Kalistani Major History

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reprinted from
IZQUIERDA-  The Voice of the Kalistani Left
RSMoK units begin training at Bozo River CATC
Mission is, at present, uncertain
Bozoville, Ananto
December 15, 4427

Party leaders have announced that the RSMoK have begun training at Bozo River CATC last month.  Militia spokespeople are tight-lipped with regard to their training objectives, but IZQUIERDA was give exclusive access to their regimen at Bozo River, Terra's premier state of the art maneuver area.  Our embedded reporter, Quame Gilbert filed the following journal.

Life with the Militia
by Quame Gilbert
Bozo River CATC
December 1, 4427

The Militia always trains hard.  I was embedded with the Militia Sierra Battery, 3rd Battalion, Ananto Regiment for two weeks, in mid November.  Our CO was Lieutennant Henry Erickson, and I was assigned to Ops Chief Sgt. Michelle Torres.


The FDC of S Btry 3/An pose for a picture during a couple minutes of "Check Fire" on CATC

Torres:  Well, what we got was that this business with Lourenne was heating up.  I'm not exactly privy to the overall strategic mission, but as far as I can tell, we've been doing a lot of mountain warfare, quick insertion/extraction stuff, and night ops.  We've also done a lot of position reinforcement and firebase construction operations.  If I didn't know better, I'd say they were getting ready to send us somewhere.  This isn't the kind of regular homeland defense drills we usually run.  These are fast hit move hit move quick quick double quick stuff.  And I don't mind saying, my guns are the fastest on this range.  We can get our guns airlifted from Pos A to Pos Q, delivered, laid and accurately fired in less than a half hour start to finish, and 26.5 minutes of that time is transit time.  It really helps to have chopper move these guns instead of trucks:  no terrain effects to slow us down, you know.

Erickson:  The top guys have us in the field all the time, for all sorts of things.  I wouldn't worry about it much.  Most of these cannon cockers don't even know what a Statrica is.  I understand that parts of it are a lot like Ananto.  I suppose we're just being prepared.

Comments like these caused wonder among the Militia Artillerymen, who spend their time training constantly, honing their skills, and undergoing a spartan lifestyle even when in Garrison.

Torres:  I think we are as professionalized, at this point, as the Regular Forces.  There has been a real effort to standardize things.  But I think we have a harder life:  They get to live in barracks.  We live in the dirt for 8 months out of the year.  We eat a lot of grit.  We live in tents or sometimes not.  Whatever.  Its a job like any other job:  Some people make steel, some people work in finance, I fire artillery, and I am damned good at what I do.  Better than just about anyone in the entire world.

It is true that deprivation is the name of the game for these socialist fanatics.  When they are not in the field, or making a virtually invisible camp among the weeds, or destroying "communist rocks", as Torres puts it, they receive weekly political education classes, where artillerymen and women philosophize over topics ranging from the necessity of public sanitation to the difference between means-testing and universalized social spending.

Erickson:  Your are correct that these men and women come from every walk of life.  Here in the Ananto Regiment, we have trained medical doctors, we have former tool-and-die mechanics, we have a professional photographer, we have two former television hosts, five former prostitutes, and three former clergy men.  More than 70 percent of our unit are practicing Brethren, and that's pretty reflective of the Militia as a whole.  About 12 percent are gay or lesbian.  (He shrugs)  I mean, if these guys took a bath, and shaved once in a while, and put on some civilian attire, and then went to any club in Kaliburg, you wouldn't think there was anything odd about them at all.

Gun 4 from S Brty, 3/An, firing in the Combined Arms Exercise in Northern CATC

On my 12th day in the Field, we finally arrived at a position overlooking the Beach.  Out at sea were several packs of LAFA, along with three Corvettes of the Regular Navy.

Erickson:  Today we are going to practice amphibious landing.  The Coordinated Doctrine has the Militia serving as shock troops, landing first, pushing our adversaries off the beach so we can set up a small breech, then, once the Regular Marines land and take over for us they'll build the permanent beachhead to begin landing the Regular forces while we will move inland in close contact with the enemy the whole time.  So we are practicing today the maneuver.  The best part about this is:  Artillery does not swim.  We never get our feet wet.  We are not ducks, as they say.  But:  unlike the Regular Artillery we DO hike.  The rotor wings come and get the guns, and if they can give us a ride, they do, but if not, well, we hoof it to the next pos.  So we spend part of our time, like all Militia, as guerrilla infantrymen, and we fight as with just our SAR15 when we leave our guns behind.  All militia does this.

The combined arms exercise went off as planned.  The Battery simulated insertion, the guns were brought in by air, and the battery was up and running three and a half minutes after the first trail touched the soil in Ananto's remote northeastern coast.  Forward observers were already emplaced frantically calling coordinates to the Battery, and then calling coordinates to the vessels offshore, who were firing over head.  I was consigned to the FDC (Fire Direction Center) on the Beach, while the Guns fired from the cliffs above.

Torres:  Friendly fire is always a concern, but FDC is the safest place in the Position.  The guns are about a hundred Meters ahead of us, the CO and XO camp just over there about 50 meters, and comm is on the other side over there .  But If the enemy gets to the FDC, the rest of the battery is already toast.  Which is why we carry this little baby (she points to a M2 .50cal fully automatic machine gun).  In terms of guns to men, the FDC is the most heavily armed section in the entire militia.  And our job is to protect the crypto. 

The firing went on all night.  About 3 am, the CO came into the FDC and informed us that, when we get some time, we should look out to sea and watch the sea battles that were playing out just off shore.

Erickson:  While we are firing here, the Militia is practicing capture and destruction of commercial vehicles.  This business with Lourenne has got us all on high alert, and if we need to start boarding their vessels because they are doing that to us, the militia needs to be ready. 

After watching for a half hour and hearing tiny reports of distant gun fire over the incoming tide, there was suddenly a bright explosion on the horizon.  The radio reported "RS Dummy 5 drowned."  Erickson smiled and nodded his head.

Erickson:  It was a dummy cargo ship packed with old ordinance that EOD needed to get rid of, so they put on the demo for us tonight while we were firing.  The LAFAs blew that boat to smithereens.  The guns got a better show than us, though.  I should have had you go up there.

Over all, the two weeks I spent with the Militia was very enlightening and quite an experience.  I do not think I could personally make the militia a full time job.  There is almost never enough food (something the militia take pride in:  Some days, they subsist on three crackers and two gallons of water.  Torres says that this teaches them to survive in a situation where they could actually go without food for days, if necessary.)  Even though it was not cold, the late November climate in northern Ananto is still cool and rainy, so I never really felt dry.  But on the other hand, the experience of seeing one of the World's premier partisan forces in action was really something I will never forget.  As I ended my "tour of duty", the Ops Chief approached me one final time:

Torres:  Hey everyone, look!  The Pogue survived!  (to me)  I always knew you had it in you.  If you want to sign up and come back out with us as a real gunrock, I know a good recruiter who will hook you up in Kaliburg.  We'll put you on the gun line.

She said with a good-natured smile. 


My initiation as a "gunrock"

My last act was to fire one of the guns.  I went to the gunline, pulled the lanyard, picked up the still red hot brass primer casing and bit it with my teeth, fulfilling the tradition of artillerymen around the world.  The Gunners made me feel very proud of my initiation, and I was glad to have gotten to join with them for two weeks in November.