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Knight Raiders Special Warfare Division, The birth of an idea and concept.

In 2012 I was asked what i would do with my money and titles. While at the time I was simply looking to invest as a businessman i recalled...

Friday, April 28, 2017

Moving my Knight Raiders articles to a new home.

Hello dear reader(s),

Recently I've been working on a permanent home and a webpage for among other things this blog.
You can find this content and new items on my new website.
I will leave this blog open an public as matter of public reference, no new post will be added however.

The links are as followed:

The above links all lead to the same website for now until i can split up the content for each URL.
Will be only a matter of time and some effort to split up the content and separate online/private and businesses matters.
I hope to see you on my new website if you were interested in this blog either way the best wishes.

Signed,
Paul Ripmeester.


Sunday, March 6, 2016

KR Div, Original concept Part VII, Chain of Command, Ranks and Formation.

Chain of Command:
As stated in the opening post what i COULD do, and in the case of becoming King by merging with a country(less likely and less interested by the day).
It must become part of the country's Armed Forces in some shape or form.
While not fighting under the actual country's flag retaining the international standing it should have.
This however can be achieved by having the Chief of Staff of the armed forces assume the rank of Grand Marshall.
Also where possible have oversight by the Military Police on legal matters and enforcement.

Ranks:
Ranks obtained in your country of origin remain, you will have the same rank or equivalent.
Rise in rank should be up to the country of origin with a recommendation of the KR Commander.
In short promotion is done in conjunction with the country of origin because in the case of the enlisted/NCO or Officer returns home and resumes active duty the rank travels with him/her.
Using the NATO reference codes since working out a new system would be redundant but adding the ranks of Grand Master(OF-12, ******), Grand Marshall(OF-11, *****) and Command Sergeant-Major (OR-10) to the command chain.
Besides the regular ranks, OF-10 - OF-1, OR-10 - OR 1.

Formations Selection:
After some research the conclusion is that a Brigade does not give the options to be independent.
The brigade formation currently being looked at is becoming way to big.
Normal brigade would be 3/6 Battalions but now current set-up comes it down to 8.
7 Battalions and the brigade HHC becoming also Battalion size.
And there is a need increase for support to ensure safety of enlisted personnel.
Providing to little support would put a strain on logistics/maintenance and performance.
Military equipment/vehicles require more maintenance/checks to ensure safety.
Cutting corners will lead to injury's and fatal injury's what would be a disaster.

This leaves only one option is to go Division size but a special Division
A Division sized formation with a integrated air wing replacing one of the Brigades.
With being capable of operating independent on a global scale as proposed above.
The Division will consist of 3 Brigades and 2 wings.
1st/2nd Brigade will house all the combat Battalions.
3rd Brigade will house all the support Battalions, 1st/2nd Wing housing the air elements
Air mobile, mechanized special forces division.

Division command can assign per mission/time period elements of the 3rd Brigade.
To the 1st/2nd Brigade and/or 1st/2nd Wing to support mission(s)/operation(s)
This leaves the Division commander with a better selection of personnel per operation.
As each Brigade/Wing has a specific task/role and this allows for better allocation of resources.
Further more the 1st and 3th Battalion can be fully focused on the combat role it has.
The 1ste wing will have support staff as per normal but will be receiving extra support from 2de.

1st/2nd/6th Battalion are all special forces but with a wide spectrum of abilities.

3rd/4th/7th/8th are special forces with specific training or will receive additional training.

9th Battalion is for armoured vehicles in a offensive/defensive context.

5th/10th Battalion are to provide a secure Base/FOB for operations/training.
These can been seen a regular troops but with special equipment such as night vision/AT/AA etc.
These Battalion can be seen as mechanized using the Stryker series vehicle.

3rd Brigade provides service/technical and maintenance to the 1st/2nd Battalion.
And also the 1st/2nd Wing with additional expertise, also FOB construction/maintenance.
Additional logistics/supply and a Human resources Battalion that provides services.

