The Star Army School of Advanced Infantry Combat is a Star Army Training Administration dedicated training facility. This school trains Star Army Rangers in an intensive twelve week course.

The mission of the SAIC is to provide advanced training in powered armor reconaissance for infantry soldiers in the Star Army of Yamatai. It was established in YE 39 during a drive to create specialized schools to further the skills of soldiers of the SAoY. The facility is headquartered in Fort Ingestrie on Tatiana.

Previously only known as the Giretsu School, it is sometimes called that or Ranger School as it has taken on a different specialization, though both are within the Infantry Occupation. The school's nickname comes from the the honor of being called Giretsu, meaning heroism in Yamataigo (邪馬台語)

The completion of this training is reflected by the addition of a trio of cherry blossoms to be placed below the soldier's rank pin during formal wear or the ranger patch being added to their duty uniform.

Daily Wear Patch:1)	Formal Wear Pin:2)

Application to the Giretsu school is done in one of three ways: Infantry just out of training can opt in to try their hand at the program; existing soldiers can volunteer of their own free will to strike for it; or a soldier's commanding officer can 'recommend' them for the program.

During their training all attendees are referred to as Kenshūsei or Trainee regardless of what rank they may have had prior. All trainees are automatically placed on the Yamatai Prestige System for the duration of their training.

Note: Those without an Star Army Enlistment Contract cannot join the Star Army or be trained.

The SAIC has a maximum intake of 500 students divided into 100-student Centuries; only one class is run at a single time. The last month of the year is used to train up the instructors on lessons learned in the field that year and time off.

The program is twelve weeks long, just enough time to teach everything from trusting one's own mind and body to surviving for half a week while taking out targets and living on the land. It is a completely bewildering experience for some and for others is exactly what their skills have been honed to do. Not all make it through the program. Those that do not are wash outs and those that do, graduates. Even more than that, those that make it will be Giretsu.

There is a heavy emphasis on power armor techniques, physical endurance, and simulations that verge on reality. There is little leeway in the form of being able to half-heartedly pursue this endeavor of a training course. It is not for the weak of mind, it is not for the weak willed.

The 12 week long program provides the following training:

• Crawl Phase - 1+1 Weeks
  • The Crawl Phase is a back to basics course focusing on the abilities of standard Yamataian Powered Armor and the abilities of the body, and their abilities in conjunction. The Crawl Phase sees the students reacquainted with the current standard issue SAoY Power Armor weaponry and their proper usage, as well as proper maintenance. the Crawl Phase involves physically and mentally intensive training and physical fitness programs, meant to weed out the undedicated and those who can't hack it.
  • The March is the finale of the Crawl Phase, a 3-day, 100km march in full armor kit with flight and thrusters and inertial control disabled. The March follows a looping trail, leaving Fort Ingestried and heading into the hinterlands before looping back. Upon completing The march, students are asked to fill out a questionnaire about the terrain they just marched through. Those that pass go through a graduation ceremony and become Rangers in Training, not simply Trainees.
• Walk Phase - 2 Weeks
  • The Walk Phase is a continuation of what the Rangers in Training learned during the Crawl Phase, focusing on combat on land and in gravity positive environments. The course includes additional equipment familiarization, as well as extensive target recognition training focusing on enemy PA and Armored Vehicles.
  • The Drop is the final part of the Walk Phase, and includes a sub-orbital drop in armor followed by a nighttime combat exercise against a group of 10 Mindy 4 PAs defending a mock target.
• Fall Phase - 2 Weeks
  • The Fall Phase is a two weeks long live fire exercise in a training facility aboard a space station. Each day the recruits cycle through being point leads for their away teams. It is here they train for general purpose starship work if they happen to end up in the likely possibility of being detached from a Ranger unit. They train in early assessment of enemy threat levels and proving a spearhead for those behind them.
• Tiptoe Phase - 3 Weeks
  • The Tiptoe Phase sees another two weeks of live fire combat exercise, but this time it is a ground operation. Fighting as a squad, the remaining Rangers are initially inserted by an orbital drop near a mock enemy communications outpost. They must insert themselves undetected and then hit high value targets over the course of the weeks while evading detection. This phase also includes tracking their trainers, pretending to be high value targets, in the wilderness around the mock installation as well as using topographical features and the terrain to find a second installation that does not show up on sensors.
• Run Phase - 1 Week
  • The Run Phase sees the Ranger in training undergoing additional rigorous combat training and combat exercises, matching it with focused training for various Ranger in training in a variety of specialized fields. The Run Phase is where Ranger undergo Dissimilar Armor Combat Training against both purchased foreign Armors and mock ups of unobtainable Armors.
• Fly Phase - 2 Weeks
  • In the final phase of the coursework at the School, trainees don Mindy and defend a mock target in a nighttime combat exercise against a group newer trainees that are in their Walk Phase. Because they older trainees are not meant to win this fight, they importance of this phase is placed on finding out the weaknesses of their opponent. They are then meant to review these weaknesses with the younger troops and to be mentors, something SAIC expects their graduates to do for teams they are a part of in the future. At the end of those days, Ranger who have made it through graduate and become full Rangers.

