SECTION TWO: The Rocky Mountains (Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona)
IDAHO
Idaho in 1964 is a wild frontier of valley cities, sleepy mountain towns, disorganized marauders and organized survivalist enclaves, really no more than bandits seeking fresh loot and plunder. The changing weather patterns over the past two years have made Idaho warmer but dryer, prompting many civilians to leave the area in search of more stable food supplies. Most of the federal military and civilian leadership went also, leaving the residents to fend for themselves. Today, many areas are populated only by scavengers and die-hard farmers and ranchers.
1) NUCLEAR TARGETS
Date----Type----Target---Notes
10/28/62 Atlas-F Little Lost River valley Missfire
2) ORGANIZED MILITARY FORCES
116th Armored Calvary Regiment--Twin Falls (800 men, 8 AFVs)
---2nd Battalion--Twin Falls
------Baker Company--Big Lost River valley (85 men, 3 AFVs)
3) THE SNAKE RIVER VALLEY
Boise: Boise is still the capital of post-nuclear Idaho, with the highest population density and more businesses (legal or illegal) than any other city in the region. A bulk of the remaining Idaho National Guard is here, making the city secure and keeping the marauders out. The military here works closely with the men in Twin Falls to help patrol and clear out the Snake River valley. On the outskirts of Boise lies the old industrial district where before the war, large companies produced nearly everything from Coca Cola bottles to high-tech electronics in the now abandoned and run-down factories. The industrial district is inhabited by dozens of small looter gangs, ghouls and everybody who isn't accepted by the government of Boise. Neither law nor order are being enforced out here, giving everybody the freedom they want--if they can survive.
Nampa/Caldwell: To the west of Boise, the Caldwell and Nampa areas are now in ruins and the domain of looters and gleaners from Boise. Bits and pieces of useful salvage can be found in the remains of these cities, as well as scattered diehards who refused to become refugees and the occasional militia patrol from Boise. Just this fall, a survivalist group from Oregon, known only as the "Fighting 655th", moved into Nampa.
Mountain Home: Further down I-84, Mountain Home is now home of an outlaw gang called the "White Aryan Brotherhood" (locally known as the "Wabbies") who control everything in a twenty-mile wide circle, including the scant trade and travel along I-84. They are in conflict with the Boise defenders, but so far it has been a stalemate. The Wabbies have enslaved most of the locals who were still in Mountain Home to work the fields for them. To the west, the abandoned Mountain Home Air Force Base was once home to a complex of Titan I ICBMs. These missiles have long ago been sent on their way to targets in Russia and the empty silos are located in Bruneau, Oreana, and up near Boise.
Rupert: Rupert is held by a survivalist group called the "Starfighters", most of whom are the remains of a pre-war militant gay commune that was in the area. They now patrol everything for a ten-mile circle and strictly control the food-producing fields in their area.
Burley: Under control of a small marauder gang called the "Hellraisers". They are in a verbal war with the Starfighters in Rupert, who they consider to be subhuman.
Twin Falls: Currently a mostly empty, heavily looted city known for holding a eastern cantonment of Idaho National Guardsmen. The remnants of the 116th Armored Calvary Regiment (800 men, 8 AFVs), headquartered before the war in Twin Falls, have made the camp a fortified enclave. They are working with the Boise government to clear the Snake River valley of bandits and marauders. To this end, a winter offensive has been mounted against a particularly worrisome band of marauders to the north. The regiment's Baker Company of the 2nd Battalion has moved north to set up defensive positions. See below.
Challis National Forrest: The marauder band in question is called the "First Idaho Brigade", which is either a band of patriotic freedom fighters or a gang of cutthroat bandits, depending on your point of view. They are currently holed up in the dense woods around Borah Peak in the Lost River Mountain Range. They number some 300 effectives and include crack woodsmen, frank American Nazis, Republican farmers, meeting house fundamentalists, and radical libertarians along with opportunists and plain ol' thugs. They are led by Benedict Arnez, a WWII veteran and dreamer. They are well armed for a marauder band, having hit several armories and supply convoys over the last year, collecting several bazookas and light antitank weapons. They are aware of the Idaho National Guard's efforts to catch them, but are not too worried as they know the land and have the upper hand.
The Hunters: Baker Company, 2/116th ACR (85 men, three AFVs) is currently spread along Highway 93, roughly from Mackay Dam north to Milner. They are preparing to more east once they have established winter bases in the Big Lost River valley. The Mackay Dam garrison is just a squad of nine soldiers and a single M113 APC. The Milner garrison is the bulk of the company with forty men and two M41 Walker Bulldog light tanks and two armored personnel carriers. The regiment's Aviation Company is based in Chilly, providing air support and rapid troop transport with the limited fuel stocks available. Current strength is four CH-21 Shawnee assault helicopters, and the Chilly base is defended by a security platoon with 26 men, an M41 Duster antiaircraft tank, a jeep and a truck. Compared to other areas of the country, however, aviation fuel is plentiful and these helicopters will prove to be the best weapon for hunting the marauders in the thick forests.
4) NORTHERN IDAHO
In the rugged mountains of central and northern Idaho, the land is owned by a variety of survivalist and racist anti-government bands, mixed with hold-out ranchers and isolated Native American groups. There are also smaller out-of-state outlaw gangs wintering in and around the northern towns of Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston.
Ketchum: Home to a platoon of 38 Idaho National Guardsmen from Boise which is up here searching for raiders. They are planning on leaving the area soon and returning to Boise before the weather turns bad.
Own goal: On the night of October 28, 1962, a USAF Atlas-F ICBM was speeding northwest from the Lincoln missile complex in Nebraska towards Russia. Over Idaho the missile lost altitude control at 22,000 feet and began tumbling downwards. It impacted in the Salmon National Forest in the Little Lost River valley northeast of Arco, exploding in a 4 megaton atomic fireball, shattering the tops of many nearby mountains and setting the forest ablaze. As an effect of this wayward nuke, a survivalist compound burrowed into the crest of Blue Dome Mountain to the southeast was badly damaged. Fallout seeped in and killed off all the survivors, leaving a huge cache of food and weaponry for someone to one day find.
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