Myrmidon
| Myrmidon Special Operations Group | |
|---|---|
| Active | 13 August 1958 – present (65 years, 8 months) |
| Country |  Belfras |
| Type | Special Operations Force |
| Role | Special operations HVT Raids Direct action Counter-terrorism Special reconnaissance Unconventional warfare Hostage rescue Foreign internal defense Counter-proliferation Counter narcotic operations |
| Size | Classified |
| Part of | Belfrasian Special Operations Command (B-SOC) |
The Myrmidon Special Operations Group, commonly known as just Myrmidons and abbreviated to either MYR or M-SOG are a Special forces unit that operate as the primary special operations force of the Belfrasian Armed Forces. The Myrmidons were founded in 1958 out of an amalgamation of numerous special forces units in the Army and Republic Navy and have since then grown in size and responsibilities. Since it's creation the special forces unit have been under the control of of the Belfrasian Special Operations Command, abbreviated to B-SOC which also acts as an overall administrative head for the other special forces units in the overall Armed Forces and in which the Myrmidons recruits it's members from.
The responsibilities of the Myrmidon Special Operations Group originally began focused on sea-based operations, conducting squad-sized military operations that originate and return to waterways. Despite this, in the well over fifty years of service the Myrmidons have since evolved their skill sets drastically to expand their operational capabilities globally and are capable of conducting operations from the sea or extended land-based missions.
History
The Myrmidons began it's life as a temporary experiment by the Army and Navy in 1949 in an attempt to expedite special operations in which one depended on the other. The experiment failed but left important lessons behind that was eventually capitalised on by General Kristo Vidales, then commander of special forces in 1957 who concepted the Special Operations Group, code-named Myrmidon as a separate special forces entity that comprised itself of the best from all special forces in the country. On 13 August 1958 the Myrmidons officially entered existence.
Nestos Insurrection
The Nestos Insurrection, a violent insurrection against Republic rule in several states from 1972 to 1985 saw the deployment of the Myrmidons on a frequent basis.
Violence and organised resistance against Republic forces began in the states of Pontia, Balonis, Chrysopolia and Kannis on 1973 following a year of rioting which formally marked the insurrection's start. Shortly after the resistance began the first recorded deployment of the Myrmidons took place. Material declassified in 2004 shows that two teams of operators were dispatched to board and secure a cargo ship that had declared it's allegiance to the insurrectionist movement and had threatened to ram naval vessels on sight. The myrmidons were dropped by parachute to the nearby Republic Navy carrier RNV Apollo (CV-05) to be on station nearby while negotiations took place to end the situation peacefully. During this period signals intelligence, or SIGINT, detected frequent ship-to-shore communications between the cargo ship, MV Kensad, and a small fishing village nearby. Further investigation discovered the existence of an insurrectionist unit and direct interception of the calls revealed that the crew were armed and intended to launch an attack on the nearby aircraft carrier in the morning, resulting in the Director of Special Operations to signal the attack to begin. The Myrmidons were flown out to the carrier by helicopter shortly before daybreak, arriving and quickly rappelling onto the deck before being spotted. A short firefight between the insurrectionists and Myrmidons led to three of the Insurrectionists being shot dead whilst Myrmidons free from the fire-fight shut the engines off and flanked the insurrectionists, causing them to surrender. A third team of operators who had been brought in to observe the insurrectionist team on shore conducted their assault at the same time, capturing all five members of the insurrectionist unit without injuries.
