Corpsec
From SaschaWiki
Corpsec is corporate slang for a paramilitary soldier in the employ of a Corporation. The term is a reduction of "Corporate Security", a reference to a time when corporate military power was limited to guarding their own grounds against petty criminals, often even going unarmed. The security guard in its original form is a semi-mythical figure in the modern day, lionised as a heroic calling by Public Relations departments.
Corpsec can be used both as a singular noun, to describe an individual soldier, or as a conceptual noun to refer to the overall provision of Corporate security for a given corporation. The individual term is more common. The plural of Corpsec is Corpsecs. The term is considered synonymous with the archaic phrase "Armed Security Officer".
The term was originally adopted by Security Officers themselves, and was copied by the National military forces which faced them on occasion during the Cold War 2. Due to the gallows humour of the pun on the word "corpse" (which was likely a factor in the adoption of the term amongst soldiers on both sides) there have been repeated Public Relations attempts to have the term changed to the more militaristic "Secoff", but this has so far met with uncharacteristic failure.
The Crisis Agents employed in Corporate espionage during the Cold War 2 and Corporate Wars periods are not generally referred to as "Corpsecs", although they do fall under the operational jurisdiction of a Corporation's security forces.
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History
20th Century and previous
Although privately employed "security" such as bodyguards and mercenaries fulfilled the modern role of the Corpsec in the ancient world, the history of the security guard as we think of it really only begins in the 20th Century where political, social and economic factors in the former United States resulted in a society in which, unlike other contemporary nations, the Rule of Law was not primarily protected by the State, but by the individual. In the case of the Corporation, which had been judged a form of individual person, this security naturally had to be provided by privately employed "Security Officers".
Initially responsible for civil duties such as fire watch, the escalating level of street violence in the US soon resulted in the proliferation of Armed Security Officers in those States in which is was legal. By the beginning of the 2010s Armed Security Forces were the norm in America, although they had yet to find real acceptance in Europe.
The 2020s
The groundbreaking Portshayer vs Miller Haulage in 2019 demonstrated that as a result of the Corporate Privacy Statute of 2015, courts were not permitted access to Corporate records and data in order to suitably determine whether use of force was justified by Security Officers in defence of Corporate property. The case was ruled untenable and as a consequence the 2020s saw a surge in the use of lethal force by Corporations on their own property.
Despite public fears of Corporations forming private armies of legally untouchable security guards, the violence of the period never expanded beyond what appeared to be legitimate cases of property defence against sabotage or espionage, not largely distinguishable from the rising street crime of the 20s. It became well understood that Corporations now possessed a freedom of self defence not available to private citizens, and petty crime against Corporations sharply diminished during a period which saw a rise in crimes performed against individuals.
The Cold War 2
During Cold War 2 the first significant interactions between Corporate security forces and National military forces occured, when the governments of several major and minor countries attempted the forced nationalisation or patriation of privately owned assets. Interestingly the battles that broke out during these incidents overshadowed actual national conflicts in the more peaceful areas of the world (such as Europe).
The Corporate War
It was found that Corpsecs (as they were now widely called), even armed with the heaviest small arms and armour available to conventional infantry formed of unaugmented humans, could not effectively repel Crisis Agent operations, leading to a period of months in which defensive Crisis Teams effectively replaced Corpsecs as the primary defensive force for the Corporations.
The development of effective powered armour with the TMRI Praetorian program revitalised and redefined the role of unaugmented soldiers. Equipped with exoskeleton suits which leant them a similar degree of power and resistance to Crisis Agents at a fraction of the cost and without any invasive surgery, Corpsecs once again took up the defence of Corporate property.
Although Crisis Teams remained the most effective tool in the Corporate arsenal, they were always considered to lack efficiency, and suited Corpsecs ("Suits") were organised into assault groups to conduct cost-effective raids for the remainder of the war, with Crisis Teams resuming a role more akin to that of Special Forces.
The Present
Since the end of the Corporate Wars, the role of the Corpsec has changed little. The lack of any major conflict (even by the standards of the Corporate Wars) has prevented any significant further development in tactics or equipment. The most significant change has been the erosion of almost all National military forces, and as such Corpsecs now represent the sole legal military force on Earth. Corpsec numbers worldwide have swelled to fill this military niche, with a huge proportion of recruits being employed from the former National forces.
Corpsec Deployment
Despite widespread armouration during the Corporate Wars period, the range of equipment and training available amongst Corpsecs varies widely. The individual deployment is determined on a purely local basis (although Policy might determine broad or very specific rules). Nevertheless, it is possible to group Corpsecs into broad categories of intended purpose and the equipment which will probably be provided in the execution of that purpose. Deployment category in no way reflects stature, as Corpsecs within each category may maintain individual or collective hierarchies.
Corpsec Admin
So-called admin security (sometimes abbreviated to Adsecs) are named for the largely administrative tasks they conduct, such as monitoring and operating remote security devices (such as cameras, turrets and security bots) and interacting with employees (such as working the lobby desk). Adsecs are not necessarily armed, although it would be rare to find one who did not carry a PDW. Corpsec Admin are generally organised along paramilitary lines, being formed into units like squads and platoons, although this seldom meaningfully impacts on their operations.
