Editing Com Guards

{{Update Needed|[[Era Report: 3145]]|[[Spotlight On: Unending Faith]]}}

The '''ComStar Guards and Militia''', later renamed '''Com Guards''', was the military arm of [[ComStar]]. Kept hidden by the supposedly politically neutral organization until after the [[Fourth Succession War]], the Guards were a force on par with the militaries of the [[Successor States]]. Originally serving as clandestine black ops forces, then garrison troops for ComStar's [[HPG]] compounds, they eventually shifted towards a role as defenders of the [[Inner Sphere]], most famously their victory against the [[Clans]] in the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]]. Split by the [[ComStar Schism]], the Guards suffered heavy losses combating the [[Word of Blake]] during their fanatical former brothers' [[Jihad]] and publicly disbanded after that conflict. They would resurge briefly, but this led to ComStar (and its Com Guards with it) being eradicated.

==History==
While ComStar owned considerable military assets, particularly [[BattleMech]]s, since their inception, they apparently did not always maintain a standing military.

===Operation Silver Shield===
On the eve of [[Aleksandr Kerensky]]'s [[Operation EXODUS|Exodus]] from the [[Inner Sphere]] with of most of the remaining [[SLDF]], Kerensky negotiated an agreement with ComStar founder and [[Star League]] minister of Telecommunications [[Jerome Blake]]: To prevent those soldiers who would not follow Kerensky into exile from becoming House troops or mercenaries, they would be given the option to serve Blake and ComStar, now the last vestiges of the Star League. These troops were centered around [[General]] [[Lauren Hayes]] and her [[151st Royal BattleMech Division]], nominal leader of some seventeen [[division]]s and fourteen independent [[regiment]]s' worth of SLDF troops most stridently opposed to Kerensky's Exodus. In return, Blake used ComStar's total control over interstellar communication to hide both Kerensky's and their own preparations for their respective plans.

Kerensky carried out his Exodus plan in [[2784]]. With the [[First Succession War]] looming, Blake, seeing the writing on the wall, implemented [[Operation Silver Shield]] that established ComStar as the sole power on [[Terra]] and secured their control over the Sol system by military means, using Hayes' 151st Division (masqueraded as mercenaries). This show of military force, combined with the threat of communications [[interdiction]], would ensure the House lords' grudging acceptance of ComStar's neutrality forthwith.

ComStar effectively demobilized its standing army in the following years. Blake set up the [[Mercenary Review Board]] in [[2789]]; this allowed ComStar a degree of control over the mercenary market.

===Clinton's Cutthroats===
In [[2869]], a [[JumpShip]] accidentally discovered one of ComStar's [[Hidden Worlds]]. Although they were subsequently hunted down by [[ROM]] and the find covered up, ComStar decided they needed a standing army on their secret fallback worlds. However, that military force would not come from within the organization. Instead, the [[mercenary unit]] [[Clinton's Cutthroats]] was hired on a permanent basis (and thus effectively vanished from history). Allegedly, descendants of the Cutthroats were still guarding the Hidden Worlds over 200 years later.

However, it should be noted that Clinton's Cutthroats were a special case as the security detail for a secret project, and were not working for (or even known to) ComStar as a whole. At the same time, the fact that ComStar had to bring in external forces seems to suggest they had none of their own at the time.

===Necess Kurita Affair===
The next known military standoff involving ComStar occurred in [[2931]] during the [[Necess Kurita Affair]], after ComStar Acolyte [[Necess Kurita]] had been abducted by [[House Kurita]] in a shootout where her ROM security detail was killed. Lacking a true military at the time, ComStar hired some six regiments' worth of mercenary units in all haste in the unfolding crisis which was ultimately resolved by the threat of military action, namely the mercenary [[Bandersnatches]], without a shot being fired.

[[Primus of ComStar]] [[Hollings York (ComStar)|Hollings York]] subsequently proposed the creation of a standing military to the [[First Circuit]], leading to the creation of the ComStar Guards and Militia in [[2933]]. The Bandersnatches were hired to form the core of the nascent ComStar Guards and Militia, though it is unclear if they served as trainers or frontline troops.

===ComStar Guards and Militia===
Settling with five regiments' worth of full-time troops as part of a compromise with liberal elements on the First Circuit, Hollings York placed the new ComStar Guards and Militia under the shared control of the Primus and First Circuit. Building his military around the core of the now disbanded Bandersnatches and outfitted from ComStar's SLDF stockpiles, York tapped the vast resources of ROM to fund its creation as well as convincing the First Circuit to approve millions of [[C-bill]]s to transform the [[Sandhurst Royal Military College]] from a ROM training school back into a full military academy again. Upon publicly announcing the formation of the branch to the stunned House Lords, York took great pains to convince them the ComStar Guards would be a light infantry force trained only for defensive purposes and stationed strictly on Terra.<ref name=CS-42>''ComStar'', p. 42: "Age of Enlightenment"</ref> In truth York set in motion the creation of the most powerful military since the collapse of the Star League, featuring extensive [[BattleMech]], [[Combat Vehicle]] and [[aerospace fighter]] support bolstered by the construction and refurbishment of [[WarShip]]s, by that point extinct in all Successor State navies.<ref name=FMCS-12>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 12: "The New Dawn"</ref>

