Dag'Nabbit said:
For some reason I don't like the idea of pulling the navy personnel off of their duty to train them close quarters/small unit actions operators. It just doesn't seem like a smart way to go. Not if you are only going to keep them their for a short tour and then let them go as the previous post might indicate happens.
Actually you see it happening today with US Navy ships since boarding actions are required and most ships involved in that don't have the space for Marines, even if enough were available.
But I also was suggesting that an EA ship may carry small contingents of their equivilent of Security Police aboard. They don't conduct forced entry missions that are today the province of Airborne and Marines, but geared and trained more in small unit tactics then one would see today. Use them for ship defense, boarding actions, and if the commander needs a small armed contingent on the ground for (very) limited actions. Something like an expansion in role such groups like the US Air Force Security Police or the British RAF Regiment (think I got that last right; infantry-type unit charged with airbase defense and re-seizure).
Some problems with placing GROPOS on ships:
1) Lack of shuttle capacity to keep both admin shuttles and assault types. Most ships only have space for two.
2) Barring Omega- and Poseidion-class ships, there is a lack of spin gravity to keep your GROPOS in good condition during a patrol cruises.
3) Tight on space to land a credible force to do much of anything beyond going "squish".
Given the (relative) speed that forces can be shifted in the B5 universe, EarthForce could very well adopt a policy in which if a ship on patrol finds something that can't be handled by it's Security Police (or whatever you wish to name them), then they send word back and the nearest base loads up a battalion or four on dedicated assault ships with all the requisite gear and sends them to the trouble spot. Sometimes I think sci-fi gets itself
too wrapped up and enamoured in the wet navy paradigm.
What does work better for a patrolling ship? With GROPOS infantry you may get a squad or platoon aboard most of the common ships, including the Hyperions.
Maybe a company on an Omega, but then there is a serious lack of interface craft to move them. For a mission that would require GROPOS infantry, these units would be too small to make much of a difference. For boarding actions, most will be for inspection purposes and your typical GROPO infantryman is likely not going to be as well trained to look for contraband or other hidden 'no-no's'. If it's a fleet action in which one expects to do combat boarding of enemy ships and/or bases, most offensive moves should factor that in and then load GROPOS aboard combat ships for that specific operation, or have them come in behind the battle line in a Hyperion-Gamma, Condor, or Tantalus-class (think that's the big assault ship from GROPOS). Their space skills may also be lacking if these GROPOS are expected to fall back in with their parent formations when not out on patrol and when a commander is weighting training priorities, ship duty will most likely get get pushed back in favor of METL tasks (those skill sets a unit practices to accomplish it's primary mission and reason for being).
A Security Police/SWAT unit? They do have law-enforcement skills to include how to conduct searchs and take folks into custody. They're Fleet personnel so have the spacer skills as part of their training. SWAT-type training may also be an asset in the tight confines for a ship or station. Landing actions? Well they'll not have any advantages over a GROPOS unit in trying to 'secure and hold', but for protecting a landing party, or to evacuate personnel like from an embassy they'll do the job just as well as dropping a platoon of infantry.
My own vote is give the Fleet a Security Police branch and have them as part of the ship's company.
I gotta remember to sign in before I post.
