Table of Contents

Features:

11 Breaking the Chain

How a simple change to socioeconomic policy might yield a bounty of good results to our interior.
Dr. Francis Liao-Santiago, M.D
22 Know Thy Enemy
A scholarly inquiry into the philosophy of Capellan Mech design.
Leftenant Colonel Yves Fitzgerald
24 The Wages of Sin
A professional perspective on the cost of soldiering.
Captain Isaiah M. Rosner
26 In Pursuit of the Hound
Dare we again follow the path set for us by good First Prince Ian?
Subaltern Hedwig Kirchherr
28 The Acme of Warfare
How proper planning and good execution make the difference between success and disaster.
Major Benjamin F. Marion
30 The Continuing Cost of War
A military chaplain explains why our Civil War was a catastrophe like no other.
Major Jacob Pontiac Brothers

Special Insert:

14 A Tribute to Ian Davion

Departments:
2 From the Desk of the Editor In Chief
3 Letters to the Editor
4 Culture
7 The Loyal Opposition
8 Boys and Their Toys
12 The Support Troops: Naval Support

Staff:
Leftenant General Thomas J. Jackson (Ret.) Editor in Chief
Major Winston B. Thompson (Ret.) Production Director
Sergeant Major Roy Solomon (Ret.) Editor

The Review (ISSN 1337-G4M3R) is published monthly by War College of Goshen Publishing: publishing@wcgoshen.edu.goshen.fs.comnet. Yvonne Steiner-Davion,
Commander-in-Chief; Lft. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson, Editor in Chief. Delivery charges subsidized in part by the War College of Goshen and paid to the ComStar HPG Station,
Goshen. 3067, War College of Goshen Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. The War College of Goshen
logo and The Review logo are protected through trademark restriction throughout the Inner Sphere. CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUBSCRIPTIONS please see our ComNet
site at service.wcgoshen.edu.goshen.fs.comnet or write to customerservice@wcgoshen.edu.goshen.fs.comnet. No subscriber information is shared with any outside entity.
 From the Desk of the Editor in Chief
It is often said that Hindsight is 20/20 and indeed over these centuries of existence as the Federated
there is some truth to this statement, in that ideally we Suns. Failure to do this would be paramount to
do learn valuable lessons from our actions, and that it forgetting the very great men and women of our rich
is most often on the other side of our actions that we history upon whose shoulders we now stand in the
fully understand the events which led up to them. On present.
the other hand, it can easily be said that our window
on the past is more often than not of the stained- So as you, the reader, begin your perusal of this third
glass variety. It is in fact the nature of man to cast the issue of the forty-second volume of The Review, I ask
stories of his history in a more legendary lighting than that you pause to reflect both on the impact of our
that of reality. Events were either more terrible or current events, and on the perspective of our history.
more wonderful than what would be considered an And as a form of fuel to the fire of this most noble
accurate report. endeavor, may I offer to you the perspective found in
a previous similar time when our nation mourned the
This is not, however, to denigrate cataclysmic death of an icon and
the value of such reports on, and sought to rebuild in the wake of
reminiscence of, our most recent
All past eras have devastating loss. Scattered
Civil War. As I have stated throughout these following pages
previously, at this time it is of dire suffered egregious you will find stories and
necessity that we learn what remembrance of the death of Ian
Davion, the Hound upon whose
lessons we can from our recent times, and all look to shoulders stood The Fox, Hanse.
turmoil and make use of those
lessons to press forward towards a Our hope in adding this focus to
brighter future. However, even in
some past as having this issue is that it will give you, the
such a short span of time as these reader, pause to reflect on the trials
past two months since an official been less painful, less and turmoil surrounding Prince
peace the tendency of man to see Ians most noble life and death, and
upon the tumult and recovery in the
his past through stained-glass stressful, filled with wake of his departure. Some of
windows has already been made
what you will find within these
manifest. And while it is not wrong
to eulogize our beloved dead in this
less upheaval. It is pages is most clearly eulogy, and
fashion, it would be an egregious some is most clearly fact. As you
error to allow these eulogies to not to the past we read these pages may your heart
completely color our view without be stirred and your intellect
challenged.
providing an accurate context for must look, but to the
perspective. For, you see, not only
do stain-glass windows color what All past eras have suffered
is seen through them, they also
future. egregious times, and all look to
distort. some past as having been less
painful, less stressful, filled with less upheaval. Just
I believe that there are two powerful means of as those presently look to the time of Hanse Davion,
maintaining an accurate perspective as we press so too did many during his time look to the time of his
forward in development. The first is obvious: that of predecessor, Ian, for while the Third Succession War
maintaining a keen awareness of current events dragged on for ages, the Fourth was anything but
outside our borders and of fully assessing and wine and roses for the peoples of the Federated
understanding their import upon our lives and society. Suns. The same holds true for all generations of man.
This I believe is somewhat commonplace, for without It is not to the past we must look, but to the future. If
it our society would already have slipped into a we do not make strides to improve our lot, spending
malaise of introspection. The second means, effort merely in the lamentation of times past, we do
however, is much less readily apparent, and so I nothing but disservice to those who have fought and
would to it direct the readers attention: the context of died to give us our present and open the door to our
our prior history. future. The road before us is by no means easy, but
the path is true and has been marked clearly by those
Indeed, as we seek to maintain clear eyes and heads, who have gone before. Never let us forget from
we must ever compare recent events, be they whence we came.
mundane or cataclysmic, to those in our past which
have so powerfully shaped who we have become Lft. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (ret.) E.I.C.

