House Marik: The Free Worlds League

Federal Forces of the Free Worlds League

League forces are those units that report directly to the Captain-General or the LCCC. Traditionally, League troops comprise the largest part of the Free Worlds League´s military forces. Currently, however, the League contains roughly equal numbers of League and provincial troops.

League units receive their funding and equipment directly from the LCCC, and are associated with state-sponsored military academies. As a result, these units enjoy near-constant access to replacement personnel and equipment.

The seventeen regiments of the Marik Militia form the largest single League unit and the largest component of the entire Free Worlds League military. Many graduates of the League´s state academies spend their first tours of duty in a Marik Militia unit. As a result, nearly 50 percent of Marik Militia units receive a Green classification from the LCCC. Generally, this lack of experience results in sub-par performance and disproportionately high numbers of casualties for these units, and the LCCC is looking at ways to mitigate this problem.

The fanatically loyal and well-trained Free Worlds Guards form the core of the Captain-General´s forces. Traditionally, such units acquire the best and most loyal troops from elsewhere in the League military. The Atrean Dragoons and Atrean Hussars enjoy similar niches, though many soldiers consider the Hussars, formed in 2923, to be a new unit and thus lacking in prestige.

If the Atrean Hussars are a new unit of the Free Worlds military, then the remaining League units—the Free Worlds Legionnaires and the Knights of the Inner Sphere—are truly babes in arms. The Legionnaires were formed after the campaign to liberate Andurien, using equipment and personnel of the defunct Defenders of Andurien. All Legionnaire recruits must submit to extensive background checks, and the units rejects those whose loyalty to the Free Worlds League might be considered questionable or who possess a history of "subversive" political activity. Despite this stringent requirement, the units boast impressive fighting capabilities. In fact, within the first fifteen years of the first Legion entering service, the units serve as the cornerstone of the Free Worlds League military.

The Knights of the Inner Sphere, formed in 3055 by order of the Captain-General, are the newest military group in the League. Created from the best and most loyal of the Free Worlds´ provincial and League forces, the Knights quickly earned a reputation as solid and dependable fighters. But Thomas Marik expects more than just military prowess from the Knights—he also expects them to serve as role models for the rest of the League military and for all inhabitants of the Inner Sphere.

FWLM Rosters: League Forces