Republican Guard (1983: Doomsday)

The Republican Guard are a branch of the Republic of Superior Armed Forces, tasked with defending the capital of Stowe, while also acting as Special Forces within all three main branches. Republican Guardsmen and regular soldiers have a continuous rivalry, due to RG’s considering themselves superior to all others, both in training and leadership, while Regulars consider them as nothing more than talk rather than action.

Beginnings
Under the direction of President Stowe, Congress passed the Defense of the Nation on November 8th, 1991, which among many other formalities resulted in the creation of the Republican Guard. Robert Stowe, along with Chief of the Army Kelley Stone, thought that a regular army was not going to be enough to deal with the challenges in the Post-Doomsday world, and a branch of elite soldiers would have to be formed to deal with tasks normal military regulars could not deal with. At the same time, it was not considered safe for any of the normal military units, of whom there was dubious loyalty to the state, to be given the job of protecting both Congress and the President. A force sworn to protect both, even if their commander’s ordered them to do otherwise, was considered a better alternative.

The first 500 members were drawn entirely from the Republic of Superior Army, based on their excellent status report, field experience, and dedication to the Republic. These men were then transported to a secret military outpost, based in the now abandoned town of Marathon, Ontario. Led by Colonel Richard Callaway, they went through an incredibly strenuous training, largely developed by himself, but also by the Chief of the Army as well. 129 of the trainees dropped out before the first company was formed on May 24th, 1992. These numbers would continue to swell until there were over 4,000 by the beginning of 1997.

A major problem with the Republican Guard, however, was that there was no unified command structure upon its initial conception. Developed companies were under the command of the President himself, or in the case of an emergency, the Chief of the Army, but most members were simply filtered back into the Regular Armed forces by squad. Receiving the most dangerous assignments, and favored by officers within the military, Regular began to grow tired of who were now called the “glory hounds”. To them, training was nothing compared with on field experience. They never said it to their face, however.

The construction of Stowe was done partially under the guidance of now Two-Star General Richard Callaway himself, ensuring that the proper security measures were taken so both the Lake House and Congress were easily defensible, along with the main points of the city itself. As such, camouflaged defenses were installed extensively throughout the city, along with underground tunnels in the chase that either government officials or Republican Guardsmen had to get to another location in the capital. The exact layout of the tunnels has been kept secret, though there is expected to be a route leading from both the Lake House and Congress to Beckham Airfield.

Deployment in Chicago
When the effort to liberate Chicago from the mobs had begun to falter, one of the major elements of the reinforcements deployed was the 6th Republican Guard Battalion, while smaller units existed within the Regular Army. From records regarding the conflict, the 6th RGB had the best record of any of those deployed in the field, despite taking heavy casualties in the fighting. It had succeeded in capturing and holding control of crossings across the Chicago River for further reinforcements, while also having played a major role in the capture of the leadership of the “West Side” mob.

After the city was secured, Republican Guardsmen largely played an anti-insurgency role against mob remnants. The would be fully withdrawn from the city in 2002, having stationed due to a threat against the life of President DeLeo by insurgents who still operated in the city.

Organization
The Republican Guard is divided into twelve companies, each comprising of up to 1,000 men. Others are added to the Regular Army to act as elite squads in the field, aiding and completing tasks considered to require either stealth or a steady hand. All twelve companies our under the direct command of the President of the Republic of Superior, though in extreme cases, that power is transferred to the Chief of Staff. Though units could be deployed anywhere around the globe, A Company is always stationed in the capital of Stowe.