CDF tracked armoured vehicles

The Land Service of the Community Defence Forces of Sober Thought operate a family of fully tracked armoured vehicles and they are frequently employed in conjunction with tanks, wheeled armoured vehicles or both.

One chassis provides a base for five bodies which are designed for diverse purposes. The variants in this tracked family are: armoured personnel carrier, armoured infantry combat vehicles, armoured reconnaissance vehicles, armoured command vehicles and armoured maintenance vehicles.

Tracked armoured personnel carrier

The TAPC (or APC, as it is understood in this article that all vehicles by definition are tracked rather than wheeled) is the most common of all in this class. It carries troops who never leave the vehicle and troops who are supposed to leave the vehicle as follows according to appointment, rank, location, role and personal armament:

• forward (crew) commander, master soldier, front compartment, operates 12 mm HMG, 9 mm pistol
• driver, soldier, front, drives, pistol
• co-driver, soldier, front beside driver, replaces commander or driver as needed, 9 mm submachinegun
• rear (passenger) commander, leading soldier, rear compartment, command disembarked troops, 7 mm rifle
• number 1 machinegunner, soldier, rear, operate LMG, 7 mm light machinegun
• number 2 machinegunner, soldier, rear, carry ammunition for LMG, 7 mm carbine
• infanteers A-E, soldiers, rear, disembarking troops, rifles

In practice, there is often one additional soldier in the rear passenger compartment: a vice lieutenant armed with a pistol and maybe a submachinegun too, or a vice warrant officer armed with a carbine. In an emergency, several more people can be crammed into this already suffocating space by ejecting vehicle acoutrements, personal weapons and non-essential equipment.

Tracked armoured infantry combat vehicle

The AICV (sometimes called a mechanised infantry combat vehicle or MICV), with twin 40 mm cannon, is the next most common. It is used to equip heavy armoured infantry battalions and weapons sections in regular armoured infantry battalions since it can fight on its own like a light tank as well as disgorge machinegunners like an APC to support itself and other CDF units.

This hybrid function necessitates some trade offs, notably the reduction in size of the rear (passenger) compartment to accommodate the increase of the forward (crew) compartment and its weapons. Consequently, the crew composition changes significantly to:

• forward (crew) commander, leading soldier, turret, operates twin 40 mm cannon, 9 mm pistol
• loader, soldier, turret, loads cannon, pistol
• forward deputy commander, soldier, front compartment beside driver, replaces commander or driver as needed, 9 mm submachinegun
• driver, soldier, front, drives, pistol
• number 1 machinegunners A-B, master soldier, rear compartment, operate MMG, 8 mm medium machinegun
• number 2 machinegunners A-B, soldier, rear, carry ammunition for MMG, 7 mm carbine
• number 3 machinegunners A-B, soldier, rear, carry tripod for MMG, carbine

Additionally, their may be another troop like the vice lieutentant or vice warrant officer common in APCs, but that would make the rear compartment especially cramped.

Tracked armoured reconnaissance vehicle

The ARV closely resembles the AICV and is sometimes used interchangably with it, however, the ARV relies more on electronics and stealth than ballistics and brute force. Its forward crew and main armament are identical but its rear crew are different from those of both the APC and the AICV:

• rear (passenger) commander, master soldier, rear compartment, command rear troops, 7 mm rifle
• motion sensor operator, soldier, rear, operate motion sensor equipment, 9 mm submachinegun
• audio operator, soldier, rear, operate audio equipment, submachinegun
• video operator, soldier, rear, operate video equipment, submachinegun
• scouts A-B, soldier, rear, conduct physical reconnaissance, 7 mm carbine

If an extra person is added, it will be somebody who is prepared to conduct electronic or physical intelligence collection because there is no room for dead weight on a reconnaissance mission.

Tracked armoured command vehicle

The ACV is the least common fighting vehicle in this class because is designed to hold the battlefield headquarters for companies and battalions of both tank and armoured infantry units. The rear compartment is much larger and is designed to allow its occupants to stand. The much higher profile is not an issue since it is not meant to be exposed to direct fire even though its armour is designed to withstand attack by small arms and incidental small calibre cannon. The armament and forward crew is always identical to that of the APC.

In armoured groupings, the battalion and company headquarters are usually split between the first line command in an actual tank or armoured car and the second line command in an ACV. Depending on the situation, the commander and deputy commander will be in different vehicles, or both will remain in the ACV. When configured for an armoured company or battalion, the command staff in the rear compartment are:

• unit or sub-unit commander, chief lieutenant or lieutenent, 9 mm pistol
• unit or sub-unit deputy commander, lieutenant or vice lieutenant, pistol
• battalion or company sergeant, chief warrant officer or WO, 7 mm carbine
• master signaller, master soldier, 9 mm submachinegun
• signallers A-C, soldier, submachinegun

In armoured infantry company headquarters, it is invariably:

• sub-unit commander, lieutenant, 9 mm pistol
• sub-unit deputy commander, vice lieutenant, pistol
• company sergeant, warrant officer, 7 mm carbine
• master signaller, master soldier, 9 mm submachinegun
• signallers A-C, soldier, submachinegun

In armoured infantry battalion headquarters, there are five additional soldiers. However, these are actually carried in a light utility vehicle; in the rear of the ACV it is invariably:

• unit commander, chief lieutenant, 9 mm pistol
• unit deputy commander, lieutenant, pistol
• battalion sergeant, chief warrant officer, 7 mm carbine
• master signaller, master soldier, 9 mm submachinegun
• signallers A-C, soldier, submachinegun

Armoured maintenance vehicle

The AMV, otherwise known as an armoured recovery vehicle but not referred to by acronym to avoid confusion with the ARV, is the least common of all in this class. It is also the only one with no offensive armament, since its role is to extricate damaged motor vehicles for possible repair or salvage by the Community Defence Forces' maintenance engineers. They are prepared to deflect small arms or moderate calibre cannon while doing so under fire.

Unlike all other variants, the rear of the AMV is sealed since that is where the crane is permanently affixed. Consequently, there is only compartment and it smaller than usually because the winching machinery takes up so much space. The crew comrpise the following:

• commander, leading soldier, sits beside AMV driver, direct entire recovery effort, 9 mm submachinegun
• deputy commander, master soldier, behind, ride with recovery driver, submachinegun
• AMV driver, soldier, front, drive AMV, 9 mm pistol
• recovery driver, soldier, behind, drive recovered vehicle, pistol
• mechanics A-C, soldiers, behind, fix recovered vehicle, pistols

There are rarely any passengers beyond the stated complement above.