Imperial Navy/Army Organization

There have been a number of postings of late about Imperial military
structure; especially in the Regency.  I have been running CT/MT/TNE
campaigns for more than 10 years, and I have always had a problem with
GDW's ideas on Imperial military structure.  While GDW's structure is
fairly straightforward, they forgot just how big and feudal the Imperium is
(was/will be).

In my campaigns, the main military arm of the Imperium is the Imperial Navy.
The Marines are part of the Navy, just as in the United States.  The
Imperial Army does not normally exist, except as Army-level HQ and support
units stationed at convenient locations.

The Navy has three levels to it; Imperial Navy, Imperial Navy Reserve and
Colonial Navy.  The IN is the regular active force.  The INR consists of
recent retirees and Depot-stored excess ships, and includes training
units and ships at various IN bases.  It would also include support ships and
large transports for Imperial Army movement. The Colonial Navy is an ad hoc
force made up of starships from the navies of Imperial member states.
Such units would tend to be mainly patrol or escort vessels; few worlds
need or can afford dreadnaughts.  Each sector has a single fleet, with one
group per subsector (each with 1 or more squadrons).  Each sector also has
one reserve fleet, which can be bolstered with Colonial forces during a
declared emergency.  These units would be organized into planetary squadrons,
or composite squadrons for worlds with only a few ships.

The Marines are the regular ground forces.  There are Fleet Marines assigned to
ships as security or drop troops, Garrison Marines assigned to guard
Imperial facilities, and Line Marines assigned as additional units.  These
forces are used for fast response, and are the ground force normally used.
If drop troops attached directly to Groups are not sufficient, the fleet has
access to Line Marine units carried in bulk transports.  In general, a 1000
ship Sector Fleet would have a full corps of Line Marines available, as well
as several Marine Landing Brigades (Drop Marine brigades) in the fleet,
and at least 1 Marine Landing Force (Drop Marine battalion) per subsector
Group.

If more ground force is needed (an extended occupation) the Imperial Army
would come into play.  Units would be activated from the armies of
Imperial member states.  They would be combined with units of compatable
Tech Level to form divisions, corps and armies under Imperial Army control.
The IA would supply high-tech command and support units, and INR transports
would carry the forces into battle.

The justification for this is largely economic.  It is expensive to maintain
a full-time army.  The Imperium has a proven need for a Navy and for quick
reaction ground forces carried by the Navy, but a full-time Army is a
needless drain on resources.  Why not use the armies of the member worlds,
much like a feudal levy (except better trained and equipped).

Just some thoughts... any sort of input is welcome.  I have done a lot
with deep-space stations too, so maybe I'll throw my weight into that
discussion next time.  As regards the TNE/CT controversy, I find the
new background OK, but I would like a Regency/Imperium sourcebook
someday.  I am fairly pleased with the rules, except for starship combat.
I'm lazy, so I like the cheesy simplicity of CT starship combat or the
abstract comfort of High Guard.

None of this reflects the views of my employers (who would probably
like MT starship combat better anyway).

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