to be located outside the borders of the Terran Hegemony, a distinction it shared with the Nagelring and Sanglamore in the Lyran Commonwealth.[12][13] As a comprehensive academy the AMA offered training for all of the branches of service within the SLDF, rather than just infantry or armor.[13]

The military training programs offered by the Albion Military Academy by 3079 included: BattleMech, infantry, battle armor, armor, aerospace, DropShip, technician, and engineer.[7]

Training Cadres[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Objectives: Federated Suns, p. 18
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Field Report 2765: AFFS, p. 5: "Academies and Command Centers"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Field Manual: Federated Suns, p. 37: "Albion Military Academy Profile"
  4. 4.0 4.1 House Davion (The Federated Suns), pp. 153–154: "Military Forces - Military Education - Albion Military Academy, New Avalon"
  5. Handbook: House Davion, p. 123: "Department of Military Education"
  6. Handbook: House Davion, p. 127: "Military Academy Cadres"
  7. 7.0 7.1 Objectives: Federated Suns, p. 18, "Albion Military Academy"
  8. Handbook: House Davion, p. 141: "Gogh-Burkowski University of New Avalon"
  9. MechWarrior Dark Ages Uniques, p. 275: "Albion Military Academy"
  10. Handbook: House Davion, p. 128: "Albion Military Academy"
  11. Warrior: Riposte, ch. 36
  12. The Star League, p. 109: "Foreign Academies"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Field Manual: SLDF, p. 21: "Academies"

Bibliography[edit]