2
 Letters to the Editor
Dear Goshen Review:
I had quite a fright this morning while
reading your latest issue at breakfast
on my lovely seaside veranda. You
see, I had just finished reading my
horoscope in the Lackland Gazette
before turning to Father Thomassis
stern warning against consulting with
mediums, spirit guides and witch
doctors. I was nearly convinced that
my silly habit was bringing down the
wrath of God upon my head. But
then I remembered my horoscopes
advice: Take little heed of
blowhards today, and I felt much
better after that.
Cordially,
Morgan Defire,
Marquessa of Lackland
Dear Goshen Review:
In your June issue you ran an article
entitled Navigating by the Stars
which pointedly condemned
consulting astrologers regarding
when to marry and give in marriage.
This advice will be poorly received
on the Hindu worlds where arranged
marriage is a sacred cultural tradition
and matches based on caste, tribe,
and birth star are prized. If not for
the article on Diwali in the same
issue I might have suspected an
anti-Hindu bias had crept into The
Review. It would please me to see
future articles celebrating Hindu
culture instead of denigrating it.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Iyer A. S.
Pavopolis, Brantapur
Fr. Thomassi replies,
Marquess Defires and Mrs. Iyers
letters are typical of the responses
that my article generated; either they
make light of my heavy-handed
warnings or they chastise me for
giving offense. (Interestingly, most
responses were from women.)
Firstly I do think that astrology
represents a serious problem
because a significant minority takes
it seriously. Secondly I do not wish
to offend that minority, but neither do
I wish to stop speaking the truth as
best I am able. To those to whom
astrology is nothing but a distraction
let me say that astrology--along with
other occult practices--offers special
risks that make it a serious
undertaking. For those to whom
astrology is a cherished religious
practice the dangers described in my
article to military effectiveness apply.
Let me be clear: any religious
practice has the potential to interfere
with military readiness. Individuals
might interrupt battle to engage in
prayer (as in the famous case of
ELH MechWarrior Abrahim ibn Faud)
but a commander or an army that
does so is derelict. Armies can
accommodate religious call only so
far, and any commander incapable
of squaring his heavenly and earthly
duties should resign his commission
and assume a life of contemplation.
I do not back down from my calling
the stars unworthy of our
genuflection. That it is traditional
religious practice to do so is not
news to me, but such traditions held
back Europe in the Middle Ages and
India in the Republican Era, and to
some degree they hold back the
Federated Suns today. I do not
grant that that all religious traditions
are equally good. No religious figure
of consequence ever has.
Sincerely,
Father F. Thomassi
Dear Readers of The Review,
I would like to extend my
congratulations to The Review staff
in general, and to Major General
Angela Voss in particular, for the
wonderful article in the June 67
issue entitled The RCT Must
Change! In this insightful article she
advocates a full reorganization of all
AFFS RCTs into fully integrated
combined arms units rather than
maintaining the cohesion of separate
3
units which can be split into smaller
parts and combined into combat
teams as needed. I cannot laud
Gen. Voss enough for this unique
and innovative concept. Why, this
will revolutionize the entire AFFS
and make us a new combat force for
the future. What would be even
nicer, however, would be if General
Voss were familiar with the AFFS as
a whole, considering that for quite
some time the Ceti Hussars RCTs
have made use of just such an
organizational scheme. Rather than
advance these concepts as
something new and unique, why not
focus on a unit which has
successfully applied these very
ideas? Continually snubbing one of
the most valuable combat groups of
the AFFS is a heinous misdeed
which can only damage the morale
of those who are members of it.
Sincerely,
Lft. G. Kincaid
My Esteemed Colleagues,
You published an excellent article in
the June 3067 issue entitled Artwork
of Deception. That such an
outstanding piece appears on the
pages of The Review is a credit to
both the publication and academy as
a whole. It is to my deep regret,
however, that I must submit this
letter to point out a glaring error.
This article has wrongly been
attributed to one Lft. General Pavel
V. Miliukov. Though I would be
proud to have said article on my
C.V., I cannot take credit for this
work. I implore you to give credit to
the true author of this work, who
rightly deserves proper recognition.
Yours,
Lft. General Pavel V. Miliukov
The article was authored by Herr
Doktor Gottfried von Bazillac. The
Review regrets the error.
 Culture
Minstrel Boy
The famed Columbia Players theater
troupe of New Avalon has recently
developed and produced a new play,
The Age of Minstrels. Drawing their
inspiration from the classic song of
Thomas Moore, the drama hearkens
back to old Terra, in the idyllic ages
many years before spaceflight when
wars were fought less for territory than
for ideals and basic human rights.
The performers attempt to link our
recent conflict to all those of
humanitys past, showing that morally
just conflicts are never futile, though
the pursuit of victory may be.
Bookended by solemn renditions of
Moores song, unaccompanied by
instrumentation as by folk singers of
old, the all-male Players chronicle the
fictional life of an idealistic youth of old
Ireland.
The play is set during the Irish
rebellion near the end of the 18th
century on old Terra, opening with
young Rigbarddan Flanagan breaking
with his loyalist family, who supported
the throne of Great Britain over
independence for Ireland. Fleeing his
fathers wrath, he joins with the rebels.
Lacking military skills, Rigbarddan
became a piper in the small faction,
helping to rally and inspire his more
capable fellows.
Betrayed by their own, Flanagans
group was among those at Antrim who
were either slaughtered wholesale or
captured and executed. Rigbarddan
himself, being unarmed, was spared
by the mercy of an anonymous soldier
who was appalled at the actions of his
own. Left to his own devices,
disowned by his family, betrayed by
his own leaders, and violently
separated from his friends and
compatriots, Rigbarddan reevaluates
his path in life. Undeterred by his lack
of military acumen, Rigbarddan
reaffirms his conviction to dispel the
yoke of terror and oppression of the
foreign leadership. He initiates an
ancient form of propaganda campaign,
traveling to villages and towns and
The Minstrel Boy to the
war is gone
In the ranks of death you
will find him;
His father's sword he hath
girded on,
And his wild harp slung
behind him;
"Land of Song!" said the
warrior bard,
opposed, Rigbarddan rends asunder his
"Tho' all the world betrays
thee,
One sword, at least, thy
rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall
praise thee!"
The Minstrel fell! But the
foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud
soul under;
The harp he lov'd ne'er careful not to pass judgment upon either
spoke again,
For he tore its chords
asunder;
And said "No chains shall humility for the victors rather than
sully thee,
Thou soul of love and
brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for
the pure and free,
They shall never sound in
slavery!"
The Minstrel Boy
By Thomas Moore
4
performing songs of the noble and holy
cause of the rebels.
Eventually identified and sought for
arrest, Rigbarddan is pursued by
officials of the government for sedition.
He is surrounded by those who he
knows not but nonetheless hates for
what they represent. Knowing that the
likelihood of his safe and timely parole is
slim to none, he chooses to fight his
aggressors. Though somewhat more
learned in combat since Antrim, he is
quickly struck a mortal blow. With his
dying breath, rather than allow the
instrument of his own private battle to be
taken and perhaps used by those he
one true possession, that which defined
his life, the weapon with which he
waged his war: the pipes of his heritage.
This play seeks to redress some of the
concerns harbored by many of our
surviving Civil War participants by
illustrating that their own plight is neither
unique nor without precedent. Many
parallels can be drawn between this old
war and our recent one, for who among
us cannot see Rigbarddan as a fallen
MechWarrior choosing to destroy his
magnificent machine of war rather than
allow it to be taken by the enemy and
used against his own? The writers were
side of our recent conflict by showing
only that some battles must indeed be
fought which cannot be won, showing
sympathy for those whose cause was
defeated but counseling patience and
become despotic. Thus, despite dealing
with a civil war and so not deflecting the
issue to something lighter, the Columbia
Players embrace the recent upheaval
and try to soothe the souls of those who
fought in it by treating both sides with
dignity and humility.
Though the engagements of the Players
are limited to New Avalon, due to their
refusal to travel by JumpShip, they have
licensed the drama to other theater
companies across the Crucis March.
Should the play be as well-received as
the original New Avalon performances, it
is expected that further licenses shall
follow and spread the play to the rest of
the Federated Suns. (This is reputedly
 Culture
of particular interest to the Davion Assault Guards,
who adopted The Minstrel Boy as their official song
in the Second Succession War, whose posting on Lee
has prevented their attendance of any performance.)
When that comes to pass, the Capellan and Draconis
Marches will be the beneficiaries of perhaps the finest
dramatic blending of history and dramatic license
since Truman and Johnsons Rise and Fall of Amaris.
Stanley Garrison was born and raised on Goshen, but
a congenital lung defect precluded military service.
He has directed numerous plays at the WCG in
conjunction with the Drama Department.
The Music of the Sphere
Given the drastic social and economic changes of the
past thirty-five years, it is unsurprising that the great
changes in the field of music have gone largely
unnoticed. Music is thought by many to be a trifle, an
amusement for the working class and common soldier
or an indulgence for the wealthy and well-born. This
attitude is short sighted because music is a bellwether
that can indicate the health of a culture, and despite
our current distress the signs are largely positive. It
appears that we are undergoing a major transition in
musical style, the first such transition since the
beginning of the Succession Wars. There is reason
to hope that the current trend toward greater variety
and sophistication in music may continue, perhaps
returning us to Star League-era levels within our
lifetime. However, the transition is still tenuous and
subject to reversal given unfavorable events, and so
the future of our musical heritage remains ever
uncertain.
The music of the Star League bore little resemblance
to the music of the Successor States. Star League-
era music was colorful, complex and structurally fluid.
There was music to suit every taste available in every
corner of the League. Recorded hard copies of
performances were cheap and durable, and the
economics of a trillion-strong consumer market
guaranteed infinite variety and accessibility. This was
the Neo-Contemporary Period, the music of which
was typified not so much by common sound as by
universal exuberance and confidence in the state of
things. It was music for a wealthy people who
believed in the durability and superiority of their
culture; in opulence and comprehensiveness it has
never since been equaled. Despite the efforts of
academics and aficionados on many worlds to
5
preserve this music, most Neo-Contemporary material
has been lost. Few taped recordings of performances
have survived the centuries of war and neglect.
Books of music have fared better, but some Neo-
Contemporary composers never bothered to publish
their music in written form, and many others
composed in styles ill-suited to existing transcription
conventions. Surprisingly the music of earlier periods
has survived better due to its more uniform
transcription onto paper staves.
The Star Leagues collapse brought about a quick end
to the consumer-driven music industry. With the halt
of royalty cheques musicians now depended upon
wealthy patrons or the State for their income.
Musicians in the pay of the warrior nobilitythe only
musicians employedwrote martial music using
themes drawn from the cultural heritage of their
respective Great House. Themes deemed too foreign
were suspect and quickly disappeared from use.
Thus began the Neo-Romantic period, the music of
which was much simpler technically and thematically
than that of the Neo-Contemporary Period. The
succeeding three centuries were a time of nearly
nonexistent musical innovation, though not wholly
without merit. There was a return to modal music and
small-ensemble choral music, and some
musicologists believe that wind band (military brass)
music saw its best composition since Sousa.
Nevertheless the Neo-Romantic Period is universally
regarded as a musical dark age that saw the death of
countless genera of musical styles and techniques.
Here in the Federated Suns the beginning of an
emergence from Neo-Romanticism may be underway.
It can be traced back to First Prince Hanses heroic
capture of Star League-era codices (books) in 3012
on Halstead Station. The booty included several texts
on composition and theory around which a tiny
Department of Modern Music was established at
NAIS. Their experiments with cockpit recorders and
voice synthesizers led to a revival of the mysteriously-
named Moog Music, a kind of atonal electronica
reminiscent of a Star League-era fad. At the same
time, Davion troubadours were incorporating Lyran
musical themes into their own compositions, creating
the first new popular music style in over three
centuries. The Federated Commonwealth brought an
infusion of Lyran cash and technical savvy which
made widely available many instruments that had
become exceedingly rare and expensive, including
the euphonium, the keyboard-accordion, the full
spectrum of double-reed instruments (the bassoon
and contrabassoon, the oboe and bass oboe, and the
English horn), and to a lesser degree the piano.
There was a revival of complex orchestral
composition, and despite wartime fiscal distress the
patronage of Lady Melissa guaranteed that lavish
performances went to production. With the protracted
 Culture
Civil War such productions have dwindled to
nonexistence, but it was not long ago (though it feels
an eternity) that our music reflected a belief in our
nations limitless potential.
Tragically, there appears to be a slowing of the
incipient musical renaissance. Moogism appears to
have peeked already and is showing creative decline.
Anti-Lyran sentiment in the face of the Civil War has
weakened support for the new styles. Even more
worrisome is the strong public nostalgia for
Succession Wars-era music. High Lonesome modal
warbling and rustic fiddling are once again the sounds
heard in the streets, and a new generation of Davion
youth appear to be forsaking the forward-looking
music of their fathers in favor of the music of their
grandfathers time. It remains to be seen whether
history will regard the current period as the beginning
of a new era of music to rival the energy and creativity
of the Star League or a small blip in the long dark
ages of Neo-Romanticism.
Paul Lombrice is an alumnus of GCW and of the
Goshen Players, for which he played the alto
saxophone and composed.
Carnival of the Animals
It is in character for us to fret over abstractions like
freedom and justice while more prosaic problems
abound. Our Navy is hemorrhaging money, our cities
are only now slowly being restored, and the social
unrest in the aftermath of Civil War has brought
suspicion and strife. In spite of all this, the issue that
has caught the attention of our people and leaders is
a play called The Marriage that has been in
production only three weeks in a single small theatre
in Avalon City. Fewer than two thousand patrons
have seen it, and yet to hear some opiners, this play
is a greater threat to our nation than ten-thousand
Capellan MechWarriors!
As one of the few reviewers who has actually seen
the play, I feel it necessary to recount a summary of
the plot to counter the egregious misrepresentations
that have appeared in various newspapers. The first
6
act presents the wedding of the Queen of Birds, a
peafowl, to the King of Beasts, a lion. In the second
and final act, the lion is killed offstage by a hunter, the
beasts chafe under the peafowls ineffectual rule, and
war between birds and beasts erupts after escalating
atrocities and reprisals by either side. The peafowl
sings her swansong in the finale, and as she dies the
curtain goes down on her blood-spattered throne
room. There are no political screeds, there is no
incitement to treason, and there is noforgive me
bestiality, as was suggested by the Bishop of Filtvelt.
The plays politics are the real cause of the outrage.
The lion and peafowl clearly stand for Hanse and
Melissa, and the play appears to sympathize with the
birds (Lyran Alliance). Feathered costumes shimmer
under spotlight as the fierce-looking foxes and bears
devour birds with a clever stage trick. The closest to
an overt political message in the plays text is a
soliloquy against exogamy by one of the foxes in the
first act, but the overriding mood of the play is one of
resignation to fate. Importantly the peafowl appears
to die of sorrow rather than at the hands of an
assassin, and the royal marriage isas biology would
dictatefruitless; no Peafowl-Lion offspring are left to
vie for the throne.
The play is metaphor and not simple allegory, and
suggestion that it slanders the Ruling House is
absurd. Whats more, the play is a wonder to see and
hear; the animal costumes are exquisite, and the
singing truly first rate. If not for the themes of murder
and mayhem I would recommend it to all without
reservation.
Now we attend the unpleasant business of
censorship. Attorney-General Anton Comstock of the
Barrony of Avalon has threatened to enjoin production
of the play under centuries-old anti-sedition laws. No
small amount of clamoring in the public square in
favor of just such an action can be heard, in Avalon
City and elsewhere. It is troubling but understandable
that in these trying times commitment to the Six
Freedoms grows thin. Were the play a true
incitement to sedition and devoid of artistic merit I
would join the voices of those calling for the curtain to
come down. Nevertheless, it is our commitment to
freedom that sets us apart as a nation, and I am
confident reason will prevail in this matter.
Issachar Nahum, WCG '49
Sir Nahum is Theatre Critic for the New Avalon Herald
and Critic-at-Large to The Review
 The Loyal Opposition
For centuries our nations ambitious foreign policy
had brought steady gains against the Capellan
Confederation while holding the hyper-aggressive
Draconis Combine at bay. The worlds we won
became firmly Davion in their allegiance and their
assimilation into our culture was swift. In contrast, our
more recent acquisitions have proven difficult to hold,
and many already have slipped from our grasp. What
is the solution to this riddle, that worlds gained in this
generation have proven so much more difficult to hold
than those of generations past? The standard answer
is that the newer worlds are more inherently Capellan
(or at least more anti-Davion) than the rest, or that
Capellan partisans are more effective in the modern
age. Though the latter observation is no doubt fact, it
begs the question, what is making them more
effective? Compounding the paradox is the
observation that the Fourth Succession War, though
catastrophic for our enemies and costly to us, was the
least deadly and damaging to property of the four. In
fact there is no paradox, only this truism: just as one
who desires peace must prepare for war, one who
wishes to rule benevolently must conquer brutally.
It is not surprising that as the ease with which our
armies conquered worlds increased, the difficulty with
which we held our gains increased as well. Our latest
conquest into the heart of Capellan space has
produced new problems by its very efficiency. It has
created the phenomenon of the so-called Citizen Afar,
a Capellan patriot on a world in the hands of the
Federated Suns. There are also now so-called
Copperheads, Davion citizens who give aid and
comfort to Zhanzheng de Guang terrorist networks.
The relative ease with which worlds have passed from
the Capellan banner to the Sword-and-Sunburst has
falsely suggested to these folk that the process easily
may be reversed. Our failure to be clumsy and brutal
in conquering has made our conquest seem less real,
perhaps even subject to public approbation. These
Citizens Afar do not believe that House Davion is
here to stay, and so they agitate, chafe, and do not
accept. The more even-handed we are in our
treatment of these worlds, the greater and the longer
the suffering of the populace. Institutions of the public
7
good were left in place: the public schools, the
courthouses, the public baths, the political halls, and
others. In the future, these symbols of Capellan
commonweal should be found and razed upon our
arrival. The more brutal we are on the first day, the
more quickly we set that world on the path to
normalization into Davion culture and the Davion
polity.
In the long run this seemingly senseless cruelty
serves a very real and very just purpose. By showing
our most recent conquests too much mercy, we have
subjected the denizens of these worlds to a
generation (or more) of unrest. By telegraphing our
forbearance, which will always be interpreted by our
enemies as weakness, we have encouraged
dissidence, strife, and ever-escalating guerilla
violence. In the end we will put down those worlds,
and we will do so using the requisite amount of force,
but the threshold rises with each passing day and with
each perceived Zhanzheng de Guang victory. We will
prevail, but at a price far higher than we might
otherwise have paid.
Therefore it is time to be both clever and resolute.
Our policy should emphasize the liberation of
servitors and a psychological operations campaign
calling attention to the rumored gulag worlds not
appearing on Capellan star charts. Inter-caste strife
is our greatest non-military asset in the long struggle
against the Confederation, and it must be exploited. It
was genius of the highest order to foment the schism
of the Saint Ives Compact, and bungling of equal
order to allow Tikonov to fall back into Capellan
hands. The emphasis upon winning battle while
neglecting the waging of war on all fronts political,
economic, cultural and philosophical has turned us
away from the legacy of First Prince Hanses genius.
He knew well the centuries-old maxim that the best
victories are not those that come on the battlefield,
and that a nation may win every battle and yet lose
the war if care is not given to small matters.
Lft. Col. Ndugu Bowunga (ret.), WCG 30
 Boys and Their Toys
The personal Mech of Ian Davion was an Atlas, and
with this issue of The Review being in tribute to our
fallen First Prince it seemed fitting to feature this
venerable BattleMech in his honor. With the same
commanding presence with which First Prince Ian
strode the halls of the Royal Palace, the Atlas has,
since its earliest days off the assembly line,
dominated the battlefields of humanity. Wonderfully
conceived and outfitted with versatility and
functionality of utmost concern, the Atlas is a combat
unit to respect.
Produced for centuries on Quentin, the classic AS7-D
version of the Atlas was the same Mech designed by
General Kerensky himself. The steadfastness and
reliability of the Mech is such that despite the loss of
Quentin to the Draconis Combine after the War of
3039 the number of Atlases in the AFFS forces did
not decline significantly as raids and reprisals caused
losses throughout the military. The D has a number
of detractors who note that its lack of long-range
armament is a liability exacerbated by the Mechs
slow top speed. However, the duty of engaging in
long range slugging matches was never intended to
be filled by the Atlas with more appropriate units like
Awesomes already serving well in that capacity.
Rather, the Atlas is possessed of a remarkably thick
slab of armor covering it from its broad feet to its
leering deaths-head allowing it to weather those very
long range barrages of enemy firepower as it slogs its
way ever closer to the enemys strongholds. The
determination embodied by the Atlas combined with
its hideous appearance lends the Mech its near-
legendary mystique, but the nightmare only truly
begins within range of its numerous shorter-ranged
weapons. Combining a Class-20 Autocannon with an
array of lasers and missiles, as well as swinging fists,
an Atlas can batter and blast enemies into ruin in
short order.
However as professional soldiers it is not for us
merely to propagate unfounded myths, for as the very
example of First Prince Ian attests, the Atlas like all
other Mechs falls in battle to superior enemy
numbers, tactics, and knowledge. While it is unusual
that a MechWarrior who helms one of these brutes
will state it openly the Atlas is not light on its feet, and
some would go so far as to label it clumsy. This is
due in part to its being the first Mech to mass one
hundred tons. While later designs have learned
lessons for which the Atlas was the test-bed, none of
those in charge of the assembly lines ever dared
tamper with success by meddling with the intricacies
of its construction. Though the precise mechanism of
its ungainliness has never been determined, it is likely
8
tied to the monstrous gyro which can often be heard
screaming in its efforts to keep the Mech upright
during maneuvers. Given the top-heavy chassis
configuration accentuated by the enormous
shoulders, this conclusion seems somewhat
foregone. Though it encounters criticism rarely due to
its combat efficacy, engaging the Atlas in close
combat is actually one of the best means to defeat it.
It has been advanced that the very aura of invincibility
which the Mech seems to exude actually works
against some of its MechWarriors who react poorly
when confronted by unimpressed foes. Facing an
enemy who stands and fights is at times surprising
and can cause the Atlas pilot to hesitate. When
fighting up close the unsteadiness of the chassis aids
in bringing down these giant Mechs.
Since new Atlas production on Quentin was lost, it
has come to pass that enemy forces now field this
Mech in greater and greater numbers. Thus it is
important that MechWarriors in the Suns learn the
specifications of those variations extant among the
hostile ranks in order to combat those forces more
effectively. First, the Combine in short order made
use of our captured facility, turning out a new variant
completely reversing the close combat focus of the
D. Extended-range large-bore lasers and a Gauss
Rifle allow it to deal out punishment while it closes
with the enemy rather than only absorb it. It also
mounts an anti-missile system, actually improving its
defensive capability beyond the copious armor. A
poor weapon-heat profile, however, is this variants
sole shortcoming. The supply shortage of Freezers in
the Combine is highlighted in this otherwise premier
Assault Mech. Only its inability while firing to avoid
exceeding its heat dissipation limit curbs this
fearsome machine. Those facing off against one of
this type are advised to concentrate fire from multiple
units, trying to close distance as quickly as possible,
hitting it from all angles to overwhelm the overtaxed
gyro. One should take note of the fact that the rear-
facing lasers are pulse versions now, and much more
accurate. While the Draconians made excellent use
of rediscovered technology and our captured facility to
turn out their superior combat machine, a number of
poorly-conceived variants joined our own TO&E.
Among these was the AS7-S, swapping the Ds heat
sinks for Freezers and adding twin Streak-2s to the
rear-firing lasers. The addition of rear-firing missiles
was acknowledgment that the fate of so many Atlases
was to fall beset on all sides in close combat. But two
small short-range missile batteries only slightly
deterred the enemy, and catastrophic explosion of the
added ammunition lost us more Atlases than the
capture of the Quentin factory. Once the trickle from
Quentin was shut off, only the S was supplied to the
Boys and Their Toys

