US Military Forces & The Legacy of the Aldenata

This page is a discussion of the US military response to the Posleen Invasion based upon the fictional universe created in John Ringo's Legacy of the Aldenata series of novels.

The initial plan for the defense of the United States against the Posleen was three-tiered: Line, Strike, & Guard units. The collapse of the mobilization plan forced a change to this system. This plan was formulated knowing that the orbital battle would be lost with minor attrition to the Posleen at best.

The Mobilization Plan

The mobilization plan conceived by the Ground Forces command called for a phased induction of civilians (conscription), a recall & medical rejuvenation of veterans, and the expansion of the military. The plan's point of failure was the reliance on the rejuvenation of the mid-level officer & non-commissioned officer grades. When the rejuvenation process bogged down, the military was unable to cease inducting and training recruits due to the short time remaining until the first wave of Posleen invaded. Units were filled with privates without sergeants. The results should have been predictable. Normally, existing units are levied for a cadre to provide leadership until peer-leaders are identified and trained. The bulk of the existing US Army & Marine Corps forces were deployed off-planet to defend Darhel owned worlds in order to generate the revenue needed to pay for Earth's mobilization. The heavy casualties taken by these units on Barwhon & Diess both reduced their quality and prevented them from rotating personnel back to form cadres for the new units. The initial policy of integrating female soldiers into combat units led to extreme casualty rates (except in ACS units). This policy was rescinded. The initial plan for the defense of the United States against the Posleen was three-tiered: Line, Strike, & Guard units. The collapse of the mobilization plan forced a change to this system.
*Line units were designed for positional defense but could be sent wherever needed.
*Strike units were essentially cavalry units in a "fire-brigade" role.
*Guard units were an expansion of the National Guard system used for local defense. In some cases these units were named & numbered as State units, much like the regiments in the Civil War.Forces were assigned to two commands: Continental Army Command (all US forces on Earth) and Expeditionary Force Command (all off-planet units). Neither command "owned" the Fleet or Fleet Strike.

The Defense Plan

As implemented, the plan called for certain coastal cities (Norfolk, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and New York) to be walled and defended. They were supplied for up to 5 years of siege. When defeat was inevitable the Navy would evacuate the forces. Each city would be supported by one or more "outer fortresses" that would provide enfilade and defilade fire against the Posleen. When the outer fortresses were in danger of being overrun, ACS or Cavalry units would be employed to aid their escape to the mounains. Sacramento would be garrisoned by 5 divisions.The Midwest would be defended by more fortress cities and by the 11th Mobile Infantry Division. It was expected that the Posleen would eventually overrun the Great Plains all the way to Nebraska or South Dakota due to the lack of defensible terrain. Some areas of Colorado were expected to survive because of the Rocky Mountains. This included the old NORAD headquarters bunker in Cheyenne Mountain.The orbital mechanics of the Posleen descent from orbit meant that there would be a concentration on the eastern and western coastlines and that there would be a greater concentration on eastern than western. This drove the disposition of the available forces, as did their state of training. At the time of the 1st landing at Fredericksburg, the units were assessed to be very weak. "Here we have troops that have only had a filled chain of command for five months. Units that were rioting three months ago. Units that are a year behind on scheduled maintenance, almost two years behind on training. Units where half the vehicles break down in the first fifteen miles. Units that will have a hard time holding fixed positions, much less maneuvering"- High Commander General Taylor.

Fleet Strike

The 4 Marine Corps Divisions, 82nd & 101st Airborne Divisions furnished the bulk of the personnel and units converted to Armored Combat Suit (ACS) units and redesignated as 1st- 4th Mobile Infantry Divisions. Additionally, the 11th Airborne Division & 4 independent regiments (508th, 509th, 555th, and 565th) were reactivated to defend the Continental United States.

US Army

Off planet
*III Corps- was the headquarters element for the American initial Diess Expedition Force.
**2nd Armor
**8th Infantry
**7th Cavalry
**2nd Battalion, 325th Mobile Infantry
*1st Infantry Division- committed to the defense of Barwhon
*4th Armored Division- committed to the defense of Barwhon
*198th Infantry Regiment- 2nd Battalion served on Barwhon

