Bannockburn, I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. I'll take things point by point.
Here is what I personally do not like:
- Their suddenly inflated manpower by a factor of 10! (explained by an offhand comment which amounts to 'We take care to obfuscate')
So the megacorps are the only ones who can lie about how many employees are where? Also, read what lead to their sudden jump in manpower: the military not being able to pay its soldiers. That'll send a lot of them to the private sector, and any Marines or Navy men who left would be quite likely to find their way to the FMC if they took the merc route. Since then, they've been doing an active campaign over the last decade or so, to bring them up to a force of 10000 fighters. This is not 'suddenly', this is a planned expansion over the course of years.
- The 884m warship (that should be feet, btw. America-class amphibious assault carriers aren't almost double the length of the world's largest tanker, nor are they 2,65 times as long as an actual aircraft carrier like the Gerald R. Ford class) that is capable of running at over 45 knots (which is too much by a factor of 30-50%, depending on actual technology)
So someone made an error copying down the length, understandable, since all other measurements in SR are metric. As for the top speed, first, the Wikipedia for the America-class says 20+ knots, possibly more. However, that is in 2013. At the very least, over sixty years they would have had major parts replaced, probably getting a new engine to increase speed and power, etc. Also, there's no rules that say you can't turbocharge marine vessels. Just sayin'.
- The ability to KEEP the Green Bay, directly after their inception, with low manpower, just because neither CAS nor UCAS 'wanted to admit that they lost a ship and risk a war over it'. In my eyes this is a really weak explanation for allowing an essentially private organization to have a heavily armed warship capable of supporting amphibious assault actions.
The UCAS and CAS had just gotten their butts handed to them by the NAN back when they were the US, and then they were still in the process of realigning all their armed forces. We're talking massive chain of command issues here. The CIA was tasked to sink the ship, but naval warfare isn't exactly what the CIA is known for, you know? Plus, the FMC would have still had plenty of friends in the Navy and Marines, the only forces the CIA would be able to reliably call on if they needed help. Given the political situation, it isn't surprising. Also, there were probably bribes exchanged.
- 315 marines + Kane assault a 'secret compound' and cause casualties 'estimated in the thousands' (emphasis mine). Yes, surprise action and all that. But the Aztlan / Aztech isn't exactly an untrained militia, and secret compounds are usually not protected by such. Unnecessary exaggeration on the writer's part, IMHO
Or exactly what happens when most of your hardened combat troops are drawn off to the north and south borders, and are stuck in the quagmire that is the Yucatan. They didn't face the elite Jaguar guards. They faced the guards who were stuck on prison watch. Come in with shock and awe, do the job, and get out before the big guns can come to bear. Perfect 'nonconventional warfare' tactics, which is also something the Marines have typically been pretty good at.
- Kane paid them ... One eighty million nuyen. I am assuming this is military slang for 180.000.000, as 1.80 million wouldn't even be enough for the operation to be funded, let alone being able to refit the Iwo Jima afterwards. Grossly inflated number, IMO.
No, Kane paid them 180 million nuyen and an Aircraft carrier. And that number shouldn't be inflated, since the hundred million nuyen number is mentioned in Kane's write-up in Street Legends Supplemental.
- They spend 'two nightmarish months' fighting shedim and other ugly stuff and profit from this. Suddenly, the funds from Kane aren't used up anymore and they are still flush with it. I may read too much into this, but this kind of sounds weird.
Never said the profits from Kane's adventure were used up. Also said they were contracted to run protection, meaning they were paid, either in nuyen, foci, or other such things. Which means that, yes, they profited from it. That's what mercs do. They visit hell, and get paid for it.
- They concentrate on training and further expansion and then offhandedly purchase 2 Hunt-class frigates and order 2 more. Man, life as a merc must be good if you can afford 20mil from your small change after 5 years of contracts that aren't even worth mentioning.
Lots of small jobs, plus not getting the drek kicked out of you by Crash 2.0 like people who set up shop in more civilized places in the world, will give you some nuyen to move around. And there are these things called 'loans' which can be used to buy things you normally wouldn't be able to afford all at once. And it never said how close to combat ready the Iwo Jima was to begin with. Also, just because they didn't make headlines, didn't mean they weren't working.
They are not 'honest good guys' - they are dogs for hire and work with a known pirate, rapist and mass murderer, and their morals are flexible. 'An understanding', indeed. Throw enough money at 'em and they'll understand you well enough, apparently.
Please note that they are never once called the 'honest good guys', except by Slamm-O! They are described as attempting to embody the spirit and ideals of the old USMC, and Picador says they are the most trustworthy bunch of mercs you can work with. But those USMC ideals don't mean "We're the good guys". They mean "We pick jobs that fit our beliefs." And given their background, rescuing a POW who has been disavowed by her own country, and sticking it to the Azzies at the same time? Why wouldn't they go for that? The 'understanding' likely has to do with Kane not causing trouble at places where they're on the job.
TL;DR version: They never suffered any setbacks. They only ever get the good stuff. They are the shiny beacons of American mercenary domination and hero worship. No visible flaws. Boring.
You mean they were smart, and stuck to jobs that were within their skillset, and trained religiously, so that when fighting came, they were all the equivalent of Special Forces? They had some luck, but training and reliable equipment help, a lot. And I'll just say that, unless a flaw develops natrurally, there's no point. The FMC have managed to position themselves at the right place, at the right time.