 November 8, 2013 - 6:15pm | I travelled to Bangore Maine with my parents to meet my brother and sister-in-law's plane coming back from Iraq. Counting my Dad there were about 8 other Viet Naum era vets there to meet the plane and clap as the soldiers camp down the exit ramp. Two women had a box of pre paid cell phones for anyone to call family and tell them they were back. It was very moving. I was told that any time returning soldiers are landing in Bangore that there will be a similar number of gray haired vets and one soldier came down the ramp with the biggest smile and exclaimed, "I LOVE landing Bangore!" Recently there was in the news the story of thirteen Marines getting a similar welcome and upgrade to first class: http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/11/07/soldiers-get-heros-welcome-1st-class-upgrades-at-ohare/3464873/ My point is that there is a strong trend in supporting returning troops regardless of political leaning. People can hate the Iraq/Afganistan conflicts but they dont hesitate to cheer the troops and I would guess that this is a direct result of Viet Naum and the stories of protesters spitting and and reviling returning troops. So I'm currious, does the Frontier have its Viet Naum? As i thought about it I guessing that yes it does- Laco's War and that the "troops" that were/are unpopular are the corporate mercenaries. With the huge casualty counts from Laco's War in particular and other corporate wars in general that the public image of the corporate mercenary is not the best. Perhaps not to the same extent as the American experience but I can see the mercenaries of the Frontier looked at with some ill favor. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 November 9, 2013 - 12:05pm | That is a HUGE question. Even more difficult to answer since there are so many different cultures in the Frontier and even different ones on the same planet considering all the different races. Part of the strong support of American Troops today stems from how the Vietnam Vets were treated. Despite Hollywood, the Counter Culture movement had less to do with their treatment then an indifferent government trying to make cut backs and an American culture which did not know how to handle the first lost war in its history (apparently the invasions of Canada don't count). Race wise here is a quick some up: Dralasite---Since they enjoy debate so much they would obviously discuss out the full implications of any conflict and its outcome and work out any issues. Vrusk---Any loss of profit is considered a great shame. These Vrusk are usually shunned until they "make good" and rebuild their portfolio. Humans---As always too varied to make any distinctions. Some Humans are rumored to even be pacifists and refuse to go to war. Yazirians---The greatest glory a Yazirian can find is defeating their life enemy. Ever ask what happens when the life enemy defeats the Yazirian? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 November 9, 2013 - 2:00pm | Good point Rat, as it relates to the individual races. Nice point as well Jed, in relation to the mercenaries and corporate soliders. I believe that is a stigma that will remain for some time. As for Landfleet ~ they are too new to suffer a defeat. That will remain to be seen. |
November 9, 2013 - 3:25pm | I believe and I will need to double check, that its said somewhere, most likely in Warriors of White Light, that the Royal Guard of Clarion has never suffered a defeat in battle. I tried to address that in my timeline article since the statement implies a history of warfare the obvious question is with who. Thus i wrote them into being a police action in the free world rebellion at Madderly's Star and one of the first organized units with boots and hoverfans on the ground at Laco in SW1. Theorizing that since the UPF was born in response to SW1 and thus Land Fleet was suddenly sprung into existance that an orgabization like the Royal Guard would be the elite force in SW1 as well as some yazirian formations but some Land Fleet formations would be of spotty reliability in battle till the crucible of battle burned of their dross and refined the metal within. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 9, 2013 - 7:28pm | See here's the problem with "Landfleet suddenly popping into existance" While bodies may be available it requires a great deal of time to train, organize and especially equip a modern army. Landfleet would have had two types of units at the start. Units from member planets that could be spared and scratched built units. Surprisingly both would have had advantages and disadvantages. Quickly: Drafted units would be of good quality in training, equipment and unit cohesion. They would suffer from not having a first loyalty to the UPF and possible recall to home and they would be dependent on their homeworld for supply. Think of Civil War divisions made of regiments from different places. Even if they were from the same state they might have the same equipment. One of General Sherman's regiments at Shiloh required SIX different calibres of ammunition. Scratch Units would have uniform supply and standard procedures and individual soldiers could be easily trained. They would suffer from lack of experience and a shortage of leadership trained in large unit manuevers. Where do you find beings with experience commanding units of 5,000 to 10,000 beings in combat? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 10, 2013 - 4:30am | PGC would have stepped in and helped equip and arm the new scratch built units but until they had been baptized by fire and these units would be problematic. drafted "militia" units are going to have a more solid record of perfromance but equipment and logistics will be a nightmare. As to trained officer material I tend to think that the yazirians with their strong warrior traditions would provide a disporportionate number of officers. Units like the Royal Guard would get tapped quite often for crucial objectives, simply because its better to leave a green "scratch built" unit holding in the back field then to put them into line and hope they hold. On the plus side SW1 is likely to be a "short victorious war" not a grinding match I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 10, 2013 - 10:49am | Similar to the US during the outbreak of civil war (1860-1865). The DoD relied on the state militias until later in the war when they were able to stand up a fully functioning army. Then at the conclussion of the war, all militias and most of the active army were placed into an inactive status or disbanded - over the course of time; not all at once. |
November 10, 2013 - 2:03pm | Jed I have to disagree with on one point. While the scratch built units would have a large number of Yazrians who would have made the Sathar their life enemy but not in leadership positions. A mistake often made is that warrior means leader it does not. Warrior means fighter which is what you want your soldiers to do. Officers must stand back and figure out the course of the battle not participate. You could make an argument for a large number of junior officers (platoon and company level) being Yazirian but higher than that you would do better with Vrusk business magnates in violent fields (security and television execs) and those all around great ones Humans. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
November 10, 2013 - 4:32pm | Jed I have to disagree with on one point. While the scratch built units would have a large number of Yazrians who would have made the Sathar their life enemy but not in leadership positions. A mistake often made is that warrior means leader it does not. Warrior means fighter which is what you want your soldiers to do. Officers must stand back and figure out the course of the battle not participate. You could make an argument for a large number of junior officers (platoon and company level) being Yazirian but higher than that you would do better with Vrusk business magnates in violent fields (security and television execs) and those all around great ones Humans. On the whole I agree with you Rat T about warrior meaning fighter not leader but the fact that the yazirians have a strong warrior tradition means that they will have some leaders that have been in charge of largish groups of warriors and in a situation where there is a need for anyone with some experience i would guess that you will find many of these yazirians will get swept into leadership positions even if their prior experience wasn't all that and a bag of chips. No doubt their cultural expectations of warriors will create some challenges for them as they deal with 3 other species they have had little exposure to. On the other hand i can see a vrusk or dralasite doing a "Col Chamberlan" realizing he does not have the right experience but bends his academic experience to study leadership and tactics on the job much like Chamberlan did. These individuals are probably not all that common. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
November 10, 2013 - 8:42pm | I think between the warrior caste of the Yazirians, the Thesesu and White Light Militias and the Vrusk mentality - they could cover the leadership for several initial regiments - remember, the reason for the First Muster was because of a Vrusk pirate. Vrusks have the ability to develop combat tactics and strategies. The Dralasites...they have exceptions - especially if they are devoted to a fight but, in general they love to debate. |
November 12, 2013 - 4:57am | Have just viewed the net coverage of the funeral of a 99 year old RAF veteran who died with no family or friends to attend his funeral and hundreds attended when it was picked up on twitter it got me thinking about the impact of SW1 on yazirian society. The Fo1 is an experienent in unifying the yazirian species to think as one not as fragmented clans who incessantly war with each other. Yet veterans of the "great war " will not give two flips about clan alliances and rivalries when it comes to honoring a warrior who has passed. This one thing will be a point of connection between human and yazirian society, a place where we both are similar and joined "by a common beinghood." The irony is that Fo1 has tried to unify the species and end inter clan conflict but it was a war that did more in this regard. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
