Star Army Frontier Guards, or “Gādo”, are focused mainly on fulfilling the role of border garrisons, with a focus on low-support patrols. They are part of Fourth Fleet. They are trained by Star Army Reconnaissance, as well as emergency technicians and damage control experts. They are expected to operate outside of conventional logistical and Fleet support. They do this by being the primary vocational MOS inside of border system garrisons, both on ground and on ships, given their specialist skills.

The Guards are a primary element of Fourth Fleet's persistent on-station pre-warning forces on Yamatai's borders. A comparison would be with the submarine services of old. They are positioned on patrols within Yamataian border systems, sometimes for years at a time, often alone apart from their crewmates.

They are generally assigned equipment and ships falling out of standard usage or towards the end of their life spans. Due to this, Guards are known to have stronger engineering and damage control training than most, other than Technicians.

The Frontier Guards' functions are:

• To provide a distributed safety net around at-risk systems for extended periods of time.
• To mitigate the need for a full fleet to be stationed in areas it is not needed.
• To handle small incursions swiftly and in a timely manner in absence of fleet presence.
• To provide the time needed for a larger mobilisation of allied force if necessary.

The minimum rank for this occupation is Santô Hei and the maximum rank is Taisa. The occupational colors for reconnaissance units in the Star Army of Yamatai are the cornflower blue of Infantry, or RIKUPAT.

Old Patches

The new sleeve patch is a “Renge/Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)” with bronze trim on a Cornflower Blue field​.

The Star Army of Yamatai began training specialized reconnaissance personnel in YE 40 under Star Army Reconnaissance, under Star Army Infantry. Before that, reconnaissance duties were handled spontaneously by other units either too specialized to fulfill the role full time or too general to operate within non-detection parameters.

The emergence of the Kuvexian threat in YE 37 highlighted the need for a specialized forward reconnaissance division, given the implications of a war with an established nation-state on the same level of technical aptitude as the Yamatai Star Empire. The ad-hoc allocation of troops of wildly differing specialties to the role was seen as unsustainable and highly unoptimized, prompting the formation of the occupation.

After the establishment of Star Army Special Operations in YE 43, Star Army Reconnaissance and its occupations were controlled by SASO. In YE 44, Iemochi Feyani reorganised Star Army Reconnaissance occupations. The old Garrison Regiment was renamed to Border Guards and were transferred to Fourth Fleet. As ex-SF, they are subject to wartime recall by SASO.

There are no prerequisites for this occupation other than completing the necessary training. After completing basic training, prospective Star Army Frontier Guards may immediately sign up for specialized reconnaissance training. A truncated version of Infantry training is done first, to ensure Frontier Guards are capable of functioning effectively with Infantry, the course taking a month and a half. Next, Reconnaissance training takes four months during which trainees learn survival, non-detection, skirmishing, reactionary responses, self-sustenance, improvisation, and scouting skills. There is also an extreme emphasis on physical conditioning and fitness. Additionally, Guards get an expanded level of emergency engineering and damage control training.

The following is information that you are required to be familiar with and should refer to. First and foremost, you are not simply a better version of the Star Army Infantry. In many cases, you are less proficient than them in full-frontal engagements using (heavier) power armour. You are, however, an expert of travelling fast, fighting light, staying unseen, raiding, forward observation and lasting for a long time without external support. Oftentimes, your unit is expected to take little and potentially outdated equipment, infiltrate towards a target and complete an objective using skirmishing tactics, demoralising tactics and sabotage. Whether you come back or not is not as much a concern as it is for any other unit, but you are by no means unable to fight effectively. (See Skills).

Guards tend to be stationed on ships that have a majority of Guards outside of the vital ship MOSes. Guards are a naval-only MOS and usually only found inside Fourth Fleet. Sometimes they can be found in small land garrisons on celestial bodies inside a System they are stationed inside. They will always be close by their ship to skirmish or flee from any detected enemy traffic in the System.

Taking a distinctive role within Star Army of Yamatai military operations, Guards units operate on the border to observe encroaching enemy forces and act immediately if required. They are highly skilled in being on-station for extended periods of time with low logistical support. They are also trained in skirmishing, rapid reporting and falling back in good order.

