RANGER ONE
Prologue: setting the stage;world building 2255 AD, Solar Confederation.
The holo display lit up the early morning fog.
“Rangers, giving Marines heroes since 1754! Five hundred years of service, Be a man among men enlist now!”
The Survey Service recruiting desk was next to the Marine recruitment station. The Marine gunnery sergeant on duty glared at the display. His spit and polish dress blue uniform a stark contrast to the Ranger battle dress uniform.
The Marine dress blues had not changed in over two hundred years. Tradition is an important part of the mystique of the Marine corps.
Tradition was equally important to the Rangers. The Tiger striped camouflage combat fatigues, and Black Beret stood out amongst the Marine blues and Naval whites.
Rangers used simple Black fatigues with Beret as a dress uniform. Which only officers wore for official occasions and garrison duty.
The Rivalry between the two services was as old as the Marine corps themselves.
In truth, the two services had distinctively different jobs.
Marines, specialized in ship security and combat assault in ship seizures as well as the establishment of beach heads, in planetary assaults.
Rangers specialized in covert small unit operations, raids, reconnaissance, and planetary survey exploration operations .
Both services promoted an elite esprit de corps, both services shared the same basic induction training. In practical deployment the two branches complement each other. The separate chain of command did provide some difficulties.
The department of the Navy believed the Survey Service should be under ONI command. The Survey service, felt otherwise.
In time of war, Ranger battalions deployed as support , to ONI and Marine divisions.
In peace time, the Survey service, served both intelligence gathering operations and exploration operations.
Sean walked directly to the Survey services desk. He didn't glance left or right at either the Marine or Navy desks.
Sean knew exactly the service he wanted. His ASVAB score of 98, pretty much guaranteed that he qualified for any job. LRRP was Sean's desire and goal, he wanted to be a Ranger, like his father and grandfather before. Nothing else was acceptable.
The recruiter assessed the tall lanky young man offering him a prepared folder. Organized, on the ball, that spoke well of the candidate. The folder had a table of contents neatly labeled on the front cover. Glancing down, Warrant Officer McClure read the list, hmm, interesting.
“ I want to be a Ranger sir. All the requisite forms are prepared and notarized sir. I am informed and prepared to swear oath now.” McClure eyed the serious youth, amused by how earnest he appeared. Well, Basic and Rasp (Ranger assessment program) would knock that out of him.
“Son, you do realize that you must complete basic and jump school before Rasp don't you?” “Sir, yes sir.” Sean replied. “ You are also aware that your acceptance into Ranger School is subject to invitation by the R.I. observers during Rasp. Aren't you?” “Sir yes sir.” W.O. McClure looked through the folder. “ Well I'll be damned! Son you have come prepared haven't you! “ “Sir yes sir.”
Looking over the paperwork once more, McClure wished more recruits were this prepared. His job would be much easier. “ Very well candidate,” a quick glance at the folder, “ Lywyllyn” he pronounced it lou-ellen “ Take a seat, and I will see when the next shuttle leaves “
“Thank you sir.” Sean took a short step back from the desk before turning to the empty bench.
McClure read through the folder’s paperwork in detail. Everything was in order.
The transport was crowded and uncomfortable. The Warrant Officers curt, “Sit down, strap in, shut up.” Left no room for discussion. There was no warning before lift off and the sharp banking climb away from the roof top pad. A couple of candidates threw up. “You will be cleaning your filth from my Eagle before dismounting.” The pilots voice spoke via the internal com system. The Warrant officer grinned, waving at an empty bucket and towels.
Intake and assessment was a tedious process. One idiot was unceremoniously ejected after not divesting himself of contraband when given the opportunity. It would be a long wet seven kilometer walk to the bus stop. He did not look very happy leaving.
The first forty eight hours proved to be intentionally annoying, uncomfortable and stressful. Sean had been forewarned by his dad and grandfather so he was expecting the process.
Sean had spent the previous four years preparing for this day. Highschool ROTC, along with physical training, cross country running, Jeet June do, firearms, and gymnastics had Sean prepared for what was ahead. Basic proved to be easier than daily life on the home farm had. Sean already had most of the basic skills down pat.
RASP however was unexpected. Difficult didn't begin to describe the month long torture session.
“This is the primary ranged weapon of a Ranger” The R.I. proudly intoned. “ The R-One. It is the finest military weapon conceived by the human race to date! A Gauss gun, capable of semi automatic single shot and three round bursts. Firing a ten millimeter diameter projectile at a minimum one thousand meter per second velocity. Each magazine holds one hundred twenty rounds as well as four pre charged capacitors.
The maximum sustainable velocity of the R-1 is three thousand meters per second. The R-1 fires a variety of projectiles ranging from ceramic composite standard and Tungsten core armor piercing dumb rounds to high explosive programmable target tracking smart rounds.
The R-1 employs both standard iron sites as well as enhanced optics. Simply put, if you can see it, you can destroy it.
For larger, more heavily armed needs, there is the RAAWS.
The Ranger anti anything weapon system. A recoilless rifle system we like to call, uncle Carl.
The Carl Gustav seventy five millimeter recoilless rifle has an atmospheric range of One hundred kilometers. Orbital range is…variable. Each rifle round is individually programmable. You may select for area denial, air burst, high explosive anti personnel, or anti armor, anti aircraft capability.
