ComGuard

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The ComGuard, formerly referred to as the ComStar Guards and Militia, is the military arm of ComStar. Kept hidden by the supposedly politically neutral organization until after the Fourth Succession War, the Guards are a force on par with the militaries of the Successor States. Originally serving as garrison troops for ComStar's HPG compounds, they have shifted towards a role as defenders of the Inner Sphere, most famously their victory against the Clans in the Battle of Tukayyid.

Origins and History

The ComGuard were founded in the wake of the collapse of the Star League by Jerome Blake, who created them as a source of order for the Inner Sphere should the Successor States attempt to attack Terra or any HPG stations across the Sphere. The ComGuards were kept hidden by Blake and his successors far from the prying eyes of the Successor State militaries, and, due to this, escaped much of the technological downgrades that said militaries suffered over the course of four Succession Wars.

The presence of the ComGuards was revealed to the Inner Sphere during the Clan Invasion, when the then-Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht struck a deal with the Clans to fight his ComGuards on the planet of Tukayyid for control of the Inner Sphere. The ComGuards won, and bound the Clans to a 15-year truce. In the aftermath of the battle of Tukayyid, the ComGuards were deployed extensively throughout the remnants of the Free Rasalhague Republic as a safeguard should the Clans break their truce.

Under the leadership of Precentor Martial Victor Steiner-Davion, the ComGuards began to take a much more active role across the Inner Sphere. ComGuard units were deployed on trouble worlds and throughout the St. Ives Compact during the latter's war with the Capellan Confederation, alongside other Star League peacekeepers, including the Eridani Light Horse. At least one ComGuard unit served in Prince Victor's armies during the FedCom Civil War, while others fought against him.

Technology

The ComGuards have many vintage Star League-era 'Mechs not normally found in the armies of the Successor States, due to massive Terran stockpiles left behind by the Star League Defense Force. The ComGuards also were the only Inner Sphere entity to maintain a fleet of WarShips up until the recovery of the Helm Memory Core, as the respective Successor State navies had destroyed theirs in the Second Succession War.

Because the ComGuards use mainly Star League-era 'Mechs, they had access to much lostech that the rest of the Inner Sphere had forgotten. This served the Guards well during the Tukayyid battles, as their more advanced weapons proved to work better against the Clanners.

Rank

The ComGuards use a ranking system roughly similar to the civilian branch of ComStar, with Acolytes equivalent to enlisted ranks, Adepts equivalent to junior officers, Precentors and Demi-Precentors the senior officers, with the sole exception being the rank of Precentor Martial. Created by Primus Waterly with the reorganization and public unveiling of the ComGuards, the Precentor Martial is the overall commander of ComStar military forces.

Like the civilian ComStar, seniority is indicated by Roman numeral equal to one year at that rank, while the branch is designated by a Greek letter, the unique Com Guard/ROM designations are:

Greek Letter	Branch Designation
Epsilon	MechWarrior
Pi	Aerospace Pilot
Iota	Infantry
Xi	DropShip Crew
Theta	JumpShip/WarShip Operations/Crew
Zeta	Military Technician
Mu	Intelligence Analysis
Rho	Intelligence Gathering
Lambda	Ground Armor Crew/Pilot

Decorations

Due to the hidden nature of the Guards for most of their existence and their peace-keeper role in public life, the Com Guards had little need for awards to commemorate battles. This has changed since the Battle of Tukayyid, with an increasing number of decorations and medals coming into use.

Tukayyid Campaign Ribbon: Every member of the Com Guards who fought in the Battle of Tukayyid is entitled to wear a two-centimeter campaign ribbon indicating which Clan they faced. A number of divisions faced multiple Clans and thus a few warriors wear multiple ribbons. Those colors are:

• Smoke Jaguar: Gray
• Nova Cat: Midnight Blue
• Ghost Bear: Sky blue with white horizontal stripe
• Wolf: Scarlet
• Diamond Shark: White
• Jade Falcon: Green

A black star on the ribbon indicates the wearer defeated a Clan BattleMech or fighter, while a silver star shows that the wearer was injuried during the battle. Many veterans wear multiple stars.

Star League Awards: Awarded to Com Guard troops who have served as part of the modern SLDF, take the form of two centimeter silver Cameron Star hung from variously colored campaign ribbons. Like the Tukayyid Campaign Ribbons, each action has a unique color:

• Operation Bulldog: White, with silver bars baring the name of each planet fought on.
• Task Force Serpent: Blood Red, with silver bar listing the name of each battle fought.
• Great Refusal: Black bar added to either the Bulldog or Serpent ribbons.
• Chaos March/St. Ives Compact: Two-tone Green.