However, the large volume of funding required for York's dream drew heavy criticism from both members on the First Circuit such as [[Adrienne Sims]] and ROM, whose overall funding was reduced to pay for the Guards' expansion. While York would attempt to soothe tensions with Sims by naming her his successor as Primus, he increasingly antagonized the Order's intelligence agency, ultimately proposing in the spring of [[2947]] to formally disband ROM to a full gathering of all Precentors on Terra, with its intelligence-gathering and security role to be reassigned to the ComStar Guards.<ref name=CS-42/><ref name=CS-43>''ComStar'', p. 43: "Age of Enlightenment"</ref>

The ComStar Guards and Militia lost their patron two months after this history-making speech when Hollings York was assassinated at the cornerstone laying ceremony for the refurbished Sandhurst Royal Military College.<ref name=CS-43>''ComStar'', p. 43: "Age of Enlightenment"</ref> One of the most strident critics of both York and the Guards and Militia, his successor Adrienne Sims reversed plans to disband ROM, restoring its funding and transforming his ComStar Guards and Militia into a mere division of the Order's intelligence agency as she focused on her own pet project, the [[Explorer Corps (ComStar)|Explorer Corps]].<ref name=CS-44>''ComStar'', p. 44: "Calm before the Storm"</ref>

===Tripitz Affair===
The fortunes of the ComStar Guards and Militia would improve under Sims' successor [[Yin Takami]] with the successful completion of their first combat action in [[2979]] during the so-called [[Tripitz Affair]]. After [[ROM]] learned that the [[Taurian Concordat]] had discovered an ancient ''[[Black Lion]]''-class battlecruiser, the ''SLS Tripitz'', near [[New Vandenberg]], Primus Takami ordered the [[1st Division (ComStar)|1st Division]] to destroy the ship before the Taurians could recover it. Takami ordered them to paint their equipment stark white to prevent any links back to ComStar. Despite their lack of practical combat experience, the First's advanced Star League-era equipment allowed them to defeat the Taurian forces in under an hour with only three deaths before obliterating the WarShip.<ref name=CS-46>''ComStar'', p. 46: "The Tripitz Affair"</ref><ref name=FMCS-13>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 13: "The Com Guards - Bait and Switch"</ref> This action sparked the legend of the "Vandenberg White Wings".

Despite reservations in the First Circuit that an offensive response was against the neutrality professed by [[Jerome Blake]], Takami countered that as long as the identity of ComStar's forces had been not discovered he had not breached the divine will of Blake. The First's success earned them new respect from the Order and Primus Takami specifically, who authorized an expansion of the Militia's 'Mech element to 50 regiments based on their actions. Takami's order to paint ComStar Guard fighters white would later become the standard parade scheme for ComStar's military after their public unveiling.<ref name=CS-46/><ref name=FMCS-13/>

===Jolly Roger Affair===
The ComStar Guards and Militia's next combat action in [[3004]], though technically successful, was very nearly a disaster. ComStar's [[Jolly Roger Affair|"Jolly Roger" plan]] was to provide material support to pirate bands operating along the [[Periphery]] borders of the [[Draconis Combine]] and [[Lyran Commonwealth]], to inflame fighting between the two powers. However, when the plan went sour after the pirates struck out on their own, Primus [[Allen Rusenstein]] dispatched the First Division's CO to negotiate with the renegades to bring them back into line. The meeting ended in bloodshed, killing pirate leader [[Darleen Dunson]], and only made matters worse.<ref name=CS-49>''ComStar'', p. 49: "The Jolly Roger Affair"</ref><ref name=FMCS-13/>

After the enraged pirates struck the ComStar HPG compounds on [[Lost]] and [[Canal]] in retaliation for Dunson's death, Primus Rusenstein ordered the 1st Division to wipe out "Black" [[Jack McGirk]]'s forces. Tracking the pirates to the unmapped world of [[Trisha]] eight jumps into the Periphery, the First fought against McGirk's band for the better part of three days. While the First successfully completed their mission, the greater combat experience of the pirates gave them a 2.3 to 1 kill ratio against the numerically superior but still relatively untested ComStar forces.<ref name=CS-49/><ref name=FMCS-13/>

===Fourth Succession War===
On the eve of the wedding of [[Hanse Davion]] and [[Melissa Steiner]] that would see the [[Fourth Succession War]] declared by the groom, [[Akira Brahe]] had come to the Hilton Head compound with the Draconis Combine delegation for the wedding and at one point began to explore the area alone. He encountered ComStar Acolytes who he discovered wore [[cooling vest]]s, and a tattoo was recognized as that of a periphery bandit group. His interest piqued, Akira Brahe infiltrated an underground facility and saw with his own eyes rows upon rows of ComStar BattleMechs. Upon his return, he was confronted by guards and narrowly avoided death through the timely intervention of [[Morgan Kell]] and [[Jaime Wolf]], who killed the attackers in turn. The men initially decided to keep their find secret.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', pp. 184–202</ref>

