Pandora College of Military Sciences

Pandora College of Military Sciences
Pandora College of Military Sciences logo
Pandora College of Military Sciences logo
Academy Information
Location Pandora
Founding Year Star League era
Course Information
BattleMech ca. 3030s-3064[1]
Aerospace ca. 3028-3064[1]
Armor ca. 3030s-3064[1]
Battle armor 3054-3064[1]
Infantry 3045-3064[1]
Spacecraft Unknown-3061[1]


Initially a specialist military DropShip crew training facility, the expanded Pandora College of Military Sciences became a full-fledged military university serving the Lyran Commonwealth, Federated Commonwealth and Lyran Alliance prior to its loss to Clan Jade Falcon in September 3064.[1][2]

The school rag of the Pandora College of Military Sciences is red, frequently referred to as the "blood band".[1]

History[edit]

Long a smaller institute that focused exclusively on training DropShip pilots, at the end of the Third Succession War the Pandora College of Military Sciences' then ambitious academy commander Colonel Steven Merriam sought to expand the College to include courses in all military sciences.[3][1]

Despite the poor state of Pandora's economy, Merriam got his wish with the college offering aerospace and VTOL training courses just before the Fourth Succession War, followed by courses for MechWarriors and armor crews in 3030s. PCMS continued to expand during the era of the Federated Commonwealth, adding infantry, combat engineering and medical personnel courses in 3045. The rise in Pandora's fortunes would falter due to the Clan Invasion, with the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth and the Gray Death Legion narrowly repulsing a Clan Jade Falcon assault against the world in early 3052.[1] The Pandora College of Military Sciences would further expand its curriculum with the addition of a battle armor elective to its infantry course in 3054.

Despite PCMS's famed DropShip courses, the College was not selected as the site for a Lyran WarShip training course, as many other DropShip facilities across the Inner Sphere were. Citing the planet's proximity to the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, the newly formed Lyran Alliance Armed Forces chose to establish the dedicated Alarion Naval Academy deeper in the Lyran realm instead. Pandora College's last DropShip class graduated in 3061, after which the training equipment and most of the instructors were transferred to Alarion. A number of instructors, notably those who had married into local population, declined and transferred to the aerospace program rather than leave their new homeworld.[1]

By 3062 Leutnant-General Emma Bonsir was serving as the Kommandant, replacing Steven Merriam.[4]

After this institution was lost to the Jade Falcons, the Melissa Steiner Martial Academy of Bolan worked to provide a MechWarrior curriculum in its place.[5]

Atmosphere[edit]

In the wake of the Clan Invasion, the PCMS was very conscious of its role as a "front-line" academy, its cadets put through a very strenuous basic training program and practical rather than theoretical courses to ensure that even the newest recruits can take an active role in any defensive action, albeit as infantry. The college's emphasis on combat-ready cadets also means more rigorous physical education requirements than most academies, with prospective cadet having to pass a physical exam and fitness assessment to be accepted.[1]

With Pandora also serving as the military and intelligence command center for the region, PCMS cadets receive many opportunities to practice their skills in the real world, though such opportunities also result in heavy observation by the Lyran Intelligence Corps. In one area the College avoided heavy LIC surveillance, the pragmatic focus on Clan threat ensuring the PCMS remained effectively neutral during the FedCom Civil War prior to capture by the Falcons.[1]

Training[edit]

The large investment and expansion of the Pandora College of Military Sciences in the wake of the Third Succession War has ensured the school is on the cutting edge of military education, offering the latest equipment and educational techniques. During its expansion years, the PCMS installed the same Universal Terrain Generation System utilized by the Davion Boreal Reach arena on Solaris VII to simulate a wide-range of environments, ensuring Pandora's graduates had experience in fighting in almost any circumstance. Unlike many acadamies, the use of the UTGS also allows a full company of infantry to exercise alongside their armor and 'Mech colleagues.[1]

Quite aside from the simulators of the UTGS, all Pandora cadets spend at least one week each month on field exercises with the Pandora Training Battalion. Unlike other training units who are assigned to a tour lasting several months, the Pandora cadre was interwoven with the academy's standard class load of theoretical learning and simulator time as well.[1][6]

Another change in the wake of the Clan Invasion was PCMS' graduation exam. Known as Operation Hawk, the exam puts the cadets through a week-long simulation of the Jade Falcon assault against Pandora in 3052, their opponents an elite LAAF unit stationed on Pandora such as the Third Donegal Guards The tactics the Gray Death Legion used to ultimately halt the Falcon strike also became an extensive part of the college's strategy and tactics texts.[1][6]

Pandora College Training Battalion[edit]

See the Pandora College Training Battalion page for more detailed information.

As part of the amalgamation of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces into the combined AFFC, the overhaul of training procedures saw the Pandora College of Military Sciences encouraged to follow the Davion model and create its own training battalion to ensure more hands-on training for its cadets. Beginning operations in 3032, the Battalion first trained MechWarriors and armor crews, later expanding to include infantry and battle armor troops.[6]

References[edit]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, pp. 41–42: "New Blood - Military Academies - Pandora College of Military Sciences (PCMS)"
  2. Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, p. 135
  3. House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 126: "Military Forces - Major Military Academies - The Pandora College of Military Sciences"
  4. Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 41: "Pandora College of Military Sciences Profile"
  5. Handbook: House Steiner, p. 109
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 122: "LAAF Rosters - Training Units - Pandora College Training Battalion"

Bibliography[edit]