Precentor's Sword: Considered a medal of honor in the Com Guards, this dagger shaped pin is personally awarded by the Primus or Precentor Martial.

The Focht Star of Honor: A silver, twelve pointed star mounted on a red and white ribbon, the Star of Honor is awarded for acts of extreme valor. The award automatically grants the receiver a promotion to the next rank in ComStar, or five years seniority if the receiver is already a Precentor.

Sinclair Wings: An award specifically for AeroSpace pilots who have demonstrated bravery above and beyond the call of duty, the Sinclair Wings commemorates Adept Charles Sinclair valiant sacrifice in battle on Tukayyid.

Structure and Composition

Unlike Successor States' 4-unit and Clan 5-unit groupings, the ComGuards base their forces on multiples of six. The ComGuard's equivalent of a Lance or Star is a Level II, made up of six Level I units, and given the Guards use of combined arms tactics most frequently consists of mixed unit types. A Level III, made of up of six Level II units, is roughly parallel to the Regimental Combat Teams of the AFFC. ComGuards do not commonly use a formal organization above Level IV. Outside of such rare instances as the Battle of Tukayyid and Case White, Levels V and VI are purely administrative groupings.

Rank	Unit	Consists of
Acolyte	Level I	1 'Mech or armored vehicle or aerospace fighter, or single standard infantry unit.
Adept	Level II	Six Level I units, often referred to as Demi-company.
Adept/Demi-Precentor	Level III	Six Level II units, 36 elements, referred to as a Battalion.
Precentor	Level IV	Six Level III units, 216 elements, alternately referred to as a Division.
	Level V	Six Level IV units, between 846 1296 elements, alternately referred to as a Army.
Precentor Martial	Level VI	Six Level V units, administrative grouping by region.

Each ComGuard unit is a combine-arms force, with Greek Letters used to designate the composition of the unit, be it an Army, Division or Battalion. Letters higher in the greek alphabet indicate a ‘Mech heavy formation, while lower letters indicate vehicle and infantry heavy units. Save for those assigned directly are spacecraft escorts, Aerospace Fighters are distributed evenly. The list below specifically indicates the proportions at a Division level, giving a rough indication of the portions at Battalion and Army levels:

Greek Letter	BattleMech	Armor	Infantry	Aerospace
Alpha	164	4	9	39
Beta	158	4	9	39
Gamma	151	9	17	39
Delta	144	11	22	39
Epsilon	138	13	26	39
Zeta	132	15	30	39
Eta	125	17	35	39
Theta	119	19	35	39
Iota	112	22	43	39
Kappa	105	24	48	39
Lambda	99	26	52	39
Mu	93	28	56	39
Nu	87	30	60	39
Xi	80	32	65	39
Omicron	73	35	69	39
Pi	67	37	73	39
Rho	60	39	78	39
Sigma	54	41	82	39
Tau	48	43	86	39
Upsilon	41	45	91	39
Phi	34	48	95	39
Chi	28	50	99	39
Psi	21	52	104	39
Omega	15	54	108	39

Units of the ComGuard

The basic ComStar military unit is the Division or Level IV, roughly parallel to two SLDF-era regiments or a single Regimental Combat Team (RCT). Normally each Division is assigned to one of thirteen Armies, twelve assigned throughout the Successor States and with the thirteen serving as the Terran Defense Force. Prior to the ComStar Schism each Army was assigned an "hour" on the Inner Sphere Clock, but the ejection of ComStar from the Free Worlds League and Guards changed focus on the Clans led to larger volumes being assigned "north" of Terra. Upon the Guard's public unveiling each Army consisted of six Divisions, the heavy losses of Tukayyid and the Schism led to this number has been reduced to four.

While the Division is the most commonly encountered field unit, unlike a Successor State regiment due to the ComGuards role in defending the numerous ComStar HPG compounds throughout the Inner Sphere, they are commonly split into Level III, II, or I groups depending on the importance or level of risk attack of the worlds within their assigned Theater/"hour" on the Inner Sphere Clock.

1st Army – Level V-Kappa

Assigned the Dieron Theater, from 1 to 2 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 1st Army primarily faced Clan Ghost Bear on Tukayyid, adopting the name of The Bear Maulers.

2nd Army – Level V-Mu

Assigned to the Fomalhaut Theater, from 2 to 3 on the Inner Sphere Clock, elements of the 2nd Army faced all the Clans on Tukkayid save the Ghost Bears, adopting the name of The Iron Warriors.

