General Overview:

The 31st Motorized Infantry Regiment is a veteran unit of the NCR Army stationed far south of Dayglow in the Baja water town of Iguana (formerly Tijuana). The 31st initially started as a small penal unit sent out to “chase ghosts” with Hanlon’s rangers and guarded the water caravans going to and from Iguana Town.

The 31st has since become Motorized and defends the locals from the numerous raider gangs operating in the region,  namely the “Dos Lobos” and other banditos that prey on small towns in the area. With the worsening situation in the Mojave, Shady Sands has occasionally redeployed the 31st to Camp McCarran to aid in the defense of Hoover Dam.

The sight of the regiment’s dust-caked trucks barreling down the old roads of Baja became a rallying symbol for the local population.

Formation and Early History

The 31st Infantry Regiment was originally established as a penal unit during the post-Dayglow expansion campaigns. Formed largely from conscripts, petty criminals, and other undesirable elements, the unit was dispatched south of Dayglow into the Baja territories. At the time, the regiment was tasked with what was derisively referred to as “chasing ghosts” alongside General Hanlon’s Rangers—searching for signs of hostile encroachment in a region many in the NCR Senate considered strategically irrelevant.

Their first real assignment came in the defense of Iguana (formerly Tijuana), a small but vital water town. The settlement provided a crucial supply of potable water to caravans bound for the western NCR and the Mojave, making it a frequent target for raiders and bandito gangs. The 31st’s duties revolved around escorting and safeguarding water caravans, a role that, though inglorious, hardened the regiment into a disciplined fighting force.

Combat Operations

The regiment’s most notable campaigns include:

• Anti-Raider Campaigns in Baja (2272–2277): The 31st fought a series of bitter skirmishes against the Dos Lobos, a ruthless raider clan infamous for crucifixions and slave raids. The Dirty First earned a reputation for uncompromising retaliation, often taking heavy losses but breaking enemy strongholds with coordinated vehicle-borne assaults.
• Defense of Iguana (2275): When a coalition of raider bands attempted to sack the water town, the 31st successfully held the settlement in a week-long siege. The battle cemented their local reputation as the shield of Iguana.
• Mojave Reinforcements (2277–2281): With the situation in the Mojave deteriorating, the 31st was periodically redeployed northward to reinforce Camp McCarran and aid in the defense of Hoover Dam. Though often relegated to convoy escort and patrol duties, their experience with desert raiding tactics proved invaluable against Caesar’s Legion skirmishers.

Reputation and Culture

Despite its inglorious origins, the 31st Motorized Infantry has transformed into one of the NCR Army’s most reliable frontier units. Still, the regiment retains its rough-edged character: discipline is looser than in regular formations, and many officers tacitly permit a degree of informality. The men proudly wear the title “Dirty First”, a reminder of their penal origins and their survival against long odds.

Their mascot, “Iggy the Iguana”, was adopted after the defense of Iguana. A crude but enduring image of a revolver-wielding iguana was painted onto their first makeshift flag which survived the 2275 Siege of Iguana. Since then, it has been revamped to don a proper NCR helmet and has become the regiment’s unofficial insignia. Today, the image is emblazoned on helmets, trucks, and even tattooed on some veterans.

Doctrine and Attack Style

The “Dirty First” developed their own brand of fast, aggressive tactics adapted to the Baja frontier:

• Shock Raids: They specialize in high-speed assaults, using trucks and jury-rigged flatbeds to deliver infantry directly into enemy positions. Once dismounted, squads fan out with suppressive fire to overwhelm raiders unused to disciplined resistance.
• Desert Ambushes: Using their mobility, they often strike first—setting ambushes along known raider trails. Raiders expecting soft caravan targets instead find themselves caught in overlapping fields of fire.
• Hit and Fade: Rather than static defense, the 31st employs hit-and-run strikes, luring larger raider groups into pursuit before turning their vehicles around and counter-charging with devastating force.

Current Status

As of the most recent reports, the 31st Motorized Infantry remains headquartered in Iguana, Baja, with detachments rotating through Mojave service as operational needs demand. While their equipment is a patchwork of restored vehicles and salvaged arms, their esprit de corps and bond with the frontier communities they protect has made them a symbol of the NCR’s southern resilience.

Regimental Timeline:

• President Wendell Peterson signs Senate Bill 38 in the year 2253, which allows the NCR to forcibly conscript prisoners from overflowing prisons such as Fort Folsom. This is done to swell numbers and protect the soft underbelly of the NCR in the Baja region as it plans its next major expansion into the Mojave.
• The 31st Penal Battalion is established under the command of Lt Col. Jake Morningstar. Inmates, mainly those with former military experience, are pulled from Fort Folsom, “The Brig” (Pelican Bay), as well as Fort Saint Quen with the assistance of Commissioner Nathaniel Chase.
• The “Dirty First” is sent out to the Baja border region around 2265 to defend the key water town of Iguana. The residents of Dayglow were unhappy with the 31st “criminal” presence in town, further reinforcing the strategic decision to move them into Baja.
• The 31st Penal Battalion makes a name for itself during the siege of Iguana Town in 2269 and subsequent attacks that cripple the powerful Dos Lobos raider tribes of the Sonoran desert and Baja regions. In 2270, President Peterson recognizes the efforts of the unit and reorganizes it as the 31st Infantry Battalion.
• As the NCR preps for the First Hoover Dam battle in 2276, there is a massive push to scrounge for any and all supplies and hardware that can benefit the already strained NCR war effort. A few derelict and mothballed vehicles are discovered in an old U.S. Army proving ground and are quickly refurbished by engineers to take fusion cores. However, the vehicles are not ready in time for the First Battle of Hoover Dam.
• The 31st is transferred out of Baja temporarily to assist in the First Battle of Hoover Dam due to severe shortages in manpower and supplies caused by windstorms in the Divide. Eager to make a name for itself in the First Battle of Hoover Dam in 2277, the unit assists in baiting Legion forces to push into Boulder City, where Chief Hanlon delivers the final blow to the Malpais Legate.
• By late 2277, a few of the vehicles are distributed out to ”reliable units” that require rapid transportation. In the case of the 31st, a few jeeps are provided to aid in conducting rapid raids and long range reconnaissance in the Sonoran landscape where water is hard to come by and supplies are essentially nonexistent. There are still concerns among some top NCR brass of a Dos Lobos resurgence and/or Legion troops wreaking havoc in the southern lands of the NCR.
• By the time of the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, Hanlon’s Rangers are officially sent down to Baja to “establish a stronger NCR presence”. However, the 31st’s efforts in wiping Dos Lobos hideouts and interrupting fragile supply lines over the years results in the Rangers simply “chasing ghosts” in the desert.