9
 Boys and Their Toys
AFFC ranks from DefHes factories. This was obfuscate which variant the enemy is facing and allow
3
considered a stopgap solution at best, providing a the friendly C net to survive longer. The Combine
3
well-established machine though of dubious quality. has added a new C -slave variant which drops just
one of the rear pulse lasers to free up the required
The Lyran replacement for the S model, however, space. It also adds in an additional heat sink to
was a distinct improvement. The reduction of the support the large lasers. In the event this variant is
LRM rack by five missiles per volley was offset by the encountered one should proceed with caution as its
3
addition of an Artemis system. The arm lasers were three C lancemates are sure to be in close support.
upgraded to ER Largesa nod to the success of the
Combine version. In addition, this new version A number of limited modifications have been reported
mounts the recently developed Heavy Gauss Rifle. over the years, and non-standard configurations
This massive gun complements the armament, which different from those described here should be
is enhanced by the use of Freezers, to eliminate even expected. Most of these were motivated by supply
the small deficiency of the Combine variant. Add to problems during the Succession Wars but some by
the mix that the S2 has CASE installed to protect it pilot or unit preference. Most focus on reducing the
from ammo explosions or catastrophic hits to the close range combat ability and increasing long-range
HGRs capacitor system. This Mech also makes use effectiveness. For example, a mercenary unit which
of the new Light Fusion Engine, described as took part in Duke Robinson's actions reportedly
something of a midpoint between salvaged a Combine -CM Atlas but
standard fusion engines and extra- It is not for us merely to modified it greatly to match the
light engines, suffering something overall unit profile. Techs from the
of a midpoint of the vulnerabilities propagate unfounded First Robinson Rangers report that
of the others as well. The S2 has the modification including adding a
a devastating weapons array, a myths, for as the very second Gauss Rifle at the expense
superior cooling system, and of the large lasers and a shuffling of
additional defensive systems. example of First Prince the other armaments.
However, this is a rare Atlas variant
in that it lacks rear-firing weaponry. Ian attests, the Atlas like For the MechWarrior fortunate
Thus the best plan of attack against enough to be piloting a classic AS7-
one of these is by use of greater all other Mechs falls in D, the effectiveness of your still
numbers so that one or more can reliable Mech can be enhanced
pour fire into the rear torso. Note battle to superior enemy with the new autocannon ammo
that some Atlases of this variety which the NAIS developed recently.
can be found in friendly hands, as numbers, tactics, and A ton of armor-piercing or precision
pro-Victor forces brought them over ammo, catered to the expected
during the Civil War. Few of these knowledge. opposition, can rejuvenate the
are known to have been salvaged, classic configuration. Ofttimes it is
as the thick armor either allows just such a slight surprise which
these beasts to survive the fight or requires those in can mean the difference between victory and retreat
opposition to destroy them utterly in order to put them before those who write off the venerable variant
down. because it lacks the newer weaponry.

A slight modification to the K is the CM variant.
3
This variant drops the left arm laser and installs a C
master computer. Rare in the AFFS, it is seen more
often in the DCMS and the ComGuards. However,
the actions of Duke Robinson during the Civil War
resulted in several of these being captured. The best
tactic to use against this Atlas is to take advantage
ofthe short range of the rear pulse lasers. The lack of
a left arm laser should allow one to maneuver toward
its rear along that quarter. The attacker should
consider aiming at the command computer in the left
arm but be advised that most of the Atlases of this
variant in the AFFS have had a dummy barrel
installed on the left arm. This deception is to
The Atlas has survived the fall of the Star League, the
depravities of the Succession Wars, the invasion of
the Clans, the sundering of the Federated
Commonwealth, and even the loss of one of the
greatest MechWarrior-Princes of the Suns.
MechWarriors come and go, but the Atlas lives on. Its
subtle details might change, but the basic framework
remains. Never a beautiful machine, it is something
to be respected for its destructive ability, but not
feared for its appearance. Knowing its limitations in
every form helps not only to use it more ably, but also
to defeat it when in the hands of the enemy.
Sergeant-Major Martin Trevithick, AFFS and Captain
Huy Nguyen, AFFS (ret.) are filling in for Captain
Rosner, who was called away and unable to file his
usual column.