Corpsec Light
Lightly armoured (by modern, power suit standards) Corpsecs wear heavy body armour, designed to withstand attack from any non-military force (disgruntled employees, unarmed protestors, and so on). Light Corpsecs are armed and armoured in a similar way to the conventional infantry of the late Cold War 2 period. This is a catchall term for all Corpsecs who are equipped for combat but not equipped with powered armour. Due to widespread differences in armaments and deployment, there is no common slang term, but Gunsecs, Lights, Shots, Helmets, Plates, Shooters and Grunts have all been used at various times and in various places to describe Corpsecs of this type.
Like Adsecs, Light Corpsecs are organised along paramilitary lines, but in this case their organisation unit will affect their deployment - a squad of Lights consists of anything from six to twenty Corpsecs, and they will normally remain together as a single operational unit.
The armament of Light Corpsecs varies greatly depending on their deployment, but as a form of conventional infantry they are normally armed with an Infantry Combat Weapon. Squads may also be equipped with a range of Infantry Tactical Weapons and Infantry Support Weapons.
Light Corpsec-quality troops saw a great deal of action during the Corporate Wars period, but little tactical innovation was developed as they were seen as unsolvably inferior to Crisis Agents and Corpsec Suits. Significantly, Lights were never used in offensive military actions against other Corporations, dramatically reducing the number of casualties suffered as a whole during the period.
Corpsec Suits
Corpsecs equipped with powered armour are almost universally referred to as "Suits" after their prominent role during the Corporate Wars period. In the post-war era there are few Corpsecs deployed in their exoskeletons (they operate as Light Corpsecs without their armour) but groups of suit-trained Corpsecs (along with maintained suits) have been retained at all major facilities since the cessation of hostilities.
Early models of suit were designed to use the same small arms as conventional infantry, but the enhanced muscular power afforded by powered armour allowed suits to effectively use the Improved Combat Capacity Weaponry originally designed for Crisis Agents.
During the Corporate Wars period Suits were organised into operational units called Phalanxes which consisted of between three and five Suits each. The bulk, firepower and survivability of Suits by comparison to Lights demanded a smaller operational unit, but because the Corpsecs maintained membership within the existing Light organisation, a new operational unit was created. It is assumed that Phalanx was used due to the legendary resilience of the ancient Greek phalanx formation. It was also later commented that early Suit-on-Suit conflicts tended to grind into stalemates that strongly resembled the less-than-lethal style of warfare practiced by the Greeks.
Corpsec Civ
Corpsec Civ (almost always abbreviated to Civsec) is an informal term used to describe a wide variety of "plain-clothes" security agents working for Corporation security divisions. By some definitions, Crisis Agents are considered Civsecs. The phrase comes from an old military term for wearing civilian clothes, either because you are off duty or because you wish to disguise yourself as a non-combatant.
Since the end of the Cold War 2 and the erosion of the National espionage organisations, Civsecs have effectively replaced them within the espionage community. The term can therefore be used to describe all manner of spies, undercover policemen, disguised security guards and so on. The organisation and equipment of Civsecs varies hugely depending on their deployment.
Ranks
Since the 2020s Corpsec departments have adopted paramilitary rank structures, perhaps in an attempt to give themselves a more serious or threatening image. There is a great deal of local variation, but the global popularity of American culture during the period makes some resemblance to the former US Army the norm. There are also Corpsec departments that base their structure on pre-Cold War 2 Law Enforcement Agencies. A typical rank structure is as follows:
- Private (also Soldier, Trooper, Guardsman, Guard, Officer, Deputy, Constable)
- Sergeant (also Corporal) - a squad of 6-20 privates includes one Sergeant
- Lieutenant (also Inspector) - a platoon of 10-100 privates (anything between two and 10 squads) includes one Lieutenant
- Captain (also Major) - a battalion of multiple platoons is commanded by a Captain or Major
- Colonel (also Brigadier, Commander) - theoretically, a unit consisting of more than one battalion is known as a regiment and commanded by a Colonel or Commander, but regiment-sized or larger forces owned by Corporations have never seen battle
Ranks higher than Colonel have existed, but typically the Corporate rank structure takes over at this point. A Corpsec Colonel is typically subordinate to an Executive, and depending on the size of the department may be directly responsible to the Security Executive.
There is a great deal of variation in this structure across different departments. For example, a squad of Corpsecs who are trained in the use of suits will typically include two or three Phalanxes which are each commanded by a Sergeant. Should the unit be formed as a squad without their suits, one of the Sergeants will be the Senior Sergeant and adopt overall command.
While some Corpsec departments maintain a distinction between Commissioned and Non-commisioned officers (broadly meaning, that ranks above Private or above Sergeant will have been trained in a different way from a different institution), this is relatively rare. In either case, they will normally use the same rank titles.
Corpsec Equipment
Armament
Although Corpsec armament varies greatly depending on the situation and role in which they are deployed, some weapons are sufficiently ubiquitous among Corporate security forces that they are commonly associated with them.
Popular weapons used by unaugmented, Suitless Corpsecs include:
Popular weapons used by Corpsecs with enhanced muscular power as a result of powered armour include:
For more information, see small arms.
Armour
Corpsec armour is divided into two significant groups: the body armour used by Light Corpsecs and the powered armour used by Suits.
Popular models of body armour include:
Popular models of powered armour include:
For more information, see body armour and powered armour.
Augmentation
Although bionic human augmentation is most closely associated with Crisis Agents, augmentation is not uncommon amongst Corpsecs. The range of possible augmentation is great, and in some cases may be prosthetic. The line between augmented Corpsecs and Crisis Agents is blurry, particularly where the Corpsec is a Civsec and/or the recipient of Total Structure Replacement.
For more information, see bionic human augmentation.
