Security and the Range

Whateley has hired the best people they can find for these positions. Applicants are carefully investigated and must pass many tests to prove their ability. Many tests for their loyalty and commitment to their positions are also conducted. Many without their knowledge. Continuing education is a must for everyone in the security organization. The majority of these men will have at least some military training, and combat experience is a plus on the resume.

The security division reports directly to the school administrator. All officers are expected to be, or become upon hiring, federal law officers. As such they have the right to arrest and or give tickets for violations, and to carry firearms.

The division is lead by a Chief: Currently Franklin Delarose. The main offices are in Kane Hall.

Under Chief Delarose are his three lieutenants, each of whom controls three squads. If Chief Delarose is not available, the senior on-duty lieutenant has authority (and responsibility) for all security, personnel, and procedures on his watch.

There are a total of nine active (or combat) squads. Each squad includes a sergeant and five squad officers. All are well trained and maintained in combat fitness. Three squads make up a platoon, which is commanded by a lieutenant. A lieutenant and his entire platoon serve two weeks on, one week off. The week off is often spent away from Dunwich. Each squad also has four weeks of intensive off-site training every year. This is broken up into different chunks, usually taken squad by squad. The final result is there are usually only five combat squads on campus at any particular moment.

For those five squads, duty is twelve hours on, twelve hours off, but there are three shifts:

Perhaps not the most efficient schedule. You can see double lines for 2-squad coverage, single lines for the 1-shift graveyard coverage. Note that there are 3 squads during the "wake-up, get to class" period, and 4 squads during the "out of class, afternoon energy" period. There's also three squads from shortly before official "lights out" until "way too early in the morning" (lots of troublemakers in that slot). But hmmm, there's a "hole" from 1 AM to 5 AM. If anyone's up to something sneaky, I wonder when they plan to do it?

There is also a group of about twenty officers considered on administrative duty. These are candidates for the squad positions and can fill in when necessary. They handle most of the day-to-day activities such as traffic control, etc. They are expected to be trained and ready to fill in as needed but their duties and schedule tend to be less strenuous. Four to six of these people are usually on duty, operating out of the Admin building or assigned to monitoring and special services.

Equipment:

Whateley security is equipped with some of the finest devices available, and some that are not usually available to anyone else. (Many of Whateley students do extra credit work devising some of these. The ones that can be operated by anyone are available for use if necessary. One of the big draws for potential recruits is the chance to play with some of these toys:)

Along with conventional equipment, the officers will have some of the most advanced body armor available. This includes a helmet with built in multipurpose visor, (flash protection and sight enhancement), and an attachable respirator, (gas protection and even underwater breathing capability).

Equipment will usually consist of a multipurpose selective automatic rifle, .308 cal. With an attachment similar to the m203 which can fire an electrical stun charge similar to a taser. The .308 was chosen for its knockdown power and the rounds used will be modified for this purpose. A nine millimeter pistol and combat knife are also basic equipment. They will also normally carry two each of stun gas, flash, smoke, and web/net grenades. Other equipment as necessary or depending on position in the squad. Most squads will have one or two carrying internal monitoring devices that allow them to monitor to some extent conditions in adjoining rooms and hallways.

Heavier man portable equipment is available at need, but will only be released for use by whoever is in command at that time. This includes jet packs for flying and the like. Security also has two patrol cars assigned that are more for show than anything else as most parts of campus can be reached more quickly on foot.

For those familiar with CHAMPIONS role playing, they will be similar to UNTIL and VIPER agents with better equipment on average.

Theft:

This is a crime so bad that both the good and bad officers will hate you. Officers have access to a lot of expensive equipment. You could make a nice fee by selling some to a street gang or small survivalist group. (Bigger groups don't need to buy from corrupt cops, they can go to an international super-villain arms dealer.) But if you steal from the force, you make everyone's job harder. That one time they really need the Gizmo Projector, it's missing. People get hurt. Bad. If an officer is caught stealing equipment, he quickly finds himself in a deadly situation with faulty equipment and no backup. In fact, Whateley has had 17 officers die in the line of duty since the sixties. Six of those were major tragedies, with full investigations (and a considerable amount of payback). Eleven were quickly glossed over as "hazards of duty" or "officer negligence." You figure it out.