ComStar carried out two clandestine military operations in the Fourth Succession War, seeking to curb the immensely successful Davion/Steiner offensive and thereby maintain the balance of power in the Inner Sphere. The first was the fabrication of a video showing "House Davion" troops attacking an HPG to justify placing an Interdiction on the Federated Suns. In May [[3029]], when the [[Fifth Syrtis Fusiliers]] invaded the planet [[Sarna]], the local Com Guard garrison had their 'Mechs repainted and modeled to match the Fusiliers' machines. Video footage of them destroying the HPG station was used as "proof" to place the Federated Suns under interdiction on 1 June 3029.<ref name=CS57>''ComStar'', p. 57</ref>

The second was a more daring stroke: In mid-August of 3029 Precentor [[Myndo Waterly]] presented to the [[First Circuit]] evidence that a copy of the [[Helm Memory Core]] was at the [[New Avalon Institute of Science]]. Precentor Waterly pressed the First Circuit to approve a military raid to destroy the copy, which they did, and a battalion-sized volunteer group of fanatical ComStar MechWarriors was assembled. Their machines were fashioned to look like those of the [[Capellan Confederation]]'s [[Death Commandos]] and they were provided with suicide pills to prevent capture; victory or death were the only allowable outcomes of the raid. On 10 September, these "Death Commandos" made a combat drop onto the NAIS campus, initially taking the facility by surprise. However, through the combined efforts of the NAIS security detail, [[Team Banzai]], and even [[First Prince]] [[Hanse Davion]] himself in his ''[[BattleMaster]]'', the attackers were wiped out and the memory core was saved.<ref name=CS57/><ref name=CS58>''ComStar'', p. 58</ref>

===Myndo Waterly Era===
While these operations were less than successful, the attack on the Sarna facility gave Myndo Waterly, newly-elected Primus after her predecessor had suffered a heart attack, sufficient pretext to announce the existence of the Com Guards to the public. In response to the alleged act of aggression against the Sarna HPG, she announced the "creation" of the Com Guards with the stated goal of safeguarding ComStar's HPG stations. As a condition of lifting the Interdiction, she convinced the Federated Suns to allow Com Guard garrisons on all Federation worlds with an HPG station.<ref name=FMCS-13/>

She would subsequently twist the arms of all other Successor States to similarly allow ComStar to maintain armed forces at the HPG stations in the states' territories all over the Inner Sphere. Following the [[Andurien Secession]], the Com Guards were deployed to the Free Worlds League in recognition of their humanitarian efforts in that conflict, though [[Thomas Marik (False)|Thomas Marik]] privately admitted it was for a sharing of information.<ref>''Historical: Brush Wars'', p. 84: "ComStar"</ref> House Kurita was convinced in the lead-up to the [[War of 3039]] where Waterly provided substantial clandestine aid in return, namely donating many BattleMechs and even some [[lostech]] to the weakened Draconis Combine so that the Federated Commonwealth would not steamroll them as they had done with the Capellan Confederation a year earlier. In return, [[Theodore Kurita]] "gifted" a high-profile prisoner to Waterly who was thought dead in the Inner Sphere: [[Frederick Steiner]], a military mastermind with exactly the skills and experience ComStar desperately lacked for the Com Guards. Steiner cooperated, and assumed the new identity of Anastasius Focht.

===Anastasius Focht and Expansion Years===
Selected by Waterly to replace [[Nicholas Cassnew]], Anastasius Focht was named [[Precentor ROM]] primarily to command the Com Guards, focusing the bulk of his attention on making a number of organization changes to the Guards as he began to take over from the mercenary commanders formerly directing the Com Guard deployment. Focht's service as head of ROM proved relatively smooth until First Prince Hanse Davion launched [[Operation Flush]], a mass purge of ROM elements in the [[Federated Commonwealth]] in [[3034]]. Displeased with Focht's "soft-handed" response to Flush, Waterly proposed the [[Readjustment Act of 3035]] which saw ROM and the Com Guards separated, naming the aggressive [[Charles Seneca]] as the new Precentor ROM and creating the position of [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] for Focht, placing him purely in direct command of the Com Guards.<ref name=CS-60>''ComStar'', p. 60: "Rosebud"</ref><ref name=CS-61>''ComStar'', pp. 61–62: "Flush"</ref><ref name=HW3039-66>''Historical: War of 3039'', p. 66: "Shadow Wars - The ROM War"</ref>