Rakos Hospital Siege
Whilst the Myrmidons partook in multiple other operations during the insurrection, none are more renowned than the 1981 Rakos Hospital siege. On the morning of June 5 insurrectionists stormed Rakos Hospital and took the staff hostage. It is now known that the cause of the storming was that two of that cells members had been injured in a car crash and intelligence operatives had been aware and were enroute to arrest them. Two of the hospitals staff were shot dead and thrown out the entrance to warn police off from entering, triggering the siege. The insurrectionists demand were the safe release of both themselves and twenty-two other members who had been arrested two nights previous, a move that triggered the rapid movement of personnel that led to the car crash. While negotiations were underway between the government and insurrectionists the Myrmidons organised Operation Pacemaker, a plan to liberate the hospital named after the pacemaker malfunctioning in the chest of one of the patients of the hospital and who needed to be flown to another hospital immediately, triggering concerns to end the siege early. Twenty-six hours following the siege's start, two hostages were killed after being discovered communicating with the outside through their rooms light-bulb in a form of morse code. The deaths of the two hostages triggered the negotiators to signal the Myrmidons who had been pre-deployed to the area to begin their assault. Shortly after mid-day Myrmidons had taken up positions on the roof and in the basement, having tunnelled in from the nearby maintenance tunnel for the train station. They entered simultaneously and cleared the hospital floor-by-floor, killing a quarter of the insurrectionists and taking the rest into custody. This led to a point of controversy as the hostage takers had been declared 'article five', meaning that a 'black mark', or death warrant, had been issued for each member of the insurrection inside the hospital. They were lined up and shot by the Myrmidons before they allowed the police to enter. Operation Pacemaker marked the Myrmidons place as a fast, elite, and wholly ruthless group of special forces operators and showed that the government of the country was willing to fight the Insurrectionists at a whole new level.
BA-522 Siege
The level of desperation the insurrection went through toward the end led to them taking drastic measures. A car bombing in 1983 led to the deaths of seventeen army personnel and a retaliatory air strike against an insurrectionist training camp led to them losing most of their central command structure. On 5 September 1985 an exodus from the country had begun by the insurrectionists who were facing death at the hands of the army and the Myrmidons, who had launched several raids in the space of three weeks following a major intelligence break-through. At 09:23 in the morning several insurrectionists arrived at Orestes International Airport in an attempt to board Belfrasian Airways flight 522 that would have flown them out of the country. However, due to the urgency of their situation they had booked tickets following the advised cut-off point, leading to them being refused at the gate as the plane was full. Following a brief scuffle the insurrectionists stormed the plane with the gate crew and took them, the planes passengers and air crew hostage. The plane was quickly surrounded by airport security who also stopped refuelling, meaning the plane did not have enough fuel to leave the country. Early in negotiations with local police the identities of the attackers, known insurrectionists, were revealed. This led to the Myrmidons being deployed to the airport and to begin planning to take the plane over. At the same time fighter jets from the nearby air force base began over-flights of the airport in the event the plane managed to take off. Myrmidons on scene took positions on top of the plane using 'soft shoes', a wide soft-bottomed boot meant to muffle foot steps on the metallic roof of the plane and across the way in sniper positions. Negotiations formally failed at 02:40 on 6 September after a sniper fired and killed an insurrectionist attempting to sexually assault a flight stewardess in the cockpit, triggering the assault team to immediately breach the airplane using miniature shape-charges and flashbangs. Conflicting reports indicate the hostage takers were all killed with some reports from passengers stating they tried to surrender before being shot dead by Myrmidons. Despite this, one Myrmidon, Lieutenant Nestor Matthias, was wounded during the operation and was forced to retire from active duty. He was awarded the Eagle's Claw, a military reward for excellence under fire and went on to become a best-selling author of military novels.
Selection and Training
Candidates are interviewed by a review board to deem whether the candidate is suitable to undertake the selection phase. The review board is usually occupied by members of the Armed Forces Psychological Evaluation Division (PED) and superior officers in both Myrmidon and Special Operations Command. The board is sometimes briefed on the candidate by domestic intelligence agencies such as the Republic Investigation Department. Since each candidate is filling a specific place from selection to passing his training, the unit leader is also present and has usually hand-picked the candidates. Finally, given the multi-branch nature of the Myrmidons, the officers respective branch have a liaison for the review board.
Whilst the recruitment and selection process is highly classified, those who pass the stringent process are selected to attend a seven-to-eight month Myrmidons Training Course. During the MTC the candidates are screened against an active service Myrmidon Squadron in a series of training courses and in-field tests. The training course attrition rate is high, with one selection course of 50 candidates having only twelve pass. All candidates are watched closely by both Myrmidon instructors and evaluated on whether they are suitable to join the Myrmidon Special Operations Group. Jacob Strong, a former Myrmidon and author said in an interview that close to 150 applied for the 1998 training course. Only 42 passed the initial phases and only ten, including himself, passed to join the Myrmidons. Those who fail are returned to their respective branches and units and are able to try again in the future.
