Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify, were the March Militias included in the totals of the BCTs you listed, or are they a separate organization? And if they are part of the list, where would they rank? For example, if the Ceti Hussars are at the end of the list at 140, and the Davion Guards are (presumably) at the top of the list, then where would the MMs fit in? They're old formations with roots long before the Star League was formed, but not front-line troops, so their position would be rather awkward. I doubt some newly formed front-line formation would appreciate being ranked below them just because of seniority issues.
Something to reference for future drafts would be the Cardwell Reforms in the British Army in the 1870's, and the succeeding Childers Reforms in 1881, if you're not familiar with them already.
Yes, the March Militias are included in the 140 (only planetary militias are excluded). I'm familiar with the Cardwell & Childers reforms, as well as similar efforts in other Commonwealth Countries, and they definitely inspired some of this. My sense is that in this AU, the AFFS High Command grew some balls, as it were, and rode rough-shod over the entrenched sense of entitlement that many units (especially 'Mech units) had developed (in the canon, the AFFS was pretty riddled with incompetence, complacency and nepotism in this timeframe). So if, say, the Islamabad CrMM's component units turn out to have a higher average seniority than a line BCT, it gets the higher number, and tough cookies to the line unit.
Actually, that may not matter so much to the line units, since Regimental seniority remains intact and separate from BCT seniority. In any case, as battalions move around the BCTs, eventually the BCT numbers will become a historical artefact more than anything else. At this point in the chronology, however, with the changes fairly recent, many of the BCTs still retain the "flavour" of their previous incarnations.
As a side note: the Davion Guards are at the top of the list, but by decree, rather than by averaging unit seniority. They occupy a special place in the AFFS, which is reinforced by their getting to transfer their RCT designations to the new BCTs, while everyone else has to make do with a number and (sometimes) a nickname.
Regards,
alkemita
