Grim Determination

History

In 3046 the 12th Atrean Dragoons raided Sarna, the base-world of Grim Determination. The mercenaries inflicted heavy losses on the Free Worlds League unit, destroying their conventional assets and a third of their 'Mechs in just three weeks.

Long employed by the Federated Commonwealth, Grim Determination was performing garrison duty on Sarna when Operation Guerrero was launched in 3057. The unit helped the Kaifeng SMM and the 1st Battalion of the Sarna Martial Academy Cadre to successfully repulse the Stapelton's Grenadiers and the Tooth of Ymir attack against Sarna itself, but when that world declared itself the independent Sarna Supremacy, Grim Determination was unsure how to react and refused to assist in liberating Kaifeng and Sakhalin. (Early reports from the Chaos March said that Grim Determination did in fact fight Kingston's Legionnaires on Sakhalin.)

Instead of the expected orders, the Federated Commonwealth broke its contract with the unit after recognizing the new Sarna government, the MRBC backing the FedCom assertion that Grim Determination had breached the terms of their contract by agreeing to defend Sarna "in the name of the Federated Commonwealth", no matter if it declared independence or not.

Unemployed, denied the balance of their old contract and still stuck on Sarna, the unit's prospects seemed dim until the Sarna Supremacy offered to pick up the their contract under the same terms. While the pay offered now no longer equaled the greatly increased threat the unit faced in the Chaos March, it kept the Grim Determination solvent and helped to erase the black mark against its Dragoon Rating, giving the unit hope for the future.

Unfortunately, Grim Determination's bad luck continued. An unknown force slaughtered one battalion during an assault. The heavy losses were a blow for the overall morale of the unit. The personnel shortage in the FedCom Civil War was aggravated further due to sustained losses in other engagements.

The Colonel signed critical short term contracts with high payments with the goal of a fast rebuild for the unit. The unit's experience in the Chaos March made them experts in anti-terrorist operations and riot control. The last contract of the unit was employment as a garrison force for Sheratan.

During the Jihad, the Word of Blake hired other mercenaries through middle-men (pretending to be from the Federated Suns) during November 3070 with explicit orders to destroy Grim Determination. Most of the unit was annihilated by their attackers; Many of the survivors from Grim Determination joined Cumberland's Missileers.

Officers

As of 3067 the unit was under the command of Colonel Oliver Haarhar, who had commanded the unit since the Clan Invasion. Haarhar served two terms in the AFFC, earning the Silver Sunburst in the War of 3039 before resigning to rejoin the unit, then under the command of his father. While the unit has the utmost respect for Haarhar, unlike many of his troops the Colonel feels Grim Determination failed the Federated Commonwealth on Sarna in 3057 rather than the reverse.

Tactics

Heavily relying on the expectation that a common regiment is three battalions, Grim Determination often holds back its fourth battalion as a reserve, committing them only after battle has been joined to unbalance their opposition and give them the advantage.

By the Jihad, the pilots in Grim Determination were experts in nighttime operations and bad vision conditions. Also they are drilled in counter-insurgency and scouting missions, however the loss of their Fourth Battalion hampered their efforts.

Support

The unit has surplus DropShips, and its technical staff can accommodate for all the demands of the unit. In hard times the DropShips were leased out to help pay the bills.

Dragoon Ratings

3059

Dragoon Rating: C

3067

Dragoon Rating: C

Composition

3025

Grim Determination (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

Contract: AFFS

• CO: Colonel Fiona Trent

3040

Grim Determination (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

Contract: AFFC

3054

Grim Determination (Regiment/Regular/Reliable)

Contract: AFFC

• CO: Colonel Hardy Haarhar

3059

Grim Determination(1 Regiment/Regular/Questionable)

• 1st Battalion: Colonel Oliver Haarhar
• 2nd Battalion: Major Johanas Creekton
• 3rd Battalion: Major Candace White-Simthson
• 4th Battalion: Major Jamison Bruke

Grim Determination Aerospace(Reinforced Wing/Regular/Questionable)

• CO: Wing Commander Kalvin Goulet

Grim Determination Armor(Battalion/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Armor Commander Elsa Woodens

3067

Grim Determination(1 Regiment/Regular/Questionable)

• 1st Battalion: Colonel Oliver Haarhar
• 2nd Battalion: Major Byron Smith
• 3rd Battalion: Major Anne Martinez

- Every battalion contains a separated scout lance. - The entire unit is fully upgraded (C3 and Active Probes are common)

Grim Determination Aerospace(2 Squadrons/Veteran/Questionable)

• CO: Captain Anne Dobbs

Grim Determination Armor(Battalion/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Major Elsa Burke

- The tank battalion is supported through a motorized infantry company with special skills.

Notes

• Grim Determination paints its 'Mechs and vehicles in camouflage suitable for the environment of its current deployment with no special parade scheme. The unit's insignia is a turtle carrying an SRM rack on its back, appearing on the left wing, left fender, or upper left leg of the unit's fighters, vehicles and 'Mechs. Since the disaster in 3057, a number of the unit's members have added a small rabbit being struck by SRM fire near it; the unit's officers were feigning ignorance that the explosion bore a startling resemblance to the sunburst part of the insignia of the Federated Commonwealth.

References

• Mercenaries Supplemental, p. 34 - "Unit Profile"
• Blake Ascending, p. 283
• Mercenaries Supplemental Update p.12

Bibliography

• Mercenaries Supplemental
• Blake Ascending
• Jihad Hot Spots: 3070
• Field Manual: Free Worlds League
• Field Manual: Mercenaries
• Total Chaos
• Chaos March (sourcebook)