Camp Gloucester
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| Nation: |  South Sea Islands
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| Location: |  International Mandate
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| Established: | 1687 AN | |||
| Fate: | Decommissioned (1693 AN) | |||
Camp Gloucester, known colloquially simply as Glossy, was a South Sea Islands Defence Force (SSIDF) base located in the International Mandate for the Settlements in Apollonia. Established in 1687 AN, the camp was home to two hundred infantrymen of the SSIDF for approximately six years, until the force was withdrawn and the camp decommissioned in 1693 AN. The site would subsequently be taken over by the Honourable Company in 1705 AN, following its purchase from a dubious land broker, in order to serve as the location for the planned construction of Tiegang International Airport.
Background
When the International Mandate for the Settlements in Apollonia was founded in 1687 AN, the fledgling city state found itself in a precarious and potentially unstable situation. Situated between the sea and the lawlessness of The Green, the new nation lacked a military force of its own, and therefore requested assistance from international partners.
In keeping with the Government of the South Sea Islands' commitment to promoting peace, democracy and good governance on Micras, the Legislative Assembly approved the deployment of the South Sea Islands Defence Force (SSIDF) to the southern border areas of the International Mandate. The deployment was tasked with securing the border, preventing hostile incursions from The Green, and allowing the people and government of the International Mandate to establish themselves as sovereign.
Description
Writing shortly after the camp was opened, a government clerk described the camp as follows:
"Camp Gloucester itself consists of a sleeping quarters, a mess hall, field hospital, vehicle maintenance facilities, a helipad and hospitality facilities. The facilities are heavily reinforced by sandbags, rock cages and earthworks, and a number of classified underground tunnels are believed to be under construction. Additional earthwork redoubts are planned along the relevant section of the border.
The perimeter of Camp Gloucester is heavily defended with anti-tank obstacles, ditches, barbered wire, various sensors (audio, thermal and movement detection), anti-vehicle landmines, earthworks and rock cages."
Deployment
While Camp Gloucester itself never came under direct attack, the South Sea Islands Defence Force personnel stationed at the camp were involved in a number of exchanges of fire with vagabonds seeking to enter the International Mandate from The Green. Autumn 1687 AN saw particularly fierce fighting to the west of the camp, with mortars, anti-tank missiles and other heavy weaponry all employed in the clearing of the border area. Estimates vary, but it is believed that up to 170 of the camp's garrison of 200 were engaged in fighting along the border at any one time during this period.
While the SSIDF didn't suffer any fatalities during the fighting, the Camp Gloucester's hospital facilities treated a number of causalities, with one seriously injured service person being evacuated to Joseph Town for further treatment.
Over time, skirmishes became more sporadic before ceasing entirely when adjacent areas of The Green was subjugated by Çakaristan.
Closure
With the border secured and the police forces of the International Mandate well in control of the internal security situation, the decision was taken in 1693 AN to wind down Camp Gloucester before closing it entirely on February 12th of that year. This was confirmed in the Military Withdrawal Act (1693, South Sea Islands).
While dangerous or removable defences were removed prior to the closure of the camp (including landmines, barbed wire and sensors) the primary structures were left standing at the request of the government of the International Mandate.
Plans exist to convert the buildings of the former camp into a museum, in commemoration of the contribution of the SSIDF to peace in the International Mandate.
Following the decision to close the camp, the Government of the South Sea Islands reaffirmed their long term commitment to the pace and security of the International Mandate, pledging regular visits from the R.R.S. Madison.
Narrative
What follows is a narrative describing the events of the closure of Camp Gloucester on February 12th 1693 AN:
When you're near a large city, you know it. The constant hum of streets thronging with traffic, the periodical roar of jet engines as an airliner full of expectant holidaymakers lumbers into the sky, the smells of diverse cuisines wafting and intermingling in the air, the orange glow in the night sky that betrays the presence of thousands of street lights and brightly lit windows.
The men and women of the South Sea Islands Defence Force knew all of this only too well and, without exception, every man and woman took pride in the urban jungle they'd grown used to having as a neighbour. Camp Gloucester, weather-beaten, sun-bleached and every bit the fortress it was designed to be, had grown to look out of place over the years.
Drawing curious glances from the windows of passing cars, the camp looked like something from another time and another place, a reminder of a time when it would have been unthinkable for sleek SUVs to drive carelessly westward towards the border. But now, six years after the camp was built, that was exactly what was happening. The road Camp Gloucester was built to defend, stretching from the border into the heart of the International Mandate, was now a pulsing artery of commerce and tourism, linking the Mandate and Çakaristan, as peaceful as any boulevard on Micras.
Many of the camp's inhabitants had memories of the preceding years, and those memories were anything but peaceful. Today's peaceful highway had one being pox scarred by mortar fire, the air thick with assault rifle rounds, today's hum of traffic had once been the deafening roar of a war zone, and those are things that are hard to forget. But those were the things that made today's peace possible, and the men and women of the SSIDF were proud that their efforts had led to the thriving city they saw before them today. A city that most of them would probably never see again.
On a chilly, bright and clear February day, Camp Gloucester's inhabitants found themselves on the parade square, their khaki green uniforms neatly pressed, and the bayonets of their rifles shimmering in the weak winter sunshine as they stood to attention. The past week had been a whirlwind of activity, packing, cleaning, dismantling, disarming, and making everything ready for the hand over to the International Mandate authorities. After six years, everything was ready, and today was the day. They were leaving the camp for good, and saying farewell to the thriving city whose security they had offered their lives to preserve.
They'd been praised by their commanding officer, been offered the fond greetings of the King, and received the thanks and gratitude of the government of the International Mandate, and now the moment had finally arrived. Before them, at the head of the parade square, two flagpoles stood, one empty, and the other with the cross and stripes streaming and billowing in the morning's steady breeze. In silence, all those present watched the camp's bugler bring his instrument to his lips, and the instrument's sound pierced both the silence of the square and the hum of the city beyond.
As the bugle's mournful notes rang out, echoing and reverberating from the surrounding buildings, the flag of the South Sea Islands was slowly lowered, while the bright flag of the International Mandate was raised in parallel. With one last wave, as if offering one last goodbye to the city, the cross and stripes bowed out of the city's skyline for the final time.
Camp Gloucester's mission was accomplished, and now it was history.
