[cosmicfish]

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

More importantly it means there would have been mechanics and facilities around without electrical power miles from any nuclear target. The only threat to them is famine and plague.

And use/hoarding by all the people needing vehicles in a system where infrastructure has collapsed. I just don't think you can plan on no one else wanting what you absolutely need.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

I interpret that as rough use and a lack of knowledge in how to maintain the equipment more than parts inavailable…… only 5% of the population is alive at War + one year roughly.

I don't see why only useless people would survive. Indeed, I think the likely targeting of the attacks would tend to favor many blue collar professions, including mechanics!

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

Actually, I do….. the are police and fire models of the V-150, and I intend for Teams to release modified M151s and XR-311s.

First, those vehicles can't represent more than a fraction of the inventory. Second, when you release those vehicles, whatever civilian parts survived are no longer going to be available to the Project at all, and if you gained control of the entire inventory then you are putting yourself in a difficult position with the populace.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

Just to hard to recruit people to walk away from their lives completely.

Sure, but you don't have to recruit that many, all things considered. And "to save the country and then the planet" helps, as does "you get to survive nuclear war instead of being a victim". There are a lot of people out there with no family to lose and no friends they can't leave. Recruit a thousand a year out of the millions available and you have a decently-staffed Project.

Also remember that there may well be families and friends in the Project! You may be in a MARS team, your best friend may be in a Recon team, and your dad might be assigned to a supply base somewhere.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

You still need it for the transfer case and 4x4; plus, to take advantage of the power ranges, such as Low Low gear .

Addressed this in another thread.

The impression I get from Desert Search is that everyone meets up, then become two vehicle teams at a minimum.

Then why not have them start that way? I can see that being a tactic of convenience, but operationally it will only make sense for a few teams.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

Mostly, it is the cost effective choice….. I can be built using equipment and workers already on hand, plus new production can be explained away as repair parts for Singapore, Egypt, and U.S. police departments.

It is also cost effective when you need to field several hundred, have dozens for spares too.

Except for cost, all of that works for nearly any vehicle you can think of. It's not like customs guys do anything more than compare part and serial numbers against manifests.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

That is called and attack of life. Then you hunker down and wait for the part or parts to be delivered from the nearest base by some means. Sounds like a good chance to role play without the vehicles.

Exactly my point.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

According to “Fall Back” MARS is 25% military veterans and 75% law enforcement veterans…. Some being both.

Can't comment on Fall Back, as I do not own it - does it say anything about non-MARS personnel? I don't see why the teams would have a lower proportion of military veterans than the 3ed core rules provide - they would certainly be a focus of recruiting and would probably be more likely than average to accept.

Regardless, the Project has to be built around using the experts that it has. Whether there are 26 veterans in CG Seattle or 6, the whole focus of the Project is to maximize the use of the skills of the teams, I don't see why the vets (however many there are) would not be driving the combat decisions just as I would expect the doctors to be driving the medical planning.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

Not all of it can be spent on the Project…….. Morrow Industries still has to spend billions and trillions on the legitimate business to maintain the deception.

Sure, but with the smallest of inputs from Morrow, they could trim a few percent off of their profits and still have the Project awash in cash. If the average Morrow / Council of Tomorrow industry has equivalent 2014 income of $5 billion (smaller than Ford Motor Company), then trimming off 5% of that profit for each of 9 companies for two decades yields $45 billion dollars while still "maintaining the deception"... and assuming nothing from Morrow whatsoever, just assuming that they take 5% off their corporate profits and put them towards the Project. Project funding could be 10-100x larger with Morrow playing even a minor role.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

The Project is funded and staffed by civilians, as a purely civilian enterprise outside of government oversight or cooperation……. I expect a corporate mentality and not a military one…….. logistics more akin to Fedex than DoD.

Logistics, sure... but that has nothing to do with quality control! I've worked for a number of manufacturing concerns, and you design the specification for the mission (whatever it is), and you build and test to that specification. There are shoddy manufacturers, sure, but I see no reason why the Project would use them, much less own them!

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

Besides, no one has post apocalypse experience…….. it is all an educated guess.

All the more reason to be conservative, maintain large and quality stores.

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

19 November, 1989 catches everyone by surprise even Prime Base…… Literally Bruce knows…… Morrow Project materials are on the CD with the game setting “Rogue 417” by Tri Tac games. It is a short story and worth the read for 3rd edition fans. Bruce seems to spend the day of the War saying good bye to the old world.

The date catches everyone by surprise, but they should have known within a year or two when it would happen, otherwise planning would be absurd. Indeed, a date of the war (even rough) would be perhaps the single most important bit of information Morrow could have provided.