180th Hornet Airborne Regiment

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180th Hornet Airborne Regiment
The 180th Hornet Airborne is an elite Astra Militarum Regiment of Veteran Troopers who specialize in Hive City engagements, be it recapture, defense, or destruction.

Typically, when the Hornets are deployed, it is to either help recapture a Hive-city's key areas so that a normal regiment need not waste men slogging their way, taking weeks if not months to do so, or to destroy key parts of a Hive-City so that the enemy may not use it to their advantage.

A deployment of squads of Hornets is preceded by heavy airstrikes from Lightning, Marauders, and Vultures, followed by Valkyries dropping off 3-10 squads of Hornets. After deployment, the ground units will be closely supported by CAS, usually Vultures or Vendettas, depending on the situation. If need be, they can request for vehicular support- ranging from Tauros for quick manuevers, Sentinels for helping support pushes, Chimeras for transport through heavy fighting, Hellhounds for burning out entrenched enemies, and Hydras for use in helping clear streets or buildings that tower higher than a normal Hellhound can aim at.

Being such a small regiment in terms of numbers, more of an Operations group, the Hornets tend to be deployed alongside other Regiments as support rather than sent in on their own.

Pilots of the Hornet regiment tend to be highly skilled as well thanks to the many Academies on Elleshan V, and often are decorated for their actions in combat, providing much needed close air support for the men on the ground. The pilots of the Valkyrie Transports are often some of the favorite members of the regiment, as without them, it would not be possible to even get to the battlefield.

History
Elleshan V is a mountainous planet, with few valleys and one large ocean surrounding the main continent of Elleshan. Hive cities, albeit smaller than normal, dot around the valleys and some even sit on the sides of mountains. Presently, the main valley, known as the Viride Agris, is dotted with the stains of war long past- craters, old wreckages of many an aircraft, and fields of bones from a war that was fought on the planet centuries ago.

During the Horus Heresy, communication with the world was lost. Fearing the worst, the planet went into lockdown and stayed as such for nearly a century- life was controlled, and the forges were not silenced for nearly the entire time before communication was restored. Due to such, there was an overabundance of aircraft made as well as pilots trained for them.

During that time of silence, there was a notable event of rebellion, mainly from 151st Elleshan Guard. They were wanting to break the lockdown, as it seemed nobody was going to come or answer them. This led to about half the planet's hive cities backing them, the other half sympathizing, but realizing that a ready status would be best if something were to attack the world.

This led to many a battle taking place in the valleys between hive cities, and near the end, the Loyalist Elleshans found themselves with a problem- taking a Hive City was much more costly than a battle in the plains. That is where the Hornets were born.

Regimental History
Born out of a neccesity to have troops able to move quickly around a Hive City, the Hornets were formed from, at first, those who were well versed with Hive City architecture. When a large enough force was created, they were sent on their first mission to retake Hive City Septum, the outer most Hive City controlled by the Rebels. Armed with Lasguns only (at this time, the STC for Hotshot Lasguns was not on the planet), they were deployed after a massive amount of coordinated airstrikes on the city to open up as much as they could.

Swiftly, the First Company of the regiment deployed into the main spire of the Hive world and set about disabling the defenses they could reach. Within a day, the majority of the defense guns fell silent, allowing for more close air support. Within a week, the Hive City more or less fell, with only a few pockets of resistance holding out in the Underhive, but within months they were purged or convinced to rejoin.

Notable Campaigns

 * Retaking of Elleshan V

Officer Ranks

 * Lord General
 * General
 * Lieutenant General
 * Major General
 * Brigadier General
 * Colonel Sanders
 * Lieutenant Colonel
 * Commander
 * Captains Obvious
 * Lieutenant

Non-Commissioned Officers

 * Sergeant Major
 * First Sergeant
 * Staff Sergeant
 * Sergeant
 * Corporal

Regimental Organization
The Hornets area a small group of men and women in comparison to the average Guard Regiment, totaling at most 5,000, though the numbers have at times been up to 10,000.

There are 5 Companies, each totaling 1,000 to 2,000 men and women. A squad will average at about 10 men, and is lead by a Sergeant or higher ranking member (Sergeant is the aggregate term, their rank can be a Captain at times).

First Company, Alpha Hive, is the first ones in and the first ones out of any combat situation. Second Company is the Demolition team, the Home Wreckers, skilled engineers brought in to either build up temporary defenses or inserted to tear down key parts of a Hive City to bring it crumbling down, allowing no tools of the Imperium to fall to any those who oppose the God Emperor himself.

Third Company is (WIP)

Fourth Company is (WIP)

Fifth Company is (WIP)

Regimental Recruitment & Training
Hornets are guardsmen from other companies and regiments of the Elleshan Guard- to be chosen for the Regiment is a massive honor, for not just any Veteran is chosen- a Veteran must show excellent marksmanship, bravery and daring to be one of the Hornets.

Training involves Jump-Pack usage, training the new Hornet to be able to move rapidly around a battlefield. Another area is knowledge of the basic structure of Hive Cities and, for the Second Company recruits, it will involve where and what it takes to make one come crumbling down.

After the 4 months are up, the men and women are made full members of the Hornets, and assigned to a company and squad.

During training, a test is given to see if the Hornet Cadet has aptitude for marksmanship, demolition, or leadership. If a testee scores average, they are not moved, and placed into the normal Hornet role. Marksmen tend to be given training with a Long-Las and other longer range weaponry, and demolition skilled soldiers are made part of Second Company. The Home Wreckers tend to be deployed only in scenarios involving the complete destruction of a hive city, usually if the main Hornets cannot hold or retake the city with the numbers they have or if they lose vital air superiority.

