Savage X-COM: XCOM Structure

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X-COM

Vigilo Confido: I am Watchful, I am Relied Upon

The Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, AKA X-COM, is a multinational organization under the aegis of the Council of Funding Nations. It is tasked with managing the alien presence on Earth and repelling the current invasion. It's members are made up of the best and the brightest from every nation. Top soldiers, scientists, engineers and pilots have been gathered together so that the whole might be greater than the sum of the parts.

The organization operates from a secret headquarters in Northern Scotland. Outside of that, numerous military bases across the world have been requisitioned by the organization to serve as bases for local teams handling the alien incursion in various regions.

Originally established in the 1950s as an American agency, X-COM was retasked in 1963 as an international group, put under command of the Council of Funding Nations. However, it saw very little action until recently, aside from a brief period in [REDACTED BY ORDERS OF COUNCIL]. The attacks in the last few years have convinced the world governments that national militaries are insufficient, and X-COM should be reactivated.

Since the start of the war, X-COM has activated primary military bases on all continents, with additional support bases under construction. Teams of highly trained commandos have been called into service and given as much information as they can about the new foe. Labs are researching the few fragments of alien knowledge, and are awaiting the spoils of the battlefield. Highly advanced interceptors and satellites are ready to secure the sky. And, should X-COM prove that they can make capable use of all these resources, the backing nations will continue to fund the program. The world governments have turned to X-COM as a last resort, and questions about the effectiveness of the program remain.

X-COM's sister agency is known as X-INT, the Extraterrestrial Intelligence Unit. Their task was to monitor for alien activity and provide recommendations on whether or not the program needed to be activated. Like X-COM, it's members are composed of intelligence agents from every nation, recruited under the same aegis. With the alien onslaught beginning, their task is now to support X-COM with intelligence, while rooting out alien spies, infiltrators and collaborators.

X-COM's operational guidelines are Survive, Adapt, Win; taken from a speech given by X-COM's first director, Myron Faulke. X-COM faces an impossible foe. An alien species that bridges the gulf between stars, and has technology far in advance of our own. Therefore, their strengths must be taken by X-COM and made ours. X-COM must survive the attacks, take the enemies technology and develop it into armor and weapons that can be used to fight back and push the invaders off the planet.

The current director of X-COM is Seth Black, a highly proficient director who worked for numerous nations and corporations across the world, making countless enemies with his blunt force approach to politics, while also getting the job done; before being forced into retirement by the American government. The Council brought him on specifically because of this experience.

Military Operations

There are three chief wings to X-COM's military operations.

First is the Sword teams. Consisting of operators recruited from Tier One special forces units and similarly skilled groups, they are the first contact response. Deploying in Skyrangers, they take the lead on alien abduction, UFO shootdowns and other incidents. The chief trait X-COM looks for is adaptability. A traditional special forces team can spend months preparing for an operation, often rehearsing with replicas of the target location. X-COM teams can, if they're lucky, have just hours to prepare after being alerted to an alien incursion. X-COM teams need to be ready to face an unknown enemy, in unknown territory, with superior technology. High casualties are, unfortunately, expected in the early stages of the war

Second are the Shield teams. Tier two troops recruited from regular military units who handle base defence and security, as well as clean up details; following up and securing alien sites after Sword teams have cleared them and when the techs are moving in. In addition, if an X-COM needs support from regular troops for a mission, the Shield teams will be there. Known as blueshirts, for their own base uniforms, Shield teams also keep a handle on X-COM bases, when operatives get too rowdy during R&R

Finally, there's the air wing. The best fighter pilots in the world, recruited to man and fly X-COM's interceptors, and take the fight to the aliens in the skies and beyond. A dangerous job, UFOs are far more powerful than human jets and modern weapons can't target them from the range pilots are used to; X-COM's pilots are the old style of flying aces, getting close and engaging in dogfights, knowing that every mission is the difference between life and death.

Research and Development

New technology will be the key to winning this war. Prior to X-COM's activation, the R&D team was a small task force employed by the Council, developing the Raven Interceptor and SR77H Skyranger. With the advent of the conflict and full activation of the X-COM project, the research team, led by Dr Moira Vahlen, has been significantly expanded. Scientists and specialists from around the world are being recruited by X-COM, lured in by the prospect of research on alien lifeforms and technology. If X-COM can prove its worth, backing nations will send more staff to support the team.

The engineering branch, led by Dr Raymond Shen, in addition to producing the aerospace elements X-COM uses, is gearing up for a new level of production. Taking newly discovered science and concepts, and turning them into workable prototypes for weapons, armors and other fields in weeks rather than years the normal development takes. Risks are being taken, but the nature of the situation demands it. X-COM will likely have to go into battle wielding barely understood technology and prototypes to counter the overwhelming technological advantage the aliens have.

Science isn't all about labwork. Field research teams are being set up to investigate the aftermath of alien abductions and test technology in the field. Given the nature of the situation, they'll likely require escorts to perform their work safely.

Intelligence

X-INT is the intelligence branch of X-COM. In every intelligence agency and police force on the planet, there are people who think that there are parnormal or aliens behind unexplained events, who think they're in a real life X-Files.

Some of these people are right. X-INT has, since 1962, been snatching them up when they wear out their welcome at their home agencies, and putting them to work, tracking alien activity on Earth. Their work revealed the alien abductions before the aliens started operating openly, and allowed the Council to make preparations to activate X-COM.

Since the invasion started, the focus has shifted to more active work, gathering intelligence on alien activities, trying to locate alien targets and investigate the possibility of alien infiltrators and collaborators. X-INT also handles bodyguard detail for VIPs and delegates associated with X-COM, there's a small agency located in New York City that coordinates them, while also interfacing with the UN.

