Orbital Guard

The Orbital Guard is a sub-branch of the Union Naval Corps, dedicated to exoplanetary infantry operations. Its insular nature and permanently space-borne nature has created a distinct branch culture unlike the main branches of Union military.
The Orbital Guard's nature as a space-borne unit leads to a rather different physiological expectation than their ground-based counterparts. In the conditions the Guard typically fight in, low to zero gravity is the norm, and concerns of mass and physical size are greater than those of physical strength. As a result, the Orbital Guard recruits more from belt stations and outer moons than the Army Corps.

Orbital Guard Standard Infantry Equipment

Regardless of role, each Guardsman wears an armored Exo-Activity Suit for vacuum and hostile environment protection. The EAS, with a full complement of plating, is rated to protect against most small arms the Guard would face. With the helmet affixed, the EAS provides flash protection, up to 360 degree vision, secured communications, and sufficient air supply for several hours' operation. The EAS also can attach extensive webbing to mount magazines, equipment pouches, and other mission gear.
Other commonly-issued equipment includes monopropellant maneuvering rockets (attached to the suit or handheld), cutting torches, portable lights, and various supplementary sensors. Many Guardsmen choose to carry the Naval Corps R9 service pistol, especially officers and heavy weapons operators. An unofficial tradition in the Orbital Guard is the carrying of a fixed-blade knife. These knives are often bought in port and engraved by their users, ensuring no two are alike and serving nearly as well as identification as the owner's tags.
Other equipment depends on the user's battlefield role:

• Riflemen are issued flechette carbines. They also often carry area-effect deployables, such as smoke or flash grenades. Squad leaders are similarly equipped, though they will often carry comms relays or other supplementary equipment.
• Breachers, as the point men of the unit, typically adopt Super 12 shotguns or similar models, as well as heavier armor on their suits. One surprisingly-effective tactic, recently integrated into Orbital Guard doctrine, is the deployment of ballistic/ablative shields with the Breachers. Paired with the R9 service pistol, the Breachers act as mobile cover during the initial breach and clear while other squad members orient themselves.
• Technical specialists make use of extended Links carried externally to protect against enemy hackers and improve their cyberwarfare capabilities. They often carry flechette carbines like riflemen, and typically do their best to camouflage themselves within the unit. However, much of these specialists' jobs are conducted in AR or out of meatspace entirely, where their implants lift more weight than their guns.
• Heavy weapons teams typically consist of one gunner and one assistant gunner, though both may carry the same weapon depending on circumstances. The heavy weapons employed by the Orbital Guard vary, but ironically are typically the least lethal weapons in the squad. Stun weapons or gel- or foam-based containment tools are frequently deployed. When EXO operators or other significant threats are expected, however, heavy weapon teams tend towards the devastating; low-yield concussion grenade launchers, chemical weapons (incendiary or caustic), heavy rifles, and even the occasional coil rifle make their way into the teams' hands. Rarely, Orbital Guard units engage in large habitats with open spaces or even on planetary surfaces; in these cases, when collateral damage is negligible, marksman rifles and rocket-propelled explosives make appearances. However, EXO operators typically take up these roles.

Orbital Guard Force Organization

The basic unit of the UNC Orbital Guard is the eight-man squad. This squad typically consists of one squad leader, two riflemen, two breachers, a two-man heavy weapon team and one euphemistically-named “technical specialist”- a military-sanctioned hacker. The infowar specialist is often, but not always, supplemented by a Ghost, bringing the total to nine members. While deployment of EXO suits is often debated, microgravity environments and the risk of hull penetration present significant enough risks to discourage their use.
Due to the nature of the Orbital Guard's operations, each fire team is typically assumed to operate semi-independently. A typical boarding action against another warship consists of five to ten squads, each of which will remain in contact with one another but may have drastically different objectives.
Bolstering their independence is the Orbital Guard's method of recruitment. Orbital Guard units remain together for the duration of their service, a duration often extended through augmentation and preventative care; as a result, some of the longest-active squads of the Guard have reached twenty or more years of service together. The bond this fosters is a major component of the Orbital Guard's professionalism. Often, units form a dense network of relationships, open or closed, with squads approximating families; officers stand apart from this tangle, sometimes leading to their portrayal as uncaring outsiders.
A typical UNC vessel carries a single company, consisting of three platoons of three to five squads plus support structure. All together, the Orbital Guard detachment numbers between 100 and 150 Guardsmen per vessel.

Type

Military, Special Operations Force

Parent Organization

Union Naval Corps