Farm-Jumpers

Farm-jumpers - also known as hellfarmers - are specialist military units focussed on the capture, defense, and operation of agri-mines. The vast majority of farm-jumping units are involved with the conduct of the War of Reunification, as factions other than Voxelia and the Coalition of Breakaway Colonies seldom have good cause to attempt to steal other factions' agri-mines out from under them.
The 'farm-jumper' designation is a portmanteau of 'farmer' and 'claim-jumper.'

Composition

Manpower

Farm-jumper units are typically mid-sized platoons (5-8 squads of around 10 soldiers each). Units larger than a platoon would tend to become bottlenecked in the tunnels and hallways leading into an agri-mine complex, while smaller units might be unable to hold an entire agri-mine once captured.

Equipment

Farm-jumpers to the front and rear of their formation will typically wear auto-armor equipped with heavy excavation equipment (such as the JH-AA "Lance" Heavy Jackhammer) and weaponry loadouts focussed on close-quarters combat.
The logistics and support elements of farm-jumper units usually wear utility skeletons or support auto-armor (such as the DEL-1 "Concertina" Support Auto-Armor), as these individuals are to be protected so that they can operate the target agri-mine and cart its bounty back out to allied units later. Support farm-jumpers also carry gear-grinding tools and Ring0s to help wrest control of the target agri-mine's autonet from the enemy within.

Tactics

Agri-mines are, by dint of their nature as repurposed and fortified mine shafts, pits, or complexes, extremely well-protected against enemy attack. At the same time, as critical infrastructure nodes, the present a juicy target for enemy forces seeking to claim a region's food production capacity for themselves. Farm-jumpers are explicitly trained and equipped to facilitate the capture of these agri-mines.
The work of a farm-jumper unit takes place in three (sometimes four) phases:

1. Entry - During the entry phase, the farm-jumpers force their way into the agri-mine through various means. Typically, the farm-jumpers will be delivered to the vehicle or personnel entrances under the protection of allied forces. These entrances may be collapsed, heavily fortified, or seeded with all manner of traps and pitfalls in advance of the farm-jumpers' arrival, requiring the farm-jumpers to clear or bypass these threats. Sometimes, these entrances are completely unassailable; in this case, the farm-jumpers will (sometimes alongside more dedicated combat engineer units) excavate a new path into the agri-mine, bypassing the entrances altogether.


2. Pacification - Once within the agri-mine, the farm-jumpers set about siezing control. They capture or kill all enemy personnel they encounter, override enemy control of the local autonets controlling the farming or hydroponics systems, and force their way into any centralized command center present within the complex.


3. Utilization - Once the farm-jumpers have pacified the agri-mine, the more complicated part of their work begins: the farm-jumpers assume the role of agri-mine operation and maintenance personnel until dedicated logistics teams can take their place. Some of the farm-jumpers continue to sweep the complex for any hidden surprises while the rest conduct any necessary repairs to the farming systems and begin producing food for delivery to their allies. Eventually, as the other logistics personnel arrive, the farm-jumpers move into a dedicated defensive role or, if the agri-mine has been fully subsumed behind allied lines, rejoin frontline fighting companies until it becomes time to take another agri-mine.


4. Defense - If allied forces have not successfully occupied the surface or subterranean bunker complexes surrounding the agri-mine, then the farm-jumpers may be required to defend their new prize against recapture by enemy forces. The farm-jumpers establish new defenses, including garrisoning existing fortifications, building new ones, collapsing easily-traversed tunnels leading into the complex, and laying traps for would-be invaders. Farm-jumping units are particularly fond of deadfall traps, as these fulfill both the need to inflict damage on the opponent as well as to slow their egress into the complex. Any captured agri-mine personnel not deemed useful as intelligence assets might also be exchanged with the enemy in exchange for the enemy abandoning the complex without further violence - agri-mine workers are often civilians and are therefore accorded a degree of mercy not normally accorded to enemy combatants, though there have been a few notable (and widely reviled) exceptions to this rule.

Training

Farm-jumpers require a diverse skillset to be effective at their jobs. A farm-jumper is trained in the use of auto-armor, excavation equipment, and hydroponics equipment. Members of the armed forces who have previous experience in botany, agriculture, mining, or dieseltech computer operation (especially systems intrusion) are prized members of farm-jumping units, often ascending to comissioned or non-commissioned officer roles within their respective platoons. In addition to these technical skills, prospective farm-jumpers are specifically trained in close-quarters fighting and building clearing techniques, as depopulating and holding an agri-mine requires both.

Type

Special Forces

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced

Used by

• Coalition of Breakaway Colonies
• Voxelia