Senior Staff

• Office of the Supreme Commander of The Extraterrestrial Combat Unit: Seth Black
• Central Officer of Military Operations: Colonel John Bradford
• Head of Research: Dr Moira Vahlen
• Chief Engineer: Dr Raymond Shen
• Administrator of X-INT: Claire Sorel
• Wing Commander: Malysheva Denisovna

Major X-COM Facilities

• X-COM Headquarters: Located in North Scotland. Fully equipped base for operations in Europe. Four wings of interceptors, two skyrangers
• Area 51: Primary strike and operations base. Equipped for operations in North America. Three wings of interceptors, two skyrangers
• Mother One: Primary research facility located in Germany's Black Forest.
• Eclipse Operations: Strike and operations base covering East Asia, located near Hong Kong. Projected to come online in three months. Four wings of interceptors, two skyrangers
• Valkyrie Command: Strike and operations base covering South America, located near Rio de Janeiro. Three wings of interceptors, two skyrangers
• Vanguard Outpost: Strike and operations base covering Africa, located in South Africa. Four wings of interceptors, two skyrangers.
• Nova Bastion: Strike and operations base covering Autralia, located near Perth. Two wings of interceptors, one skyranger.
• Skunk-works: Aerospace development and manufacturing in Taiwan
• Project Hothouse: Classified, under construction
• Icebox: Secure archive under glacier in Greenland
• Offices near UN Headquarters in New York City, coordinating X-INT and bodyguard duties
• Additional bases are planned for Europe, North America and Asia

Council of Funding Nations

The Council of Funding Nations (CFN, or Council for short) are the primary backers and directors of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (X-COM), though they do not micromanage day to day operations. An international organization, similar to the UN but far more covert, the Council has existed since the sixties, maintaining an intelligence network across the globe. At various points, they've operated through front organizations, such as the International Astrophysical Commission, but at the moment are completely covert save for their relationship with the funding nations and X-COM.

Officially, they are responsible for monitoring and countering alien activity on earth, negotiating with representative governments and providing reports on X-COM's activity. In practical terms, they serve as the go between for X-COM and the countries backing it. They provide the money and equipment sourced from the funding nations, and serve to distribute recovered technology and artifacts to the backers.

The CFN is divided into three tiers. Tier I nations are the primary backers of X-COM, and the founders of the Council. Tier II nations are minor nations that receive X-COM benefits, but don’t contribute as much and in return, will receive much less recovered technology. The Tier III nations are non-members who must, nonetheless, be observed for potential alien infiltration.

The Council's role is also to suppress knowledge of alien activity on Earth from the public. In light of the very overt activity of the present invaders, this mandate is no longer possible.

The organization of the Council is mostly classified. The primary council consists of a single member from each Tier I Funding Nation, led by the Council Representative. The Command Staff of X-COM interact primarily with the Council representative. The Representative's identity is classified while he or she holds that position. Former known representatives include General James L. Henderson (deceased, 2005).

The Council Representative meets with the X-COM command staff at the end of each month to pass along the reactions of the funding nations and provide the next month's budget. While the Council Representative is the primary point of contact, members of national governments can and will request meetings with the X-COM command staff so they can judge for themselves what utility X-COM is having, and make specific requests (which can be granted or denied at the discretion of the Supreme Commander).

The Council Representative will also pass along intelligence gathered by the Council, and mission requests for specific incidences of alien activity.

Rights and Duties of the Council of Funding Nations

Rights

• Exclusive access to the spoils of operational missions at agreed, stable prices. X-COM may not auction the proceeds to the highest market bidder. Instead, proceeds are allocated to each nation in strict rotation. In the allocation of artifacts, each country's funding level determines both the precedence of allocation and the quantity of artifacts received. Once allocated, the funding nations are free to trade or sell items to other CFN members, but not to non-member nations or the general market.
• All funding nations, equally, receive all information gleaned from the project. New technologies will be help in abeyance by X-COM, and will be equally released to the backers pursuant discussion.
• Lastly, all nations receive preferential protective treatment from X-COM forces, governed by a detailed technical appendix to the charter known as the Security Commitment Objectives - Resource Engagement (SCORE). SCORE also defines precise criteria to evaluate X-COM's progress.

Duties

• To provide operational funding for the force, which is subject to a monthly review and revised accordingly using SCORE.
• To provide operational security by: a) denial of the force's existence; b) conceal any traces of X-COM and/or operations; c) restrict the dissemination of alien technology.
• To militarily collaborate and subordinate its national forces to X-COM on any situation regarding the aliens, up to and including signing over existing military bases for X-COM's sole usage. All alien activity is considered to be in the jurisdiction of X-COM, with the exception of situations considered to be a state of national emergency. However, on that extreme case, any individual action will need to be notified to the CFN.
• To avoid any individual contact, diplomatic or otherwise, with the aliens. X-COM will be the only organization authorized to negotiate with alien forces on humanity's behalf. One chief concern is that non-member nations will attempt negotiations on their own behalf. CFN members are required to have their intelligence networks remain aware of such attempts.

Public and International Law in Relation to X-COM

• Unsupervised use of public funding. Although it is possible for the CFN to conduct audits, X-COM has complete freedom on how it spends its funding and the Council cannot dictate funding directives. They can make requests, but do not have the authority to enforce these requests.
• Unrestricted use of national territory/airspace. UFO interceptions and ground engagements have no restrictions regarding use of force, together with flyovers of national territories. National militaries will be required to obey all orders of X-COM forces when in their presence, and allow them free passage.
• Freedom of placement of bases on its national territory. X-COM has the authority to requisition and repurpose existing military bases from national governments.