Company
For those of you who get assigned to one of the Free Worlds Guards or the Atrean Dragoons, you'll likely be put into a unit where you'll cooperate with other Lances. This is a "Company", and your responsibility is no longer just to your Lancemates but to everyone else in the group. Of course, if you wash out you won't have to worry about that...
Where a Lance is the most basic formation type, a Company is more common in organized armed forces such as those of the Successor States. It is usually composed of three Lances, varying in their type and composition, allowing them to take on more extended missions. Fledgeling mercenary outfits rarely achieve the level of organization for a Company, but seasoned ones which are successful often move into it with ease. This usually hinges on how many BattleMechs or combat vehicles they can acquire to fill out an organizational chart. Most Companies, therefore, are not at 100% battle strength. This is to be expected, as with three (or more) times as many active units there is a notable increase of overhead and complexity to worry about.
Composition
Manpower
Where a Lance generally has a smaller (if any) support staff, a Company really needs such in order to succeed for long. First and foremost, there are many more tech teams involved to the point of needing some form of administration keeping them focused.
One full-sized medical staff, consisting of one doctor and four assistants, is usually enough to handle the general health needs of this size of unit. On top of the Lance Commanders, there is usually an additional officer as a Company Commander whose job is to coordinate activities both on the battlefield and off it. There are on average twelve 'MechWarriors who are the heart of the unit, with the number varying depending on the combat strength of the outfit. With all this in mind it is obvious there are a great many more people who help a successful Company-sized force stay successful, but are not specifically attached to the outfit itself.
Equipment
A Company needs to have a much more solid supply line than a Lance, since it is so heavily magnified in size. It is rather unlikely for a successful Company to lack any tools or equipment for maintaining their combat units, or to care for their personnel. It is increasingly likely some form of training hardware is available for simulated combat, though what form this takes is relative to the general affluence of the Company's organization. Ammunition supply is usually measured in dozens of tons for any Company, and the requirement for specific spare parts will quickly take over any extra storage space the outfit might have the means to procure. This means you'll rather often find Companies who have storerooms stuffed full of spares yet also have quartermasters who can flawlessly direct you to where to find a particular item.
Weaponry
For a well-supplied Company, there is often a dedicated stockpile of small-arm weapons and rifles for those who have trained with them. For Companies which aren't, they still tend to have more than a few extra weapons on hand in times of emergencies. Any attached infantry platoons are likewise almost assured to have static weapon emplacements, as well as explosive ordinance and launchers.
Most of this extends to Companies serving the greater Periphery powers, though mercenary commands will not necessarily be assured to have extra weapons outside their BattleMechs or combat vehicles.
Most of this extends to Companies serving the greater Periphery powers, though mercenary commands will not necessarily be assured to have extra weapons outside their BattleMechs or combat vehicles.
Vehicles
The Successor States will usually have extra non-combat vehicles on hand for Companies, though this will often be limited to armored personnel carriers and medical fast-response vehicles. Many commands will use combat vehicles designed for presence on the battlefield in place of these, so the non-combatants may have more than a token measure of protection. There will almost certainly be some form of heavy lifter for recovering 'Mechs from the battlefield, depending on what sort of DropShip support the outfit has.
Structure
The Company Commander usually has a middle-level officer rank, in armed forces associated with greater political powers. For mercenary outfits, this role is naturally held by the overall commander. Each Lance Commander will report to them, as will all administrative staff. Other various officers may have positions in non-combat roles, usually reporting to the Company Commander directly instead of their Lance Commanders. This has the advantage of keeping a clear chain of command, and in some cases this chain has an Executive Officer directly assisting the Company Commander to prevent one person from having to handle too many details.
Tactics
Due to being composed of various Lance, a Company can be more flexible with their tactics and handle many different mission profiles. Most importantly, there is the potential of being able to deploy multiple Lances which have trained to support each other and work to cover weaknesses inherent in a single Lance formation. Standard forms may include allowing a Battle Lance to define an engagement area with a Fire Lance to focus down targets as they appear, or having a Recon Lance move with a Pursuit Lance lending enough firepower to keep enemies busy.
Training
Since Companies are a larger organization than a Lance, it tends to follow these outfits receive more training and are on average more capable combatants. The truth is, as always, not always so simple and depends on the commanders and their individual situations and command styles. For certain, Companies will usually train in operating as a larger force and various forms of cooperation; this leaves them better-prepared to handle more complicated missions.
At a more individual level, there is almost always some supplemental training allowing 'MechWarriors or vehicle crews to sharpen their skills on or off the battlefield. Similarly, non-combatants are usually encouraged to have at least a moderate amount of training in self-defense with small-arms weapons or rifles.
At a more individual level, there is almost always some supplemental training allowing 'MechWarriors or vehicle crews to sharpen their skills on or off the battlefield. Similarly, non-combatants are usually encouraged to have at least a moderate amount of training in self-defense with small-arms weapons or rifles.
Logistics
Logistical Support
A full-strength Company, while rare to find, cannot function out of a single Leopard-class DropShip due to the space requirements. For this purpose, a Union-class DropShip was developed, though acquiring one specifically for the outfit's use is often beyond many mercenary commands. There must also be considerably strong supply agreements to provide replacement armor and ammunition in large amounts, as without these a Company will soon find themselves in dire circumstances. Medical supplies, foodstuffs, and other more mundane necessities are also one of the greater banes of Companies; it is easy to remember you need ammunition, but the expense of keeping the machines ready may be at the cost of leaving the personnel less-than-ready for independent commands.
Auxilia
Companies can often have a number of extra attached forces, and serving one of the Successor States usually means at least infantry platoons supporting the BattleMechs and combat vehicles. It's more common to find small artillery teams with these types of commands, as well as air-to-ground support. More likely is to find an extra Lance of 'Mechs or combat vehicles assigned as "Auxiliary Support", which can bring the strength of a Company up to sixteen 'Mechs. Usually the Auxiliary would be units which are not often used, or elements which would permit a Company to reorganize Lances for different mission profiles. This all, however, requires trading off valuable space inside the DropShip and may require additional DropShips to carry the auxiliary support.
Upkeep
When one considers the cost of maintaining a full-strength Lance to be close to a hundred-thousand C-bills per month, the cost of maintaining a full-strength Company is easily many magnitudes larger due to the logistics involved. A larger Dropship class means more crew and more which can go wrong, while tripling the amount of active combat units (or more) can combine with the cost of auxiliary personnel to reach a sum outside the reach of many small outfits. For this reason alone, you don't often find mercenary outfits organized into full Companies unless they're backed by greater powers or constantly in a state of deployment.
Type
Mech
Overall training Level
Semi-professional
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