Originally posted to the CGL Battletech forum in 2017.
WELCOME TO THE MRB UNIT DATABASE. IT HAS BEEN 74 DAYS SINCE YOUR LAST LOGIN.
QUERY>> PERSONNEL RECOVERY
... WORKING ... 331 MATCHES IN 6 CATEGORIES:
1: FIELD MORTUARY SERVICES
2: VIP PROTECTION AND KIDNAP RECOVERY
3: SPECIAL OPERATIONS
4: COMBAT SEARCH AND RESCUE
5: BATTLEMECH REPOSSESSION
6: BOUNTY HUNTING
SELECT>> 4
... WORKING ... 18 MATCHES.
SELECT>> 1
... RETRIEVING MATCH #1: AERIAL RECOVERY SOLUTIONS
“Life is cheap but BattleMechs aren’t,” is the modern strategist’s universal axiom. The discerning commander, however, knows that personnel are his or her unit’s most precious resource. Experienced leaders and veteran troops are essential to success both on and off the battlefield. Nothing is certain in war, though, and the turn of an unfriendly card can lead to the capture or loss of even the most adept warrior. Since 3003, Aerial Recovery Solutions has been the Inner Sphere’s leaders in combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations, stacking the deck to give your soldiers the best possible chance of returning from the field. Continue reading to learn what Aerial Recovery Solutions can do for your next operation!
QUERY>> UNIT HISTORY
In 3002, Aerial Recovery Solutions’ founder Vasiliy Ignatov was an officer in a light aerial reconnaissance squadron attached to the 15th Marik Militia. The 15th was part of the FWLM’s action on the Lyran world of Loric, during which it sustained grievous losses. Over the course of the Battle of Tromoth, then-Lieutenant Ignatov distinguished himself by saving seven ejected MechWarriors from certain capture or death – including the daring recovery of Baroness Captain Sonia Vitari from cephalopod-infested coastal waters, a maneuver which was captured by an embedded Irian News Interstellar correspondent.
Following the Loric operation, Lieutenant Ignatov recognized the need for CSAR expertise to ensure the continued service of veteran MechWarriors – and to preserve the leadership of the nobles who comprise so many of the MechWarrior class’ ranks today. Generous rewards from Baroness Sonia and several of the other survivors of Loric enabled Lieutenant Ignatov to make his vision a reality. Since Aerial Recovery Solutions registered with the Mercenary Review Board in 3003, its aviators, troopers, and surgeons have recorded over 500 “saves” on 29 worlds.
QUERY>> VASILIY IGNATOV
... REDIRECTING: UNIT LEADERS
Lieutenant Colonel Vasiliy Ignatov
A veteran of the FWLM’s heliborne reconnaissance corps, Colonel Ignatov is the founder and commander of Aerial Recovery Solutions. He has over 14,000 hours of flight time and is rated as an instructor pilot on all three airframes operated by the unit. In addition, he holds academic degrees in avionics engineering and post-Star League interstellar relations.
Surgeon-Commander Silas Kokinos
Force Commander Dr. Silas Kokinos is the executive officer and medical director for Aerial Recovery Solutions. A distinguished graduate of Delphi Medical Institute on Canopus IV, Dr. Kokinos served in the MAF’s Second Canopian Cuirassiers for eight years before entering mercenary service. He is an expert trauma surgeon and a qualified aviator, with 800 flight hours in the Ferret.
Force Commander Marijn Lauwens
Force Commander Marijn Lauwens oversees Aerial Recovery Solutions’ recovery troopers, who combine jump infantry capabilities with prehospital medical skills. She is a veteran of the LCAF’s 11th Arcturan Guards with extensive small-unit combat experience against Periphery bandits. Like all of Aerial Recovery Solutions’ recovery officers and NCOs, she is a certified Grade IV Emergency Medical Provider (EMP-iv) through the ComStar Medical Extension Bureau.
Captain Konrad Winogrodzki
The commander of Aerial Recovery Solutions’ maintenance and helibase personnel is Captain Konrad Winogrodzki, a “mustang” officer with 32 years of experience in the famed Narhal’s Raiders. Captain Winogrodzki’s background is in finance and personnel administration and he is currently pursuing advanced certifications in airframe and turbine maintenance.
QUERY>> TROOPS
... REDIRECTING: UNIT COMPOSITION AND DEPLOYMENT
For ease of classification under MRB standards, Aerial Recovery Solutions is organized as a combined arms battalion. Our TO&E is composed of three VTOL squadrons, a company of recovery troopers, a base support company, and several small specialized formations. However, we pride ourselves on the capacity for flexible deployments to meet any operational challenge and to fit any budget. Contact our contracting office today to discuss the force package that best fits your needs.
White Squadron – The White Scarves
Aerial Recovery Solutions’ workhorse airframe is the Ferret Light Scout VTOL, a high-performance design with the speed to insert a recovery team on any battlefield. Under Captain Mabon Lewis, Gold Squadron operates ten Ferrets. These aircraft normally fly in the standard configuration but can be stripped to a “slick” configuration for greater cargo capacity if operating in a secure environment. Under normal operating conditions, each Ferret carries a squad of recovery troopers and can accommodate a single recovered casualty.
Green Squadron – The Jolly Green Giants
When long range and a heavy payload are the order of the day, Aerial Recovery Solutions offers the eight Karnov URs of Captain Kristina Hagen’s Green Squadron. These aircrews specialize in extended missions and recovery of multiple personnel in a single lift. Three of Green Squadron’s Karnovs are equipped with K5 Aerosystems’ Dromedary Gold equipment package, which offers a secure communications relay and aerial refueling capabilities to extend the reach of any Aerial Recovery Solutions mission. The other five operate in standard, unarmed configuration and typically carry two squads of recovery troopers with medical support for up to eight combat casualties. For medical evacuation and disaster relief work, each Karnov can accommodate 42 litter patients with a single recovery trooper squad to provide maintenance-level medical care during the flight.
