Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan

Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan
Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan logo
Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan logo
Academy Information
Location Bolan
Founding Year 3054
Course Information
Infantry 3054
Armor 3054
BattleMech 3067
Battle armor post 3067


Originally a Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces militia training facility on Bolan, the Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan was upgraded to a full academy in the Clan Invasion era. [1] [2]

History[edit]

Originally a militia training facility, the future MSMA's fortunes and prospects changed dramatically with the loss of the Tamar War College to Clan Wolf in 3051. With TWC contributing almost a quarter of the Lyran output of ground forces graduates, this was a major blow on-top of the heavy losses the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth suffered during the invasion. Realizing that merely accelerating the programs at other academies was not enough to overcome this short-fall, in 3053 Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion authorized the upgrade of the Bolan training facility to full academy status. Completed in 3054, the then-named Bolan Martial Academy graduated its first class of line troops in mid-3055. As with many in the Federated Commonwealth, the academy staff was shocked by the assassination of the Archon they considered their patron later that year and as a result they petitioned the AFFC High Command to rename the facility in her honor, a move quickly agreed to by Archon-Prince Victor Steiner-Davion.[1] [2]

Leutnant-General Emile Carbone was the commander of MSMA from its formation until at least 3067. [1]

Though surviving the Word of Blake Jihad without significant damage, [3] the Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan suffered heavy damage during Clan Wolf's brief occupation of Bolan in the 3140s, the LCAF using the academy's facilities as an improvised fortress in an attempt to resist the Wolves efforts to hold the world. [4]

Training[edit]

For much of its existence, the Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan was primarily focused on "conventional" troops - infantry, armor - as well as technical support staff and specialists such as combat engineers and artillery. [1] [2] [5]

The MSMA was slated to train MechWarriors from its initial expansion to a full academy but experienced over a decade of constant delays thanks to financial short-falls, bureaucratic snafus and even political objections. This mountain of red tape was largely caused by the heads of other Lyran academies, jealous of their positions and wishing to slight the upstart MSMA. [1] It ultimately took the further loss of the Pandora College of Military Sciences during the Jade Falcon Incursion during the FedCom Civil War to finally break the bureaucratic bottleneck with MSMA's first MechWarrior class starting in 3067 and not expecting to graduate until 3069.[2] [5]

During the Word of Blake Jihad, MSMA additionally began training classes for battle armor.[5]

Atmosphere[edit]

Compared to the more storied Nagelring, the Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan does not place any restrictions on admissions and accepts all candidates put to by the Lyran Department of Military Education, facts which have largely cemented the view that MSMA is a "commoner" academy among the Social Generals of the nobility. Though MSMA's progenitor had a long history of graduating competent soldiers, the new academy's origin as a former boot camp led to LAAF units such as the Lyran and Donegal Guards dismissively regarding MSMA graduates as inferior when compared to those of more established facilities. For this reason MSMA graduates almost always enter service with the Lyran Regulars, though thanks to pressure from Leutnant-General Carbone a number see service with the LAAF's then-new Alliance Jaegers units. The MSMA's instructors and cadets worked hard to overcome the prejudice against them, but the resistance has worn done their resolve and a number of the older instructors have become infected with "why bother" malaise.[1] The loss of Pandora finally shattered this image, though Leutnant-General Carbone expressed his dismay that it took an educational crisis within the LAAF High Command to finally do it.[2]

Graduates wear a white silk sash.[1]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 38 "New Blood - Military Academies - The Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Handbook: House Steiner, pp. 108-109 "Major Training Centers - Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan"
  3. Field Manual: 3085, p. 97 "Lyran Commonwealth - State of Readiness - Martial Training Centers"
  4. Field Manual: 3145, p. 122 "Lyran Commonwealth - Lyran Commonwealth Military Academies"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Objectives: Lyran Alliance, p. 11 "Bolan Province - Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan"

Bibliography[edit]