1st/2nd Wing provides transport/insertion/extraction/medevac/logistics and air support.
They will be serviced there own maintenance crews but can receive additional support from 3rd .


Monday, February 29, 2016

KR Div, Original concept Part VI, Missions Goals/Uniform and Legal Issue's.

Mission Goals:
Rapid Response, Covert Ops, Black Ops, Hostage Rescue, Raiding Party's,
Anti Pirating Ops, Disruption of hostile groups by eliminating the leadership.
And/or any other situation that requires specialist attention.

For some UN mission there is a lack of specialized troops.
This could be resolved by giving it a UN approval and provide specialist support.
Also the goal is not to set-up a permanent base but the be a quick reactions force.
Using a staging area would be required but no prolonged stay would also give it a less hostile idea towards locals who should by then end of the day run there own country.
A simple example: A country has a insurgency problem but does not have the man power to deal with this on it's own, this country can then put in a request at the UN/NATO for support.
When support is granted KR can move in and provide specialist support.

In order to give this force a mental shock effect on hostile s there will be no campaign, see this as a official time set window where operations will be conducted.
But when and how will be up to the KR Command, basically all the enemy knows "Death may be knocking on there door at any time but you never know when and how"
This will have a demoralizing effect on them since they need to be on there toes 24/7 and have no idea where/when/how they will be attacked.
This will prevent the group to recruit new members to some extend cause of the demoralizing effect.

In long term is to make them crap there pants even before shots are fired, cause of the formidable reputation KR will have.

Legal Representation:
This should be by the country of origin for legal representation.
What legal system under has yet to be decided, one uniform one or the host country's military code.
Legal fee's will be payed by KR since there under the command of KR.
Details have to be looked at with legal expertise to ensure conform under today’s laws.
Then a Military code should be drafted, signed and put into effect.

Regulations Compliance:
Medical, Aircraft and Fire regulations should be at least in compliance with local regulations.
But with operating in different country's it might be best to select the regulations that are the most demanding and use them across the board.
Preference goes to compliance above norm but without to much confusion and paperwork.
So using different regulations per items would be confusing and not compatible.
Where possible use the same regulations and apply them Division wide.
This includes FTA/FAA/CDC/Medical Board/ICAO regulations.

Uniform:
There will be the standard uniform dress uniform and camouflage uniform.
The Camouflage is being developed however if it fails RoggenWolf has some nice camo.
Depending on base location a correct standard uniform will be offered.
Additional camouflage uniforms will be available for terrain types
There will also be a dress uniform that will be Black with Red/and White accents.
All of the regular camouflage uniforms have to be durable and save with the best materials used.
The dress uniform will be for formal events and will have a more “fashionable” image.

Friday, February 26, 2016

KR Div, Original concept Part V, Awards/Medals/Tabs/Clasps and Bars..

Awarded by or recommended by KR Military Staff:

Marksman: 75% - 89% effiency.
Expert Marksman: 90% - 100% effiency.

Martial Arts Expert: fully mastered all martial arts classes.

Continues Service: 5 years(bronze) --> 10 years(silver) --> 15 years(gold) --> 20 Years(platinum & gold inlay)

Airmen Distinguished Service: Awarded for showing bravery and skill.

Airmen Distinguished Service Cross: Awarded for showing extreme bravery and skill.

SAR Distinguished Service: Awarded for showing bravery during SAR and Medical operations.
Medics/SAR/PJ's only

SAR Distinguished Service Cross: Awarded for showing extreme bravery during SAR and Medical operations.
Medics/SAR/PJ's only

Knight Raiders Distinguished Service: Awarded for showing bravery during combat operations.

Knight Raiders Distinguished Service Cross: Awarded for showing extreme bravery during combat operations.

