The Golden Empire's Enlisted Military Training Facilities were the bases given responsibility for training new recruits into the Royal Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Starfighter Corps.
Overview[]
In the early years of the Golden Empire, the Empire's military consisted almost entirely of Massassi warriors, who served as ground troops, pilots, and naval personnel alongside service droids. After the Empire began to acquire dozens of worlds and thousands of beings volunteered to fight for their new government, on-the-job training by the Massassi proved hopelessly inadequate to meet the massive influx of recruits, so Queen Rin Sakaros authorized the creation of military bases to train recruits.
Bases were established only on very loyal, easily-defendable systems. Locations which had previously been without the requisite technology were given planetary shields and various ground weapons emplacements to defend themselves against attack. As time went on, most such bases also acquired small Army garrisons and a squad or two of fighters.
Training standards were set by the various High Commands of the Army and Starfleet. All training was conducted entirely in Orhyo, although recruits from new systems in the Empire were sometimes authorized personal translator droids as long as the droids could be tasked with simultaneous translation.
Service training processes[]
Royal Army training facilities[]
Training for the Royal Army lasted sixteen weeks, and was divided into four primary phases.
- Phase One: Lasting four weeks, Phase One was designed entirely to break down civilian habits in recruits and begin to instill them with military discipline and group cohesion. All recruits were given extensive training in drill, marching, and physical conditioning. Time was also spent every day on explanations of the military structure, the other two branches of service, and various other academic issues.
- Phase One featured two major physical fitness tests. The first was technically a "Physical Assessment Test", and was conducted at the beginning of training to ensure recruits met minimum standards. Those who did not were sent to special conditioning units until they did. The second test was a "progress report" physical fitness test, conducted at the end of Phase One.
- Phase Two: Five weeks in length, Phase Two consisted of combat training, along with continued emphasis on discipline and drill. Recruits trained extensively with the primary rifles and sidearms of the Army and were exposed to a variety of other weapons, including grenades, crew-served artillery weapons, vehicle-attack weapons, and melee weapons. Although armor systems included heads-up displays to aid in targeting, recruits were initially trained to fire using only a rifle's sights, to ensure their basic ability to fight even without computerized aid. Recruits also learned basic hand-to-hand combat, much of which was modeled after the Sith martial art Var Shek.
- Weapons qualification was conducted at the end of Phase Two.
- A second physical fitness test was conducted in the fourth week of Phase Two.
- Phase Three: The next three weeks of training were devoted to group combat exercises, including live fire exercises and extensive training while wearing armor. Recruits also practiced rappelling or deploying from aircraft, received basic exposure to coordination with other units (such as calling for fire support from Artillery units), and trained in basic field first aid.
- In the second week of Phase Three, recruits underwent the final physical fitness test, and had to pass to continue training.
- Phase Three culminated with a three-day field exercise known as The Gauntlet.
- Phase Four: Phase Four was designed to expose recruits to a variety of combat conditions, so they would be prepared to conduct operations on many diverse worlds. Recruits would be shuttled to desert, arboreal, jungle, and cold-weather locations for a week each, using their newly honed group combat skills to counter threats in these conditions.
Following completion of all four phases, recruits formally became soldiers and received their basic ranks. Most entered with the rank of Private, though some with advanced civilian education or other qualifying experience could be awarded the higher rank of Private First Class. After graduation from Basic Training, the new soldiers would progress to training for their individual branches.
Royal Army training facilities were staffed by experienced enlisted personnel, overseen by officers. Given that each trained tens of thousands of recruits each year, most facilities were commanded by Commanders or even Colonels.
Given the need to expose recruits to a variety of climates as part of Phase Four of training, only worlds with diverse conditions were chosen for Royal Army training. Basic training facilities were located on the following worlds:
Though held to the same discipline and performance standards as the rest of the Royal Army, Massassi recruits served only in Massassi-only Cohorts, and thus their training was conducted entirely by Massassi enlisted and officers. Training for Phases One through Three took place on the Massassi homeworld of Kavez Massass; Phase Four was conducted at one of the other Basic Training worlds, though the Massassi were usually still segregated from other trainees.
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Royal Navy training was unique in many ways. It was by far the longest of the three services, at twenty-two weeks, and the Royal Navy was the only service branch to have only one basic training location (at Waldragos). It was also the only one conducted mostly off a surface world, though it was in orbit around one; all training after the first six weeks was conducted aboard the stripped-down Imperial Star Destroyer Virtuoso.
Like Army Basic Training, Navy training was conducted in phases.