10
 Breaking the Chain
Since the end of the First Succession War the
economy of the Federated Suns has operated in a
state of permanent crisis. The constant threat posed
by our neighbors and the costly supply chains
inherent to our vast and sparsely developed nation
make the defense of the Federated Suns an
enormous challenge. Since the military cannot be
neglected and our guard cannot ever be relaxed, we
have never experienced respite from the strain of a
wartime budget. While the AFFS is always flush with
cash and can-do, other Ministries are perennially
starved for funds and ill-equipped to fill their given
role. When a need arises anywhere in the Federated
Suns the first call is often made to the AFFS. Today
a significant portion of the military budget is spent on
what properly could be called non-military projects.
On some worlds the local garrison commander has a
larger budget for capital improvement than the local
civilian government. The administration of projects
not of military utility by the AFFS has displaced the
need for civilian bureaucracy throughout the poorer
regions of the Suns, where the civilian public sector is
scarce and military omnipresent. How did this
unnatural state of things come to pass?
In the aftermath of the First Succession War the
AFFS was instrumental in the rebuilding of our
shattered infrastructure. As soon as the shooting
stopped the largest, best funded, most mobile and
best equipped organization in the Federated Suns
was put to work in roles traditionally undertaken by
civilian industries (chiefly large construction projects
other than urban development and demolition) and
civilian government. It has remained so to the
present day. The expected end to hostilities never
arrived, and civilian government never got the
budgetary infusion necessary to reassert its traditional
role. It seems that the choice made in the face of our
near extinction some three centuries ago will continue
to shape our economic policy decisions for the
foreseeable future. This is regrettable because
burdening the military with the proper responsibilities
of civilian government has hampered economic
development and put a drag on the military, and in the
end has benefited no one. This is not to say that the
AFFS staff are unscrupulous or ineffective
administratorsthey are notnor do we deny that on
many worlds the AFFS personnel are the best-
educated, most disciplined, and most capable men
and women on handthey are. Rather, we argue
that the military should attend to its primary purpose,
the defense of the nation, and the civilian public
sector be developed at long last to relieve the AFFS
of duties to which it is less well suited.
The persistent poverty in the Outback illustrates the
11
problem. The military receives its budget largely
without earmarks for specific projects. Its officers
must decide how best to spend, and given the
expectations placed upon them, they will naturally
favor projects of greater military utility. Again, this is
not to say they are heartless skinflints, nor that
military men dont know the value of a well-placed
dam or a dredged channelcertainly they do. But as
military men their eyes naturally turn towards those
worlds on the frontier and away from the relatively
safe interior, so when the purse is opened the
Outback is left empty handed.
The solution is obvious: to cut the budget of the
AFFS, to close garrisons on non-border worlds, and
to use the savings to fund the civilian public sector to
oversee the development of those worlds. Tax
revenues from a developing world can be used to
build factories, fund schools and fill libraries. Private
business and interstellar corporations heretofore leery
of the worlds anemic performance would sense new
opportunity and rush to set up shop, putting that world
on the path to economic recovery. Once that world
can stand on its own taxes may finally be collected
and used to support military activities elsewhere,
transforming the world from a drain on the military
budget to a contributor of the national economy. This
necessary and prudent liberalization of the national
economy is centuries overdue and would bring
immediate improvement to GDP. Had these
measures been taken fifty years ago there would
have been no need for an infusion of Lyran capital to
revive our ailing economy. The change would bring
benefits to the military as well. Relieved of the burden
of ministering to our own poorer worlds, the AFFS
staff could instead be used to help stabilize and
Davionize our new acquisitions from the Capellan
Confederation, where the public sector plays a much
larger traditional role than here.
Sadly these sensible changes may never take place
because they are politically untenable. The military
and the public both equate cutting the budget of the
AFFS with pacifism and a deficit of patriotism.
However, a nation dependent upon its military in civil
matters is not truly free. Let the military concern itself
with military matters, and let common markets and
private enterprise flourish unfettered by the heavy
glove of military bureaucracy. We cannot afford
another century of backwardness in the heart of our
realm.
Francis Liao-Santiago, M.D., was born in the Capellan
Confederation. He is a retired country doctor in
Bethsaida village, Goshen.
 The Support Troops: Naval Support
The AFFS naval service has long been regarded as
the lesser service within the Department of the Army
and Navy, but clearly it is just as important since
without a viable navy it is impossible to move ground
forces and protect them in transit.
To understand naval service organization it is
important to understand some basic naval
terminology. To the uninitiated many naval terms
may seem interchangeable; in fact, they are not
each word has a very specific meaning. The basic
unit in the naval service is of course the ship. Above
the ships and their captains are the Squadron and its
commander. Each naval squadron generally consists
of one basic type of ship: either DropShip or
JumpShip. All ships in the AFFS, with the exception
of WarShips, are assigned to a squadron even though
many operate separately. As a general rule of thumb
Light Commodores command DropShips,
Commodores command JumpShips and Vice
Admirals command WarShips. A ships executive
officer is usually one rank below that of the
commanding officer.
DropShip squadrons average six ships. JumpShip
squadrons are, however, based not on number of
ships but on docking collars. Although JumpShip
squadrons always consist of a minimum of two ships
they average twelve docking collars each.
Commodores usually command DropShip squadrons
and Rear Admirals commonly command JumpShip
squadrons.
Above the Squadron is the Group, which consists of
two or more squadrons. Mixing DropShips and
JumpShips within a single unit usually only occurs at
the group level or above. Most group commanders
are Vice Admirals.
The next larger grouping of ships in the naval service
is the Task Force. With the exception of the Naval
Assault Task Force, a task force is usually an ad hoc
assembly of ships for a particular mission. Task
forces, including Naval Assault Task Forces, are
normally commanded by Admirals.
Above the Task Force is the Fleet. Fleets are
regional commands within the AFFS, responsible for
a particular region of space rather than a specific
collection of ships. Each of the Naval Services fleets
corresponds to an AFFS Combat Theater, with each
fleet commander answering directly to the theater
commander. Ships are moved between the fleets as
needs dictate although each fleet is usually
guaranteed a minimum of naval assets to fulfill
operational requirements.
12
The Naval Service is far from the simple transport
service that some consider it to be, though that is its
primary missionto move the ground forces and their
supplies and support them when and where needed.
To accomplish this, the naval service divides its
assets up in several ways: first the DropShips.
The Naval Service operates a variety of DropShips to
move troops and materiel. Although many people
believe that the DropShips, and in a few cases
JumpShips, assigned to the Regular Army or March
Militias belong to and are operated by them this is not
true; all AFFS DropShips belong to and come under
the control of the Naval Service. That being said,
about a quarter of all AFFS DropShips are attached to
specific army and militia units on a more or less
permanent basis.
Of the army and militia units that do have DropShip
support attached, which are universally either very
prestigious BattleMech regiments or Regimental
Combat Teams, less than 10% have anything close to
full DropShip transport capacity, average capacity is
closer to 15%, and only a very select few have
JumpShips. The truth is that DropShips are far too
valuable, expensive, and rare to be allowed to sit
around, only occasionally being used when one
ground unit needs transport.
As a general rule of thumb each Regular Army and
March Militia Regimental Combat Team normally has
between two and four DropShips attached. These
DropShips utilize whatever JumpShips might be in the
area, frequently they must contract with commercial
JumpShip operators. This allows the ground
commanders to maintain lines of communication
between their subordinate units, which are frequently
spread over several planets. All fleet commands are
kept fully advised of all operations by naval assets
attached to the ground forces.
All AFFS DropShips are grouped into one of four
types of DropShip squadrons based on mission type:
Naval Escort, Naval Assault Transport, Naval General
Transport and Naval Support.
As its name implies the Naval Escort Squadron is
organized and equipped to escort other naval assets.
As a consequence most are equipped with carrier and
assault DropShips and have, at a minimum, one
Naval Wing for fighter support. The Federated Suns
Navy relies heavily on Leopard-CV and Avenger class
DropShips in its escort squadrons; most of the naval
services few Achilles and Vengeance class
DropShips support WarShip task forces. This is not
an ideal situation but makes the best use of available
assets. Most escort squadrons also have a Marine
company, or at the least a platoon, distributed among
its ships for boarding and security support.
 The Support Troops: Naval Support
The naval service classifies its transport DropShips
into two major categories: assault landing and
general. Assault landers, such as the Union,
Leopard, Fury and Triumph, are designed for putting
combat troops into a drop zone on contested planet.
But most naval service transport operations are not
combat related. In fact they are rather mundane,
moving troops and supplies among existing duty
stations in relatively safe areas. Most of these
operations are conducted by the General Transport
Squadrons, although the assault transport squadrons
are often used for general transport duties if not
required elsewhere. In either case the average
transport squadron of either type consists of six or
seven DropShips of various types.
The naval service further divides its assault transport
squadrons into two categories: BattleMech and
conventional forces. As the categories suggest these
squadrons are intended to transport certain types of
units onto a contested planet. The typical BattleMech
assault transport squadron carries a full BattleMech
regiment as well as one or two conventional
companies for support. The typical conventional
forces assault transport squadron can carry a
combined arms brigade.
General Transport Squadron form the backbone of
the Naval Services DropShip fleet, moving the
majority of the equipment, supplies and personnel
that are shifted around each year. These squadrons
are made up of a wide variety of cargo and personnel
transports, most all of which are built to civilian
standards.
Although it is avoided when possible, General
Transport Squadrons are used in contested space
although only with a strong escort force. General
transport squadrons commonly bring in the follow-on
forces once a landing zone has been secured to
reinforce the initial assault force. During the Fourth
Succession War several general transport squadrons
even won battle honors when they brought in the
actual assault force due to the lack of adequate
transport assets.
The last DropShip squadron type is the Naval Support
Squadron. It is equipped to provide all sorts of
support, such as salvage and repair services, supply
and medical support to other Naval Service assets.
13
Most support squadrons consist of stores ships to
resupply other ships without landing or docking at
space stations; tenders are common too. A few even
operate mobile drydocks and tug DropShips. All
AFFS Hospital DropShips are operated by support
squadrons even though they transport and tend far
more ground forces soldiers than naval service
spacers.
Naval Service JumpShips operate much like
DropShips. Although at any given moment about half
of all Federated Suns Navy JumpShips are operating
individually all belong to a JumpShip squadron. The
bulk of the missions for independently operating
JumpShips are of the most mundane types, moving
supplies, equipment and personnel between existing
duty stations well within Federated Suns territory. As
a general rule of thumb JumpShips operating within
one jump of an active combat zone or outside
Federated Suns space do so only in squadron
formation, with escort, for protection.
The Naval Assault Task Forces are the only
permanent task forces within the Federated Suns
Naval Service. Each is built around one of the Naval
Services few WarShips. Besides the WarShip itself
each task force includes a supporting JumpShip
Squadron, two Naval Escort Squadrons, a Naval
Aerospace Fighter Regiment and a battalion strength
Marine contingent. Each Naval Assault Task Force
usually also has a tender DropShip assigned to
provide maintenance and repair, resupply and
medical support. Exact composition of each WarShip
task force varies from task force to task force but two
general rules do apply: all JumpShips are lithium-
fusion battery-equipped and the aerospace fighter
regiment, at a minimum, consists of three fighter
wings, usually spread evenly between the WarShip
and the two naval escort squadrons.
As the size of the Federated Suns WarShip fleet
expands the prestige of the naval service will also
expand, quite possibly to the point that the navy
becomes a co-equal service with the regular army.
But until that day it will remain a support arm of the
AFFS focused on supporting the ground troops, first
and foremost.
Commodore Henri Rollet, FSN
The Review staff would like to congratulate
Commodore Rollet on his recent appointment to
command the Sixteenth Naval Escort Squadron. His
knowledge and skills will be sorely missed at The
Review but are needed more in active service. We
wish him well.
A Tribute to Ian Davion
First Prince Ian Davion epitomized
the best ideals of the Armed Forces
of the Federated Suns and the
nation that it serves. His loyalty,
not just to the nation he led, but to
the peoples of it whom he served,
was ever unwavering.
-- Hanse Davion
Valor. Its such a simple word. Short and unassuming it may be, but it
possesses and conveys a power to all who hear it spoken. Its a word for
which those who embody it live forever in the hearts and minds of those
who survive them. It is a word reserved for those who exceed the
standard that others achieve. Often it comes at great personal sacrifice,
the very offering up of which defines their courageous effort. For others,
such feats seem to spring eternal and often, with accolades seeming to
become clich and gauche about their person.
What is it that makes someone truly valorous, to be worthy of the highest
honors of the land? Is it a birthright? Perhaps in other lands, but not in
the Federated Suns. While those from foreign nations might have a
sense of duty and bravery instilled in them, the very act of indoctrination
they experience in their upbringing negates the notion of valor. Rather, it
is when those who have big plans, great aspirations, and lofty goals who
willfully give up those dreams as just another portion of their sacrifice
that makes them valorous. The nature of these particular aspirations
varies from person to person and is totally dependent upon their unique
circumstances.
For the poor farmer in the Outback, the goal might simply be raising a
large enough crop that his family can survive a harsh winter and perhaps
raise his children healthy and free of pain. For a simple laborer, it could
be the dream of a life of luxury, free of the daily drudgery and the
hardness of her life. For the military inductee, it could be simply the
desire that he and the rest of the unit survive the night under enemy
bombardment. Valor comes to the fore when that individuals personal
dreams no longer matter. When they set aside their own hopes, their
own dreams, their very lives, so that their fellows, or spouses, or
children, or nation, might go on, might survive the depredations of the
enemy, then the valorous show themselves.
Valor is not universal. All militaries of all times and all nations, past,
present and future, have had among them those whose courage failed
them. There will always be those who shy from the enemy, who cower in
their foxhole, who run from the onslaught. But for the rest of us who do
not face the darkness every moment of every day, there will be those
who drive back the night by showing their true mettle. They are the
valorous. They are the people who through their individual sacrifice
ensure that our nation and way of life will never expire, that the night will
never finally fall on the Federated Suns.
The issue of The Review which you currently hold in your hand is
dedicated to one of those valorous individuals. While he was born of
high station and had at his disposal the entirety of the nation, he was
proved at his end to be among the best of us that ever lived. First Prince
Ian Davion was a true hero. He was a man who gave of himself the
ultimate sacrifice. He did this not in search of any accolade, for truly as
the leader of the nation he needed none. He did it not to gain any
respect or fealty from his men, for he had already earned that many
times over by his magnanimity in living and serving with them, not above
them. He gave his life that his mens lives might go on, that their time
had not yet come to be extinguished, that he might deny the enemy their
prize of defeating his loyal fellow troops. Then, as now, we can mourn
the loss of the valorous. But always remember, they chose to give it,
and they would not take it back.
Lft. Gen. Richard M. Stockwell (ret.)
Senior Editor
 A Tribute to Ian Davion
Editors note: This article was written in 3063, intended
for publication on the fiftieth anniversary of Prince Ians
Funeral. Due to The Reviews publication hiatus during
the civil war, it is printed now for the first time.
THE FUNERAL OF IAN DAVION
With the many enormous upheavals of the past forty
years, a tragedy which occurred but a few years earlier
is often forgotten. The grand success of the Fourth
Succession War, the shame of the War of 3039, the
shock of the Clan Invasion, the reformation of the Star
League, and the formation and sundering of the
Federated Commonwealth have each overshadowed
the previous historical events which led up to them. It
was the death of First Prince Ian Davion which propelled