Precentor Martial Focht was kept busy as Primus Waterly set about adopting a carrot and stick approach to get the other Successor States to agree to accept Com Guard forces within their borders. Thanks to [[Thomas Marik]]'s previous service in the order and the offer of ROM aid in the capture of Dame [[Catherine Humphreys]], the new [[Captain-General of the Free Worlds League|Captain-General]] readily agreed to allow Focht to post troops at the [[Free Worlds League]]'s [[HPG]] stations. The [[Capellan Confederation]] and the [[Lyran Commonwealth]] were much harder, but a [[3038]] agreement to waive a threatened 25 percent increase in transmission costs for Capellan HPG traffic and a unsanctioned "terrorist" action by the [[Free Skye]] movement, in return for Waterly's secret offer of favored-user status to the group, finally forced their hands in [[3041]].<ref name=CS-62>''ComStar'', pp. 62–63: "Spread of the Com Guards"</ref>

It was during the 3040s that Focht would instigate sweeping changes to the deployment and organization of the Com Guards, assigning the component elements of each battalion, division and army to positions that would allow them to rapidly reorganize into larger functional units as required and further enhance their mix of [[infantry]], [[Combat Vehicle]]s and aerospace fighters. Cementing the combined arms focus of his troops via extensive training for any contingency both at [[Sandhurst Royal Military College]] and frequent training drills, Focht would also tour various worlds on which the Com Guards were stationed for two months every year.

With the Guards now posted across the length and breadth of the Inner Sphere, Focht expanded on efforts to promote the Com Guards' neutral and pacifistic stance by deploying his troops to assist with relief efforts for natural disasters, hostage rescues, political unrest and search and rescue operations. The most notable of these was Focht's deployments of the Com Guards to defend [[Periphery]] border worlds against pirate raiders, a propaganda boon and recruitment tool for the Order, with the public unaware that many were bandits who'd received a measure of support from ComStar during the Jolly Roger Affair.<ref name=CS-64>''ComStar'', p. 64: "War of 3039 - Aftermath"</ref>

As of [[3049]], [[Wolfnet]] estimated the Com Guards' BattleMech strength alone to represent the equivalent of more than fifty [[Regiment|Regiments]].<ref>''20 Year Update'', p. 70</ref>

===Battle of Tukayyid===
{{main|Battle of Tukayyid (3052)}}
When the [[Clan Invasion]] began in [[3049]], ComStar initially aligned itself with the [[Clan]] invaders.  However, when [[ilKhan]] [[Ulric Kerensky]] revealed to ComStar's leaders that the Clans' objective was to conquer [[Terra]], ComStar turned on their allies.  Anastasius Focht struck a deal to fight a [[Trial of Possession]] for Terra on the backwater world of [[Tukayyid]], pitting the elite of the Clans' invasion force against the entirety of the Com Guards - 72 divisions, equal to 144 combined-arms regiments.  In their first large-scale combat, the Com Guards won but at a high price, suffering over 40% casualties in all.  Their victory though bound the Clans to the [[Truce of Tukayyid]] and gave the Inner Sphere valuable time to find a solution to the Clans.

===Post-Tukayyid===
In the aftermath of the battle of Tukayyid, the Com Guards were deployed extensively throughout the remnants of the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] as a safeguard should the Clans break their truce.  Their recovery after Tukayyid however was slow to come: [[Operation Scorpion]] severely damaged ComStar's image, and after the death of Primus Myndo Waterly (rumored to be at hands of Anastasius Focht) and the creation of the [[Word of Blake]] splinter group, at least four divisions of Com Guards defected to form the [[Word of Blake Militia]].  While such defections were not given much heed at first, it was with much chagrin when these same troops launched [[Operation ODYSSEUS]], defeating the Com Guards on [[Terra]] and seizing ComStar's capital for the Word of Blake.

The Com Guards provided significant numbers of troops to the reborn [[Second Star League]]'s [[Operation BULLDOG|Operations BULLDOG]] and [[Operation SERPENT|SERPENT]], which sought to destroy [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] as an entity, and the [[Great Refusal]] afterwards which put a permanent end to the resumption of the Clan Invasion.  In the immediate aftermath, Focht retired from his post as Precentor Martial, nominating in his place [[Victor Steiner-Davion]].  Under his leadership the Com Guards began to take a more active role across the Inner Sphere, deploying as peacekeepers under the aegis of the [[Second Star League Defense Force]] in conflict such as the [[Capellan-St. Ives War]].  During the [[FedCom Civil War]], Victor temporarily set aside his title as Precentor Martial, though a small number of rogue Com Guard units chose to fight alongside (and against) him.