- Phase One: Lasting six weeks, Phase One was the only phase conducted on the surface of Waldragos. The first three weeks focused on discipline, physical fitness, personal hygiene and order, and the chain of command. These elements continued into the second half of Phase One, which also included introduction to the basic function of starships and life aboard, including the various effects of gravity on a ship. The final week included a class on firefighting and emergency response skills aboard a ship.
- Phase Two: In Phase Two, which lasted three weeks, recruits were oriented to the various departments of a Navy ship. Recruits had their first experience with the close-quarters life on a starship, and continued to practice firefighting with simulated (and heavily controlled) "damage stations". Most of the hangar bay of the Virtuoso had been gutted, converting the area into a massive physical training gym, where recruits would continue physical fitness training.
- Phase Three: The longest phase, at ten weeks, Phase Three focused on specific ship operations. On-ship communications and weapon systems were explained in detail, and recruits received training in and practice operating shipboard engines and propulsion systems, communication stations, sensor arrays, shields, and turbolaser and laser cannon systems. Recruits also studied the basic physics of spaceflight, including hyperdrives and the effects of planets and other large bodies in creating gravity wells. Rather than overcrowd a single area, recruits were divided into groups, which rotated among the various training areas; one training company might spend its first week learning shields, while another's first week would be spent on turbolasers. Phase Three featured many specific tests and events:
- The Virtuoso would drift close to the Waldo system's asteroid field (with particle shields raised) for the laser and turbolaser live fire exercises, allowing recruits to use the batteries against asteroids.
- With each group that rotated to the bridge section, the Virtuoso would be allowed to make a short hyperspace jump to the edge of the Waldo system, then back to Waldragos.
- Phase Four: In the final three weeks, recruits conducted their final physical fitness tests, completed academic exams about shipboard operations and Navy structure, and conducted a week-long "field exercise" in which they had (heavily supervised) command of the Virtuoso. This culminated in a simulated attack by another Navy capital ship, which would deploy droid-controlled fighters. Recruits coordinated the weapons of the Virtuoso (using ion cannons instead of lasers) against the fighters and the other capital ship, and were graded less on victory than on how well they performed their various duties under pressure.
Following the field exercise, recruits were formally welcomed into the Navy and given their ranks. Those with basic education and experience began as Crewmen, though others with advanced education could qualify to begin as Senior Crewmen or even Crewmen First Class.
Navy Basic was overseen by experienced Chiefs and Petty Officers of the Navy, with officers overseeing them. A Navy Captain acted as overseer of the entire training process; a Commander was the officer in charge of the operations of the Virtuoso, and a Lieutenant Commander oversaw Phase One on the surface of Waldragos.
Royal Starfighter Corps training facilities[]
The shortest training period at ten weeks, Royal Starfighter Corps enlisted training was conducted primarily on the surface of systems, though the final week was spent aboard a Royal Navy Harakhlon-class Carrier. Like those of its sister services, the RSC's training was divided into phases:
- Phase One: The first four weeks of training were devoted to military discipline, physical fitness, personal hygiene, and drill. They also involved an introduction to military culture, law, and traditions, as well as the unique customs of the Royal Starfighter Corps.
- Phase Two: Five weeks in length, Phase Two continued the lessons of Phase One while introducing recruits into the various duties involved in caring for starfighters and their pilots. Included were lessons on starfighter mechanics, docking bay procedures, starfighter weapons systems, and basic maintenance skills. Recruits were also allowed a total of ten hours (two per week) in a flight simulator, so they could understand the basic function of a starfighter. While the grades on these simulation sessions could not negatively affect recruits' progress, they were logged anyway so that senior enlisted and officers might have an early lead on recruits with the potential to become pilots at E-5. Phase Two concluded with the final physical fitness test and written exams.
- Phase Three: The final week of training was conducted aboard a fighter carrier, and recruits learned to apply their skills in the maintenance and deployment of fighters from an actual ship. This training also introduced the hazards of a docking bay and firefighting and emergency response training.
After completing training, recruits were granted their new military ranks. Most began at the rank of Crewman, though those with higher education or high pass scores on mechanical aptitude tests could qualify for the ranks of Senior Crewman or Crewman First Class.
Enlisted RSC personnel conducted almost all elements of training: both the instructors and the pilots aboard the carriers were enlisted. The latter was done to give some inspiration to recruits who aspired to become enlisted pilots. Carriers were usually staffed with a handful of officers and captained by a Lieutenant.
Starfighter Corps training facilities were located on Abstalia, Irimor, and Ufalio.