Campaign of the Month: June 2014
Battletech (Farscape) : The New Breed
* "The Dingo Pack"
Support Personnel of the Iron Dingoes
Category:
Description:
The Dingo Pack : Administration and Technical Group / Regular / Reliable
The “Dingo Pack” is the general support group of * “The Iron Dingoes”. They are based from the “Relentless”, where they are able to perform maintenance and other technical projects for the company.
The unit uses the standard olive drab paint pattern common to the Dingoes, though they add blue highlights to designate themselves as technicians and to identify their vehicles. The unit’s personal logo remains the traditional snarling iron-colored dingo.
Officers : The Ground Technical Group is led by Master Tech Joseph Marakov, who has proven to be a skilled, if stubborn lead Tech. The Field Supply Technical Group is led by Master Tech Grant Brown, who is also the unofficial lead of the unit Motor Pool. The Field Salvage Technical Group is led by Lieutenant SG Thadeus Marakov, who was also the senior non-officer tech in the unit, though he now leads has a position in the Command Council as the unit’s Senior Tech. He takes his lead from Fixer and Glamour, but is given a great deal of freedom in his day-to-day operations. He also once served as the Colonel Paladin’s personal Tech, but is far too busy nowadays doing administrative matters, to be attached to any field operation. The Aero Technical Group is led by Senior Tech Daniel Dugans, an old-timer from the 13th Marik Militia days, who has proven capable of keeping the unit’s Aero assets flying, despite constant demands for their activity.
Other important personnel assets in the Ground Technical Group are Senior Tech Meagara Slate, and Lieutenant JG Dominic Reed. Former lead tech from the Snow Dusters, Senior Tech Slate has a knack for working with VTOLs, and has become the lead tech responsible for their maintenance. She is also a fair pilot, and often flies “The Coatl” on salvage missions for the unit. LtJG Reed acts as the technical WeaponsMaster for the unit, detailed with ensuring the Dingoes heavy ordnance in working condition. Including the weapons pods aboard its fleet of DropShips, and Line Armor and Mech forces, he spends time ensuring the unit’s small arms lockers are well-maintained. A recent addition of Senior Tech Katherine Bolivar has improved the technical aspects of the unit greatly. A roving agent, she assists all of the technical teams with her specialized knowledge of fusion engines, and remains separate from much of the command structure, though she still answers to Lieutenant SG Thadeus Marakov.
Tactics : The Dingo Pack is not a combat unit, and do not have a general tactical scheme. When in the field, the unit deploys in appropriate vehicles to assist in salvage and repair work. The technical teams have been, however, outfitted with second-hand light ballistic armor and small arms, and can defend themselves at need.
Support : The entire unit is deployed aboard the “Blood Rock” which has been refit to operate as the center of all future technical efforts for the unit.
The unit operated as the primary technical support for * “The Dire Dingoes” for more than two decades, but the rebuilding of that force allowed the technical support of this unit to be redistributed to various other tasks and units within the Iron Dingoes organization. Today, the unit operates independently, and provides support for the widespread interstellar landholds of the unit, operating as a roving technical crew that can also accompany units into combat when expecting difficult encounters, such as planetary invasions or extended defensive contracts close to home.
Assigned the “Blood Rock” as its primary interstellar transport and base of operations, the vessel typically travels along the Whippet Transport Lines network for cross-system travel, or with whatever integral JumpShip transport a particular military force has access to.
The technical groups are designed to allow one unit to service battle-damaged Mechs and Aeros, while another supplies salvage crews to minimize time spent in the field following a fight. The third group is the “core” group designated to provide regular maintenance of the growing fleet of Mechs and support vehicles. The division into a separate “Aero” group was formed by splitting a portion of the Ground teams to better dedicate themselves to the needs of the unit’s increasing AeroSpace assets. Personnel not in the technical squads with spare time, regularly assist on maintenance of the Line Unit Mechs used by the Dingoes, as this formation has priority on all supplies and repairs for the unit.
The Support Engineering Group (SEG) is unique. It is lead by Master Tech Cutter and his squad of civilian engineers, but the remainder of the unit has actual combat experience, and its troopers are trained as standard (Flamer) infantry. Equipped in Iron Dingoes “Elite” Infantry Field Kits, they also have access to Defiance Industries Heavy Environment Suits, in addition to their Zippo “Incinerator” Man-Pack Flamers. SEG has also been equipped with numerous older industrial vehicles to assist in their work preparing sites for landing-strips and other important construction tasks. Over the years they have added a second Combat Engineering Vehicle, a bulldozer, front-end loaders, dump trucks, and a [[:mining-robot], that have made small-scale construction efforts very easy.
SEG, however, is also skilled at demolitions and engineering, and though typically used in defeating armored bunkers, they are also capable of assisting in construction or fortification efforts as required. SEG have access to their own Flamer-armed tracked APCs, and are considered a small, but capable mechanized unit. At present, the SEG are on long-term assignment at Corazón Airfield, where they have worked on repairing and activating * Castle Corazón.