===The Jihad===
During the [[Word of Blake Jihad]] the Com Guards took heavy casualties from almost the opening salvos of the conflict. Casualties became heavy enough that Precentor Martial Victor Steiner-Davion instituted a Sphere-wide recruitment program, but despite the recruitment efforts the losses due to retirement and combat were so high that it wasn't until May [[3075]] that recruitment outstripped casualties and natural wastage for the first time.<ref name="JHS3076p33">''Jihad Hot Spots: 3076'', p. 33: "New Com Guard Recruitment Drive a Success"</ref>

===Dissolution===
After the end of the Jihad, ComStar was forced to divest itself of the Com Guards. The many soldiers who were Com Guards either retired or in many cases went on to join the armed forces of [[The Republic of the Sphere]].<ref>''Field Manual: 3085'', pp. 32, 166, 176</ref> Several higher ranking officers went on to serve as instructors at various military academies.<ref>''Field Manual: 3085'', pp. 172–173</ref>

===Dark Age===
Though ComStar was now officially a private enterprise with no standing army, [[Malcolm Buhl]] had in secret re-formed the Com Guard First Division as a neo-Blakist group under the name [[Blessed Order]]. When [[Gray Monday]] sabotaged nearly the entire HPG network in the Inner Sphere, Buhl made the fateful decision in [[3135]] to use the Blessed Order to save [[Tucker Harwell]], a technician believed to have found a solution to the problem, and return him to their secret base on [[Luyten 68-28]].  However, the [[Republic of the Sphere]] became aware of the group's existence and launched a strike in [[3140]] to destroy them.  While the Blessed Order managed to escape, they were cornered at their secret base on [[Epsilon Eridani]] and destroyed in [[3141]].  The resulting incident led to the forceful integration of ComStar into the Republic.<ref>''Field Manual: 3145'', pp. 135–138: Republic's forces history in Fortress Walls, Origin of the technology of the Fortress, hunt for the renegade ComStar Forces.</REF>

==Structure==
The ComStar Guards and Militia were overseen by the [[Precentor ROM]] until the [[Readjustment Act of 3035]], when the new position of [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]] was created.<ref name=CS-61/>  The Precentor Martial was the commander-in-chief of the rechristened Com Guards, reporting directly to the [[Primus of ComStar|Primus]] and the [[First Circuit]]. Both ROM and the [[Explorer Corps (ComStar)|Explorer Corps]] were made departments in the Com Guards, along with four new departments overseeing the infantry, armor, 'Mech and naval branches.  Each was headed by a Precentor with at least ten years' experience in their relevant arms.  While some took an interest in the day-to-day operations, others focused more on the overall picture, involving themselves in recruitment, training and procurement for their branch.<ref name=FMC15>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 15</ref>

Below them were the commanders of the twelve Armies which made up the Com Guards. Prior to the Battle of Tukayyid, the Inner Sphere was divided like a [[Inner Sphere Clock|clock]] into twelve theaters, with one Army of roughly six divisions assigned to each theater.<ref name=BTBToTp24>''BattleTech: Battle of Tukayyid'', pp. 24–25: "ComStar Organization"</ref> Afterwards, losses from both Tukayyid and Schism defections forced major reductions.  Armies now averaged only four divisions, and some theaters (such as the Sixth and Seventh) left unoccupied to bolster defenses around the Clan [[Occupation Zone]]s.<ref name=FMC15/> Further losses during the early stages of the Jihad led then Precentor Martial Steiner-Davion to disband the Seventh to Twelfth Armies and use their divisions to reinforce the First to Sixth Armies, returning each of the newly-reinforced Armies to a full strength of six Divisions.<ref name="M&Mp210">''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', p. 210: "The Com Guard: Key Military Commands"</ref>

==Doctrine==
In the first years after going public, the Com Guards often aped the brute-force tactics of the [[mercenary|mercenaries]] who filled out their ranks and trained their first recruits, which led to initially poor results.<ref name=20Y69>''20 Year Update'', p. 69</ref>  Under the guiding hand of Anastasius Focht, the Com Guards began to develop their own style, taking on more of a combined-arms approach even at the smallest level and increased flexibility so that different units could quickly assemble into larger forces and fight in an effective manner.<ref name=CS-64/>  By [[3049]], the Com Guards were considered quite efficient in combined-arms operations at the battalion-level or lower, though on more strategic scales coordination tended to break down, necessitating yearly exercises.<ref name=20Y69/>

