Jester,
Good points about the woolen gear and the AK. In fact, I can’t help wondering if raiding parties will not use the enemy’s weapons so that ammunition resupply will become much easier. Use of the enemy’s weapons and ammunition also would serve to confuse things during a raid, which could only be to the benefit of the raiders. Maybe divisions in Europe after 1998 would maintain stores of the enemy’s small arms and light support weapons for use by raiding parties.
Good point about the wild horses, too. Sadly for SAMAD, the wild horse (and mule) population isn’t going to be very large locally. Still, a fair number of the beasts will be living elsewhere in Arizona at the time of the Exchange. However, once the bombs fall wild animals will be meat on the hoof for many, many hungry and desperate Americans with rifles. By the time SAMAD gets serious about animal transport, many of the potential pack animals and cavalry mounts will have been eaten. Nevertheless, you’ve given me some food for thought. Just how many wild horses are there in Arizona? What is a reasonable expectation for mortality from post-Exchange predation by humans?
Hm. All this makes me think that captured wild horses and mules might be the basis for long-distance trade. If SAMAD is going to be a major local user of horses and mules, the animals are going to have to be captured and brought in from elsewhere. A major horse-buying expedition is a perfect excuse to put a reinforced company of motorized infantry on the road from Huachuca to one of the northern parts of the state. Perhaps there is room for a mission for player characters in all of this. Thanks, Jester.
Webstral
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