Equipment and Supplies : As of 3023, the standard Iron Dingoes technical squads have been issued Iron Dingoes Infantry Field Kit (3023)s for combat service, replacing their older and second-hand Iron Dingoes Infantry Field Kit (3017)s. Techs are also issued Basic Tool Kits, though many collect their own favorite tools to supplement this basic kit. The techs of the Dingo Pack are considered the standard by which all other technical personnel in the organization are weighed.
Most techs also have numerous tool pouches attached to their standard combat tactical vest and their own personal selection of favored tools carried with them at all times. There is no other uniform assigned to tech crews, so they tend to wear durable civilian clothing they acquire themselves, especially during operations that don’t require a combat element. Crowbars were a popular melee weapon, but the unit’s Engineer’s Tool has largely supplanted their use, with techs often nicknaming them “Bones”.
Additionally, each technician is equipped with a formal SLDF-era uniform, kept in their quarters for deployment during important unit events. Each is an olive drab infantry and technical dress uniform, complete with gloves, high boots and cap. The sewn star of the SLDF is covered by the simple, but prominently placed Iron Dingoes unit patch over the left breast and cap’s forehead.
At the squad level, each team of Techs is issued a set of basic tools, though many have begun acquiring deluxe tool kits in their salvaging operations, restricting these valuable kits for routine maintenance and aboard their assigned transport, due to the weight requirements. Limited access to cutting/joining kits, fusion repair kits and vehicle repair kits is also available, though not enough for everyone. Rare sets of electronics repair kits, myomer/actuator repair kits and weapon repair kits are in the unit assets, but they are only issued to teams on a case-by-case basis, due to their scarcity. A small number of AeroSpace Repair Kits have also been made available, sufficient that any tech assigned to AeroSpace repairs has access to one. Salvage squads are always equipped with complete construction tool kits and a portable fusion generator for their tasks, in addition to the usual tools for a standard technical squad. Most Dingoes vehicles dedicated to salvage carry powered winches, and include numerous trailer-mounted 1.5 KW portable ICE generators, to power especially heavy equipment in the field.
Unlike most mercenary technical teams, the Dingo Pack has its own integral AsTechs, deploying two or three AsTechs in each Tech squad, most of whom are tied in some way as dependents or simply refugees who have attached themselves to the Dingoes during their stay in Marik and Periphery space. While it requires careful rationing of space and supplies aboard their assigned transports, it ensures the unit’s Techs can operate away from local labour supplies, and even be isolated in the field for extended periods of time. Given their long-term association, the techs are invariably close and work well together by choice, rather than direct assignment. They require very little oversight by their officers.
- Dingo Pack AeroSpace Units -
Seeker-Class DropShip “Blood Rock” – Commander Darryn Thane (Vet)
- Support Technical Units -
Unattached Units and Personnel
SRM Jeep “Nerf”
FastHopper 90 Civilian Hover Truck “The Chuckwagon”
Support Technical Group
Four (4) “Desert Iris” Jeeps
Five (5) Administrative Squads (2 Elite, 3 Vet)
One (1) Educational Squad (Vet)
Five (5) Mess Squads (Elite, 3 Vet, Reg)
Five (5) Housekeeping Squads (4 Vet, Reg)
Two (2) Driver Squads (2 Reg)
Ground Technical Group
Forty-Eight (48) Technical Squads (6 Elite, 18 Veteran, 16 Regular, 8 Green)
Two (2) Light Utility Transports
Six (6) Type 74 “Buffalo” Hover Trucks
Eight (8) Heavy Industrial Exoskeletons
One (1) Mobile Repair Platform – “Mule”
One (1) “Malbrock” Mobile Machineshop
One (1) Heavy Tactical Utility Truck Fuel Transport
One (1) Class-113 Coolant Truck “The Crash Wagon” (Reg)
Aero Technical Group
Six (6) Technical Squads (2 Elite, 4 Vet)
Two (2) [[:MT-1B Light Troop Carriers
Two (2) Heavy Industrial Exoskeletons
Field Supply Technical Group
Two (2) Technical Squads (2 Regular)
Four (4) J-27 “Landram” Ordnance Transports
Two (2) Heavy Industrial Exoskeletons
Two (2) Patron LoaderMechs “Puppy” & “Kitten” (Vet, Reg)
Two (2) Cobra Transport VTOLs “Coatl” & “Flying Dingo” (2 Elite)
Field Salvage Technical Group
Six (6) Technical Squads (Elite, 2 Vet, 3 Reg)
Six (6) Heavy Industrial Exoskeletons
One (1) Oshkosh A1 “Interstellar” Tank Transporter w/ Portable (Vehicle) Repair Gantry
Two (2) Meadowlands Grain Carriers w/ Portable (Battlemech) Repair Gantries
Two (2) Oshkosh A1 “Interstellar” Tank Transporters w/ 80-ton Trailers
Two (2) Heavy Tactical Utility Truck Wreckers
Two (2) DVM-3 MiningMechs “Wrecker” & “Wrench” (Vet, Reg)
Two (2) Planetlifter Air Transports “Logan’s Dream” & “Hector’s Ride” (Elite, Vet)
- Support Engineering Group - “The Burn-Outs”
One (1) Heavy-Duty Hydraulic Excavator
Two (2) Medium-Duty Industrial Bulldozers
Three (3) Medium-Duty Industrial Front-End Loaders
Three (3) Medium-Duty 5-ton Utility Dump Trucks
One (1) “Unimog” Combat Engineering Vehicle “Digger” (Vet)
Two (2) “Loadmaster” Heavy Industrial Exoskeletons
One (1) Light Utility Transport
One (1) Mining Robot
1 Technical Engineering Squad (Vet)
Two (2) Tracked APCs (Flamer) : (Vet, Reg)
2 Squads Flamer Infantry (Vet, Reg)
Bio:
The Ground, Aero, Supply and Salvage Technical Groups include techs from numerous origins; First, are mercenaries who formerly served the “Outback Irregulars”, but were conscripted during the same fight that claimed their DropShip. Second, several are former mechanics and laborers who once served in the foundries in Deadwood, and are generally related to Fionna Lord’s unit, the Snow Dusters, as dependents. The third group includes a large number of new hires, found through the mercenary hiring hall in System – Heroditus. The fourth group are a number of former conscripts from the 3rd Marik Militia, rescued during the Dingoes operations on Pilpala, which has raised Dingo Pack morale significantly.
