[quote=@Aristo]
Some clarification on a few things:
[list]
[*]We get 3 free recruits. One is the commander. The rest are generics? Or are they already experienced?
[*]Since our reputation begins at 0, can we actually hire mercs better than generics at the start?
[/list]
[/quote]

You get 3 level 1 recruits, each of which has 50 XP to be level 1. One of those is the commander.

Anyone you hire right now is a generic.