The Com Guards' dedication to combined-arms warfare could best be seen in the way they organized their units.  Prior to Focht's involvement, the Com Guards were set up much like the [[Federated Suns]]' [[Regimental Combat Team]]s, though with the units spread-out across many different worlds, but this was soon changed as the Precentor Martial used his military knowledge to make significant reforms.<ref name=CS-64/>  Unlike [[Inner Sphere military structure|Successor States' 4-unit]] and [[Clan military structure|Clan 5-unit]] groupings, the new Com Guards based their forces on [[ComStar military structure|multiples of six]]. The Com Guards' equivalent of a [[Lance]] or [[Star]] was a [[Level II]], made up of six [[Level I]] units.  In many cases a Level II was made up of all one unit type, though just as often it frequently consisted of mixed unit types.  Six Level IIs made up a [[Level III]], which is usually referred to as a [[Battalion]]; almost always a combined-arms formation, it was usually the largest formation to operate together on a regular basis.  A [[Level IV]], made of up of six Level III units, was called a [[Division]] and equivalent to two [[Regiment]]s.  Forming the backbone of the administrative network, they were the largest permanent field formations in the Com Guards. A [[Level V]] formation, known as an [[Army]], consisted of six Level IV formations.  Outside of such rare instances as the [[Battle of Tukayyid (3052)|Battle of Tukayyid]], Level Vs were primarily administrative groupings, with one each assigned to a theater.<ref name=BTBToTp24/><ref name=FMC8>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 8</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Standard ComStar Unit Structure<ref name=BTBToTp24/><ref name=FMC8/>
|-
! Rank
! Unit
! Consists of
|-
| [[Acolyte]]/[[Adept]]
| [[Level I]]
| 1 'Mech, combat vehicle, aerospace fighter<br /> or infantry unit (28 standard or four [[battle armor]]).
|-
| Adept
| [[Level II]]
| Six Level I units, often referred to as a Demi-Company.
|-
| [[Adept]]/[[Demi-Precentor]]
| [[Level III]]
| Six Level II units, 36 elements, referred to as a Battalion.
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Precentor]]
| [[Level IV]]
| Six Level III units, 216 elements, alternately referred to as a Division.
|-
| [[Level V]]
| Six Level IV units, between 846-1,296 elements, alternately referred to as an Army.
|-
| [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|Precentor Martial]]
| Com Guards
| Varies
|-
|}

===Equipment===
Thanks to the large volume of [[Star League Defense Force]] hardware carefully and meticulously stockpiled, lack of military adventurism and ROM's efforts to cripple the Great House's overall level of technology, the Com Guards maintained the most technically advanced military in the Inner Sphere prior to the arrival of the Clans.  The Com Guards possessed many vintage [[Star League]]-era machines not normally found in the armies of the Successor States: [[BattleMechs]] like the ''[[Mercury (BattleMech)|Mercury]]'' and ''[[Thug]]'', aerospace fighters like the ''[[Tomahawk (Aerospace Fighter class)|Tomahawk]]'', and [[Combat Vehicle|AFVs]] like the [[Burke (Combat Vehicle)|Burke]] and [[Gabriel (Combat Vehicle)|Gabriel]].<ref name=FMC8/><ref name=FMC9>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 9</ref>  Their infantry wore [[ComStar/Word of Blake Infantry Kit|personal armor]] approximating that worn by the original SLDF and continued to use vintage SLDF weapons, like the [[Mauser 960 Assault System]], which remained in working order.  They also maintained in secret the [[Nighthawk]] [[Power Armor (Light)]] (PAL), which was used to develop the [[Tornado]] PAL.

Of the 500 SLDF bases which once dotted Terra, the Com Guards utilized 200 of these, while the remainder were sealed for future use.  Terra's [[Castle Brian|Castles Brian]] were used to secretly store its vast stockpiles of military hardware, and the planet's [[Space Defense System]] remained a closely guarded secret should the planet come under attack.<ref>''ComStar'', p. 86</ref>

The Com Guards also were the only Inner Sphere entity to maintain a fleet of [[WarShip]]s up until the recovery of the [[Helm Memory Core]], as the respective Successor State navies had destroyed theirs in the [[Second Succession War]].  Except for two warships assigned to defend Terra, these were largely kept in hiding at the uninhabited [[Luyten 68-28]] and [[Ross 248]] star systems.<ref name=FMC44>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 44</ref>

Recovering from the terrible matériel losses suffered on Tukayyid could not be met by their stockpiles alone though, necessitating the restarting of mothballed factories in the Terran system.  These included the old [[Blankenburg Technologies]] factory in the state of Michigan, along with the [[Krupp Armament Works]] in Germany and [[Skobel MechWorks]] in Russia.  These built not only preexisting Star League-era 'Mechs but also new ones like the ''[[Grim Reaper]]'', ''[[Nexus (Star Python)|Nexus]]'', and ''[[Raijin (Fujin)|Raijin]]''.<ref>''ComStar'', p. 82</ref>  The [[Titan Yards]] were also upgraded to start producing modern WarShip designs like the ''[[Suffren]]''-class destroyer.

Unfortunately the loss of Terra due to Operation Odysseus cut the Com Guards off from these production lines, forcing the Com Guards to reach out to the Great Houses to help rebuild.  Good relations with the Federated Commonwealth and Draconis combine allowed for the purchase of many of their designs, while efforts to expand production lines within the Free Rasalhague Republic led to the co-development of new designs such as the ''[[Beowulf (BattleMech)|Beowulf]]'', ''[[Helios (BattleMech)|Helios]]'', ''[[Tessen]]'', and ''[[Viking]]'' BattleMechs, ''[[Huscarl (Aerospace Fighter class)|Huscarl]]'' [[OmniFighter]], and [[Kobold]] [[battle armor]].