Hanse Davion to power, subsequently resulting in the
formation of the Federated Commonwealth and so many
other glories and disgraces. Fifty years ago this month,
newly christened First Prince Hanse Davion laid to rest
his predecessor, giving homage in a manner which, to
those who might be watching, showcased his own
capabilities as a leader.
The crowd was hushed that fair spring day outside
The Symbolism of Six
The Federated Suns constitution enshrines the
following Six Liberties: the rights to personal liberty,
fair treatment, privacy, ownership of property,
ownership of weapons, and the right to participate in
planetary government. The symbolism of six
members in each troupe has always symbolized the
Six Liberties, which every member of the AFFS is
pledged to defend. Six AFFS servicemen carrying the
fallen demonstrates that the Six Liberties support the
fallen in death as they did during life, that the Liberties
endure and the defenders efforts were not in vain.
The six armed troops of the honor guard signify the
Six Liberties protecting the fallen just as the fallen died
defending the Six Liberties. It is a relationship that can
never be segregated, for the Six Liberties and the
AFFS are symbiotic, one being unable to survive and
serve the nation without the other.
16
Avalon City. The Procession had reached the site and
the caisson had stopped. The midnight black caparison
horse, stirrups holding Ians own boots in reverse, drew
to a solemn halt behind, the hilt of a long sword bobbing
above the classical English riding saddle. The
pallbearers removed from the caisson their charge and
the Procession entered: three troops in front and three
behind the burden borne upon the shoulders of six more
somber-faced individuals. All twelve wore the same
black dress uniform, unfettered by decorations, citations,
unit symbols, or rank insignia of any kind: the official
funeral dress of the Armed Forces of the Federated
Suns. Only a small cloisonn on their lapels, indicating
their branch of service, was to be seen. Among each
group, pallbearers and honor guard, each branch was
represented only once.
The unity of all branches of the AFFS was never more
fully demonstrated than at the funeral on that November
day. While most proper AFFS funerals have honor
guards composed of a mix of enlisted troops and
officers, there is often great honor to be found for those
who carry a fallen commander. Though they might have
failed in death to protect their leader, most who serve
under that man or woman prefer to demonstrate that
they serve him or her even after death. To protect ones
commander along the path to the final rest is the truest
way to show this loyalty. But in the case of this funeral,
that honor was held by every one of the members of the
honor guard; for the man they were to bury was no foot
soldier, no mere MechWarrior, no Field Marshal, and no
General, but the First Prince of the Federated Suns, Ian
Davion himself.
Prince Ians pallbearers included some members of his
Fourth Davion Guards RCT, as well as his brother and
successor, the newly crowned First Prince Hanse
Davion. Delivering their burden to its destination, the
honor guard formed a protective phalanx interposed
between the slain First Prince and the gathered
multitude as the pallbearers took position behind. First
Prince Hanse then disengaged himself and strode to the
podium to deliver his eulogy. Taken from file footage of
the funeral, the following is a faithfully transcribed
recounting of his address, which he chose to begin with
the traditional opening line for an AFFS funeral.
 A Tribute to Ian Davion
We are gathered here today to lay to rest a hero of
the Federated Suns.
First Prince Ian Davion epitomized the best ideals of the
Armed Forces of the Federated Suns and the nation that
it serves. His loyalty, not just to the nation he led, but to
the peoples of it whom he served, was ever unwavering.
We are gathered today because that duty extended to
the men directly under his command as well.
In every military action, a need to withdraw and regroup
can arise. Sometimes even our remarkable forces can
be overwhelmed by a numerically larger enemy, forcing
a strategic retreat. This is what happened when enemy
forces managed to arrive on Mallorys World to support
the aggression there against our nation.
When Prince Ian realized the nature and number of the
enemy, he wisely and correctly ordered a retreat to
preserve the lives under his charge. As he was ever
one to do first what he might instead order of others, he
ordered his men ahead while he held the rear against
the enemy.
It was this bravery, self-sacrifice, and dedication that led
to his death. Along with a few select exceptional
volunteers, whose own loyalty to their commander
refused to allow them to leave him behind, our beloved
Prince Ian held off immense numbers of enemy
MechWarriors, who without the rearguard effort would
surely have perpetrated a cowardly massacre of the rest
of our defenders on-world. Singled out, and likely
identified by his prowess and courage, Prince Ian
became the focus of the enemy. He fell, after hideously
long and savage combat, to fire from the enemy leader,
Yorinaga Kurita.
That Prince Ians body was recovered is owed to the
extraordinary performance of the Kell Hounds
mercenary regiment. It was the personal effort of that
units commander, Morgan Kell, which drove off the
craven slayers. For this singular service, I extend to
Morgan Kell not only my personal gratitude, but the
most sincere and respectful appreciation of the entire
Federated Suns. [At this, Prince Hanse broke with
protocol and left the podium. He approached a man
among the gathered crowd in attendance, a man not
outfitted with an AFFS funeral uniform but one of red
and blacka uniform, it should be added, that was
similarly and respectfully not adorned with any symbols
of rankshook the mans hand and then embraced him.
Morgan Kell, it was later said, was stunned by the true
personal expression and citation of the new First Prince.
Tears were seen to sparkle briefly in Prince Hanses
eyes as he returned to the podium and resumed his
address.] But our nation is lessened not just by the loss
17
The Importance of Unity
The unity of services is paramount.
While there are rivalries among the
various service branches - for example
between MechWarriors and infantry or
between aerospace pilots and tank
crews - the congregation of all services
in honor of the slain demonstrates the
true brotherhood of all AFFS members.
That all are equal in death is
demonstrated by the lack of ranks or
medals on the official plain black dress
funeral uniform of the AFFS.
If at all possible, the six members of
each troupe are to be drawn from a
separate branch of the AFFS. Thus
there should be one MechWarrior, one
aerospace pilot, one ground vehicle crew
member, one infantryman, one member
of the Support Services (often a
chaplain), and one member of the AFFS
Navy (a crew member of a DropShip,
JumpShip or WarShip).
The honor guards and pallbearers are
routinely not just a mix of service
branches, but also a mix between
enlisted troops and officers. It has never
been recorded that any officer refused to
serve in either capacity for a fallen
enlisted troop, nor has any enlisted troop
refused to carry or escort an officer. It is
considered a particular honor to carry
ones commanding officer to his or her
final rest.
 A Tribute to Ian Davion
of such an able and dedicated battlefield commander
and talented MechWarrior. We have lost our leader, our
First Prince, my brother, our brother, for he considered
all citizens of the Federated Suns as his family. I can
only hope that as I assume the mantle of leadership, I
might someday be half the leader as was Prince Ian.
Truly I can only succeed him, for none could ever hope
to replace him. [So saying, the new First Prince stood
down from the podium and resumed his place amongst
the pallbearers.] The melancholy notes of Taps
mourned through the gathered host. Duke Aaron
Sandoval of the Draconis March was seen to weep
openly and unabashedly, and he was certainly not the
only one.
Two of the pallbearers removed the resplendent Sword
and Sunburst flag of the Federated Suns from the plain
wooden casket. Before Taps completed, they had
folded the flag into a tight triangle with the sword folded
entirely within. The Flag was handed to Prince Hanse
who turned smartly and approached his mother, Jennifer
Campbell, where she was seated at the front of the
crowd. Kneeling before her, he spoke to her in low
tones as he held the Flag out to her as reverently as one
would handle the last original copy of the Crucis Pact.
Though his precise words were unknown, it is believed
that he spoke the traditional ceremonial phrase, This
Flag is presented to you on behalf of the Armed Forces
of the Federated Suns, the First Prince and a grateful
nation as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved
ones faithful and dedicated service. All our peoples
mourn your loss, for it is a loss we all share.
As he finished, Prince Hanse came to parade ground
attention and snapped as smart a salute as any member
of the AFFS ever dreamed. He rejoined the pallbearers
as the honor guard came about and brought their
weapons to bear. At precisely 6:00 p.m., New Avalon
time, the six troops in unison took aim and fired the first
of their six volleys. But it was not the simple reports of
six standard issue service rifles that greeted the ears of
the assembled. Rather, a cacophony of sound so
terrible and magnificent assaulted the ears of everyone
present that, despite the surprise all were too stunned to
give voice to any response. Explosions reverberated in
the distance as aerospace fighter squadrons appeared
in the air like apparitions venting their lasers and
cannon, artillery shells were launched, and BattleMechs
discharged their arsenals, all in perfect unison. And as
the six honor guards fired their sixth and final shot in
salute, so too in perfect synchronicity did the distant
guns, Mechs, and cannon all fall silent, the aerospace
fighters melting invisibly and silently into the atmosphere
from whence they had sprung. The sudden vacuum of
18
noiselessness was more ear-numbing than the
Brobdingnagian expenditure of ordnance had been.
As the salute ended, the body of Prince Ian was lowered
into the hallowed ground of the New Avalon Memorial
Cemetery. The gathered multitudes attempted to grasp
what had occurred. Every member of the AFFS on-
world had joined in the honor guard volley to pay
respect to the beloved fallen Prince. The true scope of
the honor salute to Prince Ian, however, only became
clear later, and to those who were present it made the
gesture that much more remarkable. For what had
awed them at the actual funeral was duplicated in
perfect lockstep, shot for shot, on every world of the
Federated Suns. Every member of all branches of the
military not involved in active combat simultaneously
regardless of the respective sidereal time of the world
they were oncame to parade ground formation and
fired six shots to honor the fallen First Prince.
It was a display of absolutely unprecedented and
unimaginable military coordination on an inconceivable
scale. Prince Hanse, in a display of organizational skill
pulled off with perfect covert aplomb, had demonstrated
the ability of his nations military to perform a heretofore
unheard-of level of coordination. It was a lesson lost on
his enemies, thankfully, but illustrated the same ability
that saw the remarkable conquest of half the Capellan
Confederation scarcely a decade and a half later.
But it is with hindsight that such parallels are drawn. At
the time, and to this author even now, it was simply the
manifestation of the absolute love and reverence that
Prince Hanse felt for his brother. He gave to his brother
a unique honor, a salute unmatched in history, the
grandest and most remarkable sendoff ever paid to any
official of any nation. And it was paid to a man who, in
life, would have refused it. That, in this authors opinion,
is the true mark of Prince Ians heroism: that he did not
seek fame or repute or notoriety; he was just another
soldier, a MechWarrior of great skill to be sure, but
nothing more or less. He died as he lived, fighting for
the Six Liberties and the one nation that spawned them.
He died with his boots on, fighting for and alongside his
men with an enemy in his sights and a curse on his lips.
Would that we could all be so lucky.
The author, Leftenant General Hillnas, served as a
captain under Prince Ian in the Fourth Davion guards
and was among those in attendance at both Prince Ians
and Prince Hanses funerals. General Hillnas came out
of retirement to support Prince Victors cause and was
killed in action during the Civil War. He too died with his
boots on and an enemy in his sights.
 A Tribute to Ian Davion
Ian's Lament
The namesake held the world,
The heir holds the line.
The enemy breaks through,
When Atlas' pilot is a'dyin'.
It was with these twenty words that the death of a
beloved First Prince was mourned. One would think
that the combat death of a First Prince as revered as
Ian Davion would have had more lasting
repercussions. Indeed, it seems that the peoples of
the Federated Suns scarcely recall their fallen
leaders within moments of the official burial. Though
penned by an anonymous writer, the words speak
powerfully to those who understand the context.
First Prince Ian commanded the Fourth Davion
Guards, and he did so from the front. When
circumstances resulted in the Guards being
outflanked by Combine invaders on Mallorys World,
the First Prince ordered his command company to
pull back from the enemy, while Ian himself
remained behind to delay the Second Sword of
Light. He drew a line in the sand of that canyon
floor, and he sold his life at a high cost to the enemy.
Holding off the larger numbers of enemy all by
himself, fending their forces from the controls of his
Atlas, he refused to budge. It was only moments
before reinforcements arrived in the form of the Kell
Hounds, under the command of Morgan Kell himself,
that the First Prince was struck down by Draconian
weapons.
Though he surely would have enjoyed life had it
continued on, it can truly be said that First Prince Ian
was among the minority of the line of his forebears
who saw their charges escape the grip of oppression
before his light was extinguished. While it did not
end the Succession Wars, the love that the First
Prince held for all his people was evident in the
sacrifice he made to ensure that his troops survived
to fight the Dragon another day. In so doing, First
Prince Ian Davion displayed the ultimate to which
someone of his office might aspire: to do no less for
his people than what he asked from them. That he
is not celebrated as other First Princes are
recognized testifies only to his short reign and not
his true abilities. One might only wonder at the
further greatness such a self-sacrificing First Prince
of the people as Ian Davion might have reached.
19
COMMENCEMENT
Very few of the Federated Suns remember the many
things which First Prince Ian Davion did to distinguish
himself from those who came before him to head our
nation. What many of the readers may not know is that
Ian Davion, soon after he took the reins of power,
delivered the commencement address at the War
College of Goshen. It was for the graduating class of
3001, the first of the new millennium. (It was his own
NAMA which had the honor of receiving Prince Ians
address for the Class of 3000.) Following is a transcript
from the WCG archives of the address Prince Ian gave
that day, the last by a First Prince.
My fellow soldiers, please bear with me if I seem
uncomfortable. I truly do hate to wear the dress
uniform. I would much rather be in the field, stripped to
the waist in my cockpit and lobbing shells at the enemy!
[Applause and laughter follow.]
All of you have already received your assignments, and
soon you will be leaving this fine institution to join
another fine institution. For all of you now, and
forevermore, are members of the Armed Forces of the
Federated Suns, the AFFS. This is no small thing.
While our nation might have the largest military of all the
human nations, each and every one who chooses to
serve is of the finest character and ability. And you who
persevere and complete Academy training are the
cream of that already fine crop.
But do not let your stature as academy graduates go to
your head! I, too, graduated from an academy, but it
was the veterans whom I met after joining the Guards
who gave me my real education. The sergeants who
have seen and done it all; the senior officers who are so
cool under fire; even the buck privates whose mistakes
remind you of your own, making it easier to teach them
how not to err again. Be proud, but be humble as well.
You have earned the respect of your fellow cadets and
your instructors, but you have to start all over with those
of your new units. Remember that you must earn their
respect as well, and the first step in that journey is to
give them yours.
The one truth you must all remember is this: when battle
comes, as it always seems to, it is the man or woman
beside you who must follow your lead. You cannot
expect them to charge ahead of you and absorb the fire
directed at you. No, what you must do is be willing to
make the sacrifice that will allow your men to carry on
and ensure victory over the enemy. I am not urging
anyone to give their life needlessly. What I am saying is
that your life is no more important than that of your
 A Tribute to Ian Davion
fellows, and you must remember that. For if you expect
them to give their lives for you, but you are unwilling to
give your life for them, you might be rudely surprised.
It is a true leader who knows that he has instilled in his
charges the proper training that should he die in their
defense, they will not be laid low by his death but can
continue on and complete the deed he began. It is the
true leader who knows his men by their names and
shies not from associating with them. It is the true
leader who knows that his life is a small price to pay to
ensure that his mens lives go on. It is this type of
leader who need not hope that his men would make the
same sacrifice for him; rather, he trusts it, he knows it.
It is this leader who knows that his men would sacrifice
themselves for each other following his example, so that
fewer will die, exacting as large a price from the enemy
as they might before completing the journey to Heavens
Gate.
I know not whether I am such a leader, though I strive
every day to be one. However, may all those under my
commandand as First Prince, that is pretty much all of
you [laughter from crowd]may you all know this: I will
never allow others to die if my own life would be the cost
to preserve theirs. Every one of you and all the peoples
of the Federated Suns are my charges, and my life is
paltry in comparison. I hope that, as you all move on to
your new assignments, none of you have to make such
a declaration, but I can trust that all of you would
willingly do so. Because you are now members of that
greatest of societies, the AFFS.
Thank you. [Applause]
It was on the 28th day of October in the year of Our Lord
3013 that First Prince Ian Davion proved to the entirety
of humanity that his words were not mere hyperbole
that he was, indeed, a true leader.

