26 SEP 1995 - Original. By Centurion Baraka Tsunami Cadmus, CO, WALRUS, DE.
WALRUS (Water And Land Raiding Utility Soldiers) are the Doberman Empire's functional equivalent of modern marines. They are highly trained soldiers capable of assault from the land or the sea, equipped with the latest in high-tech war gear (and specialized equipment from WEDJEE as well). WALRUS soldiers are trained to work in close concert with their brother/sister Dobermensch in the DE's other divisions, CAT (Cloud Assault Troopers--airborne), FERRET (Frigid Environment Rapid Reconnisance Espionage Trooper--arctic and guerilla operations), and the elite soldiers of the Dingo Guard.
WALRUS is subdivided into eight Batallions. Six are assigned to the Doberman Empire's massive naval presence, with one battalion each assigned to the following combat groups:
Carrier Battlegroups DTT Kill Barney, Liberator, Enterprise, Jihad
Battleship Groups DTT Wisconsin, Missouri
(Note that the DE's third battleship, the Iowa, does not have a WALRUS battalion attached. As the personal flagship of Fleet Commander Samhain, it instead has a detachment of the Dingo Guard serving as the Fleet Commander's bodyguards. This group is known as the Praetorial Guard, from when ex-Fleet Commander Serbeus was Praetor of the Jihad.)
When the battlegroup is at sea, its troops are with it in transports and assault vessels. In addition, a seventh battalion is stationed at the DE base in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the eighth and final serves as a training unit.
Technically, the mantle of WALRUS encompasses the ships themselves, their crews, and any aircraft the carriers may deploy. DE sailors are trained in land combat as well.
WALRUS uses mainly top-line military hardware of the present day, be it Eastern- or Western-bloc. (We just want good stuff, we don't really care who makes it. We always improve it anyway.) For amphibious landings, each battlegroup's assault ships will launch landing craft (usually air cushion landing vehicles capable of 40+ knots) under the air cover of helicopter gunships and aircraft from the aircraft carrier or a nearby air base. WALRUS forces are highly skilled in strike-and-move operations, using maneuver over brute force where possible--although brute force certainly is fun sometimes!
For special desponge operations, certain WALRUS units may be issued with WEDJEE-standard weapons such as the BurgerMasterBlaster, etc.