Group W

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History

The unit was formed 3030 and worked mainly for the FedCom. They signed a contract with the St. Ives military and were faced with a civil war in 3064. The command fought first on Tantara and later on Warlock with great success but this doesn't changed the outcome. The new employees, the LAAF send them as peacekeepers to the Lyons Thumb and later to Galatea were they established the law again. This series of actions cost the unit dearly.

Formed in the year 3030, Group W began as a single battalion of BattleMechs— mostly older family machines that MechWarriors brought with them, a pair of DropShips, and complete tech support for the new unit. Additionally, the unit had a strong financial base from the begining that enabled them to be selective in choosing their first jobs and the Group flourished as few mercenary commands could in the years after the Fourth Succession War. By 3050, the mercenaries had grown to a regimential size, supported by a battalion of Techs with auxiliary troops and a full wing of ASF.

Much of its early years were on the Lyran Periphery, Group W earned a reputation as an effective pirate hunting force. After eradicating a pirate enclave in the Son Hoa system, StarCorps Industries offered the Group a long-term contract. For the next 20 years, the mercenaries would alternate between corporate contracts and Lyran service. It was during this period the Group grew and gained access to leading edge equipment as well as the technicians trained to keep the unit at one-hundred percent readiness at all times.

A contract to the Free Worlds League spared Group W destruction at the hands of the Clans when they showed up. While other Merc units were thrown—and broken—against the Clan juggernaut in the Tamar March, the Group could only watch as their adopted home was ravaged by Clan forces. As soon as the League contract expired in 3054, Group W secured a garrison assignment in the Lyran state at the Clan frontier for four years before being assigned to aid the St. Ives Compact in 3061.

It was in service against the Capellans that Group W's reputation grew. Though the Compact was doomed, the Group’s unflinching valor in the face of superior forces earned them an elevation from "Veteran/Reliable" to "Elite/Fanatical" classification. With no time to rebuild or recoup after the St. Ives armistice, Group W was reassigned to Lyons as peacekeepers/riot duty, quelling the social unrest caused by Kurita’s annexation of the Lyons Thumb. The Group carried out this difficult mission without being perceived by the citizenry as an occupying force—with the same professionalism they had shown on the battlefields of Nashuar, Tantara, and Warlock.

It was no surprise when Group W was hired to put down the ’Mech gangs on Galatea during the FedCom Civil War. The Group carried out this mission with thoroughness and enthusiasm that bordered on brutality. The Group was able to acquire new technology from salvage and the local black market. But after a decade of combat far from sponsors who always sold to them at a high discount, the Group was at its lowest level in terms of tech and battle readiness while at the peak of their reputation. Group W was restored to almost full strength — albeit with a huge mismatch of salvage materiel and advanced technologies — when their Galatean contract ended in early 3068. The planetary government’s offer was outbid by Duke Kelswa-Steiner of Skye.

The Duke wanted the best mercenary commands available—regardless of cost—to supplement his forces in response to Free Worlds League raids. Skye and Bolan forces were also mounting an offensive all along his border. The unit was partnered with Kirkpatrick’s Invaders to form a planetary invasion force that captured Togwotee in March of 3068 with almost no casualties. Crushing the planetary militia in days, the paired mercenary forces maintained their advance and took Ideyld in June of that same year. In July of 3068, after the Invaders were pulled back to Arcadia, the Group began to earn their pay when both the Fourth Regulan Hussars and Fifth Free Worlds Guards landed in force on Ideyld Outnumbered and outgunned, Group W held the planet for nearly a month, stalling a major thrust of the Free Worlds League’s counteroffensive, before finally withdrawing in good order.

Officer

Colonel Andrew Bethke was a solid leader of Group W and was known for his tactical skills.

In 3145 the commanding officer was Colonel Mike Bethke-Simons.

Tactic

They can react to any knowm tactics with ease.

Support

The unit has enough technicians for their support demands, and they possess sufficient transport assets.

Dragoon Ratings

3067

Dragoon Rating: A

3145

Rating: E

Composition History

3067

Group W(1 Regiment/Elite/Fanatical)

• CO: Colonel Andrew Bethke
• XO: Lieutenant Colonel George Relant

- Most of the 'Mechs are upgraded.

Lightning Strike(1 Wing/Veteran/Reliable)

• CO: Major Tera Strumm

-The unit contains ten conventional machines and the following aerospace fighters: 2 Stukas, 4 Eagles, 4 Corsairs and 2 Stingrays.

33rd Support Group(1 Battalion/Elite/Fanatical)

• CO: Major C.H. Wesley Hyde-Blum

- The battalion is compromised of a company with assault designs, vehicles for cavalry tasks and an artillery battery.

3145

Group W (1 Battalion/Regular/Questionable)

• CO: Colonel Mike Bethke-Simons

- As of 3145 Group W were under contract to the Federated Suns and were stationed in the Keytesville system, operating at eighty percent of full strength.

Rules

3072

• The special rules available to Group W in 3072 are unchanged from those available in 3067 with one exception: Group W may no longer use the Bank Initiative special ability.

Bibliography

• Field Manual: 3145
• Mercenaries Supplemental
• Mercenaries Supplemental Update