KR Commander Unit Citation:

Competence and Qualification: Ribbon and/or Badge

AA Ribbon:

AT Ribbon:

Scout Ribbon:

Sniper/Spotter Ribbon:

PJ/SAR Ribbon:

Pathfinder Ribbon:

Combat Diver Ribbon:

Rescue Diver Ribbon:

Demolitions/EOD Ribbon:

Paratrooper Ribbon:

Combat Medic Ribbon:

Terrain Ribbon:

SAR Pilot/Crew Ribbon:

CAS Pilot/Crew Ribbon:

CSD Pilot/Crew Ribbon: Combat Supply Drops

HALO Ribbon:

HAHO Ribbon:

HAIO RibbonL

Rivirine & Off-shore Boat Crew Ribbon:

Unit 666 Ribbon:

Recommended by KR Military HQ Staff to the Grand Master/Grand Marshall office(s):

Order of the Knight Raiders: Knighthood with permanent knights helmet stitched to your rank(s)
Awarded for showing extreme bravery, valour agianst all odds with disregarde for his/her own life.

Knights Cross:

Legion of Valour:

Grand Master Unit Citation:

Grand Marshall Unit Citation:

Clasps and Bars:

Clasps: Knights helmet in bronze, silver, gold and platinum & gold inlay

Stack up allowed, so a platinum & gold inlay helmet + a silver helmet is 6 recipens of that award.


Thursday, February 25, 2016

KR Div, Original concept Part IV, KR HCB Org Chart.

As part of reforming the command structure normally used to a more efficient model.
Iteration 1 of the HCB for the KR Div.


Headquarters Command Company & Headquarters Command Troop:
Current HHC/HHT and H&S consist of 80 to 110 or even 270 personnel.
It might better to revamp the system as it is largely based on a old Prussian/French system.
Appears to seem sluggish and involves allot of paper work, fine tuning might be in order.
Speeding up decision making and flow of information up and down.

Dividing the initial staff in to 2 major groups
Group 1 will be directly involves with decision making with group 2 has a support role.
Group 1 tagged as E(Essential), Group 2 tagged as S(Support)
Then number roles per group with a identical number that is unique per group.
Essential(E): Operations(1), Intelligence(2), Logistics(3) and Signals(4).
Support(S): Administration(1), Planning(2), Training(3), PR(4) and Finance(5).
E reports directly to the CO speeding up decision making process. S reports Directly to the XO who then can either report to the CO or accumulate information/data to report later at a more convenient time.
When operations are under way a CO has no need on information on payroll or training.
He does need to be aware of troop movement(friendly or hostile), sufficient supply, casualties etc at a moments notice to ensure proper strategy(s) and deployment of resources.

However the amount of work(paperwork, logistics etc) incrementally increases as you go higher up the unit ladder.
You can adapt the system to accommodate this, use HCT, HCC and HCB.
HCB: Headquarters Command Battalion for units Division sized and up.
HCC: Headquarters Command Company for units at Battalion level and up.
HCT: Headquarters Command Troop for units of Company size.
These 3 command units can then actively share and conduct command and support operations.
All supporting each others effort in conducting Command and Control.
For instance every unit will need medical support, logistics, signals etc.
However there is no need for a Finance role in a Company sized unit, this should be done Brigade and up, finance should be handled by a single department and not various personnel scattered.
You will end up with a less personnel intensive system what is far more effective with less paper work making the whole system more cost effective.
But as these units are not the combat related units they do not have to have the exact numbers there combat counter parts would have, or can be augmented with other units.
Have a basic model of units with the option to augment with auxiliary units, modular system.
Simple example, a dental unit will augment a HCT for a week giving the combat company a standard dental and then move on, this can be seen as move to the next unit, be detached back to the HCB or back to the medical battalion.

HCB: Operations, Intelligence, Logistics, Signals, Administration, Planning, Training, PR and Finance.
HCC: Operations, Intelligence, Logistics, Signals, Administration and Training *
HCT: Operations, Intelligence, Logistics and Signals. *
* optional augmentation by support units.

Lettering branches based on there founding in history.
A = Army, B = Navy, C = Marines, D = Air force, J = Joint multiple services and S = Staff Roles above major.
Forward command post, various country's should not matter as it is a minor detail.
And does NOT reflect overall battle strategy, you need to know friendly, hostile and neutral.
Then use the normal icons to reflect unit id, armor, airborne, infantry, mechanized etc.