Like all Special Forces that have an extremely intensive and high-risk training course, serious injuries and deaths can occur. Myrmidon has lost several members during post-MTC training and an classified number of candidates during the Myrmidon Training Course. Jacob Strong, in his interview, specified that of the 42 that entered the MTC, one died and one was severely injured and discharged from military service. It is presumed that the MTC tests the candidate's mental capacity as much, if not more, than his physical condition, as he will have already completed necessary physical training and tests for eligibility.
Candidates are put through a variety of advanced training courses led by both civilian and military instructors whilst in the MTC. These can include free-climbing, unarmed combat techniques, defensive and offensive driving, advanced diving and parachuting courses. Candidates are confirmed to receive training in Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) techniques. Candidates have a high requirement level and the training is only spaced by two break points for psychological and medical evaluations. Selected candidates then complete MTC and officially become a Myrmidon.
Training for Myrmidons does not cease after MTC. Myrmidons are constantly tested and trained with an emphasis for learning after each scenario they face, regardless of the outcome. Civilian based training is available, with Myrmidons being able to attend almost any school, college, or university in order to train in whatever they wanted depending on their units requirements.
It was revealed in a 2014 documentary that Myrmidon operators underwent language courses in order to learn two new languages in the professional degree and as many as six others in a basic degree.
Organisation and structure
The operational structure of the Myrmidons is divided into operational battalion-sized units referred to numerically, such as '4 Myrmidon'. These battalions are made up of five company-sized 'squadrons' referred to alphabetically from A to F. Each squadron is made up of smaller platoons or detachments which are referred to by the alphabetical number of their company and then by the platoon's number in ascendancy, such as A1 for the first platoon in A Squadron. The composition of a platoon or detachment varies depending on it's purpose in the Myrmidons. Combat platoons are the basic Myrmidon unit and are composed of thirty-two operators in four teams, or 'sections' or eight men. These sections are divided twice, the first into two fire-teams of four and again into buddy-duos of two.
A standard 'squadron' of the Myrmidons is made up of five platoons; A headquarters element that manages administrative running of the squadron, a liaison element that coordinates and assimilates intelligence, and then three combat platoons. The size of the standard squadron with this composition is 110 men, of which 96 are 'true' Myrmidons in that they conduct special operations missions whilst the rest of the squadron are administrative. The other squadron type known is the 'Special Vehicles Squadron'. This squadron maintains and operates specialised land, air and sea-going craft such as the Special Operations Craft - Boat, Special Operations Craft - Terrain, Special Operations Craft - Submersible, or SOC-B, SOC-T and SOC-S. These vehicles are specially designed for usage with special forces like the Myrmidons and require specialist training. The size of a Special Vehicles Squadron varies depending on it's deployment parameters but each detachment is typically focused entirely on a certain vehicle. A platoon for a SOC-B detachment, known as a SOC-B Detachment, consists of two SOB-B boats, their crews and two teams that work on their mobility and maintenance or transportation around the world as needed. The men and women that form this detachment are not in the sense true 'Myrmidons' but are members of the Republic Navy's own special operations force.
While the Myrmidons take their organisational structure from the Republic Marines, their ranks come from the Navy. The leader of a Battalion is a Captain, the leader of a squadron is a commander and the head of a platoon is a lieutenant. A Myrmidon, upon getting his or her qualification, earns the rank of petty officer and typically remains at the ranks of NR-4 to NR-6, with NR-7 or Chief Petty officer being retained for either heads of sections in a platoon or for other specialist roles. The commanding officer of the Myrmidons overall holds the rank of Commodore and reports directly to the Chief of Special Operations in the Military Council.
In popular culture
The Myrmidon Special Operations Group have been depicted in a vast amount of media, with such examples including the 2003-2007 TV series 'Shadowrunners' that followed the exploits of a fictional unit within the Myrmidons. Operators from the group frequently appear in Nestor Matthias novels, with the author himself formally being a Lieutenant within the Myrmidons and was wounded during the BA-522 Siege. Movie adaptations of Matthias novels or otherwise, such as Enemy Within (2008), September Falls (2014), and Nestos: A journey through hell (2016) are among the more accurate depictions of the Myrmidons, with Enemy Within featuring actual members of the Myrmidons.