3rd Army – Level V-Lambda

Assigned to the Caph Theater, from 3 to 4 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 3rd Army performance against Clan Jade Falcon on Tukkayid, only enchanced by its participation in Operations Bulldog and Serpent, led it to adopt the name The Emerald Falconeers.

4th Army – Level V-Iota

Assigned to the Bryant Theater, from 4 to 5 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 4th Army served as a reverse force on Tukkayid facing multiple Clans, and as the primary SLDF peacekeeping force in St. Ives Compact, being known as The Defenders of Honor.

5th Army – Level V-Omicron

Assigned to the New Home Theater, from 5 to 6 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 5th Army faced multiple Clans on Tukayyid and extensive action in the Chaos March, being known as The Mountaineers

6th Army – Level V-Kappa

Nominally assigned to the Procyon Theater, 6 to 7 on Inner Sphere Clock, after the collapse of the Sarna March the 6th Army were assigned to the Draconis Combine theaters, calling themselves Grim Defiance.

7th Army – Level V-Iota

Nominally assigned to the Talitha Theater, from 7 to 8 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 7th Army inflicted heavy losses against Clan Nova Cat on Tukayyid, being now known as The Dark Wave.

8th Army – Level V-Pi

Assigned to the Castor Theater, 7 to 8 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 8th Army is located border of Lyran and Marik space, making it a prime target for Blakist terrorist attacks, being known as Stern Defense.

9th Army – Level V-Lambda

Assigned to the New Earth Theater, from 9 to 10 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 9th Army faced multiple Clans on Tukayyid, adopting the name of The Rag Tags.

10th Army – Level V-Nu

Assigned to the Rigil Kentarus Theater, 10 to 11 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 10th Army took a battering against Clan Wolf on Tukayyid before serving along side Clan Wolf-in-Exile in the Arc-Royal Defense Cordon, calling themselves The Red Legion.

11th Army – Level V-Eta

Assigned to the Yorii Theater, from 11 to 12 on the Inner Sphere Clock, the 11th Army faced Clans Jade Falcon and Wolf on Tukayyid, fought against Clan Jade Falcon, adopting title of The Honorable.

12th Army – Level V-Beta

Assigned to Tukayyid Theater, the renamed pre-Clan Invasion Asta theater or 12 to 1 on the Inner Sphere Clock, after the Battle of Tukayyid, the elite 12th Army was stationed in the remains of the Free Reshgaule Republic, placing them in the direct path between a renewed Clan offensive.

Terran Defense Force – Level V-Beta

Assigned to the defense of Terra, the so-called Defenders of the Faithful were an uncommitted reserve force Clan Wolf on Tukayyid, before facing annihilation during Blakist’s capture of Terra.

ComStar WarShip Fleet

Due to their retention of Star League era technology and relative lack of military adventurism in the Succession Wars, prior to the Jihad ComStar boasted the largest active WarShip fleet in Inner Sphere. Consisting of a mixture of both SLDF ships left behind by the Exodus Fleet and limited construction of new designs during the ComGuard's foundation, these ships are primarily divided into the two fleets, the Com Guard 1st and 2nd Fleets are stationed in the uninhabited Luyten 68-28 and Ross 248 systems. The bulk of Comstar's WarShip fleet was destroyed during the disastrous Case White assault on Blakist Terra.

Military Academies

When Terra fell to ComStar, so did control of the SLDF's so-called "War Triad" of Sandhurst, the War Academy of Mars and the Military Academy of Aphros. All save the prestigious Sandhurst were mothballed, until the Word of Blake's capture of the Sol system, which also forced the Com Guards to expand their training grounds on Tukayyid to become the Focht War College.

Sandhurst Royal Military College

Located in Berkshire, England on Terra, Sandhurst is one of the longest continually active military academies in human history. After Michael Cameron graduated from the college, Sandhurst became to be considered the best and most prestigous military academy in the Terran Hegemony and later the Star League. After ComStar took control of Terra in 2788, the academy was converted to serve as a training facility for ROM, until the formation of the Com Guards which saw its revitalization and expansion back to a full military academy in 2933. Sandhurst served as the primary training facility and headquarters for ComStar's military forces, with the bulk of the both the secular Com Guard and Word of Blake Milita receiving their training here.

Focht War College

Even before the loss of Terra, the Com Guards long sought to expand and formalize the ad-hoc training fields on Tukayyid created after the climatic battle into a true military academy, but even being denied access to Terran facilities it took the new SLDF to co-finance the facility and the Eridani Light Horse's training personnel to make it a reality. Opened in October 3060, the first class graduating in 3062.

References

• 20 Year Update (1989)
• ComStar (1992)
• Field Manual: ComStar (1999)