Unit 666
From Liberalia Wiki
Unit 666, also known as the 666th Expeditionary Battallion (even though it is not part of the military, nor battallion-sized), is a special purposes group created by the Leonsteiner Secret Service, the BND. In BND paperwork, the unit is normally referred to as "Foreign Operations Maintenance, Section B". It is led by Topas, a shady figure about whom not much is known.
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[edit] Creation
During the second period of anarchy in Leonstein following the 3rd Liberalian War, the heads of the BND became more and more frustrated with the elected establishment. Their fickleness and unreliability annoyed top BND officials and their "soft touch" on issues of regional power politics and national security did the rest. The BND secretly decided that it could no longer rely on the elected government and had to act more independently in the future.
Part of this new approach was the creation of Unit 666. The vision was to create a BND-specific special forces unit that would be the best in the region and could operate independently of the military or the elected government. Qualified individuals were found in the BND itself, in the former Foreign Legion and in private security services. Particular attention was paid to the fact that the chosen operators could have no family ties whatsoever, making it easier for them to disappear from normal life without anyone noticing. The unfortunate (though this view isn't shared by many in the BND top brass) side-effect of this approach was that the 666th exhibits a disproportionally high number of unstable loners and mentally disturbed men.
Topas was chosen as the ideal creator and leader of the unit, and was largely given a free hand in training and outfitting the 666th. In a secret camp in the mountains south of Hochheim an incredibly harsh training regime was administered by Topas, who essentially owned the lives of every single recruit. There were several cases of suicide, murder and fatal accidents, which were never investigated.
[edit] Topas
Little is known about Topas. The top brass of the BND decided to erase most of the records they had about the man when he took over the 666th. Rumours and hearsay is therefore the order of the day.
Topas (that of course being a codename, the real name is unknown) is between 30 and 40 years old and was almost certainly a member of the Foreign Legion before its dissolution. As such he must have had previous special forces experience and went through tough training. He believes in pushing one's physical boundaries to the limit and beyond, and it is said that several men as young as 20 died on training exercises from exhaustion when Topas still led the way almost without breaking a sweat.
It is rumoured that Topas is a "man without a conscience", who executed POWs and murdered civilians without flinching, but this is entirely unverified.
[edit] Training
As was noted, training for the 666th is the toughest in the region. Whenever the unit is not overseas on an operation, the training schedule is 12 hours daily. Every two weeks there is one day off, but leave passes are unheard of. Members of the unit never leave the training base except in cases of serious injury.
Apart from running, swimming, biking and various weight exercises, martial arts is on the program. Topas demands at least a second class black belt or equivalent in Karate, Jiu-Jitsu and Wing Chun Kung Fu, as well as extensive experience in free-style wrestling. However, rather than ritualised duels, the training consists of a "no rules" group brawl in which the last man standing is the winner. Topas believes that this is closer to real-world close combat than normal training, and he gladly accepts the injuries that can arise (and often do).
All members of the 666th are trained in operating military vehicles of any type, including tanks. Some flight experience in jets or helicopters is usually preferred. All types of weaponry are trained, including but not limited to mortars, grenade launchers, various rifles, pistols, machine guns and so on. The goal is to allow the operator to use every weapon found on the battlefield better than the opposition.
Tactics training is also provided in the weekly two-day maneuvres in the woods surrounding the training camp. Operators learn how to judge a situation and respond to it, from taking prisoners (though it is normally emphasises that the 666th doesn't take prisoners) to an attack on the unit with weapons of mass destruction.
[edit] Equipment
As far as uniforms are concerned, the 666th doesn't have any. Its operators are instructed to wear functional clothing with some camouflage and the best protective gear that can be found on the market. This makes identification by the enemy more difficult and makes it easier to melt into the local population.
Topas believes that modern military weapons are often too fragile for hard use. Not only does he hate too much electronics in his equipment, but he likes to use larger calibre weapons that can bring an opponent down in one hit, unlike many modern assault rifles.
The standard equipment for the 666th therefore consists of older weapons, the mainstay being the AK-47. As was pointed out however, the training is such that the type of equipment doesn't matter most of the time.
Otherwise the unit can freely choose from any equipment available in Leonstein's armory. Squads are normally supported by mortars, machine guns and various anti-armour and anti-air launchers.
For exceptional cases the unit has also been equipped with a number of Chinook helicopters to increase flexibility and A-10 ground attack aircraft to provide stronger fire support. However, while these are seen as very useful tools, the longer time and additional staff required to use these means that the operators always assume to go into combat without them.
[edit] Combat History
At this point the unit has not had any serious combat engagement. Many operators have in the past seen fighting as part of special forces or the Foreign Legion, but the unit has not been deployed since its inception.
This may change though as the BND has approved its deployment in Fishyguy as part of an attempt to stop a communist takeover by Loslakia and Nucleawasta.
