Military Materiel Redemption Program

The Disarmament Program

The MMRP, or Military Materiel Redemption Program was created by Devlin Stone with the intention to bring peace to the Inner Sphere putting an end to the almost continuous wars that had taken place, since the fall of the Star League. Devlin believed it was necessary to reduce the number of BattleMechs and other military hardware.[1]

When Stone presented his plan to all to decommission most of the various state militaries and build a new, peace-driven economy, Clan Ghost Bear felt compelled to join him, even if it was contrary to their warrior culture. They disarmed themselves quickly, deactivating their OmniMechs and turning them into scrap, converting the factories to manufacture other goods. Shamed, the other states followed the Ghost Bear example.[2]

The vast majority of decommissioned BattleMechs were scrapped, Some were preserved in museums, and others refitted as civilian IndustrialMechs.

However, in some states, like the Draconis Combine most Mechs are heritages from families, and the state only ordered them to destroy them, without verifying it. Within a few years, the Inner Sphere had seemingly lost the majority of its military power.

The Blackout

When, in 3132, the HPG Blackout cut the communications between stars, sowing the chaos. The truth that the disarmament wasn't as complete as it seemed: even the enthusiastic Ghost Bears had not destroyed all their 'Mechs. Some were stripped to shells, hidden or buried, others were partially scrapped, storing the parts. other Mechs were simply hidden in caves or abandoned bunkers, or sunk to the bottom of lakes.[3]

The quantity retained by each state varied, however. The Federated Suns hid ten percent of their previous military forces, but the Capellan Confederation managed to hidden as much as thirty percent, if not more.[4]

References

  1. Trial by Chaos p. 156
  2. Trial by Chaos p. 156
  3. Trial by Chaos p. 156
  4. Sword of Sedition p. 44

Bibliography