Scolopendran AeroSpace Directorate

Insignia of the Scolopendran AeroSpace Directorate

The Scolopendran AeroSpace Directorate (SASD) is the aerospace arm of the Scolopendran Military Services (SMS), serving to protect the Federated Segments of Scolopendra from aggressors. Given that there are no aggressive land forces on Titan, the SASD is Scolopendra's primary arm of defense, working closely with other Triumvirate nations' militaries and coordinating the defense of the Saturnian system with the Triumvirate of Yut Combined Services and the Titan Defense Force. Along with the Scolopendran Mobile Infantry (SMI, the other arm of the SMS) and the Scolopendran Civil Defense Corps (CDC), the SASD makes up the Scolopendran Foot-to-Ass (formerly Defense) Section, currently headed by FtA Advisor Lance Hawke.

Mission

"To defend the Federated Segments of Scolopendra and further its interests through the application of aerospace power."

Added to the SASD's admittedly borrowed version of "Vigiliance, Reach, and Power," its mission is very neatly summed up in the previous statement: use all of the advantages that aerospace power offers to both defend the Federated Segments and to act as the degree of force behind any negotiation. While this would appear to hardly be the SASD's balliwick--on the outside, it appears to be only a defensive force local to the Saturnian system--most of the SASD rotates through the Triumvirate of Yut Combined Services and the Scolopendran Foot-to-Ass Advisor--often acting with SASD advice--is often seen as the 'face' of the TYCS.

Insignia

The standard SASD insignia (seen above) serves more than just a easily identifiable symbol of identification. The A, deep red for the dried blood of historic patriots, forms the primary shape, suggestive of a triangle pointing upwards, towards the sky, the SASD's domain. The blue letters represent the color of the sky. The steel centipede 'S' is representative of the Federated Segments, and combines with the short blue curve and the horizontal blue curve to create a propeller motif, which hearkens back to the beginnings of aerospace power with piston-prop airforces. The horizontal blue curve is an infinity symbol for the infinity of space, and thus the SASD's domain. Finally, the yellow sun in the center of the propeller symbol completes the insignia, the light of hope that gets troopers through the battle.

Organization

The SASD is made up primarily of the Scolopendran Defense Squadron (SDS) and the Numbered AeroSpace Forces (NASF), as well as several offices that report directly to the commander of the SASD. Following the doctrine of "Centralized Command and Decentralized Execution," the SASD maintains authority in an easily understandable pyramidal structure while taking care to well define areas of operation to minimize redundancy.

Commander, SASD

Usually a Lieutenant General (O-9), the commander of the SASD is responsible for all SASD operations and reports directly to the Foot-to-Ass Advisor. He is appointed by the Foot-to-Ass Advisor from a 'short list' of candidates with requisite requirements of time in service, performance evaluations (outstanding, 1st percentile), and excellence in strategic thought.

Direct-Reporting Offices

Direct reporting offices of the SASD are mostly organizations that support the operations of the SASD as a whole. These include the Scolopendran AeroSpace Academy (SASA), the SASD Judge Advocate General (JAG), the Office of AeroSpace Research (OASR), and the Office of AeroSpace Materiel (OASM).

Scolopendran AeroSpace Academy (SASA)

The SASA is a higher-education school dedicated to training future SASD officers and enlisted personnel through both on-site and distance learning programs ever since the AeroSpace Institute of Technology (ASIT) was folded into it with The Break. It is a fully accredited university and technical school with both civilian and military faculty that cover the entire range of subjects necessary for the operation of the SASD (liberal arts curricula, save history, languages, and applied graphic arts, are sadly lacking).

Judge Advocate General (JAG)

The JAG is responsible for the arbitration of internal disagreements and violations of military law by members of the SASD. It coordinates directly with FtA JAG as well as reports directly to the Commander.

Office of AeroSpace Research (OASR)

The OASR is responsible for maintaining SASD technological superiority over threat nations through research and development. Most of its resources are tied into projects with the TYCS's Camp Restricted facility. There it can work with other minds of the Triumvirate and industry leaders. Many of the recent advances in Scolopendran military aerospace technology such as effective wavefront gravitic cannon, GBPP cannon, new Loki-class dropship variants, and Mark XIII gravitic drives (as found on the Pterodactyl and Pterodactyl Mk. II land-air Gears) are products of the OASR.

Office of AeroSpace Materiel (OASM)

The OSAM is responsible for appropriating and distributing materiel to the various arms of the SASD, and thus is analogous to the Scolopendran Mobile Infantry's Office of the Quartermaster. Thus, it is a vital part of the SASD's logistics. The OARM also decides what equipment becomes standard and what is used for special purposes, which ties directly to the OASR's development mission.

Scolopendran Defense Squadron (SDS)

The SDS is essentially all that remains of Scolopendra's space navy, despite common misconception, which tends to equate the Triumvirate of Yut Combined Services with the Scolopendran space navy. It consists only of these warships and their attendant parasite craft:

• SWS-CRD Arthropod, a Sulaco II-class drone cruiser (5 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 18 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-MCR Kabutomushi, a Tiger-class medium cruiser (2 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-MCR Silverfish, a Tiger-class medium cruiser (2 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-MFF Heteropteryx, a Grendel 50B-class missile frigate (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 24 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-MFF Kantharos, a Grendel 50B-class missile frigate (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 24 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-DD+ Qirmazi, a Puma II-class advanced destroyer (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-DD+ Iron Butterfly, a Puma II-class advanced destroyer (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-DD+ Hymenoptera, a Puma II-class advanced destroyer (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-DD+ Dictyoptera, a Puma II-class advanced destroyer (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-DD+ Homoptera, a Puma II-class advanced destroyer (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)
• SWS-DD+ Diplopoda, a Puma II-class advanced destroyer (1 Loki dropships, 2 Scarab shuttles, 12 Excalibur aerospace fighters)

Numbered AeroSpace Forces (NASF)

Phantom III Aerospace Fighters

The NASF make up the bulk of the SASD and consist of dropships, shuttles, and aerospace fighters. Each NASF is dedicated to an individual mission and area and is a 'self-contained' unit with sufficient infrastructure to support itself, although aid can be called up from the reserve NASFs if needed. There are several NASFs and their order of battle is large, so this section will be updated as more information becomes available or required.

However, some basics can be provided. The NASF's aerospace fighter wings are broken into Tactical Fighter Wings and Strategic Bomber Wings; the former mostly use variations on the TME-208 Phantom III aerospace fighter-bomber and the latter uses variations of the TME-13 Vespa heavy bomber. Tactical Airlift Wings consist of TME-192 Scarab utility shuttles; Strategic Airlift Wings are small groups of Loki-class dropships.