In the field, Guards units take on scouting, observation, harassment, and patrol duties across the border. Guards units normally operate with outdated equipment and ships. While Guards units must be swift and covert enough to avoid enemy detection, units should also be equipped with or have access to enough firepower to directly engage hostile forces in a skirmishing and delaying tactic. Before, during, and after a combat engagement, Guards units typically serve as a screening, pursuit, and skirmishing force.

The duties of Guards are to provide an early warning for offenses and surprise attacks that were not foreseen by military intelligence as the last line of warning against such actions. If needed, they are expected to make a stand to the last man to buy time for the main force. Casualty rates in Guards engagements are higher than in many other engagements. They are also primarily focused on FORINT (Force Intelligence). This means Guards are focused on the composition and formations of the enemy to provide the information needed to properly counter them.

Guards may be expected to work alone, in a pair or small group depending on their task. They may be stationary or cut off for extended periods of time, resorting to unconventional or demeaning living conditions as needed.

Star Army Frontier Guards undergo training where they learn these skills through an exhaustive and rigorous twelve-week training course with an additional four weeks of on-post vocational specialization, some of which may be taught prior. Your character should have the following skills. Also, they should have everything covered in Star Army Common Skills. These do not replace common skills, rather they further them.

Due to the number of skills below, in addition to the common skills, new Guard characters are only able to pick three of the following, the ones that expand on common skills. They will need to complete a 'certification' RP to finish one of the skills the character did not 'have' at the start. Skills which fit in this category are: Demolitions, Vehicle, Survival, Knowledge, Humanities, Physical

• Communication: Using rapid and efficient communications much like an air traffic controller. (Star Army Reconnaissance Training)
• Fighting: In counter-boarding operations, utilising non power armour weapons systems. (Star Army Basic Infantry Training/Star Army Reconnaissance Training)
• Technology Operation: Repairing and using outdated equipment or equipment out of its service lifespan. (Star Army Reconnaissance Training)
• Mathematics: Basic levels of Calculus is taught, to improve information flow quality. (Star Army Reconnaissance Training)
• Vehicle: Trained in the maintenance and usage of a great number of both standard issue and outdated vehicles. (Star Army Basic Infantry Training)
• Survival and Military: Your character has a high level of survivability for lack of logistical or military support. This includes but is not limited to the jury-rigging of oxygen shelters, finding and making food from almost nothing, and other essential skills. Your character can also accurately report their findings despite adverse conditions, enemy presence, and technological restrictions. This means that the Guard must have an excellent memory and be able to identify and approximate the number of enemies in a glance. (Star Army Reconnaissance Training)
• Knowledge: As there is a lack of support and increased personal risk in the line of duty of a Guard, split-second decisions can mean the difference between operational success and failure much more often than standard Infantry and Pilots. Guards are expected to consistently display excellent logic in the face of adversity. (Star Army Reconnaissance Training)
• Humanities: Your character has a proficient understanding of deception, psychology, unit cohesion, mental attrition, demoralization, and psychological warfare. Star Army Rangers are expected to apply their understanding of psychology to their actions in the field for the benefit of the Star Army of Yamatai and be resilient to adverse conditions. (Star Army Reconnaissance Training)
• Physical: Your character maintains excellent physical condition, on account of their intensive training and workout regime. This helps assist with mental wellbeing during long-term deployments. (Star Army Basic Infantry Training/Star Army Reconnaissance Training)

Guards tend to use the Advanced Reconnaissance and Scouting Armor, Type 41, but also use Mindies.

Guards generally prioritize repairability, longevity and endurance over full fighting power. Their equipment allocation reflects this. Star Army Reconnaissance utilizes whatever is needed for the task at hand, here are some examples. Obsolete equipment from storage is often used, likely being more common than standard issue equipment.

A substantial equipment list can be found on the Star Army Special Operations page.

These are the characters currently listed as Star Army Frontier Guards.

ethereal created this article on 2022/09/22 18:57. It was originally submitted as “Border Guards” and was accepted as “Frontier Guards” here.

This should be a unit type, not an occupation as per https://stararmy.com/roleplay-forum/threads/make-saoy-occupations-more-rpg-friendly.70054/page-4#post-435499.