On Earth
*The 600- Honored survivors of the straggler units that stopped the Posleen, and defending the Washington Monument
*The Ten Thousand- An expanded unit with leadership cadre from the the 600, expanded and equipped with captured GalTech for assaulting Posleen lines. Commanded by Colonel Cutprice, a decorated Korean War veteran rejuvenated for the Posleen War. Cutprice is possibly based upon, but certainly has elements of Colonel David Hackworth)
*3rd Infantry Regiment- the "Old Guard" attempted to hold Arlington National Cemetery which was squarely on the Posleen axis of advance from northern Virginia to Washington, D.C., including the southern end of Memorial Bridge. The Posleen are dependent upon capturing bridges intact. Few if any Old Guardsmen survived the battle for Arlington.
*1st Army- responsible for defending the Eastern seaboard
**555th Mobile Infantry Regiment. Activated from the lineage of the first black paratroopers in the WWII-era US Army which after desegregation in 1948 were folded into the 82nd Airborne, the "Black Panthers" or "Triple Nickel" Regiment fought as an independent regiment in the Posleen War.
**53rd Infantry Division- defending Rabun Gap, Georgia
**55th Armored Division- based in Maine
*VIII Corps
**105th Infantry Division (Mechanized)- based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina
*IX Corps- tasked with the defense of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
**IX Corps Artillery
*X Corps- tasked with the defense of Northern Virginia & Maryland
** [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/FA/79FieldArtilleryRegiment.htm "21st Cavalry Regiment"]
**19th Armored Division
**29th Infantry Division
**229th Engineer Battalion- based in Fredericksburg, Virginia
**33rd Infantry Division
***3rd Brigade
****2nd Battalion, 591st Infantry
**41st Infantry Division
**50th Infantry Division
***3rd Brigade
****1st Battalion, 452nd Infantry
**95th Infantry Division
**325th Military Police Battalion
*XII Corps- tasked with the defense of Richmond, Virginia
** [http://members.aol.com/jweaver300/grayson/22vacav.htm"22nd Cavalry Regiment"]
**36th Infantry Division (Mechanized)
**48th Infantry Division
** [http://www.militarymuseum.org/49thIDInsig.html "49th Infantry Division"] (Mechanized)
**60th Infantry Division
**64th Infantry Division
**71st Infantry Division
**73rd Infantry Division
**75th Armored Division
**105th Infantry Division (Mechanized)
*XIII Corps- tasked with the defense of North Carolina
*XIV Corps- tasked with the defense of South Carolina
*11th Mobile Infantry Division- the 11th was assigned to the defense of the Great Plains.
* [http://www.jackson.army.mil/193rdBDE/history.htm "193rd Infantry Division"] - was assigned to the defense of the Panama Canal
**5th Infantry Regiment
**10th Infantry Regiment
** [http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Inf/20th%20Infantry%20Regiment.htm "20th Infantry Regiment"]
**1st Battalion, 508th Mobile Infantry (attached) This battalion had previously served on Barwhon. Coincidentally, series creator and former Army paratrooper John Ringo served in Grenada with 1/508th PIR.
**LRRP Teams
**1097th Boat Company (LCMs)

US Navy

*BattleshipsThe Navy reactivated all remaining Battleships to serve as fire support platforms. The World War II designs (the "fast battleships") used their 16" guns as seaborne artillery to support the ground forces until the front line moved too far inland. The "USS Missouri" & "USS Massachusetts" supported the 1st Battle of Washington, where the "Missouri" sustained heavy damage.
**"USS Texas" (BB-35)
**"USS North Carolina" (BB-55)
**"USS Massachusetts" (BB-59)
**"USS Alabama" (BB-60)
**"USS Iowa" (BB-61)
**"USS New Jersey" (BB-62)
**"USS Missouri" (BB-63)
**"USS Wisconsin" (BB-64)

*CruisersThe Navy reactivated "USS Des Moines" (CA-134) & "USS Salem" to serve as escorts to the "Texas", and to provide fire support to the 193rd Infantry Division defending the Panama Canal. The AIDs of the "Des Moines" & the "Salem" manifested female avatars: Daisy Mae and Marlene Dietrich respectively.

*SubmarinesSome of the "Ohio"-class ballistic missile submarines retained their missiles while others had their missiles removed and the spaces converted to carry troops & supplies.

*Other forcesNo information is available at this time about other ship classes.

Planetary Defense Bases

The Planetary Defense Bases (PDB) each contained a surface to space 100mm rail-gun firing depleted uranium blocks. Additionally, the USS Texas (BB-35) was reactivated and her 10 x 14" guns were removed and replaced by 5 planetary defense cannon. She was assigned to the defense of the Panama Canal.

Arms & Equipment

*Small Arms
**Protean Manjack- M-60F machine gun, mated to a removable automated firing system
**M-60E- 7.62mm machine gun
**Advanced Infantry Weapon (AIW)- 7.62mm rifle mated to a 20mm grenade launcher.
**M14- effectively used by some militia
**M16 series- unsuitable for use against the Posleen
**12-gauge shotgun- stated in the text to be effective using OO buckshot

*Armor
**M1 Abrams
***M1E- added a pod with 4 25mm Bushmaster cannons on each side of the turret.
**M2 Bradley

*Artillery
**M222 "Reaver" 155mm Self-propelled howitzer

*AircraftAircraft were unable to operate within line-of-sight of Posleen craft, being automatically targeted.
**F-22E
**OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopter
**UH-60 Blackhawk utility helicopter

*Spacecraft
**Shuttles- troop carrying & stealthy. Unarmed.
**F-2000 Space Falcon- armed with class 4 antimatter warheads, approximately the same size as an F-15.
**Frigate- converted galactic merchant ship armed with anti-matter missile warheads. Each mounted six external Missile/Launch Pod Assemblies of 4 missile each
**
**

John Ringo's Legacy of the Aldenata Series

#"A Hymn Before Battle" (2000) [http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200107/0671318411.htm (online at baen.com)]
#"Gust Front" (2001) [http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200101/0671319760.htm (online at baen.com)]
#"When the Devil Dances" (2002) [http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200204/0743435400.htm (online at baen.com)]
#"Hell's Faire" (2003) [http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200305/0743436040.htm (online at baen.com)]
#"Cally's War" (2004, with Julie Cochrane) [http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200410/0743488458.htm (online at baen.com)]
#"The Hero" (2004, with Michael Z. Williamson) [http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200406/074348827X.htm (online at baen.com)]
#"Watch on the Rhine" (August 2005, with Tom Kratman)
#"Yellow Eyes" (April 2007, with Tom Kratman)