Wargear
The Hornets tend to use standard issue wargear comparable to the elite Cadian Shock Troops mixed with an Elysian Drop trooper.

Standard Regimental Kit
The standard regimental kit for a Hornet Drop Trooper:
 * Hotshot Lasgun (Lucius Pattern) - The Hornets prize rapid fire over armor penetration, so they primarily use a Hellgun, or Hotshot Lasgun, as their primary weaponry.
 * 4 Charge Packs for Hotshot Lasgun - Each Hornet carries 4 charge packs, but there will be one member of the Squad (usually 6 men, but at times it can be 12 if the need arises) who will carry a backpack with extra ammo that is used when the 4 packs on an individual Hornet are emptied.
 * Combat Knife - This one-handed melee implement is the ubiquitous back-up weapon for warriors all across the Imperium, be they lowly hive scum or the elite soldiers of a Planetary Governor. Some, such as the Catachan Fighting Knife, are designed for a specific purpose, whilst others are more generic in nature.
 * 3 Frag Grenades - For when the enemy is in an entrenched position, a Frag will do the trick.
 * 3 Krak Grenades - Kraks are used when Frags simply don't do enough or when there is a vehicle in the way.
 * Cadian Imperial Guard Fatigues - Borrowed from Cadian regiments, the Hornets have their armor painted Yellow and Black, though the exact hue varies depending on where they fight. Due to their usual AO being in a hiveworld, this helps to blend them into the smog clouds that tend to blot the sky dark.
 * Environmentally-sealed Storm Trooper Carapace Armour with Helmet - Carapace Armor is the standard loadout, but on occasion they will use standard armor with added padding and armor plates to help increase survivability if weight is an issue. The suit is sealed to help keep out the toxic air that usually plagues the areas of Hiveworlds they land in.
 * Backpack Power Generator
 * Rucksack
 * Basic Toolkit
 * Poor Weather Gear
 * Mess Kit and Water Canteen
 * 3 Days Rations- A Hornet is never expected to be out in the field in combat for more than a few days at the most- Their job is similar to the Astartes in being a directed blow to an enemy versus the blunt hammer strike of the Astra Militarum at large.
 * Grooming Kit - Rarely used, but if the engagement is expected to be a few days, this may be given out.
 * Ident-Tags ("Dog Tags")
 * Micro-Bead- The standard Micro-Bead is used primarily, though more often one of the squad will have a Radio backpack to allow for communication with Command and nearby air support.
 * Respirator - As they operate primarily on Hive Worlds, the air can at times be extremely toxic- the ability to operate without dying from breathing the air is key.

Optional Wargear
A squad of Hornets tends to have at least one marksman, support soldier with anti-vehicle weaponry capability (either Krak Nades or a Melta), an ammo carrier, a medic, and a trooper with a long range radio. Weaponry however can vary heavily depending on the situation. Therefore, there is different gear for the type of fighting the Hornets may face during their deployments.
 * Shotlas- Illegally modified Lasguns, the Leadership of the Hornets understand the usage of it and it is only used in areas where close quarters is encountered more than ranges that a Hellgun would be best at.
 * Lasguns (Multiple variants)- Usually, one of the squad will have a Longlas for long range engagements, or perhaps a standard Galaxy Lasgun with a Scope. Sometimes, they will utilize only standard Lasguns or a Bullpup variant. Again, it is highly dependent on the situation.

Vehicles

 * Valkyries- The main transport of the Hornets, the 180th's Valkyries often are much more armored than their standard counterparts. To compensate, the engines usually are also more powerful, but at the cost of limited deployment time- a Hornet squad or company is either going in and getting out soon, or they are waiting on the relief force's transport to get them out.
 * Vultures- Used to provide CAS for a squad or to soften up a target that is particularly difficult to crack. Not used against reinforced targets, as the Vendetta is better at that task.
 * Vendettas- Used to break heavy targets like Vehicles or Bunkers, usually armed with Hellfury Missiles.
 * All of the aircraft used by the Hornets is painted to match the smog-coated skies, and Valkyries have a Heavy Bolter or Autocannon mounted in the back that is used to cover troops as they offload. Vultures usually are armed with missiles and incendiary bombs they can drop on a target position if need be.

Notable Guardsmen

 * Lord General Xavier Thyme

Regiment Appearance
The Hornets standard look is jet black with a muted yellow Karskin camo pattern, reminiscent of Ancient Terran bees. The yellow is oft muted down to help the Soldier be able to blend in better with worlds they operate on. However, they do have an alternative all black battle dress used for night insertions as well as the usual olive drab outfit standard of most guard regiments.

Allies

 * Adeptus Mechanicus - "Most new things that the Mechanicum can think up is given to us Hornets for testing in combat... with varying levels of success. And for the tech boys, not nearly often enough." -Lord General Xavier Thyme
 * Adeptus Astartes - "What Regiment isn't happy to see a Space Marine on the battlefield? We Hornets tend to call these guys "The best kind of "meat shield"," because they can take hits and usually tend to be the best distraction. Favorite ones are them Inceptor boys- they fight like we do. Land fast, hit hard, clear the way for the boys." -Sgt Aster, 1st Company 3rd Squad
 * The Hawk Lords: "These boys, bless em. After our own hearts, they are. Had the privledge of fighting alongside one of em in my Valkyrie once during a landing to take back a Hive City beset by Orks. Flyers were everywhere, zippin past and yet I didn't feel scared- I knew the best pilots in the Imperium had my back." - Random Hornet Pilot
 * Ardent Guards 1st Regiment ("Hidden" Recon Regiment): "These guys are great recon units, and give some of the best details on the targets that the we Hornets need when they are trying to help retake a Hive City... or destroy it." -Lord General Xavier Thyme.