Graduates of the School typically receive a promotion to a minimum rank of Ittô Hei, or a one rank promotion for officers.

Rangers have an option of joining a starship crew or returning to their previous postings to disseminate the skills learned at the school to infantry squad mates.

Any soldier who fails to graduate has two options. They can attempt to retake the course, or they can be returned to general service with no penalty.

• Fighting
  • Graduates of the school are trained in a variety of combat methods above and beyond the standard SAoY Basic training, including: hand to hand fighting inspired by Martial Arts of Yamatai; the ability to consistently and accurately place shots using all of a Power Armor's weapons; proper swordsmanship and knife fighting; and the proper use of a shield. Graduates are also trained in proper usage of a bayonet.
  • Sniper and Designated marksman graduates have received additional, extensive training in long range shooting, including the ability to rapidly account for factors such as magnetic fields, planetary curvature, and wind speed.
  • Pointman graduates have received additional training in close quarters gunfighting and melee combat.
• Survival & Military
  • Graduates of the Girestsu school have all received extensive training in wilderness survival and stealth, escape and evasion of a superior enemy force during combat operations, and proper commando and stay-behind operations.
• Physical
  • The school has trained all who graduate it about the abilities of the body, and worked to help them break down any mental barriers they have against using their body's abilities to the maximum capacity.
• Maintenance & Repair
  • All SAIC graduates are capable of performing repairs on their weapons and armors, both in the field and in proper facilities.
• Demolitions
  • Graduates of the SAIC are well trained in the use of Star Army explosives and munitions, including grenades, rockets, missiles, and artillery.
  • Graduates who have received special EOD training are proficient in disarming armed explosives.
• Leadership
  • The SAIC school trains officers and officer candidates who attend in proper small-unit leadership and tactics, with an obvious emphasis on operating in unusual situations or direct assaults.
• Knowledge
  • Graduates of the Giretsu school are able to recognize most Power Armor, Mecha, and Armored Vehicles known to the Star Army of Yamatai from appearance. They are able to be able to accurately assess an enemy unit's capabilities and threat once they have recognized what it is, as well as remember the target's weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

Trainees receive a subset of the Star Army Standard Issue Items. The following is the Trainee issue:

• Star Army Duffel Bag, containing:
  • Toiletry Kit
  • Environmental Suit
  • 2 Working Uniforms. Includes boots and gloves.
  • 2 Duty Uniform
  • 1 Coat and Cap
  • 2 Exercise Uniform (can also used as sleepwear)
  • Undergarments
• Star Army Utility Belt, Type 32, light-blue gray
• MCAS, Standard Issue Planetary Configuration

• Ranger Patch
• Triple Cherry Blossom Pin
• Type 35 Ball Cap with “Ranger” written in all caps above the Trade and Yamataigo words for “Giretsu”. Between either side of the words for Giretsu is the YE (Year) that the Ranger graduated from SAIC.

This page was originally created on 2015/10/03 16:07 by Kirkatan

Ametheliana submitted it for approval and revised it for Rangers.

Ranger Farseer patch by Yuuki

Approved here.