However, just when the Com Guards needed them the most to make up losses suffered in the Jihad, the conclusion of the alliance between [[Clan Ghost Bear]] and the Republic to create the [[Rasalhague Dominion]] denied them access to these new factories, and the Great Houses' own need to rebuild their equally shattered forces restricted sales to the Order. By the last years of the Jihad, while still funding coproduction agreements that resulted in designs like the ''[[Mongoose II]]'' 'Mech, the Com Guards relied heavily on Succession War-style battlefield salvage just to remain combat viable.

==Com Guards Unit Roster==
The basic ComStar military unit is the Division or Level IV, roughly parallel to two [[SLDF]]-era [[regiment]]s or a single [[Regimental Combat Team]] (RCT). Normally each Division is assigned to an Army or Level V. Upon the Guards' public unveiling there were thirteen Armies, each consisting of six Divisions.  Each Army was assigned an "hour" on the [[Inner Sphere Clock]],<ref name=BTBToTp24/> with the thirteenth serving as the Terran Defense Force, but the ejection of ComStar from the [[Free Worlds League]] and Guards' new focus on the Clans led to larger volumes being assigned "north" of Terra. Continuing losses after the FedCom Civil War, Operation Case White and the early years in the Jihad led Guards to reorganize and reduce the twelve armies down to six, one of each of the five Great Houses and sixth for the Periphery and minor states.<ref name="M&Mp210"/>

While the Division is the most commonly encountered field unit, unlike a Successor State regiment due to the Com Guards role in defending the numerous ComStar HPG compounds throughout the Inner Sphere, they are commonly split into Level III, II, or I groups depending on the importance or level of risk attack of the worlds within their assigned Theater.

===Deployment Status===
Formed in 2933 as 5 light infantry regiments formed around the [[Bandersnatches]] Assault Mech Battalion.<ref name=CS-42>''ComStar'', p. 42: "Age of Enlightenment"</ref> The expansion of the Orders BattleMech element to 50 BattleMech Regiments was ordered by the First Circuit 50 years later and was completed in 3005.<ref name=CS-43>''ComStar'', p. 43: "Age of Enlightenment"</ref> By the Fourth Succession War the ComGuards where 50 Divisions strong. <ref name=FMU-82>''Field Manual: Updates'', p.82: "Overview"</ref> [[Wolfnet]]'s best estimate of the Com Guards strength in 3050 prior to the Clan Invasion was a force in excess of 35 BattleMech regiments and an equal number of armor, infantry, and aerospace regiments.<ref name=20Y-67>''20 Year Update'', p. 67: "Com Guards</ref>

===Active Armies===

These armies were active as of 1st August [[3067]].<ref>''Field Manual: Updates'', pp. 98–99</ref>

====1st Army – Level V-Kappa (The Bear Maulers)====
{{main|1st Army (ComStar)}}
{{:1st Army (ComStar)}}

====2nd Army – Level V-Mu (The Iron Warriors)====
{{main|2nd Army (ComStar)}}
{{:2nd Army (ComStar)}}

====3rd Army – Level V-Lambda (The Emerald Falconeers)====
{{main|3rd Army (ComStar)}}
{{:3rd Army (ComStar)}}

====4th Army – Level V-Iota (The Defenders of Honor)====
{{main|4th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:4th Army (ComStar)}}

====5th Army – Level V-Omicron (The Mountaineers)====
{{main|5th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:5th Army (ComStar)}}

====6th Army – Level V-Kappa (Grim Defiance)====
{{main|6th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:6th Army (ComStar)}}

====7th Army – Level V-Iota (The Dark Wave)====
{{main|7th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:7th Army (ComStar)}}

====8th Army – Level V-Pi (Stern Defiance)====
{{main|8th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:8th Army (ComStar)}}

====9th Army – Level V-Lambda (The Rag Tags)====
{{main|9th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:9th Army (ComStar)}}

====10th Army – Level V-Nu (The Red Legion)====
{{main|10th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:10th Army (ComStar)}}

====11th Army – Level V-Eta (The Honorable)====
{{main|11th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:11th Army (ComStar)}}

====12th Army – Level V-Beta (The Broadsword and Shield)====
{{main|12th Army (ComStar)}}
{{:12th Army (ComStar)}}

===Former Armies===

====Terran Defense Force – Level V-Beta====
{{main|Terran Defense Force}}
{{:Terran Defense Force}}

===[[ComStar WarShip Fleet]]===
Due to their retention of Star League era technology and relative lack of military adventurism in the Succession Wars, prior to the [[Jihad]] ComStar boasted the largest active [[WarShip]] fleet in Inner Sphere. Consisting of a mixture of both SLDF ships left behind by the Exodus Fleet and limited construction of new designs during the Com Guards' foundation, these ships are primarily divided into the two fleets, the Com Guard 1st and 2nd Fleets are stationed in the uninhabited [[Luyten 68-28]] and [[Ross 248]] systems. The bulk of ComStar's WarShip fleet was destroyed during the disastrous [[Case White (event)|Case White]] assault on Blakist [[Terra]].

