Robotech Southern Cross

Southern Cross Who's Who - The 474th

The 474th ATAC Squadron is a hovertank squadron assigned to ASC Tokyo Base (the UEDF headquarters for the Far East Sector). The squadron is used mainly as a clearinghouse for new recruits, usually those with connections or selected for special treatment by someone in the High Command. Members are rotated through fairly quickly with old members rotating out within 6 to 10 months of joining. Those rotated out usually move on to assignments pre-selected for them before they were even assigned to the 474th. It is generally assumed that if you aren't transferred out of the 474th within a year your career is effectively over. Activities in the 474th revolve around routine patrols of Tokyo (usually on hovercycles) and hovertank maneuvers in the wastelands surrounding the city, enough for the young soldiers fresh from the Academy to get their feet wet without putting them in any danger.

Update: The members of the 474th, with the exception of the latest recruits, were killed in late 2028 during a mission in Indochina battling the Black Legionnaires mercenary group and later a group of rogue Zentraedi.

Lt. Brian Crawford

Lt. Crawford is the commanding officer of the 474th. He was born in 2002 in Calgary, Alberta and comes from a family with a strong military tradition. Because of his family Brian knew he would be in the armed forces from a very young age. When it came time for him to join up he selected the newer Army of the Southern Cross to avoid being sent into Deep Space with the REF. He was blamed, some say wrongfully, for an accident that killed several fellow cadets while he was in the Academy, but Crawford's family influence prevented him from being thrown out of the military. In his early career his luck did not improve and he earned the enmity of a superior officer and of an important military contractor. All of these strikes against him led to his "exile" as commanding officer of the 474th ATAC. Lieutenant Crawford spends most of his time in his office on paperwork or kissing up to senior officers. He knows in his heart that his current assignment is effectively a dead-end job (he has been the squad CO for over two years) and he is itching for a chance to prove that he is the kind of officer he thinks he is (but probably really isn't). Crawford is very by-the-book and likes putting his team through precision drills hoping to impress command. While he plays the role of competent officer well, in reality Crawford has trouble making quick decisions. His early failures cause him to subconsciously doubt his own ability and he usually checks with his superiors first, or waits to see what other unit commanders do, before making a decision. God help Crawford (and those under his command) if he is ever sent into a real combat situation.

Sgt. Garret Allen

Sgt. Allen is the 474th's top sergeant where he mainly takes the role of a drill sergeant, keeping the new recruits in line. Born in Detroit in 1991, Allen spent his teen years fixing up and racing old cars. He joined the military at age 16 and originally started out as a tank driver but soon transferred to the new RDF and trained as a Destroid pilot. He is a veteran of the First Robotech War and the Malcontent Uprisings. A black mark on his service record prevented him from joining the Robotech Expeditionary Force so he chose to retire. After a few years Allen realized he missed the military so he called in a favor and joined the Army of the Southern Cross. His Destroid pilot qualifications were enough to get him into the Alpha Tactical Armored Corps as a Veritech Hovertank pilot, but he still had some enemies who wanted to make sure Allen's restarted career would not let him go far. In the end Allen was assigned to the 474th and at his age he has no desire to become an officer. Sgt. Allen plans to stay in the armed forces as an enlisted man until they force him out when he hits mandatory retirement age. In the meantime he has taken it upon himself to make sure that the "privileged" soldiers that pass through the 474th get at least a little taste of what being in the army really means. As such he can be quite the harsh taskmaster to newbies in the squadron.

Cpl. Hiro Takashi

Cpl. Takashi is a Tokyo native and joined the Southern Cross to get away from his parents. Born in 2008 Hiro is the eldest son of a major Japanese industrialist, a prominent weapons designer with many contracts with the Robotech Research Center. Hiro's father expected his son to join the family business, something the young Takashi wasn't keen on so he enlisted. Hiro didn't care where he ended up as long as it wasn't near his folks, but his plan didn't work out. Takashi's father exerted some influence to get his son assigned to the 474th in Tokyo. Now Takashi is stuck, his father's connections prevent him from being reassigned and the minute he quits his father will force him into the family business. Takashi has often considered going AWOL but realizes he has nowhere to run to. He has begun to fear that there is no way out and seems resigned to his fate. At best he realizes he may some day be promoted to officer and take Lt. Crawford's place at the head of the 474th. Hiro is very intelligent and can often be found studying science and engineering manuals in his spare time (his military specialty is sciences); and despite his lack of enthusiasm for his father's business Hiro is actually quite knowledgeable in the fields of military and Robotech weaponry.

Cpl. Goran Cirjanic

Cpl. Cirjanic was born in 2007 in Sarajevo. His family were among the thousands of refugees that fled north to Scandinavia after the Zentraedi planetary assault. He grew up in the refugee camps in Denmark where his rough childhood forged him into a strong young man. He joined the armed forces because it was the best way out and despite his hard life he was idealistic and wanted to accomplish something for what he perceived was the greater good. He was initially optimistic and showed great promise, something that he thought led to his assignment to the 474th and the fast track to promotion. It was shortly after his assignment to Tokyo Base that Goran learned the truth, that he was selected because of his ethnicity in order to meet some kind of quota and that he was the "token refugee" from his Academy class selected to be a poster boy for the UEG. Goran became bitter and has refused to be transferred until he gets a real opportunity to prove himself and get promoted because he deserves it.

PFC Calvin Brody

PFC Brody is the final member of the last batch of recruits to cycle through the 474th. Born in 2009, Calvin is the youngest child in an upper class white family from Mexico City. He is very charismatic when he wants to be, but his partying lifestyle got him into a great deal of trouble as a teenager. Hoping to straighten their youngest son out his parents forced Brody to join the Southern Cross, but his family's influence still gave him a number of advantages which he uses to his own benefit; like being assigned to the 474th. He expects to be transferred to a new assignment within the next few months, and fully expects to become an officer within two years. Brody is a competent soldier, but knows he is destined for officer training and is patiently waiting for his transfer to Monument City or Scandinavia Quadrant. In the meantime he plans on making his stay in Tokyo as pleasant as possible and he uses his connections to acquire items and services for himself and occasionally his squadmates that the Southern Cross usually frowns on.

New Recruits

In September 2028 six new recruits were assigned to the squadron.

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