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The 409th
Cavalry
Squadron was the first unit to field test the Badger recon vehicles.
The
Badgers performed as they were expected to by the design staff at
Thomisan
Armored Industries. But, one trooper reported to have had quite a
rough time of it during one battle. At the battle of Crocha,
Private
3rd Class T. Barclay and his gunner Sgt. P. Hillans were on a scouting
mission in a Badger MK II, and were caught by surprise by an enemy
scouting
unit. The Badger MK II took heavy machine gun fire, and as a result,
Sgt.
Hillans was slightly injured, as was Private Barclay. The Badger roll
cage
was compromised in several places, as was the armored panels on which
the
gun tub for the autocannon sits. When Private Barclay was
released
from the field hospital, he took the replacement Badger MK II that was
assigned to he and Sgt. Hillans, down to the Maintenance yard and
proceeded
to weld an armored cover for both he, the driver, and Sgt, Hillans the
gunner. With the help of several mechanics, Barclay redesigned the
Badger
from the fenders up. Captain Jekios saw Barclays modifications,
and
ordered the rest of the Troop's Badger MK II's to be modified as
well.
The extra armor plating comforted the occupants, but at the loss of
free
180 degree vision, for the drivers. Even so, the Squadron
commander,
Colonel Prasser, ordered one platoon out of each Troop to be modified
and
used as light tank platoons. The modified Badger MK II's became
known
as the "Barclay". Word of the modifications made it's way to the
Department of the Military. The DoM ordered the "Barclay"
modification
to become a standard variant of the Badger series, and be designated as
the MK IIUA, Under Armor.
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