==Military Academies==
Prior to the Blakist capture of Terra, nearly all Com Guards personnel were trained at the [[Sandhurst Royal Military College]] located in Berkshire, England on Terra.  Some were recruited from the other existing military units or from the academies of the Successor States, but for security reasons the number of soldiers acquired this way was kept small.  After the Battle of Tukayyid a separate training grounds was set up on the planet, and ComStar had recently reopened the [[War Academy of Mars]].  However both Sandhurst and WAM were lost after Operation Odysseus cut ComStar off from the Terran system, forcing the Com Guards to rely on Tukayyid and the other Successors States to chip in until a new academy, the [[Focht War College]], opened in October [[3060]], with the first class graduating two years later.<ref>''Field Manual: ComStar'', pp. 16–17</ref>

==Ranks==
Prior to the 3030s, the Com Guards used a ranking system roughly similar to that found elsewhere in the Inner Sphere, primarily in the course of dealing with or pretending to be mercenaries, while maintaining the corresponding ComStar ranks for administrative purposes.  After they were made public, the Com Guards switched to more closely align their military ranks with the existing ComStar hierarchy, though many standard military ranks continued to be recognized in practice.<ref name=AToWC39>''A Time of War Companion'', pp. 38–39</ref> The Com Guards use a ranking system roughly similar to the civilian branch of ComStar, with [[Acolyte]]s equivalent to enlisted ranks, [[Adept]]s equivalent to junior officers, [[Demi-Precentor]]s and [[Precentor]]s the senior officers, with the sole exception being the rank of Precentor Martial. Created by [[Primus of ComStar|Primus]] [[Myndo Waterly|Waterly]] with the reorganization and public unveiling of the Com Guards, the Precentor Martial is the overall commander of ComStar military forces.<ref name=FMC10>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 10</ref>

Like the civilian ComStar, seniority is indicated by a Roman numeral equal to one year at that rank, with the lowest being I, their first year at current rank and the highest XXV, or twenty-five years at current rank, while the branch is designated by a Greek letter.  After an individual has attained a seniority level of XXV they are automatically promoted to the next rank and their seniority level reset back to I.  The Com Guard/[[ROM]] maintain the following unique branch designations:<ref name=BTBToTp24/><ref name=FMC10/>
{| class="wikitable"
! Greek Letter
! Branch Designation
|-
| [[Image:comstarEpsilon.png|Epsilon|25px|center]]
| [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]
|-
| [[Image:comstarPi.png|Pi|25px|center]]
| Aerospace Pilot
|-
| [[Image:comstarIota.png|Iota|25px|center]]
| Infantry
|-
| [[Image:comstarXi.png|Xi|25px|center]]
| [[DropShip]] Crew
|-
| [[Image:comstarTheta.png|Theta|25px|center]]
| [[JumpShip]]/[[WarShip]] Operations/Crew
|-
| [[Image:comstarZeta.png|Zeta|25px|center]]
| Military Technician
|-
| [[Image:comstarMu.png|Mu|25px|center]]
| Intelligence Analysis
|-
| [[Image:comstarRho.png|Rho|25px|center]]
| Intelligence Gathering
|-
| [[Image:comstarLambda.png|Lambda|25px|center]]
| [[Combat Vehicle|Ground Armor]] Crew/Pilot
|-
|}
=== Rank Insignia ===
''Shows '''theta''' symbol, indicating [[JumpShip]]/[[WarShip]] crew. Other service branches replace '''theta''' with appropriate Greek letter.''
{|class="wikitable" width="400"
|+ Com Guard/Word of Blake Militia Insignia
! Rank !! [[Com Guards]] Insignia
|-
! [[Acolyte]]
|align="center"|[[File:Comstar-Acolyte.png]]<br>ComStar Acolytes use a ComStar logo with a gray halo to show their rank.
|-
! [[Adept]]
|align="center"|[[File:Comstar-Adept.png]]<br>ComStar Adepts use a ComStar logo with a blue halo to show their rank.
|-
! [[Demi-Precentor]]
|align="center"|[[File:Comstar-DemiPrecentor.png]]<br>Formalized by ComStar as a rank after the Schism, ComStar's Demi-Precentor features the ComStar logo with a blue-yellow-red halo to show their rank "midway" position between Adepts and Precentors.
|-
! [[Precentor]]
|align="center"|[[File:Comstar-Precentor.png]]<br>ComStar Precentors use a ComStar logo with a red halo to show their rank.
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Com Guard vs CSV Alpha Galaxy BoT.jpg|Com Guard 'Mechs during the ''Battle of Tukayyid''.
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Awards#ComStar|Medals and Decorations of the Com Guards]]
*[[Uniforms of the Com Guards]]

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[20 Year Update]]''
* ''[[BattleTech: Battle of Tukayyid]]''
* ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: ComStar]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3076]]''
* ''[[Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers]]''
* ''[[Warrior: Riposte]]''


[[Category:Military Organizations]]