Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy

Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy
Logo of the Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy
Academy Information
Location	New Samarkand
Course Information
BattleMech
Aerospace
Battle armor	After Clan Invasion

The Sun Zhang Academy Cadres consist of graduates from the first phase of training from the Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy. Their training continues as active duty in the Cadres. The students are evaluated after tours of duty that last nine months, after which those that pass graduate.

History

The Academy is named after an ancient Japanese military strategist and general, Sun Zhang and it is located on New Samarkand. It teaches only BattleMech and aerospace fighter studies. Graduating soldiers immediately enter military service in the Sun Zhang Academy Cadre, commanded by General Isoroku Kurita himself, in 3025 and a graduate of the Academy.

Completing an education at Sun Zhang guarantees a student a 'Mech or an aerospace fighter. Most senior officers attend this school, which is noted for its harsh discipline and rigorous training in bushido.

Sun Zhang is one of the few schools in the Draconis Combine that honors its graduates with a daishō – a katana paired with a wakizashi. These may be worn with the soldier's dress uniform. If for any reason the soldier dishonors himself in any way, however, he must commit seppuku or face the loss of his 'Mech or fighter, landholdings, titles, rank, and both his own and his family's honor.

Located on the Draconis Combine's original capital world of New Samarkand, the Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy is particularly notable in that it graduates the most MechWarriors per year of any training facility in the Inner Sphere at over four hundred. The abandoned cities on New Samarkand provide an excellent training ground for MechWarrior and aerospace fighter pilots to practice the intricacies of city fighting.

The Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy boasts Coordinator Theodore and his son Hohiro Kurita among its alumni. Jinjiro Kurita was also a graduate of the Academy.

Though traditionally the academy trained only MechWarriors and aerospace fighter pilots, the arrival of the Clans prompted the DCMS to add a course of study for battle armor infantry, as well.

After the Jihad, the ISF and O5P added severe psychological and loyalty testing to their evaluations to prevent another Black Dragon Society coup. During the Jihad the Thirteenth and Sixteenth Cadres were used along the Combine's border with Clan Ghost Bear. The Fifth was stationed on Kessel, and suffered heavy losses against the Word of Blake. The Fourteenth Cadre was effectively destroyed on Luthien, with the few survivors being drafted into the 1st Genyosha.

As of 3145 the rigors of recent years has strained the Academy, the best cadets being whisked away to line units before they can serve in one of the Cadres. Though this meets the demands for units bulking out their forces, it starves these cadets of finishing their training. With the same orders to expand their rosters, the Academy has increased its enrollment tenfold. This has led to the creation of the 17th, 18th and 19th Cadres.

Bibliography

• Combat Manual: Kurita
• Field Manual: Draconis Combine
• Field Report: DCMS
• First Succession War
• House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)
• Objectives: Draconis Combine