A large influx of former pirate technicians were acquired during salvage negotiations in the conclusion of the Dingoes “Overlord” contract on System – Dunkelheim. These techs possess very rudimentary tools and equipment, but are armed as typical for a Dingoes tech; sometimes better than average. Given time, they might gain some of the equipment access more experienced techs have, but for now they supplement standard maintenance procedures, and have actually granted the auxiliary Mechs in the unit access to their own technicians.
Another large group of trained technicians, civilian engineers and mechanics were acquired on System – Sligo through “Leash” contracts, and have shown great loyalty to the unit. Many of these have found themselves employees of the unit’s landholds, primarily “The Factory”, but for now remain attached to the Dingoes Pack. During the unit’s raid at the Battle of Auron Lake, the unit acquired a large force of mercenary technicains, assigning them largely to * “The Fold Fiends” for their support needs. In late-3023, many of the junior techs were re-assigned to * The Blood Raiders, to ensure that unit was independent from outside supplies during any contract they might take.
Most techs in the Dingoes are an independent lot, often displaying their closeness to civilian life through wild clothing and hairstyles, and the constant “MechaTrash” beats coming from their audio-pods. They serve with hard work, and unlike some units have a higher level of support from their military counterparts, but are still, in most ways, considered civilians by the soldiery, and treated as soldiers by the civilian population around them, forcing them into a unique position within the military organization itself. Isolated by their calling, they have formed a close and proud community within their parent organization. This has only been intensified by the many origins of the technical staff from countless cultures across the Inner Sphere and Periphery.
The recent growth of its Support Group signifies how much the unit depends on its DropShips for housing, storage and support. Though often over-crowded, they are considered home for the unit even though they often have small private homes located in MercTown section of Garrison, mostly because of the nomadic nature of their occupation, which ensures the unit’s DropShips play a pivotal role in its “landhold” structure.
Dependents : Several dozen dependents of the Snow Dusters were rescued from servitude following the raid on Deadwood’s munitions plants. Including many of the families from the Dusters, along with a few friends, these people have formed a cheap and loyal labour pool and provide the Iron Dingoes with drivers, general AsTechs and, in some cases, companionship. In the long-term, they have become a source of replacements. For now, many remain aboard the “Dingoes Den”, most boarding with their technical teams, which tend to be family operations. A handful accompanied their friends and family to the “Brush Wolf” and “Pandora’s Box”, as well. This allowed the Dingoes to avoid heavy reliance upon local planetary AsTech workers, giving them a great deal of independence in operations, particularly during operational assaults and raids.
In the years following this precedence, many other dependents have been acquired through various means, often simply refugees or close family members of the Iron Dingoes itself, and they have continued to form an integral part of the unit as AsTechs or general technical labour pool (particularly in the Support Technical Group ). Dependents expecting combat are equipped with a F29 Tactical Security Helmet and a TCV-8 “Predator” Ballistic Mesh Tabard, as well as a pair of civilian military-style combat boots (BAR 2/3/3/1) and gloves (BAR 1/1/1/1), a heavy-duty portable work-light and a heavy pack. Most also acquire an Engineer’s Tool early in their “careers”.
Following several years of garrison work and salvage operations on “The Factory”, dependents began to assume positions in administrative, technical and infantry slots in the unit. Although not as effective as full-time recruitment, their loyalty is without question, and consistently brought some of their damaged units back to full strength.
After years of development, the Dingoes Pack came under close scrutiny during the rebuilding process of * “The Dire Dingoes”, and the bulk of its technical crews were reassigned to other units within the unit, while the core were retained as a roving group who operated across the various interstellar landholds of the Iron Dingoes as a general support force. Reassigned to various commands, a portion of the unit “retired” into civilian service with * The Provisions Group, while the core of the unit went on to its present operation.
