Editing 388th Division (ComStar)

{{Cleanup|reason=review needed|date=September 2023}}
{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image          = [[Image:Com Guards 388th Division.png|150px]]
| Designation    = 388th Division [[Level IV]]-xi
| formed         = 
| Disbanded      = 
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname       = The White Banshees
| Affiliation    = [[ComStar]]
| Parent Command = [[11th Army (ComStar)|Eleventh Army]]
| Sub-Command    = 
}}

Regarding [[Clan Jade Falcon]] as their nemesis, the '''388th Division''' has faced the Falcons and survived during the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]] and the so-called Jade Falcon Incursion in the midst of the [[FedCom Civil War]].

== History ==
With the public unveiling of the [[Com Guards]], the green ranked 388th Division was assigned to the [[11th Army (ComStar)|Eleventh Army]], its headquarters on the [[Federated Commonwealth]] world of [[Pandora]].<ref name=20YU>''20 Year Update'', p. 71</ref>

With the relatively green Eleventh Army assigned to face [[Clan Jade Falcon]] during the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]], the 388th dug in around Robyn's Crossing, one of two bridges across the Prezno River. The unit held the bridge in the face of a heavy push by the [[12th Falcon Regulars (Clan Jade Falcon)|12th Falcon Regulars]] but was forced back when the [[jump jet]]–equipped command [[Star]] of the [[Aidan Pryde]]'s [[Falcon Guards]] reinforced the Regulars with an unorthodox flanking action. The 388th succeeded in delaying the Falcon advance long enough to allow Com Guard sappers to rig demolition charges to collapse the bridge when the Twelfth Regulars tried to cross.<ref name=T1>''Tukayyid'', p. 58: "Campaign: Clan Jade Falcon"</ref><ref name=T2>''Tukayyid'', pp. 61–63: "Assault on Robyn's Crossing [18]"</ref>

As the bulk of the Eleventh fought to prevent the capture of Olalla, the withdrawal of [[Clan Ghost Bear]] allowed the [[4th Army (ComStar)|Fourth Army]] to assist the 388th and [[214th Division (ComStar)|214th Divisions]] to launch an assault against Falcon bases at Robyn's Crossing and Plough Bridge. While the [[Delta Galaxy (Clan Jade Falcon)|Delta]] and [[Vau Galaxy (Clan Jade Falcon)|Vau Galaxies]] held their ground against this counterattack, a Com Guard airstrike succeeded in destroying the [[Gamma Galaxy (Clan Jade Falcon)|Gamma Galaxy]]'s supply depot at Robyn's Crossing, forcing Clan Jade Falcon to withdraw off the planet.<ref name=T1/>

After Tukayyid, the 388th transferred its headquarters to [[Lyons]],<ref name=CS>''ComStar'', p. 85: "11th Army V-eta"</ref> before ComStar chose to redeploy the Eleventh Army to try and prevent any overflow from the [[Refusal War]], with the 388th moved to [[Graceland]] on the border of the [[Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone]].<ref name=FMC>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 41: "11th Army V-Eta: The Honorable"</ref>

Infuriated that the Jade Falcons chose to avoid facing the heavily defended border on which they were stationed and follow the edge of the [[Lyran Alliance]] before striking inward to [[Jade Falcon Incursion (3058)|attack Coventry]] in [[3058]], the 388th launched a series of minor retaliatory raids on worlds in the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, one of the few post-Tukayyid offensive operations by ComStar prior to [[Operation Bulldog]].<ref name=FMC/>

Despite the 388th's sole interest in protecting the surrounding worlds from the Jade Falcons, with the Alliance increasing distrustful of ComStar since the Eleventh Army's transfer away from the [[Lyons Thumb]], the division's close supply links to the [[Arc-Royal Defense Cordon]] and [[Victor Steiner-Davion]]'s rise to [[Precentor Martial of ComStar]], in the lead-up to the FedCom Civil War the two [[LAAF]] units station on Graceland, the [[11th Donegal Guards]] and [[3rd Lyran Guards]] [[RCT]], moved to isolate the Com Guard Division.

After Victor Davion's broadcast on December 8th [[3062]], only the level-headed command staff of the Third Lyran Guards kept the Eleventh Donegal from launching a preemptive strike against the 388th, but the Eleventh's commander [[Colonel]] [[Cyrus Andes]] was a member of the [[Brotherhood of Cincinnatus]] and fomented extremists on Graceland into mass anti-ComStar protests. After a protester-triggered incident that led to the death of twelve citizens and three Com Guards, along with hundreds of wounded, on January 7th [[3063]] Colonel Andes ordered the Eleventh to disarm the 388th. Despite the 388th's decision to pull back to ComStar defensive emplacements and the Third Guards' best efforts to contain their fellow unit, the Eleventh Donegal launched near suicidal attacks on the Com Guard unit, provoking extremists to attempt to bomb Graceland's [[HPG]] compound.

