5th Siege Brigade
This page is a work in progress by its author(s) and should not be considered final. |
5th Siege Brigade | |
---|---|
5a Sieĝo Brigado | |
Active | 2013–present |
Country | Elizio |
Branch | Land Federal Guard |
Type | Mechanized infantry |
Role | Siege warfare, urban warfare, trench warfare, tunnel warfare, expeditionary warfare |
Size | ~12,000 |
Garrison/HQ | Filibusters Camp, Gadsden |
Nickname | The Iron Brigade |
Motto | "To the Point" |
Equipment | M224A1 60mm mortar, M252A2 81mm mortar, M120A1/M121A1 120mm mortar, M327A1 120mm mortar, M1203A1 155mm self-propelled gun, M22 mortar carrier, M29 mortar carrier, M70A1/M71A1 multiple rocket launcher, M32 engineer squad vehicle, M26 infantry fighting vehicle, M19 fire support vehicle, M1117A1 light assault gun, M1150 assault breacher vehicle, M7A1 armored combat earthmover, M973A1 all-terrain support vehicle, M-Gator utility vehicle, A-29B attack aircraft, MC-27J transport aircraft, RAH-66A attack helicopter, HH-60W utility helicopter, CH-150B heliplane, MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle, RQ-4 unmanned aerial vehicle |
Engagements |
2013 riots Operation Mountain Bloom |
Commanders | |
Current commander |
Brigadier General Hyrum Giles |
History
Upon review of fighting during secession, militia brass and civilian consultants (some of the latter themselves veterans) concluded a key contributor to victory was the use of flying columns. Their efficiency and focus was cited by Colonel (later President of the Federal Republic) Garth Lambert:
The fledgling Federal Guard ground forces were thus organized along the lines of U.S. brigade and regimental combat teams. Six provisional formations primed the pump—specialized infantry brigades of 12,000 troops, an acceptable minimum to function independent of a division unless a full-scale conflict was declared. To that end, each brigade was assigned organic combat support units (armor, artillery, aviation, etc.), turning them for all intents and purposes into task forces.
The brigade's trial by fire came on March 2nd and 5th of 2014, when 1st and 2nd Battalions were called to suppress race riots in Phoenix, Gadsden, and New Angeles, Independence. For a week, the militia stormed barricades, rooted out snipers and accompanied emergency-service personnel, suffering 4 killed and 21 wounded combined. 3rd Battalion, meanwhile, quelled an uprising at Federal Prison Tucson with no casualties.
In early April, 4th Battalion deployed with 5th Battalion, 2nd Mountain Brigade, to clear a fortified cannabis farm in the western Mohawk Mountains. The farm was taken after heavy fighting and turned into an agricultural cooperative.