Emblem of the 94th Long range guerrilla Squadron Group.
The 94th Long range guerrilla Squadron Group is a special operations forces regiment (although its nomen is that of a Cavalry battalion) of the Jinavian Army. It is nicknamed "The Bushcrafters" after their warfare specialization, and their motto is "Carpe Diem". The charter of the unit directs it to "the clandestine elimination of terrorists/terrorism both within and without the country."
Selection and training[]
The Squadron Group acts as a combat reconnaissance force, with the mission of infiltrating rebels' tribal population and guerrilla networks, pinpointing rebel groups and relaying vital information back to the conventional forces earmarked to carry out the actual attacks. Members of the Squadron Group are trained to operate in small under-cover, clandestine teams capable of working independently in the bush for periods of weeks or even months, and of passing themselves off as rebels. The Squadron Group are an entirely volunteer force. The person that the Suqadron needs of is a mix between the soldier who can work in a unit and a loner who can think and act on his own.
Selection is rigorous, and even tougher than the other Special Operation Forces. When volunteers arrived at Camp Osprey, the Squadron Group's training camp, they are given a taste of the hardships they would have to endure. On reaching the base (25-kilometres run away from the drop-off point) they see only a few straw huts and the blackened embers of a dying fire. There is no food issued. The objective of the training at this point is to narrow the list of potential recruits by starving, exhausting and antagonizing them. This is successful, with about 60% of volunteers usually dropping out within the first two days of training.
The selection course has a total duration of 20 days. From dawn to 7 am recruits are put through a strength-sapping fitness programme. After they have completed this, they train in basic combat skills. They are also required to traverse a particularly nasty assault course several times in the course of the training program. The course is designed to overcome their fear of heights. When darkness falls, they begin night training. In the first five days of the course, no food is issued, while for the rest of the period only rotten animals are allowed. At the end of training, they have to carry out an endurance march of 100 kilometres. Each volunteer is laden with 30 kilograms of rocks in his packs. These rocks are painted red, to ensure that they cannot not be discharged and replaced at the end. The final stage of this march is a speed march, and has to be completed in two-and-a-half hours. For those who survive these days there is a week of leave; they are then taken to a special camp for the dark phase of their training. At this camp, they learn to act and talk like the enemy. The base is built and set out as a genuine rebel camp, and the instructors are on hand to turn the recruits into fully-fledged members of the enemy groups. In this phase recruits are taught to break with habits such as shaving, rising at regular times, smoking and drinking and to adopt a guerrilla lifestyle. The recruits are in the field on patrol with the Squadron Group actual members only a week after the completion of their training.
Composition[]
The Squadron Group differs from 26th Parachutist Reconnaisance Regiment "Bayonet", in that it is formed specifically to take part in tracking and infiltration operations, where soldiers would pretend to be guerrillas — or pseudo-operators. In addition, the regiment also recruits from enemy forces; captured guerrillas are offered a choice between imprisonment, trial and possibly execution or the ability to join the Squadron Group.
In order to keep knowledge of their existence as restricted as possible, "turned" guerrillas are paid from Special Branch funds which are not accountable to government auditors, and volunteers for the unit are not told of its actual function until they actually joined it. In order to prevent the regular army or police from firing at the regiment while it was operating, authorities would declare "frozen areas", where all Army and Gendarmerie units are ordered to temporarily cease all operations in, and withdraw from, without being told the actual rationale.
Organization[]
The Squadron Group (equal in size to a Regiment) consists in turn of three Squadron Groups, equal to Battalions:
Command Squadron Group
1st Command and Logistical Support Squadron
1st Long Range Operations Squadron Group (LROSG-A), which is further divided into:
- 1st Command Squadron
- Three Long Range Operations Squadrons (LROS), named respectively: "Buzzard" (arctic and alpine environment), "Eagle" (desert environment) and "Hawk" (mainland environment). Each Squadron consists of four specialized platoons, although all members have far more than basic skills in each specialization.
- 2nd Long Range Squadron Group, which is divided into:
- 2nd Command Squadron
- Three Sapper Squadrons ( "1st", "2nd" and "3rd")
- Mounted Infantry Squadron
Mounted Infantry Squadron[]
The unit consists of around 400 men. It conscripts soldiers from other infantry regiments of the Jinavian Army, who are then instructed in equestrianism. Craftsmen such as farriers, horsebreeders, smithers and manufacturers are employed internally. MIS soldiers are trained as mounted infantry rather than cavalry, and are prepared for engagements on foot rather than on horseback, although they are fully capable to engage fights on horseback, and they were noted for their skill in launching shock attacks.
Structure of Long Range Operations Squadrons[]
The Long Range Operations Squadrons consists of four Operating Platoons, an additional special applications Support Platoon (covering the technical aspects of intelligence gathering as well as analysis of gathered data), a special applications maintenance group, a special applications support group, two specialized medical squads and a specialized military intelligence platoon. The overall-strength amounts to more than 220 troops.
- Long Range Operations Squadron
- Squadron Headquarters
- 1st platoon ("Buzzard": climbers platoon)
- 2nd platoon ("Buzzard": alpine paratroops platoon)
- 3rd platoon ("Buzzard": alpine skiers platoon)
- 4th platoon
- 1 Military intelligence platoon
- 1 Special applications support group
- 1 Special applications maintenance group
- 2 Specialized medical squads
Operating methods[]
In addition to the obvious tactic of luring "fellow" guerrillas into ambushes, the pseudo-operators also take measures to weaken popular support for the guerrillas. The Squadron Group uses covert forms of chemical warfare. Clothing is impregnated with parathion and left for enemy guerrillas to find. Cigarettes and canned food are used in a similar fashion after being contaminated with thallium.
Intelligence and tradecraft[]
Sometimes, due to their intelligence collecting, the HUMINT side of the Squadron Group is more up to date than the guerillas. The job of intelligence is to find out the identity of the insurgents, their plans, their training locations, the parties involved in training them, the source and location of their supply routes, their sympathizers, and any other relevant information. The pseudo-operators gain entrance into the areas controlled by rebels through memorization of dead drops, presenting the appropriate letter at the necessary time, and by use of the information given by their intelligence. Compartmentalization and the need-to-know basis is strictly enforced.