Current organization:

Chief: Franklin Delarose.

Platoon 1:
Senior Lieutenant Colin Forsyth
Squad 1:
Squad 2:
Squad 3: Sidney Bellinger, Chet Haskins, Victor (background in Tennyo's story)


Platoon 2:
Lieutenant Christian Reynolds (eager beaver, wants to prove himself)
Squad 4: Sgt. Harris, Officers Kretch, Willkinson, Breen, Bradley Grimes, Randall.
Squad 5: Tom (Tomikz?), Michaels, Daniels
Squad 6: Johnson

Platoon 3: "The Bashers" (Alternately, "Simeon's Slugs" and "Payola Platoon")
Lieutenant Simeon Trout
Squad 7: Sgt. Hackitt, Green, Metler, Trews, Daniels, and Michaels
Squad 8: Simpkins
Squad 9:

Sensor techs: Mark Mathews (6'3 black ex-marine)

Admin: Dan Moore, Erickson(Computer expert), Sgt. Clay Buxton (corrupt, runs gambling and involved in "Palm" incident)

Staff size:

A security staff of nearly 80 officers, nearly 60 of them with military/SWAT training? Well, let's just say it's a tough school. And if you think these guys are a drain on the budget, you should see the construction/repair crew!

Corruption and salary:

Remember, over half the budget is coming from the side that sees world domination as an interesting pastime. So while most of the officers are good and true, there is another batch that is more concerned with observing the letter of the law (and not the spirit), making future employment contacts, and lining their pockets (either looking the other way or blatantly helping). Virtually all of this last variety is concentrated in Platoon 3. The board is well aware of the oddities of Platoon 3. If there is any serious injury or damage, Platoon 3 knows they'll be called on the carpet. They also know that anything below that (if they can get away with it) is considered to be just another educational tactic used by the school to educate their students in dealing with the "real world." By the way, when a squad from Platoon 3 takes graveyard shift, there's a pretty good chance that something's going down in the next two weeks.

Leaks:

Virtually everyone ("good" and "bad") is receiving alternate paychecks from intelligence services, clandestine organizations, military units, etc. (That's how the Crystal Wavers knew about Nikki so quickly.) Heck, the better contacts out there serve as "sources" for several services at the same time. Everyone (on the security force) knows this. They compete to keep the juicier tidbits to themselves, and keep it out of the official records. A computer hack won't be able to download your full record, because Officer A kept only private notes, to get a better fee (a scoop!) when he reported to Beijing and the Australian Order of Mystics. Not to say that you won't have records, just don't expect the security force to add much that's useful (or accurate).

The range crew is NOT set up along military rank organization. It just happens to (mostly) fall along that line due to seniority of hire. I.E. order of hire. Sam Everhart is only keeping an eye on Caitlin "officially" so the ATF and suchlike have a legal chain of custody over the range operations that Caitlin (a minor, legally) oversees. Caitlin could lock the ranges down without the supervision both effectively and competently. Everhart's only there to keep up appearances.

In order of seniority for the range crew we have:

1.) Sergeant-Major Sean Burlington-Smythe (first seen in the Hive stories): Range Control Officer. Former British SAS. The Sergeant-Major oversees the overall operations of the ranges and handles the paperwork. He is a very hands-off manager, and rarely instructs the students directly, although when he does the kids are sure to learn something new. This is the HMFIC of the ranges. Even Carson is reluctant to override and edict on the ranges from him, even though she can.

2.) Gunnery Sergeant Oscar Bardue (First seen in Tea and Synergy): The visible leadership of the ranges, this retired marine answers to Smythe and handles most of the active, day-to-day dealings on the ranges, ensuring that the crew is appraised, alert and that Mahren and Wilson don't slack off on the mandatory paperwork. Gunny Bardue's Bailiwick is Range 1, the primary annex of the underground range, handling small to medium caliber rifles, concentrating on both static and combat marksmanship. Gunny Bardue is understood by the students to bee the most intimidating yet fair man on the range crew.