Red Squadron – The Red Wolves
While lifesaving is Aerial Recovery Solutions’ mission, the “C” in “CSAR” means we may have to fight to get your people home. Red Squadron, led by Captain Shiori Katou, operates eight Warrior H-7A2 attack helicopters to escort the recovery aircraft of White and Green Squadrons. The Warrior-A2 is Lockheed/CBM’s newly-released variant which stretches the fuselage to add a second seat for a gunner/observer, providing increased situational awareness and reducing aircrew fatigue and workload. Aerial Recovery Solutions is proud to be the first unit outside the LCAF to receive Warrior-A2s.
Blue Company – The Blue Skies
Force Commander Lauwens recruits the recovery troopers of Blue Company exclusively from the Inner Sphere’s premiere jump infantry regiments to ensure superior qualifications in airmobile operations. Before becoming qualified for duty, each trooper must attain at least EMP-ii certification, with EMP-iii credentials required for promotion to corporal and EMP-iv for sergeants and above. This ensures that any member of Blue Company is a combat lifesaver whose aid bag is as essential as his rifle. Furthermore, each platoon specializes in a particular environment. First Platoon under Captain Sebastien Leitzke is expert in urban environments. Captain Heidi Mori’s Second Platoon focuses on coastal and aquatic work. Captain Abidemi Botha leads Third Platoon in mountain, arctic, and high-altitude theatres. Fourth Platoon follows Captain Manuel Jarvis into the Inner Sphere’s most inhospitable jungles.
Gold Company – The Gold Standard
When lives are on the line, aircraft and personnel must be prepared to launch at a moment’s notice. Captain Konrad Winogrodzki’s Gold Company ensures that Aerial Recovery Solutions’ assets are 100% mission-ready. Gold Company has four maintenance platoons, two base service platoons, two platoons of base security troops, and a platoon of Scimitar-PC hovercraft (typically offered for contract with Blue Company’s Second Platoon). In addition, it includes one lance of BattleMechs for deployments where force constraints may prevent the employer from providing heavy security to Aerial Recovery Solutions’ helibase. Sergeant Kinsley Rake’s Rifleman secures local airspace while MechWarrior Kamryn Rake’s Blackjack, MechWarrior Rajiv Gupta’s Fire Javelin, and MechWarrior Armand Morel’s Vulcan defend against ground threats.
GM Notes
This is not your typical BattleMech company. I envisioned Aerial Recovery Solutions as a plot device. With only eight combat VTOLs and four ‘Mechs (three of them kind of crappy), it’s not really a workable unit for a traditional campaign. I see it more as a background feature of a roleplaying campaign, a force attachment to put on the tabletop for a special mission objective, or an off-board abstraction for personnel survival during a campaign. It also could serve as the focus of a roleplaying mission or full campaign if you wanted to get a little off the beaten path. GMs who want to run this sort of thing are strongly encouraged to read up on the US Air Force pararescuemen who are one of the major inspirations for Aerial Recovery Solutions.
The writeup here is factually accurate as far as the TO&E goes, but I wrote it as in-universe marketing fluff, so it has some deliberate exaggerations. In particular, Ignatov’s performance on Loric vastly exceeded his orders and resulted in the destruction of two of the four Ferrets under his command. This is why he’s no longer in the FWLM. The commander bios also omit the facts that Kokinos fled the Magistracy to avoid being killed by his then-lover’s jealous wife and owes his current position to his marriage to Ignatov; that Lauwens is a high-functioning alcoholic to cope with her multiple cybernetic replacements; and that every single member of Gold Company and about half the rest of the unit loathes Winogrodzki with the fury of a thousand suns.
This profile is current for the cusp of the Fourth Succession War, my preferred era. During this time, Aerial Recovery Solutions typically works both sides of the Marik-Steiner border. A slight majority of its work is subcontracting for other mercenary units rather than house troops, through Colonel Ignatov likes pursuing house contracts because they’re more lucrative. The unit derives a critical portion of its income from “rescuing” opposing officers and ransoming them back, so snatching a noble off the battlefield results in bonuses all around. Every unit member’s contract specifies that 50% of any personal gratuities from rescued personalities go back to the unit, which helps cut down on lone-wolfing (Ignatov does learn from his mistakes).
Rank inflation in Aerial Recovery Solutions is very real. This is a deliberate move on Colonel Ignatov’s part. Because the full unit rarely deploys, it’s not uncommon for the senior officer on a world to be a recovery platoon leader. Making these individuals captains rather than lieutenants (or even breveting them to Force Commanders) ensures they have a little more weight in saying “no” to assignments that violate the contract.
The ‘Mech force is a recent addition after a LCAF screw-up nearly got a helibase overrun by enemy tanks. Ignatov was still a little freaked out when he hired the MechWarriors and the rest of the command group is not unified about the decision. Kokinos thinks it brushes up against a violation of the unit’s mission as lifesavers, Lauwens is worried about employers trying to commit the ‘Mechs to combat, and Winogrodzki is frantic about the massive maintenance burden that’s just been dropped on him. For their part, the four MechWarriors are delighted to have found a billet that allows them to sit around a base and not risk their ‘Mechs – and, more importantly, their status – in offensive operations.
The Warrior H-7A2 has identical game stats to the base H-7A, save for a two-person crew (TRO3039 fluffs it as a single-seater). The Scimitar-PC is a personnel carrier variant that drops the SRMs for two machine guns, a half-ton of ammo, and 1.5 tons of cargo/infantry space.