Deseret Army Embassy Guard

This is the most sacrilegious thing I have ever heard of. It goes against tradition, morality, and probably God's law. Whose idea was this?

— Wolf Breslau, Retired Gunnery Sergeant, United States Marine Corps

Now that travel among space colonies is feasible with the introduction of the gravity-drive, Deseret has quickly moved to establish embassies in nearby systems. These embassies are manned and protected by the Embassy Guard of the Deseret Army.

History

Ever since the beginning of the space age the importance of the navy has grown, causing other military branches across human space to struggle to redefine and defend their role. For the Desereti two branches were created; the Deseret Navy would have jurisdiction in all space operations while the Deseret Army would have jurisdiction of all planet based operations. Embassy security therefore, was the responsibility of the Deseret Army. When travel to nearby star nations became feasible and official diplomatic ties were being established the army was among the first Deseretis that other nations encountered.

Composition

Manpower

The Deseret Army has found that ten soldiers is the upper limit of what most foreign nations feel comfortable with allowing on their planets. Three hundred and seventy soldiers comprise the Embassy Guard Department of the Deseret Army, two hundred and seventy stationed at Deseret's twenty seven embassies and one hundred soldiers making up the department's headquarters and training corps.

Tactics

Embassy Guard soldiers know that the most reliable way to stay safe is to maintain friendly relations with the locals. More than any politician these soldiers serve as the face of the embassy and represent Deseret abroad. While on guard duty at the front gate or at the doors of the Desereti embassy soldiers maintain a meticulously courteous and professional demeanor.
Embassy Guards are expected to know their assigned cities and planets better than the locals themselves, able to read the political climate ready to extract material and personnel at a moment's notice. On one planet the local government, learning of a large mob forming to assault the embassy, was surprised to learn that the Embassy Guard had quietly extracted Desereti citizens and materials from the planet even without anyone in the area realizing it.
In the event of a combat scenario Embassy Guard soldiers are trained for shock and awe tactics. Extreme speed and high explosives are used to crush obstacles and opposition with the most dramatic effect possible. The belief is that these tactics will confuse and demoralize the enemy or, barring that, confuse them long enough for the Embassy Guard to complete their objective. In some instances shock and awe tactics are used to distract the enemy from the real extraction point to be used.

Training

In light of the special skill set required of Embassy Guard soldiers Deseret Army Chief of Staff Aidan O'Dea chose to make service in the Guard a prerequisite for acceptance in the Army's Special Forces program. Because of this Embassy Guard and Special Forces training are similar in many ways.

The Embassy Guard Qualification Course (EGQC) is the formal training program required for applicants into the Deseret Embassy Guard. Ranging in length from one year to a year and a half, the course is comprised of 6 phases of grueling physical training and skill training. Course candidates that successfully completes all phases will become EGQC certified, granting them the chance to apply for acceptance into the Embassy Guard. Their applications are processed by the Embassy Guard Logistical Group, including the same cadre members that taught the EGQC. Although the highest scoring applicants are usually accepted, cadre members have authority to veto any candidate they feel does not have the right temperament for the job.
Explanation of Course Phases and Requirements

Phase 1: Orientation and Assessment
Candidates are refreshed on a broad range of military skills, from unconventional warfare to deploying out of atmospheric craft. Candidates are expected to become well versed in the theory as well as the history behind each concept.
Phase 2: SERE Level 3
Candidates are led through a grueling series of field training exercises teaching skills in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE). This is a continuation of the lessons taught in SERE Level 1 and 2.
Phase 3: Naval Integration
Candidates train extensively with the Navy and Marine corps to better understand how and when to coordinate and cooperate with efforts between branches. Candidates are trained in a variety of vacuum craft and equipment. Candidates must complete a successful rapid deployment from ship to planet surface.
Phase 4: Specialized Job Training
Candidates are trained in a the specific skills and competencies required to perform their assigned role as a member of an Embassy Guard team. These can range from communications to medical expertise.
Phase 5: Final Exercise and Selection
Candidates are required to complete a 20 week field exercise testing their mastery of all the skills learned in the course. This exercise starts aboard a navy vessel in orbit above Deseret where candidates must successfully land on the planet where they must survive in the exercise area while evading capture. The exercise ends with finding a hidden extraction point in an urban combat training area and launching from the surface to rejoin the original navy ship they deployed from. Candidates are judged based on not only on successfully completing the course but also their demeanor, teamwork, and initiative.
Phase 6: Language and Culture Soldiers are assigned to an Embassy team. They receive basic language training relevant to their assignments and attend workshops on being aware of one's own cultural lenses. Soldiers learn to quickly understand the perspective of others as well as the use of analytical processes to deduce the people and environment of a given area.

Type

Security

Founding

1 DE

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced

Used by

• Deseret Embassies to Foreign Nations

Historically embassy guards have been tasked with protecting and destroying classified documents first and protecting citizens or embassy staff second. However, since communication and diplomatic ties have been opened up only recently there is at present little use for such sensitive documents in any significant amounts.
Due to this soldiers also perform "off-duty" tours of the cities and planets they served in, memorizing the locations of as many important Desereti citizens in planet as possible.

Those Desereti guys? Why would I want to start trouble for them? They're respectable they are, never cause no fuss to anyone. You can tell your boss that we won't be joining this "grassroots protest" of yours. I expect you'll find the same response from most people this side of town

— Zogmad Og, resident of Housing Block 35 near the Deseret Embassy on Ulvastea