3.) Cat McQuiston (KIA, Range position open as of year 1 semester finals): Cat was the "odd man" of the Range crew, having been a member of the LAPD SWAT and mutant investigations division, having left the force shortly after her promotion to Lieutenant. Cat McQuiston alternated between teaching on range two, the pistol/SMG range and tutoring Manifestors and Avatars. Easily the most popular teacher among the students on the ranges, Cat was far more likable than her compatriots.

4.) Staff Sergeant Ryan Wilson (First seen in Upheaval): Ryan Wilson is an ex-army ranger and sniper. He avoided being shuffled to an M-SOC unit by weaseling his way into his Regimental C.O.'s good graces. An Exemplar six, Wilson much prefers to deal with people as they are rather than taking a "I'm superior" position. Wilson is the teacher of the basics. Kids who learn to shoot on the ranges are required to sit in on his basic marksmanship and safety lectures. Currently Wilson is subbing for Cat on range two. Wilson is also the ammunition and supply manager for the ranges, keeping track of every bean, bullet and band-aid used in training, and procuring more.

5.) Corporal Erik Mahren (obviously pre-Caitlin): In the running for the top five most hated teachers on campus, Erik Mahren had, arguably, the most dangerous range position, handling Range 4, an outdoor area used for heavy impact and firepower. He oversaw the use of weapons and blaster-type powers fully capable of destroying tanks and buildings, and thus was a merciless enforcer of safety regulations. Remarkably quiet about his past, Mahren was the guardian of Range 4's "back cage" a repository of some very dangerous equipment, to include more than one devise or gadget that could represent a national security threat. Beyond that, Mahren is known for taking cocky students to the sims, and tearing them apart to show them that embarrassing lesson in what baselines can actually accomplish, and he has startling insights on how to defeat dangerous mutant opponents.

Always before (and especially now) that order of seniority applies. Whoever replaces Cat and Erik as the official range instructors will be "Junior man" regardless of experience. it doesn't matter if one person WAS an admiral. If Smythe says jump, your ass better be in the air while he tells you how high to fly.

As a student, Caitlin is permanently "house bitch" in the ranges, mostly keeping track of gun counts and making sure that the cages stay secure, as well as doing whatever odd jobs the crew comes up with (realistically the crew lets her do what she always did, save for actual teaching).

Ammunition transports happen twice a semester, with the entire range crew as well as one squad of Security Personnel in attendance (for varying reasons, mostly because mahren and Wilson hate them, Platoon 3 of Security is NEVER allowed to do this escort duty). The ammunition is convoyed to the storage bunkers annexed to the ranges and stored. Without being one of the range personnel, or having Chief Delarose's willing compliance, one cannot access any of the ammo storage compartments.

Primary range regulations are as follows:

1) treat every weapon as if it were loaded.
2) never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot.
3) keep all weapons on safe until you are ready to fire.
4) keep finger straight and off-trigger until you INTEND to fire.

Accident history of Whateley Academy:

there have been firing accidents on every single range in Whateley Academy due to carelessness, inattentiveness or students ignoring instructors. In the last six years, since Bardue began using Mahren as the "house hatchet-man" there have been no range accidents, and any student who violates range rules was turned over to Erik for his particular, and unique brand of detention. Since 2000, twenty-three students have been permanently banned from the ranges, and ANY range crewman can terminate a student's range privileges with a word.

Getting those privileges re-instated takes a near-act of God. This has happened only once in the school's history, and Mega-Death went above and beyond the call of duty in redeeming his act of indiscretion during his first month at Whateley.

Restoring privileges requires a Teacher recommendation from a range instructor, and then the student must convince Carson, Delarose AND Smythe that they have mended their ways. The Ranges are a privilege, not a right, and the crews are absolutely merciless when it comes down to it. None of them are willing to have dead children on their consciences.