OBT Forum

I'd agree to an extent maybe a force designed to counter the Periphery realms - the wildlings of BattleTech.  Instead of a Reunification War the founding of this - Frontier Rangers Armed Forces - that defend the SLDF from all foes.  Maybe crewed by people from lesser backgrounds and political refugees of the League.

They could even be folded into the SLDF during the SLDF during the Reunification - looked down on by the Royal forces because of their origins but in fact they are battle hardened and know the land and prove to be the best warriors of the entire conflict acting as pathfinders for SLDF forces and go between/peacekeepers that understand during the aftermath.

You could even have them leave with the SLDF during the Exodus maybe even becoming the ilKhan's bodyguard or such with the Clans - instead of the Ebony Guard one force maybe a Galaxy in Strength the Frontier Watch Galaxy which is the ilKhan's personal force - none of the Clans want because they are League but from the Periphery instead the ilKhan gets them and finds an elite galaxy.  Finally under the Clans they truly show how nasty they could be with the right equipment.

Might think about using them myself lol

I still like Knights of the Void and now that I have google to see if I stole that name from somewhere I read I think its my own.

The more I think about the idea, Id see them more as aerojocks and warships in a BT Universe. I don't think they would be ground troops.

Haha guess it was. Damn google and your not showing me that with just battletech as additional word.

Makes me think of my S.O.A.R. unit a little now.

Everyone needs some form of border guards, and they're usually at least paramilitary if not a full-up branch of an armed force.  With all the world-conquering going on during the Succession Wars it only makes sense for most Houses to have had some form of dedicated garrison forces, which would not need to be Mech-heavy because they're hopefully fighting "only" insurgents and guerrillas.  A mixed force of AeroSpace and Military Police w/ a dusting of Light 'Mechs and Vehicles would probably do the trick, be fairly easy to move around, and free up your assault troops to move on to the next target. 

In the canon novels (such as those about the Fourth War) this role is filled with troops under the generic name "militia" but it's unclear what is really meant by this term.  Generally "militia" in the novels (and sourcebooks) rolls over and dies in front of "real troops", implying they're not equipped with 'mechs.  But the Third Battalion of the Kathil Militia (the only one not mobilised and sent out on this duty in 3029) nevertheless was a 'mech formation, fielding homogenous lances of light 'mechs (Urbanmechs, Javelins, and something else which slips my mind). 

For my personal BT AU, some of the Great Houses field Gendarmerie regiments (such as the FedSuns Outback Rovers, a brigade of 7 light 'mech formations built on the lines of March Militia RCTs, but with only one armor regiment and a full regiment of Engineers; they tend to operate in battalion-sized units similar to the Ceti Hussars but specialize in Civil Affairs and anti-Piracy in the FedSuns Outback).  The Duchy of Andurien, meanwhile, field both reinforced MP units (the Carabinieri) and anti-piracy pure-areospace wings (the Andurien Borderers); the former officially falls under the Ministry of the Interior while the latter falls under the joint authority of the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of the Exchequer. 

Hey gang, I just watched the first season of Game of Thrones. Got to say I loved it and of course it has given me an idea for use in BattleTech here. Wouldn't it be fantastic to have an organization like the Night's Watch devoted to the guarding the vast frontier of the Periphery. I'm thinking of an alternate Star League uniting the InnerSphere under one banner but forsaking the wilds of the great beyond inhabited by all sorts of uncivilized heathen. Heck it isn't a new idea in human history - see the Great Wall or Hadrian's Wall. Of course we can't build a wall but we can build castles all long the border lands manned by the Sphere Guard or whatever name you'd like for these Frontier Rangers. For who knows what lurks beyond the boundaries of interstellar civilization.

Please discuss!

PS; I'm thinking this may be a perfect hook for Master Arminas' Cameron Legacy storyline. Hint, Hint!

I like this idea, but to keep up with the analogy, don't you need something ancient and evil to guard against? Not just uncivilized pirates and heathens?

Other 'normal' BT units, Star League or no, would not really (for me, and I know I like ancient and evil) provide enough of a challenge for these Frontier Guards.

Will give it some more thought

Cheers

Rayo

This is why I think the model of gendarmerie makes the most sense; it's a Coast Guard or Border Police unit, as much about rescuing people or enforcement of customs duties or checking manifests against actual cargo as about fending off raiding pirates.  This role fits better with light Aerospace forces than with medium and heavy 'mechs, which is why front-line military forces are only rarely used directly on national borders.  The worlds along the Great House borders naturally require front-line troop garrisons, because those borders are more like the Korean DMZ than the border between the USA and Mexico.  To keep with the spirit of the Night's Watch being people out in the middle of nowhere executing a thankless task which most people neither think about nor appreciate until, suddenly, the reason for its continued existence appears, then these border troops would best be described as pirate-hunting groups, a role traditionally assigned to light naval (or, in this case, aerospace) units throughout history.

It also gives a place where light ASF such as Sabres, Seydlitzen, Thrushes, and the like can serve productively. 

Pretty much what I was thinking, yes.  Almost require DS to carry the ASF around, as the places that need coverage will be the standard jump points which are usually much too far away from planets...but some specialized long-endurance fighters may well come about because of this sort of unit.  Armed small craft have a lot of use in this sort of force, too.  JS are not required, but would be useful to chase pirates from system to system. 

My Andurien Borders aerospace unit has two companies of light jump 'mechs, 60 (5 squadrons of 12) ASF, and about a battalion's worth of Marines. Plus enough DropShips to carry 36 fighters at once.