Battalion Equivalent

A Battalion Equivalent or BE is a generic measure of military strength used throughout Charted Space.

• It is a metric to measure relative troop strength.

Description (Specifications)

The Imperium's intelligence agencies have determined that a standard measure for troop strength based on a notional Battalion (about 500 men) will be used in their reporting. Thus basic army size of any military formation being assessed is quoted in Battalion Equivalents (BEs).

• Units can be physically larger or smaller depending on various other factors.

Standard Polity Military Categories

The AAB Library Data entries emphasize the following categories:

1. Ground Forces
2. Naval Forces
3. Special Forces
4. Paramilitary Forces
5. Intelligence Agencies

History & Background (Dossier)

The organization of an Army of Military is of interest to every contemporary interstellar polity. A vast variety of methods of organization have existed and every major race experiments to try an optimize military efficacy.

Third Imperium Example

Military & Intelligence (Force Projection): The Third Imperium is widely regarded as retaining the largest and most powerful military in Charted Space.

• While the centralized Third Imperium maintains an Imperial military, the Imperium, is by nature, a feudal government, and nearly every power-holder under the Emperor maintains additional private militaries if they can. These forces can be called upon and even pressed into the service of the Imperial military.

A. Ground Forces: 1105

This military, the ground forces of the Third Imperium or the Imperial Army, includes:

• Imperial Army
  • Close Orbit and Airspace Control Command
  • Ground Force Command
  • Nautical Force Command, a Wet Navy

The Imperium also regulates and even sometimes hires:

• Mercenaries

B. Naval Forces: 1105

The Imperial naval forces are the largest branch of the military of the Third Imperium. The IN patrols the interstellar highways and maintains the stability of the interstellar trade order while maintaining enough distance and cultural tolerance for some very diverse cultures to prosper. The Navy primarily consist of the following divisions:

• Imperial Navy
  • Imperial Marines

Naval Technology: Vast resources beyond the Quadrant. The bulk of the Navy is built to Tech Level 15 standards with some newer models incorporating Tech Level 16 breakthroughs. The fleets of the Quadrant have not yet completed the transition from Tech Level 14 standards.

• Please also see Imperial Rules of War for related information.

C. Special Forces: 1105

The Imperial Marines are the most elite regular forces unit available although many kinds of special forces exist within the marines, army, and the IISS.

Some of these elite forces include:

• Imperial Guard
• Protected Forces (ProFors)
• Rapid Interface Forces (RIF)
• Sylean Rangers
• Special Security Service (SSS) or ("S3")

D. Paramilitary Forces: 1105

Related paramilitary institutions that support the Imperial military includes:

• Imperial Interstellar Scout Service
  • Express Boat Network
• Mashkim (System or Planetary Police)
  • Ducal Security Forces
  • Mainworld Security Forces (Constabulary)
• Mercenaries
  • Irregular "For Hire" Mercenaries
  • Regular Contractual Mercenaries

E. Intelligence Agencies: 1105

A related intelligence-gathering institution that supports the Imperial military includes:

• Imperial Interstellar Scout Service (IISS)
  • Imperial Intelligence (ImpInt)

• Imperial Intelligence Command (ImpCom)
  • Imperial Naval Intelligence (INI)
    • The INI can draw on the assets of the entire Imperial Navy and is primarily concerned with military intelligence; it tracks starship and troop operations, and can mount intelligence gathering activities into all parts of the Imperium.
  • Imperial Ministry of Justice (MOJ)
    • The MOJ is primarily concerned with Imperial society; it has contacts with the court systems of the worlds of the empire, and it has an intelligence network which concentrates on criminal activity. The MOJ is especially valuable when dealing with the criminal elements of the empire and can offer great rewards (in terms of amnesty or pardon) to those who support its mission.
  • Imperial Secret Service (ISS)

References

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. Rebellion Sourcebook (Game Designers Workshop, 1988), TBD.
• Douglas E. Berry. Ground Forces (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), TBD.