Kalran: Tales of the four nations/Recon squad

"LET'S GO!"

- A Recon squad exiting the barracks

Tactical analysis

 * Blaze of Glory: Recon squads are notably trigger happy thrill seekers, who make it a point to carry and employ an excessive amount of firepower. They practice the belief that the best defence is offense; though less armoured than most, the sheer firepower they put out makes up for it


 * Light Them Up!: Between their repeating grenade launcher and cluster grenades, a Recon squads can destroy any infantry or light vehicle target before they have a chance to respond. They can fire/throw both of them on the move, and unlike most infantry can back peddle for a fighting retreat


 * Mounted Infantry: Combat Recon is primarily conducted from vehicles, particularly their Rouncey, not on foot. Whenever they are not taking a strategic point, your average Recon squads will be mounted in their vehicle, where they have greater mobility and firepower at their disposal. And in the event they lose their Rouncey they can ask command to airdrop another one


 * Get Some!: Micro rocket rifles are still experimental, so it was determined the best way to field test them is to give them to the soldiers who do their best to get into trouble as frequently as possible

History
"There are currently fifty six other members of 2nd Recon, B-Company, mounted in fourteen Rouncey's. We are all four days sleep deprived and running a constant buzz of Lipovitan, powdered coffee crystals, combat drugs, and adrenaline. In this state, we will shoot at anything that moves and we will not stop shooting until we run out of ammo. The last place you want to be is in front of us."

- Corporal Edward Pearson, asked by a reporter to explain the essence of Recon squad

The Rose battalion UCAAF pride themselves on precision. Unlike the brutal fist of fellow battalions, the UCA carefully pick their targets, applying maximum force to the enemy at their weakest point before rolling up the flanks, cutting the enemy line apart. Of course, these sorts of tactics require good intelligence of the enemy position and strength, and the ability to gauge the enemy reaction. It falls to recon units to scout ahead and directly determine the abilities and composition of enemy forces.

They do this by driving right at them.

The Recon squad are a direct evolution of the "scout fleets" of the Tuatha empire. The ability to strike any location with hundreds of light attack vehicles was not only a good disruption tactic, but also provided Allied commanders with large amounts of information which could turn the tide of a battle. After founding of the UCA, the ad hoc scout fleets were assembled into proper battalions, their innovative equipment configurations canonized and their vehicles upgraded considerably over the years.

The Recon division is an all-volunteer outfit, with a gruelling training course and a highly competitive community surrounding it. They have picked up a (well deserved) reputation for being tough, professional, and probably a bit unhinged; Recon squads compare their job to extreme sports, and most of them are adrenaline junkies in some way; if they weren't before their first deployment, they certainly will be after the thrill of driving directly into the enemy guns!

Once they join a campaign, Recon squads have a deceptively simple mode of operation. They load their vehicles with as much gear, fuel, ammunition and rations as they can possibly fit, and then begin to drive directly towards the enemy lines. Local commanders guide them towards trouble spots or areas where there is little intelligence; they quickly blaze through the area, shooting anything that so much as twitches, then report the engagement back to headquarters.

At this point, most units would dig in to see the enemy off and to hold the ground they took. By contrast, Recon units continue to drive deep into enemy lines, provoking the enemy to chase them while they destroy enemy infrastructure or simply disrupt their lines. As mobility is key, Recon fleets stay on the move for twenty four hours a day, by driving in shifts and consuming large amounts of stimulants, but care has been taken to make sure they don't overdose and are provided free drug therapy.

Typically, a Recon fleet only turns around once they start to run out of fuel, though this is not always the case; 4th Recon's A Company managed to stay behind Reclaimer lines for nearly a month by ambushing Reclaimer convoys in the night and manually siphoning the fuel out of the abandoned vehicles, or failing that using wood and in once case burning tires. After they return to base, the average Recon squads will sleep for roughly twenty hours, eat a proper meal for the first time in weeks, take a long shower, and trade in all their broken equipment for replacement, maybe even take a day off before setting back out on the road for another mission.