Making it possible to look at a map(digital or analogue)and get a overview in a single glance.


KR Div, Original concept Part III, Origination Chart.

Division Org Chart.
Iteration 2, 2013 draft.

KR Div, Original concept Part II, Recruitment/Benefits and Housing.

Recruitment:
The idea is to recruit  where possible from country's world wide.
The goal should be combining the best operatives in a single Division.
Had to be said not everyone is likely willing to work together for various political reasons.

End goal is to recruit the best of the best no matter creed and/or religion.
The Division CO/XO and command sergeant will be appointed by Paul.
Al other staff can be selected by the Division CO/XO.
All the way down to the platoons, so you end up with hand picked units and staff.
Offering the best group dynamic to create the best possible work "flow".

They will have the option of being mechanized with a option of armored vehicles.
It will also provide the option to mount a land based rescue if weather does not permit flying, with a small artillery company to provide fire support.

3th Brigade will mainly be made up of regulars but with craft skills.
They will have to have basic infantry training with emphasis on skills such as carpenter/welding/doctor/mechanic/engineering. etc.

Medical Benefits/Injury's:
All enlisted will have a 99% health insurance coverage, it was pointed out 100% would be impossible.
Also health insurance in general should be provided, this however is some what difficult since not a single private insurance company offer such extensive service.

Military Hospital/Trauma Center:
2 stationary hospitals, 1 level I and 1 Level III(CDC scale) and mobile field hospitals.
Each base will have a hospital, FOBS will make use of a field hospital(container set-up).
Level I care with a medical research program geared towards Military Medicine.
And will include HAZMAT, anti viral, rehabilitation center, after care.
Level III for regular treatments, transfer from field hospitals with referral to the level 1.

Both centers may (re)training for medics, fire fighters, other medical staff fulfilling a combat role to keep them fully update with the latest military medicine.
Hospitals may offer there services during emergency's, or to non-profit organisations such as V.A./Wounded Warrior.
Also host country may to some extend request assistance cooping with emergency (battle) injury's.
As the amount of patients fluctuates it is important to keep staff skill level optimal.
This can be done by having patients that are not from the Division.
Final protocols have to be drafted by the medical battalion.

The Center will be run and commanded by the Medical Battalion.
It's staff may augmented by civilian staff to have 1st class medical treatment.
These include research staff, doctors and other medical staff.

Wages:
Monthly wage should be equal per rank no matter what country of origin.
Off course the higher your rank the higher your pay will be but this is commen practice.
Also a KR operative your monthly pay will be greater then any where in the world.
So higher then any Army/Private firm on a monthly basis.
Also the more qualifications you have will result in a better monthly wage.
Payment table should be drafted on a later date after sufficient data is acquired.

Base Selection:
Division HQ with airfield and access to salt/sweet water is key.
Could look at having 2 bases with access to a range of climates/terrain types.
This will have to be looked at in conjunction with country's willing to host the KR Div.
There is also need for a strategic placement to ensure fast deployment.
And shorter travel times from/to objectives/area of operations.
Base(s) will feature housing for all enlisted on site, including there direct family's.
All PreFab housing bought and build in bulk to keep costs down.
There will be a need for a range of housing, rented at a write of costs as there is no need for profit but a replacement build at the end of the live span of the house(s)
Single, Family small, Family medium and Officers housing.
Single(1-2): kitchen, living room, bed room, bath room, utility room.
Family small(3-4): kitchen, living room, bed room, bath room, utility room, children room, dinning room.
Family medium (4+): kitchen, living room, bed room, bath room, utility room, children room(s), dinning room.
Officers(4+): kitchen , living room, bed room, bath room, utility room, children room(s), study/office room, dinning room.
Might be possible on small variations when more information is gathered.
Enlisted/NCO/Lower cadre officers:
Blu Homes Elements 170.000 USD unit base price.
Blu Homes Orgin 150.000 USD unit base price.
Higher Cadre Officers etc: