Commonwealth of Susquehanna Defense Force (1983: Doomsday)

The Commonwealth of Susquehanna maintains a small armed forces. Most of the military units were formed post-Doomsday, with a few pre-Doomsday units training troops after the apocalypse. Military service is mandatory unless the draftee can prove religious objections before a military board. If found reasonable, they will be assigned to the medical corps or a non-combat role.

Much of the equipment operated by the Commonwealth are pre-1960's equipment that is being replaced with newer models as funding becomes available.

The total military strength as of 2014 stands at 1862 active members; 400 reserve; and 300 county militia members.

Commonwealth of Susquehanna Army National Guard
The Commonwealth of Susquehanna Army National Guard is the largest branch of the armed forces.

It is the oldest branch of the armed forces, being in existence in some form since the foundation of the nation.

Infantry
The largest branch of the Army National Guard is the infantry branch. The main role is to provide defense from foreign powers, and raiders, offensive against hostile nations and groups, as well as security and aid police during a natural disaster.

History

The infantry can trace back to immediately after Doomsday. It is the successor to local militias that formed to defend the towns and communities from raiders, and rouge army groups.

In 2005 the military was officially formed as part of the Commonwealth of Susquehanna Defense Force.

Manpower

The nation maintains three companies of infantry, for a total of 315 available soldiers. All infantry regardless of role are issued M1911 pistols and either the M26 or M67 hand grenades.

Each company has four platoons, with five fireteams, one machine gun team, and a Bazooka team.

Fireteam
 * Team Leader- Leader of the unit. Armed with a select fire M14 rifle and ten 10 round magazines, as well as the unit radio if issued one. Provides direct leadership in situations as well as information on the mission.
 * Rifleman- Baseline infantryman. Equip with an M14 select fire, and given fifteen 10 round magazines. Also issued a disposable M72 LAW rocket launcher. Balances the firepower of both the Designated Marksman and the Automatic Rifleman.
 * Designated Marksman- Acting scout and sniper of the fireteam. Equip with select fire M14, bipod, and a scope as well as eight 10 round magazines.
 * Automatic Rifleman- Issued a fully automatic M1918 BAR with twelve 20 round magazines. Provides suppression fire as well as fire support for the team.

Machine Gun Team
 * Team Leader/Gunner- Leader of the team. Equip with the M1919, and standard issue weapons. Provides support fire for fire teams and bazooka team.
 * Loader/Ammunition Bearer- Carries the machine gun's tripod, and two belts of extra ammunition. Loads gun as needed. Issued standard issue pistol and grenades.
 * Spotter/Infantryman- Spots for the crew. Carries one belt of ammunition. Issued M14 and eight 10 round magazines.

Rocket Team
 * Team Leader/Gunner- Leader of the team. Issued Super Bazooka as well as the standard issue sidearm. Carries 2 rockets.
 * Ammunition Bearer- Carries 10 extra rockets. Issued standard sidearm.
 * Spotter/Infantryman- Issued M14 select fire rifle with eight 10 round magazines. Also carries two extra rockets as well as the sidearm.

Artillery
Artillery is a newer branch of the Army National Guard. It was formed on April 3rd, 2013 when the nation received four M101 artillery pieces from the Canadian government as well as trucks to tow them. There is one battery of four guns, with four trucks towing and supporting.

Manpower

There are five men assigned per gun, three for firing, and two as guards. Overall there are 20 soldiers in the artillery branch, although that may change as Susquehanna faces better armed opposition.

Armor
Presently the Army National Guard does not operate any armored vehicles, although there is interest in purchasing as many as ten M113 APC's from Kentucky. There is an unarmored jeep force that utilize Jeep Raiders and modified pickup trucks.

Waterways Patrol
The Commonwealth does not have an independent military branch, instead being a component of the Army National Guard.

Recently, the Commonwealth commissioned two Susquehanna-class patrol boats. Each is similar to the Vietnam era PBR boats. Both were former pleasure craft that were recommissioned as patrol boats.

Equipment
Individual Arms

Explosives, Rockets, and Missile Systems

Crew Served Weapons

Artillery

Unarmored Vehicles

Patrol Vessels

Military Police
There are 30 members of the Military Police. They are the former personnel of the Hazleton Security forces. Most are assigned to military bases and facilities to guard them, although they are trained in support of police and National Guard forces.

All are trained in counterinsurgency, hand to hand combat, firearms, and nonlethal tactics.

They are equipped with 15 motorcycles, and each officer is issued an M-16, an M1911, handcuffs, and pepper spray.

Susquehanna Guard
The Susquehanna Guard has duties as both the bodyguard to the Governor and dignitaries, as well as the Special Forces of Susquehanna. It is made up of one platoon of men. Eleven are assigned as bodyguards, and the other twenty one are assigned to field operations. The platoon is oversized with 32 men.
 * Susquehanna Guard Platoon
 * Gubernatorial Protection Section
 * Two five-man fireteams
 * Four Bodyguards (C7 A1 Assault Rifle, M1911 Pistol)
 * One Sniper (M40 Sniper Rifle, M1911 Pistol)
 * Special Operations Section
 * One five-man Hostage Rescue Fireteam
 * One Sniper (M40 Sniper Rifle, M1911 Pistol)
 * One Negotiator (M1911 Pistol, usually unarmed)
 * Three Breaching Personnel (C7 A1 Assault Rifle, M1911 Pistol)
 * One five-man Wilderness Combat Fireteam
 * One Sniper (M40 Sniper Rifle, M1911 Pistol)
 * One Reconnaissance (M3 Submachine Gun, M1911 Pistol)
 * One five-man Urban Combat Fireteam
 * Two Close Quarters Specialists (Model 870 Shotgun, M1911 Pistol)
 * Three Assault Personnel (C7 A1 Assault Rifle, M1911 Pistol)
 * One five-man Counterterrorism Fireteam
 * One Sniper (M40 Sniper Rifle, M1911 Pistol)
 * One Bomb Disposal Specialist (M1911 Pistol)
 * Three Assault Personnel (C7 A1 Assault Rifle, M1911 Pistol)

Commonwealth of Susquehanna Air National Guard
The Commonwealth of Susquehanna Air National Guard operates several aircraft from pre-Doomsday. Several light aircraft were salvaged from the Bloomsburg Area Airport, and Riverside Airport.

The mission of the Air National Guard is to monitor the nation for foreign incursions, provide logistics and support, as well as air defense. There are no combat aircraft operated by the Air National Guard. All aircraft are transport or support craft.

Training Wing
The training wing is the Air National Guard's smallest section. It operates two Cessna 172 bush planes as basic trainers, as well as a single Piper PA-28 Cherokee as an advanced trainer. Most people in the wing are cadets training on aircraft maintenance, or flight, but there are four flight instructors, and ten maintenance personnel.

Transport Wing
The transport wing is the largest in the Air National Guard. It operates four Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo planes, as well as three Cessna 172's as light cargo and transport aircraft. There are twenty pilots, sixteen flight crew, and thirty maintenance crew assigned to this wing.

Surveillance Wing
The surveillance wing operates two Taylorcraft L2 Grasshopper airplanes. They are modified to carry belly cameras. There are four pilots, two flight crew, and ten maintenance personnel on duty.

VIP Wing
The VIP wing operates three aircraft, one long range, a Cessna 404 Titan, and two short-medium range, Cessna 195 Businessliner's. Their job is to transport the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other governmental personnel around the nation and to visit other countries as well. There are eight pilots and twenty maintenance personnel assigned to the VIP Wing.

Air Defense Wing
The air defense wing is responsible for securing the airspace in the nation as well as defending the airports from hostile forces. They operate four Bofors 40 mm antiaircraft guns at the two airports in the nation. There are eight gunners, four munitions personnel, and eight crew members.

Units
91st Training Flight

112th Tactical Airlift Flight
 * Section 3:
 * Douglas C-47 Skytrain
 * Douglas C-47 Skytrain
 * Douglas C-47 Skytrain
 * Douglas C-47 Skytrain

114th Air Defense Wing
 * Bofors 40 mm Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * Bofors 40 mm Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * Bofors 40 mm Anti-Aircraft Gun
 * Bofors 40 mm Anti-Aircraft Gun

205th Special Operations Flight-

553rd Forward Reconnaissance Flight-

Defense Industry
The Commonwealth of Susquehanna does not have a large defense industry. The two major domestic suppliers to the armed forces are the Danville Steel Mills, and Appalachian Firearms Corporation.

Danville Steel Mills provides stamped armor for the military, knives, and bayonets for the military. Currently they manufacture the M5 bayonet for the M14 assault rifle.

Appalachian Firearms Corporation mainly manufactures ammunition for the armed forces. They also manufacture the M26 hand grenade, the M67 hand grenade, and both the M7 and the M76 rifle grenade launcher.

They are currently working on prototypes for the XM-20 assault rifle. Experts plan on mass production of the new service rifle in 2018 to 2020.

The company also modified and refurbishes used and damaged weapons.

The newly formed Columbia Ordinance Facility opened in Berwick, in February of 2014. It manufactures unguided bombs and rockets, as well as incendiary bombs.

Modernization Plans
The Commonwealth government realized in 2012 after a few years of combating raiders that the military needed to be modernized. Since then there have been several proposed acquisitions proposed, with several completed.

Army

 * Acquire 20 M20 Super Bazookas (2014, purchased from Canada through North Pennsylvania on February 12, 2014).
 * Acquire four M101 towed artillery pieces (2014, purchased from Canada through North Pennsylvania)
 * Modernize the military service rifle to the XM-20 prototype (OTL: AR-10) (2017)

The army has decided to restructure with two battalions of five companies of 100 soldiers each, and one company of 22 trucks and Jeep Raiders with 110 troops. There will also be one artillery battery with four M101 howitzers and 24 soldiers, and one support battalion with 500 men.

Active personnel will total 1634 on duty.

Reserves will be composed of four infantry regiments, and each county and territory will have two infantry platoons as a part time militia. There will be a total of 400 reserves and 300 militia.

Air National Guard

 * Acquire two attack/fighter/bomber aircraft (Recently purchased from Superior)
 * Acquire three older Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns (Recently purchased from Canada )
 * Acquire, or construct, two propeller cargo plane (2014, Negotiating price with Canada)
 * Purchase two cargo helicopters (2015)
 * Refurbish the old TRW building to construct aircraft engines and light attack and transport aircraft (2015 - Unknown)

Waterways Patrol

 * Acquire four lightly armed patrol boats (2016).

Current Missions

 * Operation: Retribution