Sensor Failure on Mallorys World?

A comprehensive review of the sensor logs from the BattleMechs of the Fourth Davion Guards which were present at
the battle in which First Prince Ian Davion was killed demonstrated a uniformly unusual defect. In every case, the
logs show the First Princes contact disappearing from detection some time before the fatal shot from Yorinaga
Kurita.

In order to analyze the last battle of Ian Davion completely, interviews were conducted with those of the Fourth
Davion Guards at the time who were still alive and could be reached. The timeline of the battle was defined and
consistent even after more than fifty years with the accounts at the time. The Guards were retreating in order to
regroup. Caught in a narrow defile, only one Mech could pass at a time. In a show of courage and self-sacrifice, the
First Prince ordered his men ahead so that he might stave off the pursuers. Comparison of this data with the sensor
logs from the AFFS Record Archive showed agreement to this point. However, it was at this point that the First
Princes Mech suddenly disappeared from the scanners of all those present. Visual logs were not preserved, and the
canyon in question is known not to possess deposits of minerals which might have interfered with sensors.

During this time, the First Prince was said to have fought and defeated no less than four enemy Mechs. Given the
narrow confines of the canyon, it seems inconceivable that he absorbed such little enemy fire as to continue strongly.
Yet every statement of the event clearly indicates that the First Princes Mech was in no worse condition when they
retrieved his body as before his comrades escaped, aside from the head damage which killed him. The only
conclusion is that the First Prince managed to evade all incoming fire from his enemies for quite some time while at
the same time disappearing from sensors.

Compounding the mystery is another finding. The Kell Hounds had been doggedly moving to support and relieve the
Guards. The Hounds communicated their position as they neared the Guards, to prevent any friendly fire incidents.
As the word was relayed over the open Guards communication channel, the contact from the First Princes Mech
uniformly reappeared on all sensors within range. Within moments, the fatal shot was fired by Yorinaga Kurita,
whoaccording to the sensor logshad been discharging his Warhammers weapons steadily at no apparent target.

The disappearance and reappearance of the First Prince from Mech sensors were also evident in the logs of DCMS
Mechs salvaged once the Kell Hound relief had driven off the Combine force. A request made to the Draconis
Combine for corroboration received no reply. The Kell Hounds were willing to share information, but none of the
Mechs involved were still in service to the unit and the units logs of the event had been classified by Morgan Kell.
Rumors of similar circumstances have surfaced through the years regarding Kells own uncanny knack to evade his
enemies. Knowing this, an attempt was made to contact him directly regarding this mystery. A terse communiqu
from Kell himself in response to the information request noted that Ian Davion was a true man of honor. A fine

20
 A Tribute to Ian Davion
MechWarrior and courageous leader, he exemplified the best of humanity. I hope in his judgment I put to good use
the lessons I learned from him.

Was it some lost technology that allowed Prince Ian to dodge Mech sensors as well as enemy weapons? If so, it
was apparently lost with him. Or was it? Might the means to such have been taken as salvage by Morgan Kell? This
is considered unlikely, given the universal reputation for honorable conduct by the man. This leaves but one
explanation, which generates only more questions. That Prince Ian disappeared from Mech sensors is clear from the
evidence, but the means with which he accomplished the feat seem destined to remain unexplained.

Editors Note: It is rare that a WCG student publishes in The Review, but a senior project investigating supposed
inconsistencies in sensor logs during the battle in which First Prince Ian Davion was killed came to our attention. The
reader is left to his or her own devices in interpreting the data. Cadet Marina Vasquez condensed her dissertation
into the summary presented here.

21
 Know Thy Enemy
With the renewed focus on the Capellan
Confederation Armed Forces after the debacle of the
3057-58 war and the near-disintegration of AFFC/S
units facing them, the first scholarly examinations of
the CCAF in nearly thirty years were initiated under
the aegis of the retired (and now deceased) Field
Marshall Ran Felsner and various military think tanks.
It soon became apparent that there were (at the time)
two distinct periods of Capellan Mech design, known
jejunely as First and Second Period designs; the
former a relic of the days of Romano Liao and her
Not a step backwards orders, and the latter a
product of the so-called Xin Sheng movement with a
greater emphasis on speed and maneuverability.
With the later development of Stealth Armor analysts
noticed a new trend, the Third Periodalthough it is
in reality an adjunct to either of the earlier styles. This
document concerns itself primarily with the First
Period.
The First Period of Capellan design is one of slower,
heavily armed units that can hold ground or keep up a
steady, well-supported advance. This is most suited
to heavier designs, as light Mechs and some of the
smaller medium Mechs cannot be expected to do
much more than die valiantly when tied to one
location. Therefore, the principal function of Capellan
light machines, or indeed any rapid-moving machine,
is to act as a harassing force, being not tied down to a
location and thus capable of receiving aid from
heavier machines in a short period of time; or failing
that, making behind the lines raids on the enemys
rear an attractive proposition. One such design is the
CCAFs Raven BattleMech. The Raven is in many
ways a flagship Mech of the First Period of Capellan
military development: it relies on heavier designs in
prepared defensive positions to provide the real
firepower, and its purpose is to make life miserable for
an invading force with its Narc pod and TAG. The
offensive punch resides with the other, heavier,
Mechs in its company: Vindicators, Cataphracts, and
Catapults.
The paradigmatic Capellan medium machine is the
Vindicator. For many years one of the few Mechs still
produced within the Confederation, it served double-
and triple-duty in roles that it was never intended to
fill, such as operating as a makeshift heavy Mech in
spearheading attacks, leading light lances, defending
fixed positions and fighting in dense urban areas or
on gently rolling savannah. Its pilots often found their
machine outmatched by more specialized designs.
As a generalist, however, the Vindicator is difficult to
top. It ran cool in the days when most Mechs ran hot
as a matter of course, and the initial upgrade kits
carried this to an extreme; AFFC analysis of several
nearly-intact 3L-series Vindicators turned over to the
NAIS by Wolfs Dragoons in early 3053 indicated the
22
design could retain 100% combat effectiveness even
with nearly 40% engine shielding degradation due to
damage; even at close to 70% shielding degradation,
the heat levels remained easily manageable. Those
who underestimated the Vindicators utility sometimes
came to regret it. Hauptmann General Mitchell
Weintraub, formerly of the 8th FedCom RCT, was
famously ejected from Second Try in 3057 by
Capellan forces equipped for the most part with the
lowly Vindicator. Though woefully outmatched by
such Davion designs as the Enforcer, Shadowhawk
and Griffin, the Vindicators on Second Try absorbed
inbound fire that would have crippled those designs.
By contrast, the Davion equipment lost included two
Rakshasas, top-of-the-line machines with a price to
match at 18.9 million C-bills apiece. With the cost of
the Vindicator a modest 3.5 million C-bills, a FedCom
force would have to destroy eleven Vindicators for
every two Rakshasas lost simply to even the bill; a kill
ratio of 11:2 has rarely been achieved in any modern
war, excluding the Clan Invasion. The Vindicator was
made with just such an attritional conflict in mind.
Despite unspectacular performance, its low cost and
durability mean that against Davion machines it can
often cause more losses to the enemy than to itself by
fighting to the bitter end. This explains the Mechs
low speed in a rational if frightening manner: the
Vindicator is most effective when its pilot has no hope
of orderly retreat.
All the effort of the light and medium Mechs would be
in vain for the First Period force were it not for the
heavy Mechs of the CCAF. The Cataphract is a
departure from form for the parsimonious CCAF of the
3050s. It costs nearly 15.4 million C-Bills, and is
unimpressively protected by modern standards (in
fairness, the contemporary F-C Caesar, derived from
the Cataphract, is even less well protected). It lacks a
big gun with a serious knock-out punch, relying on
an ER PPC and an LB-10X autocannonsolid
weapons to be sure, but the expense of their delivery
systems almost fails to justify their deployment. The
MASC system offers some improvement over the
standard movement curve for the weight class, but
the Mech would have benefited much more from the
incorporation of jump jets, allowing it to maneuver
with the Vindicator in any terrain; for a long time, this
choice was utterly inexplicable. When viewed in light
of what we now know of CCAF doctrine during the
period of its inception, however, the picture becomes
clearer. The heavy units of the CCAF were in fact
discouraged from maneuvering to engage enemy
forces; bitter experience with precision AFFS combat
drops during the Fourth Succession War, wherein
Capellan units were isolated and destroyed, had
convinced the demoralized Liao forces that it was not
a viable strategy to react to enemy movements; they
determined, rather, that they should instead focus on
 Know Thy Enemy
defending important objectives with the full strength of
a command (this in fact bears some similarities with
the Lyran concept of materialschlact, and may have
been inspired by that technique, although it must be
emphasized that the materialschlact is an offensive
concept, as opposed to a static one). In the minds of
the Cataphracts designers, jump jets would have only
encouraged pilots to leave their fortifications. MASC,
on the other hand, could be engaged for the critical
phase of a counterattack to recover lost ground,
where out-and-out ground speed was essential in
reaching optimum weapons range. To defend against
more maneuverable Mechs the designers contented
themselves with adding rear-firing lasers that would
have been out of place on a Mech ten tons heavier.
Conceived just after an infusion of Free Worlds
League monies in exchange for the then-flawed
Triple-Strength Myomer, the Cataphract upgrade was
intended as a showpiece design (as it had been in
3027). No expense was spared to produce a design
which was generally regarded as a failure; this
eventually resulted in the newer and radically different
CTF-4L, which corrected almost all of the flaws of the
design and is in many ways a truer expression of a
First Period design, despite being a product of the so-
called Third Period.

First Period Capellan designs were typified by a

reluctance to rely on maneuver warfarea
questionable choice given that speed often acts as a
force multiplier and AFFC/S units tended to
outnumber their Capellan foes thanks to the organic
armor, infantry, and aerospace support fielded by a
full-strength Regimental Combat Team. The primary
goal of a Capellan unit from this period was to engage
the enemy in such a manner as to make the cost of
final victory prohibitively high. Changes came with
the Second and Third Periods of Capellan design, but
Capellan design philosophy remained (and largely
remains) reactive to Davion advancements both real
and perceived. Review of documents concerning the
Second and Third Periods is underway, and despite
the current truce it seems certain that we will again
face Capellan equipment on the battlefield.
Continued study of our ancient foe is the best
preparation we can make.

Leftenant Colonel Yves Fitzgerald (GCW '49)

coordinated with the MIIO's Foreign War Material
Analysis Commission to produce the highly regarded
3060 edition of the Threat Book.