Angered that Andes' actions had now led ComStar to order a [[Interdiction|Communications Interdiction]] of the world, the Third Guards' commander [[Leutnant-General]] [[Paul Zardetto]] ordered his unit to push aside the Eleventh and completely contain the 388th. While apologizing for the Eleventh's action, Zardetto ordered the 388th to withdraw to prevent further escalation of the situation. Recognizing they had little choice to avoid fanning the conflict, [[Precentor]] Shillery agreed, with the stipulation that a mixed 'Mech and armored infantry Level III be left behind to guard the HPG compound from further attacks. The 388th lifted off Graceland on February 5th, bound for [[Kandersteg]].<ref name=FCCW1>''FedCom Civil War'', p. 42: "Flashpoint - Graceland (7 January 3063)"</ref>

With the [[Clan Jade Falcon]] incursion of the Lyran Alliance, [[Precentor]] [[Gavin Dow]] ordered the 388th back to Graceland to reinforce the Eleventh Donegal despite the bad blood between the units. The [[74th Battle (Clan Jade Falcon)|74th Battle]] and [[22nd Provisional Garrison Cluster (Clan Jade Falcon)|22nd Provisional Garrison Cluster]]s landed on June 1st, focusing their attacks on destroying the Eleventh before turning their full attention to the 388th in late June. By this point [[Archer Christifori]]'s [[Archer's Avengers]] and sections of the [[20th Arcturan Guards]] had landed to assist in the defense of the planet, pushing the Falcons back.<ref name=FCCW2>''FedCom Civil War'', p. 115: "Graceland"</ref>

With the end of fighting on Graceland, the 388th moved to assist [[Clan Wolf-in-Exile]] [[Khan]] [[Phelan Kell]]'s [[4th Wolf Guards (Clan Wolf-in-Exile)|Fourth Wolf Guards]] in retaking [[Dustball]], landing four days after Kell on August 3rd, the Com Guard and Wolf units fought hard and eventually forced the [[7th Falcon Regulars (Clan Jade Falcon)|7th Falcon Regulars]] and [[Jade Falcon Eyrie (Clan Jade Falcon)|Jade Falcon Eyrie Cluster]] off-world.<ref name=FCCW2/>

After their successes on Graceland and Dustball, the now overeager 388th launched an attack against the heavily reinforced [[9th Provisional Garrison (Clan Jade Falcon)|9th Provisional Garrison Cluster]] on [[Blair Atholl]] on December 15th [[3064]]. Unfortunately for the 388th, the Ninth PGC hounded them from the moment they landed, with the situation looking especially dire when [[Khan]] [[Marthe Pryde]]'s [[Turkina Keshik]] landed on February 20th [[3065]]. The Com Guard unit didn't realize that this was a good thing until Khan Phelan Kell reached Blair Atholl on the 26th, with [[General]] [[Adam Steiner]] and Archer Christifori's forces landing a day later to discuss how to honorably stop the fighting to allow each party to deal with other more pressing foes.<ref name=FCCW3>''FedCom Civil War'', p. 118: "Jade Falcon Incursion - Blair Atholl"</ref>

After the end of the Jade Falcon Incursion, the 388th returned to station on Graceland.<ref name=FMU>''Field Manual: Updates'', pp. 87–88: "11th Army V-Eta (The Honorable)"</ref>

== Officers ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the 388th Division'''
|-
| [[Precentor]] IV||[[Gerard Philblad]]||Prior to the [[Clan Invasion]]<ref name=20YU/>
|-
| Precentor||[[Andrea Shillery]]||[[3052]] - [[3067]]<ref name=CS/>
|-
|}

== Tactics ==
Using standard Com Guard tactics for the most part, the 388th is best known for its legendary hatred of Clan Jade Falcon, causing them to fight with a near-berserker rage when facing Falcon units. However, while they fight twice as hard to defeat them, this almost blind rage also hinders their tactical thinking.

== Composition History ==

===3050===
'''388th Division''' (Division/Green)<ref name=20yup71>''20 Year Update'', p. 71</ref>
: Note: At this point in time the 388th Division was stationed on Pandora.<ref name=20yup71/>

===3055===
'''388th Division''' (Division/Regular)<ref name=CSSp85">''ComStar'', p. 85</ref>
: Note: At this point in time the 388th Division was stationed on [[Lyons]].<ref name=CSSp85"/>

=== 3062 ===
* ''New Rays'' III-psi - [[Demi-Precentor]] II [[Traci Horel]]
* ''Glass Moon'' III-xi - Demi-Precentor VII [[Carlton Prouty]]
* ''Palpable Hit'' III-nu - Demi-Precentor X [[Roger Gamble]]
* ''Twilight Marauders'' III-xi - Demi-Precentor XII [[Paul Buskirk]]
* ''Knights and Pawns'' III-mu - Demi-Precentor VI [[John Marrella]]
* ''The Undertow'' III-omicron - Demi-Precentor IV [[Wesley Haddon]]

- It was noted in [[3060]] that the 388th was one of the primary users of the [[Pinto (Combat Vehicle)|Pinto]] attack VTOL.<ref name="TRO3060RRp17">''Technical Readout: 3060'' (6th printing), p. 17: "Deployment"</ref>

== Notes ==
* The insignia of the 388th Division shows a stylized white ghost set on a red disc.<ref name=FMC/>
*, Unlike many Com Guard Divisions, the 388th retained its original nickname after Tukayyid.
* As with every other Division in the Eleventh Army, the 388th boasts a large contingent of engineers, who constructed a large number of defensive emplacements on the station of Graceland to aid the unit's defense of that world.

== References ==
<references/>

== Bibliography ==
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar]]''
* ''[[FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)|FedCom Civil War]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: ComStar]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3060]]'' (6th Printing)
* ''[[Tukayyid (scenario pack)|Tukayyid]]''


[[Category:ComStar Division Commands|Division, 388th]]