The Scutia Battlemech is a groundbreaking advancement in the development and production of smart weaponry. Essentially a light tank built on a simple chassis, the Scutia, or Scoots as they are referred to by the Republic's legionnaires, are the first weapons platform to feature a true artificial intelligence. This has led to concern amongst some of the Army's officer corps, but impressive results on the battlefield have quieted the platform's most vocal opponents.

"They leave nothing behind, nothing but death and ash.”

Those were the words that heralded the start of the Umbrian Republic's first intergalactic war. The vicious, cybernetically-enhanced alien race known as the Ascomanni would strike at the distant colony world of Battipaglia, slaughtering the planet's civilian populace and the first wave of rescuers sent to save them.

As the war with the Ascomanni progressed, the URA’s tactics and strategies were refined to give the forces of the Republic the greatest chance possible to overcome the advantages held by their adversaries. These would focus on making the most of their available forces, while misleading the enemy to the greatest extent possible.

The Army's officer corps is divided into four primary ranks and a number of specialized secondary ranks. Every officer graduated from one of a handful of military academies, specialized universities which prepared their candidates for the role of leading soldiers in battle.

The War Council is a body of senior military leaders who are responsible for advising the Senate and the Triumvirate on military matters. Originally consisting of ten people, the Council is made up of the Magistrates of the Army and Navy, the army group commanders, or Praetors, and various other administrators responsible for ensuring that the military is well equipped, trained, and ready to face the Republic's adversaries.

In the centuries prior to the onset of the war with the Ascomanni, the Umbrian Republic Navy struggled to define a doctrine that they believed would best prepare them for any future extraterrestrial conflict. This paralysis encompassed not only how the Navy would fight these potential adversaries, but stretched all the way into the organizational and command structure of the Navy itself.