2nd December, 2008 - All old Earth military units have been converted into training cadre in preparation for the outfitting and organization of new TN-level high tech ground forces. The first of these new divisions, known as SolDefCom, will command the garrison forces responsible for policing and defense of Earth itself and will consist of 12 battalions of garrison troops broken into four commands, each responsible for a hemisphere of the globe. The first of these, SolDefComNor, is now at full strength and operating in the northern hemisphere as a police and peacekeeping force.
All UEF ships of the line will carry a company of marines for shipboard defense. Two battalions of Mobile Infantry have also been formed, with more to follow, and they are currently training in hazardous environment simulation complexes which approximate the conditions we have so far observed on other planets. In this way we may safely train our troops while vetting and testing new combat gear, interplanetary war is not a new concept for humanity, but its practice is proving more difficult than science fiction would have us believe. We will be ready if we run into a hostile life form out there.
In other news, four of the old Bayandor class freighters have been scrapped and broken down for parts so far. It was determined to be more cost-effective by 300% to simply build new ships than to refit the existing Bayandor vessels with new Orion II drives. Once the remaining six are broken down, new construction will begin on the Bayandor II. The GEV Leif Ericson is currently undergoing a full maintenance overhaul prior to her refit, the four large rocket motors will be dismounted and a new Orion IIM drive put in their place, making the ship both smaller and significantly faster. The crew compliment is cut from 168 to 93 as the new drive systems are more modern, more compact, and contain more built-in automation.
2nd August, 2009 - The Yuri Gagarin is put back into service following a maintenance overhaul and refit. She has been tasked with surveying Pluto/Charon and surveying the Kuiper Belt.