Borden Engineers
From Wild Southwest Wiki
MILITARY FORCE
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The Borden Engineers are the military force of Borden. They are widely regarded as the most effective military organisation in the Independent Settlements.
The Engineers were founded at the end of the Great War when a unit of Australian Army engineers were directed to the Borden area to await further orders. These orders never arrived, and after waiting for several months (and in light of the obvious collapse of all Government function) the Commander decided to disband the unit and allow those members who wanted to to try and return to their loved ones.
In the time the unit had been waiting, it had formed strong ties with Borden - assisting the townsfolk with defence and infrastructure and receiving food and accommodation in return. Around two thirds of the dismissed personal (faced with the option of trying to cross the entire continent to make it home) settled in the town, forming the core of a town militia.
As social and environmental conditions deteriorated the engineers used their expertise to protect and fortify the town, accessing nearby military supply caches and using the last of their fuel to construct defensive earth berms. In gratitude for this, the townspeople elected to officially name the militia "The Engineers", the name they retain to this day.
The Borden Engineers currently number around 200, with all able bodied townsfolk training as reserves several times a year. Along with standard military training, recruits are taught extensive engineering skills - kept alive as a tribute to the original engineers. As a result most Engineers officers are fully capable of supervising the construction of bridges, large scale fortifications and even siege weapons - although the latter skills are very rarely called upon.
The insignia of the Borden Engineers is based on the arms of the Royal Australian Engineers, with a cog and wheat sheafs representing the town's mechanical and farming prowess. The organisation's motto is Facimus et Frangimus - Latin for "We Make and We Break".
