Billets at the Lance Level

Lance Member

  • Appointed upon joining.
  • Basic Membership Billet
  • Starting Rank : Recruit (E-1)
  • Maximum Rank : Master Specialist (E-6)

  This is the basic billet for the rank-and-file member.  Lance Members  are the basic combat troops of the Royal Dragoon Guards.  A member with this billet is responsible only for participating with the group and keeping their Lance NCO or Lance Commander aware of when they cannot attend events or will be late.  This is not to say that the Lance Member is unimportant – indeed without these basic members as the building blocks of the Unit, there would be no unit.

  Lance Members are eligible to advance up the specialist grades to E-6.

Lance NCO

  • Appointed by Lance Commander.
  • Basic leadership billet.
  • Starting Rank : Corporal (E-4)
  • Maximum Rank : Gunnery Sergeant (E-7)

  Lance NCOs, often called Lance Sergeants, are the small-team managers of the Royal Dragoon Guards.  The Lance NCO is a position of some responsibility and authority at the Lance level.  It is the job of the Lance NCO to carry out a number of duties to assist in the smooth operation of the Royal Dragoon Guards both in-game, and out of game. 

Responsibilities of the Lance NCO include:

  1. Ensure communication with lance members.  Make sure they are aware of where and when meetings are going to occur.
  2. Assist with Classroom portions of the meetings as an instructor.
  3. Help members of the Lance to know the rules of the Battletech game, paying special attention to movement, target numbers, and heat.  Make sure each member of the lance is taking the appropriate modifiers into account for each of these.  Make sure each member is “calling out” their To-Hit numbers and the modifiers that caused them.
  4. Be an example to the members in roleplaying a professional mercenary, including but not limited to military bearing and customs & courtesies.
  5. Help keep members organized during events, event preparation, and event cleanup/damage control.

Lance Commander

  • Elected by the members of their Lance
  • Basic Officer billet.
  • Starting Rank : Second Leftenant (O-1)
  • Maximum Rank : First Leftenant (O-2)

  This is the first billet that carries with it an Officer’s rank.  The Lance Commander is responsible for their four-member Lance, encouraging their attendance and handling the tactical side of the gaming.  While their responsibility also includes the training and perparedness of their members, those duties are most often delegated to the Lance NCO so that the Lance Commander can concentrate on assisting with administrating the organization on the ‘real world’ side of things, and on running the Mercenary Unit and making tactical decisions in the game.

Responsibilities of the Lance Commander include:

  1. Responsible for the conduct and participation of their lance as part of the Royal Dragoon Guards.
  2. Attend and contribute to staff meetings concerning the operations of the organization.
  3. Contribute to the in-game administration of the mercenary unit.
  4. Serve as an instructor for classroom portions of meetings.
  5. Assist with keeping the atmosphere of a professional mercenary unit by encouraging roleplay and use of military and Battletech terminology, customs and address.