[Hacked conversation thread 00218567363 from IPartner Connections follows.]
MadamLaw [Unlisted EP address. Logged as "Operative 1219".]: If we're planning on using him for this, we'll need to know how he thinks on the battlefield. I'll need a brief rundown of Alliance infantry doctrine.
CallMeSir [EP address mirrors suggest ID: Illusive]: Consider it done.
Humans: Humanity has one of the most diverse infantries in the galaxy, thanks to the presence of a significant base of tech support specialists, a huge number of more traditional "vanilla" soldiers, and small -though dense- clusters of biotics born after vehicle collisions that spread large swaths of eezo dust over settlements. Not all of these were accidental, as revealed when the Aphrodite Cell was compromised.
Non-biotics: Due to eezo's relatively recent discovery, as well as its complete absence from Earth, over 99% of humanity does not possess any manifestation of biotic powers.
In order to take advantage of the full battery life of everyone's weapons, every member of a squad would carry an identical loadout of four guns, with every person keeping a different weapon type drawn at any given moment. If a gun's battery became low, the member would swap it for the identical weapon carried by one of his or her squadmates. This was intentional, serving the dual purpose of encouraging team unity and keeping soldiers from needing to adjust to a new weapon every time they swapped out a dead gun. While the carrying of additional –and often unnecessary– weapons was frowned upon by efficiency-obsessed salarians, this tactic allowed humanity to keep supplying all of their standing army without splurging on weapons with longer battery life and other features. This was a key factor that allowed the Alliance to retake Shanxi from the turians in the First Contact War, despite the Heirarchy's longer-lasting weapons.
While submachine guns (SMGs) are still used by some special-response police and gangs on Earth, they generated a large amount of heat for a small amount of relatively weak shots in the cooling technology that existed prior to the advent of disposable heat sinks. SMGs also lacked room for larger batteries like assault rifles or the accuracy of pistols. Because of this, they were almost never seen in use by the Alliance military from the advent of human mass accelerator rounds to 2182. It is unknown how the disposable heat sink will effect Alliance military doctrine at this time, though a past history of adaptability suggests that they will be reincorporated at some point.
Soldier: Sparta was a dominant military power in its time not because of the use of cutting-edge technology, but because they were well-trained and were able to adapt a few choice tools –sword, spear, shield, and armor– into an effective art that utilized all four, plus teamwork, to overcome any situation. Borrowing from this ethos, the average Alliance soldier relies heavily on weapons and squad unity to kill and stay alive on the battlefield. They are typically trained in the use of assault rifles and pistols as a sidearm, plus situational use of shotguns and sniper rifles. They focus on refining their techniques and body, keeping themselves sharp for when they need to use any of their weapons in battle. They also perform rigorous strength-training regimens to enable themselves to carry heavier armor, in addition to their four weapons.
Infiltrator: In the ill-fated Galaxy of Fantasy spinoff, Galaxy of Strategy, the player-character's commanding officer had exactly one line: "You can win with upgrades, but the tech is expensive as hell." There is some truth in holovision. Picked early from recruited soldiers during boot camp, those who showed remarkable propensity for multitasking and improvised arms were given additional training in basic omni-tool-based warfare. In addition, they were given extra training in a single full-sized weapon instead of all three options based on whether they showed a tendency for aggression, calm, or flexibility in simulated firefights. This didn't come cheap to the Alliance; a recent estimate puts the cost of training and outfitting a single infiltrator unit at over three hundred thousand credits. However, they show a long history of acclaim in the field, particularly in solo missions. This has caught the eye of many in the upper echelons of the Alliance military's command structure, especially since increasing numbers of them have qualified for a session at The Villa, the acclaimed school for N-rated special forces personnel.
Engineer: This is a catch-all label used for non-biotic specialists when placed groundside in a squad. Whether it's a tank driver, shuttle pilot, bomb specialist, dedicated hacker, repairman, researcher, cannon operator, or a civilian designer, they all fall under the same umbrella term as soon as their boots touch the ground and a rifle gets thrown into their hands. Due to the stigma of escorting an "effin' engie" [often written "FNNG" or "FnNG", to distinguish it from the classic term "FNG"], most marines despise having to work with those who fall under this category.
This is not to say they are all useless on the ground; rather, their roles are so specific, and their firearms skills so limited, that they are seen as a liability to a military ethos that prides adaptability of its masses over having the right tool for the job. While the vast majority of Alliance "engineers" fall under its naval branch, there are a small, dedicated corps of combat engineers within the marines. These engineers focus on advanced counter-techniques for combating infiltrators and biotic support infantry. The techniques they utilize in the field vary greatly from person to person, as they are encouraged to develop their own attack protocols and carry heavily-modded armor suits to provide the extra power output for their omni-tool attacks. This isn't without a price, however, as it's well-known that anyone untrained in the use of a combat engineer's powered armor is just as likely to make himself explode as his enemies. Like the infiltrator, these combat engineers are almost prohibitively expensive to produce within the Alliance. However, the costs of fielding one are far outweighed by the gains of having them available, even with the attached stigma they face from their squadmates.