I like that idea, only weak point I see is the question of how much skill and knowledge at farming the typical veteran from Europe would have. It's kind of an open question -- '98 and '99 units may have ended up using troops to work gardens and fields to help units feed themselves. Or they may have been more feudal about things and had the local populace do the farming while they concerned themselves with suppressing bandits and marauders and generally staying ready for the next military operation.
On the other hand, a lack of farming skills might be an ideal chance to introduce PCs or NPCs with a non-military background who bring needed skills to the table. Some sort of Agricultural Extension agency could be in the mix of the "veteran settlement/area pacification" program or whatever -- with experienced agriculturalists of one sort or another, including veterinarians as well able to help get things up and running and keep them going. Interesting range of backgrounds could be on display, everything from tobacco chewing "Country Boy Can Survive" rednecks who were barely keeping the family farm going (or failing at the same) before the war, to college academics to peace-n-love hippies who are experts on organic farming without access to modern fertilizers and pesticides, etc. How smoothly all those folks would be able to work together, much less interface with a paramilitary farmer-militia force could make for a lot of entertaining action.
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