It will penetrate up to one hundred millimeters of armor with the onboard laser penetration system.”
The lecture continued.
Aside from the Hi-Tech weapons, Rangers also mastered low tech systems.
The standard issued kit consisted of double edged dagger, single edged utility knife, a tomahawk and sword.
In close quarters extra atmospheric, orbital engagement, projectile weapons and directed energy Laser/Maser systems could be counter productive. Poking holes in the hull of habitat and transport craft could be highly problematic. Twenty third century close quarters combat engagement had seen the return of edged weapons. Rangers carried the Longsword, while Marines preferred the Gladius. Some Rangers opted for both.
Use of the R-1 in low gravity circumstances could be managed, use of either a Gauss rifle or recoilless rifle in zero gravity not so much. For every force there is an equal and opposite reaction. Directed energy weapons provided issues as well. Lasers, could be easily defeated by the armoured combat suits. Masers, not so much, however power requirements and signals interference rendered use of Masers by individual troops less than desirable.
Once again CQB had become dominated by use of edged weapons.
Spring Steel alloys dominated, due to relative mass, flexibility, and general durability. While the actual cutting edges had been modified with mono molecular blade inserts.
Carbon fiber had been experimented with as had a variety of alloys. The carbon fiber proved to be too brittle, and lacked mass to be an effective weapon for armoured combat. Similar issues proved the case for the various alloys tried. Spring steel simply out performed the alternatives, not to mention being more inexpensive to produce, manage, and maintain. The monomolecular cutting edge proved nearly unstoppable.
Ranger School, physically was exactly what Sean had expected. The class room time and book work on top of the physical was unexpected. A syllabus? Heinlein ‘s Starship Troopers, Farmer's The Forever War, Johnny Got His Gun, Miyamoto Musashi, Sun Tzu, Julius Caesar, just to name a few. These were the required personal readings on top of the class room syllabus. Ranger candidates were never idle. All down time was spent sleeping when capable, kit maintenance or reading. If a ranger were to be found doing neither it was a painfully enlightening experience he could expect.
Interestingly, one can sleep standing upright and one can read on a H.U.D screen while marching.
The Standard combat armor consisted of a spun fiber composite of carbon fiber, kevlar and titanium wire thread. The body armour design could be easily augmented with an exoskeleton system that dramatically augmented physical capabilities. Additional armor could be added, and heavy weapons systems as well. The basic armour system served for Marine and orbital operations as well.
A Ranger could literally skydive from orbit, and operate in any environment found on earth with relative ease. Both on land and under sea.
“Optimists have no business in space.” The R I intoned.
One foolish butter bar opined “ Isn't it optimistic to think we will survive a combat jump?”
The R I eyeballed the butter bar.
“ Never presume optimism. Always assume death is imminent. You will never be disappointed. “
LRRP School ran in two phases.
The first phase was much like RASP, though only E4 and above were accepted for assessment.
Long range reconnaissance and patrol is a demanding specialty.
The skill level demanded could only be built upon well honed Ranger skills. LRRPs, are the Rangers RANGER. Trained for not only wartime recon, patrol, and raiding, the LRRP units were specialists at covert insertion and operations in urban regions, all climates, terrain, and planetary survey-exploratation.
A less spoken of aspect being, first contact operations. LRRP units are the ones most likely to be the ones making first contact with extra terrestrial entities.
Ranger School itself ran eighteen months after the sixteen week Basic and four week Rasp phase.
The Failure rate ran at a steady sixty percent. LRRP school, ran an additional eighteen months, only one in ten graduating.
Mars phase was a joy after graduating Ranger School. Standard Rangers primarily trained on Earth or in Orbital facilities, the orbital training phase done at 1.25 G’s. With full kit.
The Venus phase was quite literally a trip to hell. Surface operations in a terminally caustic atmosphere, under air pressure that exceeded those pressures in the Deep oceans of earth made for interesting times.
Of them all, Venus was the most arduous. Thankfully it was the last phase of the training.
One month in hell, followed by primary duty assignments.
No candidate knew where they would be assigned, assignments were random, by blind draw lots.
If a graduation class had a cadre of sixty, Thirty would be randomly assigned fleet, Thirty Survey patrol, and Thirty to the Intel companies of the standard Rangers Battalions.
Aside from the training Battalion, There are always Three standing Ranger Battalions not actively deployed in operations during peace time. For a total standard of Seven Battalions.
Each Ranger Battalions consisted of Seven direct action companies of one hundred Rangers. This did not include support/logistics or command and control.
Each Company is led by a Captain, the company divided into three patrols, comprised of three ten man squads, each patrol led by at least a second lieutenant, each squad led by at least an E4 Sergeant. Each Company also had one LRRP stick assigned, consisting of a
Twelve man team led by a lieutenant, and an Warrant Officer.
The Solar Confederation had already established outposts in the Alpha Centauri system. The search for other habitable systems was well under way. The Human race, thirty billion strong in the primary system needed more resources, more challenges and a purpose.
Expansion among the stars provided for those needs. The galaxy is a big place, filled with wonders unimaginable. And, who knew, there may even be other entities out there.