23
 The Wages of Sin
To be a soldier is to be a businessman; the soldier is,
at heart, a merchant in the grim business of death.
Everythingthe defense of civilians, upholding
national honor, rebuilding in the wake of a disaster
is secondary to the soldier's ability to do mighty and
irrevocable harm to his designated enemy. The
human heart is uplifted when members of the military
flock to the scene of a flooded city bearing aid and
relief for the beleaguered populace, but such gestures
do not a soldier make. Any significant civilian group
with time, inclination, and organization, can bring
together such an effort of relief and mercy. A soldier
who is building up homes in a disaster area while his
comrades fight and die for the sake of their mission is
useless as regards his stated profession. Aspirations
to noble purpose and assertions of higher callings are
well and good, but let honesty rule the day and call a
spade a spadethe ultimate and defining purpose of
the soldier is to bring death to the enemies of his
sworn sovereign, be that ruler a cause, ideal, a lover,
or the nation of his birth.
The death trade of a soldier
is a costly and demanding
market. Every business
requires investment capital,
and the soldier provides the
most potent capital of all: his
life. He wagers on the ability
of his life to reap a profit by
impacting the battle around
him, the reward being varied
and oft intangible, and the
method being uniquely
uncompromising. Yes, it is
most often that the victors of
a fight take more prisoners
than they kill. This, however, would not be the case
had those victors not come to the battle fully prepared
to give out death to their opponents. No soldier in his
right mind would surrender to an enemy comparable
in arms to himself yet unwilling to actually do him
harm. Every soldier must enter the battlefield
prepared to kill, and must turn that determination into
actual, ugly, bloody, disgusting killing.
There is a high cost to this investment. The emotional
effects of killing another human being can be
devastating, even to the prepared. The psychology of
the matter has been exceedingly well documented
from the time of the Great Wars of the late 20th
Century. Veterans of countless campaigns and
engagements reach a point, seemingly without
warning, where it is literally impossible for them to
raise their weapons and continue in the soldier's
craft. Some return to life and establish a semblance
of normalcy; others shamble on through existence
hollow and haunted wrecks, retaining only the barest
shape of humanity. Some, seeing no other way to
24
balance the accounts of the lives they have taken, kill
themselves, be it to escape or to devise some final bit
of fairness from the exchange.
Those best suited to the actual task of killing
proficiently and in quantity are those we are least
inclined to make soldiers. The sociopath, the sadist,
the berserkerthose to whom killing is most natural
and who are immune to any emotional ramifications of
their actions. They are also those most inclined to
depart from the focus of the soldierthe killing of his
sovereign's enemiesand into killing for self-
gratification or self-advance. These are poor soldiers,
least controllable and most prone to the breakdown of
any sensible military plan or discipline. I can hold up
no finer example of this than the Clans. Fearsome
combatants they may be, but time and time again
have they been brought to the altar of war and made
to pay the price in blood. Tukayyid, Port Arthur,
Coventry, Strana Mechty; accounts tallied, costs
exacted; lesson taught but never learned. It is not to
these we can reasonably entrust our safety as
citizens and soldiers, but
rather to the stable, the
caring, the controlled. But it
is these, the good and noble
of society, who will be most
burdened by the grim
soldier's task. The good
man's conscience will
struggle with the death he
brings to the world,
regardless of noble cause or
sacrificial gesture.
I landed with the Heavy
Guards on New Avalon. I
fought for that precious,
glorious jewel of this nation with every fiber of my
being. I went into battle fully aware of what I was
there to do; I was there to kill. During a combat drop
behind Loyalist lines, in which we were attempting to
secure an airfield, my lance was supported by
Leftenant Percy Doyle's lance. That was the whole
remaining force of Echo company; our third lance had
been lost in the days preceding this engagement.
The fight for the airstrip was as brutal as any other
battle of the war. I lost two of my best friends,
Sergeants Dwayne Courrier and Dannica Belarys, in
that fight. We ended a total of sixty-seven human
lives in various vehicles and Mechs, and twice that in
unarmored, unaugmented infantry before our
reinforcements arrived and the remnant surrendered.
After the fight, we had exited our Mechs while combat
repairs were being enacted, and I found Lft. Doyle
digging graves for the men we'd killed. Not our men,
our enemies. "I can't leave them like this, Captain,"
he told me. "I can't bear the thought of telling another
mother I left her son out in the rain after I killed him."
 The Wages of Sin
Doyle had never actually told any mother any such
thing. But the image, the thought that he may
someday have to do that, however unlikely, had
seized this incredibly professional, dedicated soldier
around the heart, and would not let go. Doyle was a
man not prone to sentiment. He despised my
unofficial status as Battalion Chaplain, discounted any
religious beliefs out of hand, and was least likely of
any in the unit to participate in the Regiment's
traditions. Yet here he was, desperately searching for
a tiny fragment of peace to assuage the mental
demands of his hateful craft. In the end, we disposed
of their remains as much in line with proper AFFS
procedure, treating these fellows of our nations
military with the respect they deserved regardless of
their side in the conflict.
This, future members of the Armed Forces of the
Federated Suns, is the high cost of war. Statistically,
25
at least one of this graduating class will go on to
become, at the very least, a Colonel in a major
Regiment of this military. It will be your duty to take
these decent, human souls, and commit them to the
grim task of destroying other decent, human souls
who happen to be the enemies of this nation. You
cannot avoid this responsibility, and I pray you never
flinch from it. Indeed, you must make this transaction,
sacrificing the consciences of the few in the pursuit of
the rewards our bloody craft entails. We are soldiers,
our purpose is to kill. However, we kill and do these
things out of loyalty to the Freedoms of this nation,
the Rulers of this nation, and the People of this
nation. The reward we seek is the protection of all
these things, and it is a good reward to seek. But
seek it knowing the cost you and others will pay. Give
our enemies the full measure of death, gentlemen,
and may God be lenient in accounting the cost to your
souls.
Captain Isaiah M. Rosner (ret.) is a Professor of
Military Philosophy at the War College of Goshen. A
cum laude graduate and alumnus of the College, he
currently teaches the 400 level course Ethics of
Wartime Command from which this lecture was taken.
 In Pursuit of the Hound
Though his reign was brief, First Prince Ian Davions
influence upon the Federated Suns can still be felt.
Known as the Hound, rather than following a trail, he
in fact blazed one. Perhaps his most enduring legacy
has been the pursuit of a strategy of aggressive
raiding against the Capellan Confederation and the
creation of a specialized regiment to execute that
strategy, the First Federated Suns Armored Cavalry
Regiment (1FSACR). The goals of this strategy were
threefold: to relieve the chronic supply problem in the
Capellan March, to force Capellan units to adopt a
defensive posture, and to soften up the
Confederation for eventual invasion. The 1FSACR
succeeded brilliantly at all three, and despite
operating under the cover of official secrecy the unit
quickly became famous throughout the Federated
Suns for its raiding prowess. The units success
prompted the development of new Mech designs
well-suited to its style of combat and inspired other
units of the AFFS to train maneuvers first developed
under Col. Todd Revons, first commanding officer of
the 1FSACR.
A peculiarity of Liao economic policy makes raiding
the Confederation particularly fruitful. Capellan
collectivism ensures that warehouses are always fed
first; that is, supplies often remain in inventory rather
than being deployed where needed because of
political pressure on the military (and civilian)
economy. Ian Davion predicted that weaknesses
inherent to the Capellan political system would cause
his adversaries to make poor decisions on and off the
battlefield. Politics is the eternal hobgoblin of the
Capellan military, constantly twisting the proper
coordination of the armed forces. Politics influences
the distribution of goods of every sort, so that
strategically vital but politically insignificant worlds are
chronically late in their munitions and rations, even
their mail. This damages troop morale and combat
readiness beyond the dint of any propaganda to
repair.
Shortly after Prince Ians new regiment was
unleashed upon the Confederation a new bounty of
Capellan goods ranging from short-range missiles to
MREs began to appear in AFFS supply chains. Vitae
magazine photographed for its cover in June 3026 a
humorous scene of Federated Suns infantrymen
puzzling over instructions printed in Hanyu on a
packet of freeze-dried pork noodles. Indeed, new
manuals had to be printed and distributed throughout
the AFFS to deal with the sudden influx of Capellan
booty. Col. Revons came to regard the Confederation
as his own personal storehouse and he took to raiding
it for everything his unit needed, often neglecting
entirely to requisition basic supplies through normal
AFFS channels. The raids were brazen and
demoralizing to Capellan defenders, who began to
26
hold the 1FSACR raiders in awe, dubbing them
Green Demons.
Revons at times appeared almost to feel guilty for the
ease with which he took his booty. On one occasion
he raided storehouses of raw grain but left untouched
a nearby harvest of tobacco, apparently judging the
deprivation of the Capellan solders tobacco ration an
unnecessary cruelty. Later he habitually left civilian
wares and foodstuffs untouched, even though he
knew that the CCAF routinely re-appropriated civilian
property for military use. He explained to his men that
one day the Capellan civilians would be brought
under the banner of the Federated Suns and that it
would do no good to starve them in the meantime. It
must have impressed (or perhaps confused) Capellan
civilians to be treated more generously by an invader
than by their own government, which parsimoniously
rationed out the most mundane of goods.
The effect of these raids upon the CCAF was
enormous. Having failed to catch Federated Suns
raiders time and again, orders came down from the
Strategoi to stop giving chase. The Capellan strategy
became one of indomitable defense, a strategy not
dissimilar to Lyran Concentrated Weakness in which
only the most important sites on a world would be
defended. In practice, CCAF commanders often felt
more inclined to protect their own hardware than to
defend their cities and storehouses, so indomitable
defense came to mean ordering ones forces to a
defensible spot and staying put, effectively giving the
invader free rein over nearly the entire planet.
The apparent ease with which the 1FSACR raided the
Capellan Confederation helped give the CCAF its
reputation for incompetence throughout the Inner
Spherea perception which became a potent
weapon. Divided and demoralized, the CCAF began
to resemble penned sheep encircled by wolves. The
people of the Confederation came to doubt the armys
ability and even its desire to protect anything but their
own personnel and equipment. Traditional Capellan
veneration of the CCAF yielded to contempt and
resentment, even among the soldiers themselves.
The ruling Liaos and Strategoi on Sian continued their
dreamy paper-war in which every catastrophe was
viewed as a minor setback and House Liao was
always just one well-planned counter-offensive away
from a dramatic reversal of fortune. Meanwhile even
the well-indoctrinated soldiers on the Davion front
could not help but notice that they had effectively lost
control of their border. Davion farm boys were
tromping about unchallenged while the Capellan
MechWarrior hid in his stronghold worrying that if the
invaders came too close he would have to fire his
autocannon and afterward file a report justifying the
expenditure of the shell. Capellan officers at this time
routinely received contradictory orders such as to
 In Pursuit of the Hound
protect equipment at all costs, and to engage
invaders wherever possible, and not to budge from a
strategic position. House Liao has never lacked for
brave soldiers and capable officers, but hampered as
it was by inferior equipment and a broken command
structure the CCAF could only watch itself deteriorate
under relentless pressure from House Davion. By the
time Hanse Davion launched Operation Rat the
Confederation was set up for complete collapse.

Because he lived, and because he presided over the

4th Succession War, Hanse Davion received the
credit for that wars success. His predecessors
significant contribution to that success should be
remembered as well. Raiding has been de-
emphasized in the decades since the 4th Succession
War; a raiding campaign nowadays is likely to be
seen as an alternative rather than a precursor to a
campaign of seizing and holding territory. The
1FSACR has remained one of the Federated Suns
most important and most decorated units, particularly
in operations against the Clans, but with the collapse
of the Sarna March and the loss of Tikonov the AFFS
High Command has concerned itself chiefly with
maintaining supply lines and stamping out guerilla
activities. The tremendous gains into Capellan
territory have had this drawback: worlds we hold are
worlds we can no longer raid for supplies. Instead we
have to defend these worlds against infiltrators who
know the ground as well asor better thanwe.

It was once thought that the 1FSACR represented the

future of the AFFS. However, efforts to duplicate the
1FSACRs formula for success among other units
have gone nowhere. With its high rate of attrition and
retirement the 1FSACR itself must continuously draw
veteran MechWarriors from other units to fill its ranks;
in the words of current commander Gen. Rudolph
Chapman it tends to chew up and spit out old
MechWarriors due to its mission profile. An army of
naught but armored cavalry units would wear itself out
if forced to fight a protracted war. The near-
annihilation of the Confederation shook the Strategoi
out of their torpor. Better strategies and faster
designs are evening out what was once a one-sided
struggle between the Great Houses, and it is unlikely
a raiding campaign today could have the unqualified
success of the 1FSACR in times past. Even so, it is
time the raiding campaign got a second look. With
Capellans once again feeling their oats and causing
us headaches on the worlds of the former Tikonov
Commonality, it is high time they were reminded what
happens when Davion neighbors come calling. It is
time to follow the trail blazed by the Hound.

