63rd Scout Flotilla

From FABT

63rd Scout Flotilla

Active:

1 February 2159 CE - present

Organization:

SystemsAlliance.png
Systems Alliance (2159 CE - 2191 CE)


SystemsCoalition.png
Systems Coalition (2191 CE - present)

Affiliation:

SAN.png
Systems Alliance Navy (2159 CE - 2191 CE)

SystemsCoalitionNavy.png
Systems Coalition Navy (2191 CE - present)

Branch:

Fifth Fleet (Alliance, 2159 CE - 2191 CE)
Fifth Fleet (Coalition, 2191 CE - present)

Type:

Scout flotilla

Role:

Advance reconnaissance
Information gathering
Hit-and-run
Monitoring
Quick strikes

Size:

104 ships, 4,000 aircraft

Headquarters:

New Constantinople, Heavenly Divide (pre-2183 CE)
Citadel, Widow (22 July - onwards)

Anniversaries):

Citadel Victory Day

Engagements:

And various other conflicts.

Commanders:

Rear Admiral Kanagi Shige (current)

Notable:

Boris Mikhailovich (former commander, 2159 CE - 2194 CE)
Charles March (former commander, 2194 CE - 2237 CE)

 

The 63rd Scout Flotilla was a detachment of the Fifth Fleet of the Alliance Navy, and currently of the Coalition Navy. The 63rd Scout Flotilla was activated a year after the formation of the Fifth Fleet as part of its sectional organization, with the 63rd Scout Flotilla being one of many "scout flotillas" formed with the purpose of performing advance reconnaissance, hit-and-run strikes, pre-emptive maneveurs, solidifying footholds in enemy-controlled territory, information gathering, and other tasks critical to the Fifth Fleet establishing dominance over its opponents. The unit was placed under the command of Rear Admiral Boris Mikhailovich, a by-the-book military commander who was straightforward in his command style but was respected for his ability to achieve results, being granted enormous operational freedom with the 63rd that allowed it to operate effectively as its own fighting force seperate from the Fifth Fleet at times, with Hackett often calling Mikhailovich and the 63rd "his haymaker" due to the 63rd's propensity for doing most of the legwork. The 63rd itself consisted mostly of lighter warships, namely frigates and destroyers, with the largest ship of the flotilla being the carrier Truman, a ship that initially seemed out of place in the 63rd and which acted as Mikhailovich's flagship. These skepticisms were swept aside after the Skyllian Blitz, where the 63rd single-handedly aided the Fifth Fleet in regaining the initiative during the Dhopris offensive.

The 63rd, during peacetime, served as the Fifth Fleet's main scouting body and, in conjunction with the other fourteen scout flotillas, was capable of deploying marine forces to situations where they were needed urgently, granting unparalleled tactical mobility that the heavier and more presence-heavy capital ships couldn't pull off themselves. Despite the 63rd's focus on mobility and intelligence gathering however, Mikhailovich was against assigning the then-brand new Normandy-class stealth frigates to his unit, with the SSV Normandy itself, the first of this new class, being assigned to the 63rd in mid 2183 CE. Mikhailovich resented what he called an overpriced waste of resources, but the Normandy soon proved itself in the Eden Prime War, and the discipline and bravery of its commander, Marcus L. Shepard, allayed much of Mikhailovich's fears and he eventually accepted the ship, although it would end up being destroyed and Shepard killed only a month later anyway. During the Battle of Armstrong, the 63rd provided vital support that helped check geth interceptor capabilities and rapidly asserted air dominance over the geth, and it did so again during the climactic Battle of the Citadel, where it suffered the fewest losses of any other detachment of the Fifth Fleet. The 63rd was relied upon to help supplement the weakened Citadel Defense Fleet after the battle until it recovered, and afterwards it took part in the Counter-piracy campaign of 2184 CE, once again achieving renown with its record number of captured pirate vessels and Mikhailovich's relentless "no exceptions" policy. The 63rd was present at the Fall of Earth during the Reaper War, and was "let loose" during Operation Hornet's Nest, where Mikhailovich was given full authority to act as he saw fit in disrupting Reaper operations however he could. The success of the 63rd there saw them assigned to the Evacuation of Thessia, but the losses the 63rd suffered there were almost catastrophic, with nearly 76% percent of the unit lost, a fact that Mikhailovich begrudged Shepard for, claiming that the commander had "needlessly wasted human lives to save the hides of those asari cowards." When he was told in secret of the discovery in Armali, this reportedly only heightened his rage and he said he'd "never forgive Shepard for the loss of my men." Despite all of this the 63rd had extracted a large number of asari troops, and Hackett would assign the unit to Operation Defiant during the Battle of Minuteman Station, where it captured numerous Cerberus vessels and equipment, stopping them from being scuttled and allowing them to be repurposed for Alliance use. Due to the 63rd's performance overall, and the losses it suffered at Thessia, Hackett chose not to risk the unit in open battle and assigned it to Shield Fleet during the Battle of Sol, where it would have the honor of defending the Crucible until it could be activated.

After the end of the war, Hackett had the 63rd rebuilt to full strength, where it helped to supplement Alliance military power until it could recover from the war. The 63rd had mostly recovered by the time the Systems Coalition was formed, but by then Mikhailovich had been promoted to Fleet Admiral and given command of the Second Fleet, with Rear Admiral Charles March succeeding him as commander of the 63rd. The unit continued to serve with distinction during the Border War, Post-Apocalyptic War, Terra-Rannochian War and even the Dominion Civil War, where the entire unit remained loyal to the Coalition throughout the conflict, although it stood down with the rest of the Coalition military forces when the war ended. Afterwards, the 63rd was assigned to the CGTF mandate formed by the UGR to mop up pro-Dominion holdouts and Covenant remnants/separatists who had not surrendered, with the mission to stabilize the galaxy and solidify the UGR's sovereignty and finally put an end to the Dominion and Covenant for good. The 63rd would be part of this operation for the full 12 years of its existence, finally standing down once Operation Peacehammer was declared a success. The 63rd did not take part in the GAE fleet, and the rest of its existence has been spent fighting wars to defend the Milky Way Galaxy and the Coalition from any all threats that would seek to destroy it, and has been committed to this role ever since.

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