Subaltern Hedwig Kirchherr, Marlette Crucis March

Militia

27
 The Acme of Warfare
On 24 October, 3029, Morgan Hasek-Davion
captured a Capellan Death Commando DropShip
intent on destroying the ship-making capabilities of
the Federated Suns. Morgan had a small force of
Mechs with which he successfully defended the
planet Kathil. After the brief, bloody battle, he loaded
up a reinforced Mech company for a quick trip to
Sian, the capital of the Capellan Confederation. His
goal: to extract a Davion MIIO agent who had been
compromised. He was able to sneak into Liao space
utilizing the IFF signal from the captured DropShip.
He deployed a smoke screen and his troops
performed a combat drop right in the middle of a Liao
parade ceremony. After several minutes of fierce
fighting, the agent was recovered and Hasek-Davions
troops were loaded back onto their captured DropShip
and headed for friendly space. This is a perfect
example of a raid.
The term raid conjures up many different mental
images depending on personal background and
experience. For most
military men and women, it
could represent a wide
variety of green role
missions, from sabotage to
prisoner snatches; or black
role special operations from
counter terrorism to
interstellar hostage rescue.
Since the dawn of warfare,
the raid has been an integral
part of most sound military
strategies. In our recent
past we have seen some
very successful raids carried out. The most famous is
Morgan Hasek-Davions afore-mentioned rescue
mission on Sian. During the Succession Wars, as
technology declined, the ability to produce fresh water
became a vital source for a planets well being. Thus,
the water raid was resurrected from ancient times
when nomadic tribesmen would fight over water sites
in the desert terrain of ancient Terra. Raids can also
act as diversions to put pressure on an attacking force
and make them withdraw from their primary mission in
order to defend themselves. During our recent civil
war, we saw several displays of this. The most
notable was during the Jade Falcon Incursion.
General Archer Christofori took his Avengers into
Jade Falcon space and began raiding their worlds in
an effort to make the Jade Falcons halt their attacks
into the Lyran Alliance.
The key elements of the raid are as follows:
TRAINING Basic training at any military academy or
advanced individual training will prepare most
28
individuals for the routine tasks that are required of
him or her. Unfortunately, advanced tactical training
is quite specialized and very time consuming, so is
not covered sufficiently during most academy training.
It is essential that all raid team personnel receive
specialized tactical training and an in-depth course in
raid planning and execution.
PLANNING The planning phase of a raid will have a
direct effect on the potential for success. Well
planned and documented raids have a higher
probability of success. For example, the Halstead
Station raid, led by Hanse Davion, was in the planning
process for a little over a year. It was a very difficult
target with the amount of forces arrayed against the
Federated Suns but it was successful due to the
amount of planning that took place before the
execution phase. The plan should identify the target,
and give a complete description of the terrain and a
complete inventory of equipment and logistical needs.
It should also assign individual duties to raid
personnel, designate team
leaders and give some
background on the target to
be hit. Usually, a target is
identified and must be hit.
Standard tactics begin with
the planning stage. How
much firepower will we
need? Will we need to carry
off items? What types of
units will we need? Are
there civilians in the area?
What type of terrain will we
have to deal with? Are there
any special considerations
for the local atmospheric conditions? All these
questions must be answered before any troops hit the
ground.
PREPARATION Preparation begins long before the
raid with surveillance of the target. An advance site
survey of the location determines available avenues
of approach and withdrawal and aids in selection of
the proper number of qualified personnel and team
leaders. Preparation also includes the selection of
the pre-raid assembly point. Also of importance is the
study of the site survey, maps, charts, photos,
diagrams and other available documents. Individual
tasks must be assigned. Who will make the entry or
initial contact; who will remain on security/support;
who will escort the prisoners/cargo? These are some
of the questions to be addressed before any raid can
be attempted with any hope of success.
INTELLIGENCE Good intelligence, like planning, is
critical to the success of a raid. Intelligence collection
may start several hours before a raid or several
 The Acme of Warfare
months, and can be divided into two primary
categories: Information about the target and its
location. In some cases, you will never have all the
intelligence about a target that you desire. Is it better
to conduct this raid with minimal intelligence and
possibly accomplish your mission? Or should you
wait for all available intelligence and possibly miss
your opportunity? You must weigh your alternatives.
COORDINATION A raid is a complex operation
broken down into a series of manageable
components. Without coordination, a raid becomes
sluggish, clumsy, disjointed, unprofessional and
potentially dangerous.
Everyone must know:
What organizations are involved
Individual duties before, during and after the raid
Team/Unit assignments
The final briefing location
Radio frequencies, codes and call signs
Timings for transportation, communication and
execution
EXECUTION There are three factors to consider in
executing a successful raid: Speed Surprise
Simplicity. Raids are not single step activities but
must be well organized and orchestrated. The initial
moments are critical and success may depend on the
time it takes to get total control of the situation.
Movement must be swift or targets will have time to
run or to destroy/sabotage the goods/valuables you
have come for; members of the raiding party will face
increased resistance as the enemy has more time to
organize and the raid may fail.
and tasks must be kept simple and described in a
clear and concise manner. The raid plan may be
complex but it should not be complicated. Complex
raid plans can work smoothly if individual tasks are
kept simple and well synchronized. Simplicity will
breed confidence in any plan.
The planetary raid is a tactic that has fallen by the
wayside of the more pressing planetary assault or
invasion. Most military commanders think that if you
are going to the trouble of moving hundreds of tons of
equipment and spending millions of C-bills in
transportation, fuel and equipment costs, you might
as well go the extra mile and just invade the bloody
planet. But those commanders are not fully cognizant
of the effect a raid has on morale, both national and
militarily. Showing the enemy you have the capability
to conduct a raid of his resources can be of immense
strategic value. Not knowing when an enemy will
strike puts citizens and troops alike on edge, waiting
for that first burst of gunfire. If troops spend too much
time living on that edge, living with that fear of the
unknown, it saps their strength making them even
more vulnerable and susceptible to the light we
Davions are working to shed on all mankind.
Maj. Benjamin F. Marion, Class of 57

The element of surprise may come from the use of

ruses, distractions and diversionary operations, and
the tried and true method of attacking at night. It may
also require a pre-raid assembly point, covert
insertion hours or days in advance, and rapid
movement on a secure communications net. Surprise
is also dependent on operational security, so
dissemination of pre-raid information should be on a
need-to-know basis only. Select only trusted
personnel who will work to prevent the leak of dates,
times and places. If security is compromised and
surprise cannot be achieved, the raid may have to be
aborted. During the Marik Civil War, Wolfs Dragoons
forces staged an assault against Anton Mariks
fortress on New Delos. The main attack was a
diversion from the small raiding force, led by Captain
Natasha Kerensky, which infiltrated to the rear of the
fortress, battered their way inside, surprising the
defenders and killing Anton Marik.

Simplicity is also an important factor that will

contribute to the success of the raid. Individual duties

29
 The Continuing Cost of War
The High Command has recently noted a tragic
aftereffect of the Civil War. Across the whole of the
Federated Suns, veterans of the war are turning down
that darkest of paths. As is typical of any major
conflict, the toll taken upon the survivors is more than
physical; it is also psychological. This leads many to
self-abusive lifestyles.
Drug addiction and alcoholism are common enemies
which are often tolerated. Many sanctioned
treatments for post-traumatic stress syndrome include
anti-depressant medication, but the embarrassment of
many professional warriors to any admission of
weakness prevents the self-identification and quest
for aid that might lead to one of the many safe and
legal non-addictive treatments available despite the
confidential nature of treatment. The bottle at the
corner pub or the pills from the local dealer are
quicker fixes; however, with the dawn comes not only
the hangover and the come-down but also the return
of the memories of blood and guts and killing and
death.
Addictions, however, despite their proliferation, are
not the plague of which I write. No, I am writing about
that shortest of all the dark paths taken by those
whose psyches are so damaged by experiences too
horrendous to relate to those who were not party to
them. Even the most graphic news coverage cannot
convey the horror that was visited upon our troops.
This conflict was the worst in our history. It is not
simply because nearly every shot was fired within our
own borders; it is not just because of the increasing
body count, as many wounded in battle are
succumbing only now to death; it is not just because
of the unprecedented scale of the conflict. Make no
mistake: this was a war that needed to be fought. But
for those tasked with the actual fighting, regardless of
which faction they supported, there could be no true
victory. There could only be losers, for the enemy
upon whom they fired were their own brothers and
sisters.
Much is said about the quality of our military, and with
good reason. There are some who would try to seek
some positive aspect of this conflict in the belief that it
was only because we were facing our own brethren
that our forces were devastated to a degree that our
many ancestral enemies could never have hoped to
realize. However, these people are oblivious to the
true nature of the situation. Yes, the toll taken in this
conflict was egregious, and it was wrought by our own
hands, but those who worked this horror upon their
own, whatever their motivation or justification, have to
30
carry forever the burden of their actions.
It is this heaviest of burdens, the inescapable guilt
and regret that caused a black despair which no drink
or fix can salve. Instead, these bravest of men and
women, these heroes of epic quality, these people
who in order to preserve the Six Liberties for all their
brethren willingly forego those freedoms to serve the
State and its peoplesand make no mistake, they
are truly the best and greatest of us allhave sought
solace in the worst imaginable place.
Our Nation is currently beset as never before. Truly
credible and hostile forces are poised on all borders,
forcing our depleted and war-weary Armed Forces to
maintain a high level of alert. That our veterans have
had no stand-down time to convalesce and attempt to
come to terms with their actions, and that they know
they likely will soon be called upon again to perform
the same actions which slaughtered their fellows so
recently, has left many with the belief that only one
avenue of escape remains to them. The
inescapability of their situation has led a great number
of our troops, members of the finest military force in
human history, with no resort but to take their own
lives. Usually when our troops returned home from
war, it was a leave-taking of another realm. But now
there is no return, for it was in their own home where
our troops fought, and against their own family at that.
We all shared the horror and bear with us forever the
recollections of targeting our own and firing our
weapons at them in anger.
This interminable guilt is felt by those on both sides of
the conflict, do not doubt; but together, just as we are
once again whole, we can begin to heal. Seek out the
company of your fellows, your chaplain, your
commander, or your unit medics and surgeons.
Those who claim that our greatness will be shown by
how well we were able to kill our own will learn that
our greatness will truly be demonstrated by how well
we are able to heal our own. That is the true measure
of a hero, a nation, and a people, and none are
greater than the Federated Suns and those who
defend it. Yes, the mission will never end, for we
shall always need defenders against the forces of
tyranny and oppression. What we do not need is for
our own to aid those enemies unwittingly by
weakening our defense by our own actions.
Major Brothers is Chaplain of the War College of
Goshen, a post he has occupied faithfully in all ways
since 3053. He joined the faculty as Deputy Chaplain
in 3044.
Credits:
Overall Concept/Content Editing: Jonathan B. Andrus (MadDogMaddux)
Original Design and Logo: Chris Thompson (TeamNutmeg)
Cover, Insert and other Graphics: Ken Nabors (Yuri Hikado)
Text Editor: Geoff Swift, PhD (97Jedi)
Layout: Tobias Francis

Authors:
Thomas J. Jackson: Jonathan B. Andrus (MadDogMaddux)
Morgan Defire, Iyer A. S., Fr. F. Thomassi: Tobias Francis
G. Kincaid: Geoff Swift, PhD (97Jedi)
Pavel V. Miliukov: (miatezhnyi)
Stanley Garrison: Geoff Swift, PhD (97Jedi)
Paul Lombrice, Issachar Nahum: Tobias Francis
Ndugu Bowunga: Tobias Francis
Martin Trevithick and Huy Nguyen: Geoff Swift, PhD (97 Jedi) and Chris Thompson
(TeamNutmeg)
Francis Liao-Santiago: Tobias Francis and Chris French (LiaoFan)
Henri Rollet: Duane Bywaters (boilerman)
Yves Fitzgerald: Edward McEneely (3rdCrucisLancers)
Isaiah M. Rosner: (fallen_angel)
Hedwig Kirchherr: Tobias Francis
Benjamin F. Marion: Ben Klinefelter (Shadow6)
Jacob Pontiac Brothers: Geoff Swift, PhD (97Jedi)

Special Insert: A Tribute to Ian Davion was conceived, designed, and written entirely by Geoff
Swift, PhD (97Jedi)

End page Hatchetman figure and photograph by Frederic Lagoanere (Foxbat).

Atlas figures throughout by Ken Nabors (Yuri Hikado).

Ad graphics by Ken Nabors (Yuri Hikado) and Chris Thompson (TeamNutmeg).

Original Goshen G Logo by FASA, used with permission.

Disclaimer:
WizKids LLC has sole ownership of the names, logos, artwork, marks, photographs, sounds,
audio, video and/or any proprietary material used in connection with the game Classic
BattleTech. WizKids, LLC has granted permission to The Review to use such names, logos,
artwork, marks and/or any written materials for promotional and informational purposes on its
website but does not endorse, and is not affiliated with, The Review in any capacity
whatsoever.
The Review was built with Word 3007.
 Hey Goshen Alums!
Looking to show your Goshen Pride? Why not with a figurine of the Mech
you (or the MechWarrior you sponsor) piloted in the Training Battalion?
Rostens will make your figurine to order! Rostens figurines are made of
high-quality alloys and can be painted with authentic-looking battle damage
and personal insignia by our top-notch artists! Order yours today!

For ordering information, contact us at orders@info.rostens.interconnectednessULTD.fs.comnet